Eden In Black

[CHAPTER NINE]

"Climb a mountain or two and watch the sky weep,
 in threads of rain drops,

 hear the raindrops speak."

How can a girl mean everything to you when you're 15? How is it that her laugh, her rose garden scent...her freckles...
-"This flower is called a Peonies." A girl proudly said as she walked Eden around her father's garden, filled with all the colorful roses one could imagine.
- "Orchids are very hard to grow here" She pointed at another one, "and these are called Spider lilies, they are my favorites" She knelled in closer to take a good look at them, pushing her curly blond hair away in huge lumps over her shoulder.
- "It has a weird shape" Eden never saw one like it before.

 Since her mother left a few years ago, her father spent all his waking time taking care of his garden. He made sure it was filled with every possible rare and common flowers known to man, a landscape architect by profession, he always felt guilty for not fulfilling the promise he gave his wife before they got married.
 He always blamed himself for her leaving them behind. He made empty promises, she always made sure to remind him of that. Designing this garden was him trying as hard as he can for redemption, that maybe one day she'll be back.

Little did Eden and the girl know it was the last time they would see it in full bloom. In a few weeks matter, the mother of the girl sent a letter to her dad, telling him how she was in love with another guy and agreed to marry him.
"I will always love you, but I have to let go, you make me cry every night, he doesn't." The words felt like knives in her father's heart. He read the letter on his couch, the pain was too unbearable, and he has denied it for so long, hope can sometimes be worse than an empty promise.
 "How can you do this to me...?" He cried, his pain suddenly got worse and it was too much to bear. A painting his wife did was hanging opposite him, it was a vase of Gardenia flowers, Lilies and Orchids placed on vase opposite a black background. He swallowed hard; he couldn't control his sudden anger.
 He carried the painting into the garden, and threw it forcefully to the flowers. In an impulse he burnt the whole place into ashes. What was once a beautiful garden of heaven was now in flames, he wanted every single petal, leaf, branch burnt to the ground.

He made several trips to the house and got every single painting his wife made and burnt it all. A house that was once filled with gorgeous scents and beauty, was now a memory. An empty arid land filled with ashen colored roses, dead branches.
Everything was gone.
Eden hugged her tight the day she ran to his house, crying her eyes out, she wasn't home when the incident happened, her dad was in the saddest state she's ever seen and he was there motionless, watching the firemen extinguish the flames. He felt his heart beating in anger and fear, that garden wasn't only a place for her dad's redemption, it was her favorite place in the world, she was the happiest around those flowers.
He wished her dad burnt the whole city instead and left the garden alone to tell the tale. Eden wished he could protect her from the pain. From everything.
- "I'm sorry." She was shivering in his arms, sobbing. "I made your shirt wet" She added gazing at him with her light blue eyes.
- "Stay like this until you feel better" Eden smiled and pushed her back closer gripping her tighter and stroking her hair gently.
-"I'm really sorry your dad did that, Lidia" He whispered in her ear.
-"Everything has an expiration date "She finally stopped crying and took a deep breath.
- "Don't say it like that." Eden's eyebrows were crossed.
- "It's true." She said holding the edge of her skirt tightly, looking at her feet.
Eden kissed her forehead softly and took both her hands gently.
-"Come, let's walk away from here." It was almost sunset when they reached the top of the hill, borrowing the shade of an oak tree standing tall on an edge.
She placed her head on his chest and started humming a melody Eden didn't recognize but still felt sweet in his ears.
- "What do you want to be? When we are done with high school?" She finally said, holding his arm with both her hands.
- "My dad has been training me to be an architect, so it's pretty much planned for me by now, how about you? Have you decided yet?"
-"An artist I think would be an option."
-"Like..." Eden stopped himself from mentioning the person responsible for what just happened. -"Yes, like my mother, but she only painted classical roses, I want to paint portraits, people's faces always caught my eyes."
-"I want to paint you one day." she added looking closer at him.
-"Me? I have a boring face." he laughed.
- "You have insane light gray eyes, a jaw line to die for, cheek bones, yeah sure, it's very boring." She smiled brushing his cheek before leaning in for a kiss.
- "I like yours more, your eyes have some beautiful streaks of color once the sun hits it." he smiled, staring long at her. Making her blush and look away shyly.
- "Do you really want to be an architect, or is it really because of your dad?" She cleared her throat. "I mean, did you ever consider anything else?" She continued nervously.
- "I never thought of it to be honest." he answered laying down on the grass. Placing his arms behind his head and looking at the clear orange pink sunset sky.
- "I like architecture, I like how it changes people's lives. Helps them live better, in better cities, making them better people unconsciously. Architects can be like unknown soldiers. My dad always said that. They can build and ruin cities with just a few lines."

Lidia laid next to him, he rarely talked about himself or what he thought or dreamt of.
- "So, did you visit many cities with your dad?"
-"Not much, let me see... Prague, Paris, Rome, London, Morocco, Brazil, Mexico..." he stopped and turned to face her...
 "One day when I become a rich and famous architect, I will take you everywhere. I'll show you all the beautiful place I've seen, all the museums, all the palaces, the temples, we'll eat the best ice creams and pizzas and all the street food you can imagine." He sat up gesturing the adventures he imagined them doing together. "There is this beautiful fountain in Prague where you can just sit and watch people pass by as you observe the pigeons come closer to you to feed them" He tried to portray the image in his head as vividly as he could "while a musician plays his instrument from close by" He added.

- "Tell me more of your adventures." She sat up and rested her tired head over his lap. Night was coming in closer.
- "In Paris, there is this bridge where one time ,me and my dad were crossing and a pianist played the most beautiful song while people who walked by suddenly stopped to enjoy it, sitting on the sidewalks of the bridge, I can still remember the tune." He tried to hum the music.
- "I'm sure I'll love it" she sighed, knowing that nothing is certain and promises are broken before they are made. Her mom and dad were the perfect example.

 They both fell into silence as they watched the sky turn into a canvas of bright lights. Eden wished time would freeze then and there; a moment so perfect never happen twice. The world was perfect that night, love and happiness were one word and he never wanted to let go.
 Eden spent most of that summer with her, she used to come to his house all the time to avoid dealing with her father who had the worst of meltdowns and was always driven to despair.
 The whole house would be wrecked by his hands in a matter of minutes, he would burn all her mother's sketches, paintings, and anything that she touched made him angrier.
Having the worst temper didn't make it easier for his daughter to be around.

 On one summer day, Eden decided to visit her, and noticed how abandoned the house looked like. It was a far reach from the garden and classical building it used to be. Most windows were broken, trees were dead and brittle, walls smeared in black from smoke, and the image of the place was of death. One thing that stood out to him, was the scent of it. How can something so dead and broken smell so beautiful? He waited a few hours outside the door. No one seemed to be home, he knocked continuously, but no answer.

- "Hey." Lidia appeared from across the street carrying some groceries.
- "Hey you..." He smiled "Is your dad not at home?"
- "No, no one is home." She passed through him and unlocked the door.

-"Let's not stay here." She placed her paper bags in the nearest table and hurried to leave.

 Lidia took a long glance at her house behind them, disappointed in the silhouette of what was once. It was vanishing slowly, and all was in the name of love, what love gave, love took away.

 -"I'm sorry you had to see that." She held his hands tightly.
- "It's alright." He didn't want to make her cry.
- "It isn't! Why are you lying to me, God, you can be so stupid!" She started screaming.
- "Lidia, I ...." Eden tried to calm her down from her sudden shift in mood.
-"I what?" She yelled at him. "Life must be so easy for you rich kids, your mom and dad are happy, money buys everything doesn't it?"
- "Money?" Eden felt confused at her sudden remarks.
-"Yes! Money! My mom left my dad because he wasn't getting enough commissions, she wanted a famous, rich, successful man so she can afford her painting materials."
- "Lidia, you're just angry, don't say things like that."
-"Oh, shut up Eden, Life is so easy for you, why don't you just leave me alone!" She walked away.

 Eden tried to follow her and hug her but she backed away, "Stay away from me, I'm a spitting image of my dad, you don't want to be with someone like me, I thought what he did was selfish, but I am exactly like him, I will do the same thing if my heart was broken, what does life mean anyway without the one you love? Explain it to me, what is it worth living alone to face it, it's ugly, life is ugly."
-"Lidia..." He forcefully hugged her tight as she punched his chest repeatedly.
- "I hate you; I hate you." She repeated those words as he patiently waited for her to calm down. -"It's going to be okay." He whispered.

 The sun's image from that day will never leave Eden's memories, it was a sad sun. They both sat on their usual hilltop under the Oak tree to watch the city night lights fade in and out.

- "I think we should head back." Eden said as he brushed Lidia hair while she rested her head on his shoulder.
-"I'm sorry." She looked straight into his eyes.
- "It's okay." His lips formed the words. Lidia stood up and dusted her long skirt from dirt. Eden suddenly stood to face her, feeling like his heart was on the verge of exploding,
- "I love you."
- "Good." She smirked, taking her tongue out. Almost as if she didn't want to hear his confession. Lidia then suddenly placed her hand on his chest, right above the loud thumbing of his heart and closed her eyes.
- "This belongs to me."
- "Forever." He whispered.