Broken People

Nostalgia

I was sitting in my bedroom nonchalantly scribbling doodles into my journal and listening to music. It was a warm spring day and the strong smell petrichor pierced through my window after last night's hard rain storm.

I heard someone yelling my name, "Elizabeth!" and I placed my pen down and walked over to the window to take a peek at who was outside. To my astonishment, Mark was standing on the sidewalk with a flower bouquet in his right hand and a box of chocolates in his other hand. A big smile was plastered on his face. Soon enough, I was smiling just as wide, so much that my cheeks started hurting.

"Mark! What are you doing here?" I yelled in excitement.

"I'm here to deliver flowers to the sweetest girl I know. It's your 16th birthday. How could I forget?"

I turned my head to take a glance at the calendar and sure enough, today is my birthday.

"Hold on, I'll be right down!" I yelled.

I quickly grabbed a hair tie from on top of my dresser and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. I ran down the stairs as quickly as possible and managed to stop myself from falling when I almost tripped on the last step. I glided past the kitchen and slid through the front door.

Somewhere nearby was the sound of my mother and Kelly's mother laughing, but I did not see Mark where he was standing earlier. I looked around a bit in confusion wondering where Mark went and then decided to go to the back yard to see what was going on.

A sudden surge of happiness propelled through me as everyone in the backyard yelled , "Happy birthday!!" Kelly raced over to give me a hug and when she let me go, both my parents embraced me into a tight hug as well.

Seconds later, Kelly's mother said, " I guess it wouldn't hurt if I joined."

After a while of being in the middle of a claustrophobic hug, I managed to squeeze myself out of it and my eyes immediately meet Mark's eyes. I ran over to him and gave him a big hug as he lifted me off the ground and into the air. When Mark placed me back onto the ground, he kissed my forehead so softly that it tickled. The happy birthday song started playing and everyone began singing happy birthday. It took me awhile to realize it, but Kelly's boyfriend had brought his band over and they were the ones playing the happy birthday song. I couldn't hold back my smile and I was sure I looked funny smiling so big.

The smell of fresh baked cookies flooded my nose and I asked, " Who made cookies?"

Suddenly, the sound of sirens escaped from the police car in the street. I heard the sound of a gunshot and everyone rushes inside, "Hurry in Elizabeth!" my mother hissed.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder as I was walking back in, but when I turned around, there was no one there. I entered the house and closed the door behind me, "I wonder what that was all about, " I inquired.

My voice echoed through the kitchen and when I turned around, there was no one there. A certain emptiness and dark aura filled the air. For whatever reason, my heart raced, pumping anxiety through my veins. I didn't understand where everyone disappeared to. The sound of the sirens were still as clear and loud as they were before.