Swallowtail: Mariposa Radiante

Swallowtail: Prologue

Swallowtail

Prologue: The Day We Met

The creaking sounds of the old swing set were prevalent across the playground. Drowned out in part by the sounds of children at play. It was a beautiful day, the shining rays of the sun bathed the land below, the soft winds kept the temperature at a balmy degree, and the singing of birds accented the summer season.

Though the happy voices of the children filled the air, not all of them were smiling and playing. There was one boy who was sitting by himself at a bench, staring out into the city, as everything around him kept moving. He had a bored look on his face as he watched his surroundings, wondering why so many kids were at this particular park. It wasn't that well off, in fact, it was one of the older ones in the city.

Still, the parents came and the children played. He would have been among those happy children at one point in time, but playing at a park was something that didn't interest him. At this point, he was only brought here because he was spending too much time cooped up inside. Eleven-year-olds needed to interact with other children their age, and form social relationships. That's what his father had told him when he had been turned over to a friend who had ended up bringing him to the park. Said friend had taken off somewhere and had left him there all by himself.

"This is so stupid," he thought to himself, as he drummed his fingertips against his cheeks. He should have stuffed his DS in his pocket when he had the chance. But it had been so abrupt he had left it behind.

He perked up a bit when he heard the familiar jingle of an ice cream truck. Several of the kids stopped what they were doing just to drag their parents toward it. "Must be making a lot of money," he thought, a frown tugging at his lips.

Now that the playground was empty, he looked about the place. There was a jungle gym in the center, with various slides coming from it. The main attraction was the twisty slide, a right of passage for some kids who were scared of heights. There were some swings on the opposite side of the slide, the chains looked weathered but still held on. There was a set of monkey bars at the other side, along with a rope bridge connecting to the main part of the set. Finally, it was all placed on top of the sand. Sand that got everywhere.

He never understood the appeal to this sort of thing. Why build sandcastles in a playground with kids running around? The beach was much better for that than an old playground. He sighed rather audibly, he was so bored. At this rate, he just wanted to go home. But it was too far for him to walk and if he wasn't there when his father's friend came to pick him up, he was definitely gonna get in big trouble. He stood up from the bench, bending down to stretch a bit, his emerald green eyes scanning his surroundings.

All of the kids were in line to get an ice cream. Some parents had deemed this the perfect time to end the trip to the park. Others had walked off with their friends, being old enough to walk home alone. But there was one kid who stuck out to him. It was a girl, around his age. She had long pink hair reaching down past her hips. She was wearing a white sleeveless dress and matching sandals. She didn't seem at all affected by the jingling ice cream truck, nor did she have an adult near her.

She had her gaze down, at something she had in her hands, but from where he stood he couldn't see what it was. The young boy looked around for a moment, expecting a parent to walk up to her, maybe offer her an ice cream. But when none came, he started to worry. He didn't know why, but he was compelled to say something to her. He didn't know he had been walking toward her until he was standing right in front of her.

Feeling his presence, the girl looked up, a look of surprise on her face. "Oh wow, she's really pretty," the boy thought, as he scratched the back of his neck, the words escaping him for a moment. He shook his head, forcing a smile onto his face.