Changes

I turned to face the end of my street which ended in a cul de sac. There, standing in the round dead end, was Lauren, Audrey, and Jirony. They were just standing silently, not really doing anything, just watching me. If they were going to stare then I can do the same thing. Lauren and Audrey both looked a bit sad while Jirony wore the same cold expression she had on at the dance. I couldn’t take this. What did they want? I was dying to know why they were here, but then again, I really didn’t want to find out.

“Leave me alone, please! Get out of here!” I yelled from my front porch.

Audrey took a step forward but the other girls held her back like they knew it wasn’t a good thing to approach me yet. Jirony lips moved but I couldn’t make out what she said. Next thing I saw was them turning their backs on my and running away quickly. They were soon out of my vision and I knew that I could go into my house and feel a bit safer. Locking and bolting the door became second nature to me these past few days. I made the usual rounds of my house and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Throwing open my closet door I picked out my nice black dress and laid it out on the dark pink chair next to my bed. It felt weird to be picking out funeral attire for my parents. Usually I would be picking out a cute outfit for school. Ah, that’s something I would be doing soon. I would have to be getting back to school sometime. Kourtney mentioned something about teachers suspending my homework so that I could get to it when I felt good and ready. Thank God the school did one thing right. A pair of black ballet flats went with the dress so I placed them on the floor next to the chair. In a spur of the moment gesture I grabbed a lock of my hair and inhaled. It smelled fine but it could be better. Deciding that a shower might calm me down from all the day’s events, I stepped into my bathroom and shed the clothes from my body. The water was cold when it hit my skin but I didn’t mind too much. Hot water soon ran down my naked body. The suds from my shampoo washed down the drain along with the tension that my muscles had built up. I turned the shower off a few minutes after just standing under the downpour and got out. I quickly through on some shorts and a tank top and hit the sack. Tomorrow was going to come too soon, I could feel it.

The Funeral

I could hear the clanking from all the metal folding chairs that were being put away around me. Come on, I was still here and they were cleaning up already! It was as if they were telling me to bug off. Finally, I couldn’t take it any longer and coughed loudly while glaring at them. They looked apologetic as they set the chairs down as quietly as possible. With silence around me once again I focused on the two black metal caskets in front of me. Two men in dark grey uniforms were taking them down into the mausoleum while I just sat there. Well, it’s not like I was the only one here, but I might as well be. A few business associates of my parents were still here and if I’m not mistaken were trying to conduct work with each other. Damn, they had balls. My parents weren’t even laid to rest yet and they were fighting over their leftovers like a pack of mangy dogs.

William Schulz
Husband, Father, Friend
March 1 1962 – October 3 1999

Kathleen Schulz
Wife, Mother, Friend
July 16 1964 – October 3 1999

The engraved words on the two black stone hearts stole my thoughts every few seconds. The small headstones stood out in front of the concrete building as markers for who laid inside. It shouldn’t be like this. I was supposed to have a family of my own before they were taken away from me. Was it supposed to be like this? Was something going to come along and take me away from the pain? Only a few people came to ease my suffering today. Kourtney and her family had come earlier to pay their respects but I wasn’t expecting them to stay here with me. It wasn’t their cross to bear. A cold breeze tore through the cemetery as the heavy iron door shut on the mausoleum, forever sealing my parents in. The funeral home gave me one of their black cars for the day so all I had to do was say the word and my driver could take me back home. I guess the director only does this for a few select cases. Yes, because I want people to take sympathy on me for losing both my parents this way.

“Good bye mom and dad.” I whispered.

I was surprised at myself. This was the first time that I think I really had acknowledged their death. It hadn’t quite sunken in yet really. Another harsh wind ripped through the place but luckily my hair was pinned into a tight bun and wasn’t messed up. Standing up from my chair, I clutched the shawl that was around my shoulders as I took one last look at their resting place. I was now alone and the thought of it scared me. Reaching up to touch my cheek I looked at my fingers to see that they were wet. They were moist with my tears. I didn’t even know that I was crying. My mother told me when I was a little girl that tears were just out body’s way of getting rid of bad memories and making room for good ones. I still don’t understand what she was talking about. Turning around to walk to the car I quickly stopped as I saw something out of the corner of my eye, yet again. I stood still. My blood ran cold. There he was just leaning against a tall granite statue of an angel blowing a trumpet. He was staring intently at me but I was noticing something new to him. It took me a while to figure out what it was. One lonely tear ran down his cheek, but his tear was black. It looked like liquid eyeliner to me. A good fifty to sixty feet separated us but I couldn’t feel more distant. Why was he crying? He didn’t know my parents. Hell, he really didn’t even know a lot about me. One step, two steps. I carefully walked backwards to the car. It’s not like I didn’t want to turn my back on him, I just couldn’t. I knew I had to leave but I wanted to take him in still. With a soft thud my back hit the passenger side of the car. I groped around for a handle and threw the door open when I found it. Forcing myself to tear my gaze away from Jimmy I shut the door and told the guy where he could take me. A twenty minute ride got me to where I wanted to be.

“Miss Schulz, are you sure that I can’t just take you home? It would make me feel a lot better.” My driver asked me.

“No thanks Doug,” I said after learning his name earlier, “here is fine.”

I saw that his face was worried in the rearview mirror, but I shrugged it off. Thanking Doug for his services I waved him off which left me alone in the park. This was the same park that I walked through on the way to and from school. It just felt like I needed to be here. Trees surrounded me as I broke through their line. A wide open area of grass and cement sidewalks was all I saw. My feet padded quietly as I slowly walked through the park. Looking at the now setting sun I would say that it was probably around 5:30. I guess I had spent a long time in the cemetery. I kept on walking and when I turned the corner into a thick grouping of trees I heard loud voices. Peaking around the tree I saw a few guys who could only be a few years older than I was. They were blocking my path home and all they were doing was just yelling and laughing. It couldn’t be that bad to just walk by them, so I got out from behind my tree and continued on my way. As I got closer I saw that they were just kicking a hacky sack around in their circle. I thought that I was in the clear as I took my first step past them when one of them called out to me.

“Hey there sweetheart, where are you going?”

Ignoring them I continued to walk through the park when I heard them behind me.

“Aw! I think she is trying to get rid of us. That’s not very polite. Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?” another guy said.

I bit my tongue and quickened my pace. I was not going to let them get to me, even though that one just made a comment about my mom who wasn’t here anymore. Their footsteps were right behind me and the continued to laugh and tease me. Just when I thought that all I was going to get was a bit of verbal harassment one of the guys grabbed my arm and viciously yanked me around. The force of his pull was so strong that he had thrown me to the ground. I fell down in the grass and I felt some sticks scrape my bare legs. Still on the ground I looked up at the group and saw that I was sadly outnumbered. It was me against 5 of them. I was doomed.

“Look what you did Tom, you hurt the little princess.” The shorter one of the group mocked.

“Hey, I had to get her attention somehow.” Tom said with a sinister smile.

“Come on guys we had our fun. Let’s get out of here.” A new guy suggested.

“Lou and Greg, grab her arms.” Tom ordered completely ignoring his friend. “Don’t try anything because it’ll make things worse for you.”

The two tallest of the group sulked up to me and firmly grabbed each of my arms. I watched in horror as Tom advanced towards me and reached towards my neck. He lightly dragged his finger down my neck and stopped it at the knot of my shawl.

“Wow, you are much to pretty to be covering yourself up babe.” Tom whispered as he ripped the cloth from my neck.

I whimpered as he continued to run his dirty fingers across my chest. Opening my eyes I saw that my pain gave him pleasure. The sick, twisted grin he wore made me want to puke.

“You look so tasty in your little black dress. I think that I want to taste every inch of you.”

“Please, don’t do this. If you let me go now I won’t tell a soul.” I cried.

“Sorry, I can’t do that now. What Tom wants, Tom gets.” He growled.

His greasy red hair brushed my shoulders as his face got closer to my throat. The scruffy beard that he was growing was beginning to irritate my skin. A sob escaped my lips and I felt him place a kiss on my collarbone.

“I’m gonna have fun with you sweetheart.”

My body was shaking a bit with fear and anger now. I didn’t know what to do. The moment his hand began to wander down my body I involuntarily screamed.

“Jimmy!” I cried out loud, tears pouring down my face.

“No one is gonna hear you scream.” Either Lou or Greg said.

A hard wind blew through the park almost knocking Tom off balance. Somewhere behind me a deep growl came from the trees and then I heard someone’s footsteps quickly approaching. Without warning Tom was ripped away from me but Lou and Greg still held on to me. The two other guys that weren’t doing anything frantically began to look for their lost leader. One of them suddenly shrieked and pointed upwards. All of us looked to where he pointed and when the guys holding saw what was in the trees they dropped me instantly. I was lying on my back and staring into the trees when I made eye contact with him. Jimmy’s eyes were jet black again and it still put fear in me. He stood on a tree limb and was dangling Tom in the air by his throat. Tom was sputtering some words and his face had a light blue tint to it. Jimmy broke away from my gaze and turned his eyes back to Tom.

“What? You said you were sorry? Sorry won’t make up for what you did to her. You need to feel pain.” He seethed in a deep dark voice.

Tom tried to say something but Jimmy was crushing his vocal chords and his windpipe which stopped any words from coming out and any air from going in. A rattling, spitty sound came from Tom and I knew that he was going to die soon.

“Jimmy, put him down now! He doesn’t deserve to die.” I said.

“Yes, he does Colie. He isn’t fit to walk this world.” He bellowed.

“Please Jimmy, just drop him.” I yelled back.

Jimmy gave no second thought and released him which sent him to the ground. He landed with a dull thud and whatever air he still had was completely knocked out of him. It must have been a drop of at least ten feet. Tom quickly scrambled to his feet and took off, but to both our surprises, he smacked into the chest of Jimmy.

“If I ever find you within a mile of her, I will kill you.” Jimmy said with a snarl that showed one of his fangs. “Trust me; I’m a man of my word.”

I couldn’t see Tom’s face but I knew that he was scared as fuck. I knew I was when I first saw Jimmy in this state. His head nodded violently but he just stood there. Jimmy snarled and growled and that was all it took to send him running. I watched as he followed Tom with his eyes and when he looked back at me the serene blue eyes that I have come to know and love were back again.. Frozen with anticipation, I remained on the ground silently as he walked towards me. I gazed up at him and contemplated what he was going to do. I really wasn’t sure. It was then that he extended a hand to me and said the first human words to me since that fateful night.

****************************************************************************************************

What does Jimmy say?

1. "Hey."
2. "Are you alright?"
3. "You promised."

Pick a great one! I know you will!