The Aftermath

When I woke up, I had no idea where I was. I was uncomfortable; whatever I was lying on was hard. It took me a while to realise it was an old altar bench, but then the previous day came back to me, and I sat up with a started yelp.

The rain, the cold, the howling wind. The old priest with eyes that had been too deep as though they had seen too much. And the bird bath, I felt my breath speed up alarmingly, the bird bath that for the shortest second had let me see my brother.

I whipped my head around, suddenly startled, sure I was being watched. But the old church was empty. Empty and very creepy.

It took me only that thought to get up. Making my way through the ship I avoided the worst puddles not wanting to slip and break a leg in this godforsaken place. Reaching the door, I peeked out timidly. No one was in the graveyard, and I was glad, lest they saw me exit the crumbling church.

Once out in the sun, on the other side of the cemetery gates, I finally started to relax again. Thinking back I was sure there was a point last night where I had been convinced, I was dying. Shaking my head I rid myself of the thought.

Between the lack of sleep and the lack of food it was probably not that weird that I was hallucinating.

Locking myself into my apartment the first thing I did was to fetch myself some food. After a solid breakfast and a reassuring cup of coffee, I sat pondering my next move. It was too late for me to go to college, and I did not feel like going, anyway.

Digging out my sketch pad and some pencils I decided the park would be a good place to spend the sunny autumn day. Sighing, I put the effects back down. I really could use a shower and a change of clothes, I decided, just in case I met somebody I knew. Or anybody at all. I grinned slightly to myself.

Dropping my tee on my bed, I made my way to the bathroom, before stripping out of my pants as well. They were my favourite pair, lots of zippers, a single chain and solid black. At least they were usually solid black, I thought to myself as I picked something white off of them.

I frowned slightly at the feather as I held it between my fingers. It was actually very pretty. Perfectly symmetrical, soft, and pure white. Shaking my head I set it on the small bathroom shelf next to the mirror. Maybe I would keep it. Right now I wanted a shower.

Once done, dressed in some clean yet similarly black clothes, I made my way to the park. I sat myself on a bench close to the small playground, looking for something to sketch.

I worked and time passed while people came and went. For an autumn's day there were a lot of people, but the weather was nice and I could understand them. Nobody sat next to me on the bench, though, and for that I was grateful.

At some time in the afternoon the laughs from the playground caught my attention, and I sat my pencil down, twisting my sore wrist gently before looking over.

There were two children in particular that caught my attention. The girl on the swing was probably about four, the boy pushing her, her brother I guessed, a few years older. They looked happy together and the little girl laughed loudly as she kept begging the boy to push her higher.

And her brother did push her higher. As she soared higher, so did her laughter. I smiled at the sight but as the boy kept pushing I felt my facial expression turn into a frown. The girl was up too high. She was too young. I wondered where their parents were.

And then it went wrong.

With one last strong push which she had begged for herself, the little girl suddenly flew off of the swing. I was on my feet instantly. She was thrown through the air, but for a second I thought she slowed down just a bit. Then her feet hit the ground and her knees did not even buckle. Hurriedly, I made my way over there.

“Anna, Anna, are you okay?” the girl's brother cried.

I was guessing he was around seven. The age difference between the two of them was probably the same as it had been between my brother and me. I did not know why that thought hit me, but it hurt.

“I'm fine, Danny, really,” the girl smiled happily.

“But Anna, you fell off the swing!” The boy still seemed upset.

“But he caught me, so it's okay,” and then, turning to the thin air next to her she continued, “Thank you, mister,” with a huge smile.

Her brother looked appalled, and I felt the same way. I tried to shake it off, though, thinking that children had a vivid imagination and she probably just needed an explanation for what had just happened. Looking back to the boy I shook my head slightly, before going all they way over to them.

“Are you both okay?” I asked softly.

“Yes,” the little girl replied, while the boy nodded, “Why are you asking if Danny is okay, though?” she added, confused.

“Because I know you scared him.” I smiled softly.

“I don't understand,” she said.

“You need to be more careful. When you ask your brother to push you higher, he will, 'cause he is you big brother and he'll do anything for you. But if he gets you hurt, then he'll be hurt too.” I told the kid gently.

“That's right,” the boy nodded, sniffling a little, “How do you know, mister?”

“I,” I started trying to keep my voice from breaking, “I had a little brother.”

“Where is he?” the girl asked innocently, causing me to flinch.

She then turned her attention away from me, back to the very spot she had thanked before and furrowed her brow in concentration.

“Sorry,” she said, returning her attention to me once more, “please don't be sad. It makes us sad as well.”

I shook my head slightly and forced a smile for both her and her brother. Waving goodbye silently I walked off, having seen the young couple that hastily made their way towards the children. The little girl looked a lot like the young woman.

Returning to the bench I picked up my stuff, before making to leave. I cast one last glance over my shoulder smiling at the family all holding hands, the two children in the middle.

“Please be careful, little girl,” I whispered after them, “if anything happens to you, your brother will never forgive himself.”

Feeling pain screw up my face I turned away and started walking.