Life to Live
Life to Live (Chapter Two)
The stranger met him at the gate, a stern countenance with piercing eyes. “You are the young man? The lover of our Arianne?”
He nodded.
“What is your name, boy?”
“Solaire…” It came out sounding timid and slightly frightened.
Those piercing eyes regarded him gravely for a moment, before the stranger glanced away. “You may call me Janus.”
Solaire nodded silently. His desire to be reunited with Arianne was pounding through him, his heartbeat. Thump. Thump. Thump.
He was certain Janus could hear it, so loud it was. Like someone beating on a drum, the sound echoing forever.
Janus put out his hand abruptly, startling Solaire. He stared at the hand, unsure of what to do with it. Was he supposed to shake his hand, or…?
Janus made an impatient noise. “Hurry up. Take my hand.”
Solaire nodded and took the man’s hand, feeling callused and rough-skinned fingers enveloping his own hand, puny in comparison.
Everything vanished about them. The graveyard, the bell tower, everything. Simply disappeared.
The lonely scene was replaced by something entirely different. The silence was still there, but the picture was, sadly enough, quite similar to the one they’d just departed.
A child’s room. A tiny child was sleeping peacefully in her bed. The room itself looked as if it was in disgraceful condition. The wallpaper was peeling off the wall, the carpeting ragged and threadbare, the toys mostly broken or old. There was a musty, foul smell in the room, of urine and dust.
The child seemed unaware of all the squalor about her. Though she slept quietly enough, she was shivering in the drafty room. Her breathing was ragged and every breath she took in was a bronchial rattle, indicating an illness of the lungs, and every now and then the quiet was broken by her empty stomach growling away for food. Food that, Solaire knew by the condition of the room, would not be found.
His heart went out to the little child. Poor thing, she was, sleeping and not knowing that her life ought to be so much better than it was…
He turned to Janus. “What am I to do?” Solaire asked the man, his voice lowered to an undertone to avoid waking the child. He thought, probably I am to help her in order to prove I am worthy for Heaven.
Janus withdrew his hand into his cloak, rummaged for a moment, and then drew out a shiny new gun, a .45 revolver. He offered it to Solaire. “Kill her.”
He nodded.
“What is your name, boy?”
“Solaire…” It came out sounding timid and slightly frightened.
Those piercing eyes regarded him gravely for a moment, before the stranger glanced away. “You may call me Janus.”
Solaire nodded silently. His desire to be reunited with Arianne was pounding through him, his heartbeat. Thump. Thump. Thump.
He was certain Janus could hear it, so loud it was. Like someone beating on a drum, the sound echoing forever.
Janus put out his hand abruptly, startling Solaire. He stared at the hand, unsure of what to do with it. Was he supposed to shake his hand, or…?
Janus made an impatient noise. “Hurry up. Take my hand.”
Solaire nodded and took the man’s hand, feeling callused and rough-skinned fingers enveloping his own hand, puny in comparison.
Everything vanished about them. The graveyard, the bell tower, everything. Simply disappeared.
The lonely scene was replaced by something entirely different. The silence was still there, but the picture was, sadly enough, quite similar to the one they’d just departed.
A child’s room. A tiny child was sleeping peacefully in her bed. The room itself looked as if it was in disgraceful condition. The wallpaper was peeling off the wall, the carpeting ragged and threadbare, the toys mostly broken or old. There was a musty, foul smell in the room, of urine and dust.
The child seemed unaware of all the squalor about her. Though she slept quietly enough, she was shivering in the drafty room. Her breathing was ragged and every breath she took in was a bronchial rattle, indicating an illness of the lungs, and every now and then the quiet was broken by her empty stomach growling away for food. Food that, Solaire knew by the condition of the room, would not be found.
His heart went out to the little child. Poor thing, she was, sleeping and not knowing that her life ought to be so much better than it was…
He turned to Janus. “What am I to do?” Solaire asked the man, his voice lowered to an undertone to avoid waking the child. He thought, probably I am to help her in order to prove I am worthy for Heaven.
Janus withdrew his hand into his cloak, rummaged for a moment, and then drew out a shiny new gun, a .45 revolver. He offered it to Solaire. “Kill her.”
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Oh my! Kill the innocent little girl?! o_o Nuuuu Solaire don't do it...uhm...comment! :D Feedback please! Thanks, guys. :]