Black

chapter three.

Song for this chapter:

Fantasy by Alina Baraz & Galimatias

The lady yells something and then climbs down the steps of her blue house and begins to run towards me.

A man then appears on the steps from a screen door, a deep frown upon his face.

The lady approaches me, her bright blue eyes shining with worry as she kneels down in front of me.

"Are you alright, sweetie?" She asks.

I'm scared now. I don't know what to say so I pull my sock monkey up against my chest and hug him tight.

"It's okay." She smiles sweetly at me. "What's your name?" She asks.

I stay quiet, remembering daddy's rule not to talk to strangers as I stare at her necklace that dangles from her chest. A gold flower hangs from the very end of a thin gold chain.

"I'm Naomi." She says. Her light brown hair whips from the wind but she brushes it back behind her ears. "Where are your parents?" She asks then.

I don't know where daddy is. Another tear falls from my eyes as I hold my sock monkey.

The lady...Naomi, frowns but then changes her expression. She forces a smile before she looks back at her house. She then looks back to me.

"Are you thirsty? Do you want some fruit juice?" She asks.

I swallow and nod, realizing how dry my throat feels.

"Do you want to come with me to come get it?" She asks then. But I don't know what to say. I just want something to drink. "I promise I won't hurt you. You can trust me." She says. "Here." She reaches behind her neck to take the pretty necklace off and then pulls it over my head. "That's my favorite necklace. I will never go anywhere without it so you have to protect it for me, okay?"

I look down at the flower and nod. She gives me her hand and I take it.

•••

"Am I talking too much?"

I turn my head to see Alec, the birthday boy, looking at me worriedly. The buzzing sound of laughter, beer bottles clinking, and the loud television return to my attention.

"No. I'm sorry." I say. "I just...zoned out."

"Okay. Well how about you?" He asks.

"Me what." I say.

"You're major?" He asks more than says.

"Oh. I'm in the photography and television major." I answer before I take a sip of my beer. It tastes horrible but I need to 'get loose' as Jackie puts it.

Alec nods and I'm just wondering why he's talking to me when he could be with his friends or some other girl. I spot Jackie in the kitchen giving me a thumbs up and I shake my head at her.

I look around at all the people here. Everyone's chit chatting with each other and some are just watching the TV or playing beer pong on the kitchen table.

Right. Just a small get together, Jackie.

Alec isn't really a bad guy but he does talk a lot. Way too much for me. He kept going on and on about his pet cat and how he got him.

Honestly, I don't care for his cat.

I take a few more sips of my beer as I sit in an awkward silence with Alec. The open window that leads to the fire escape tempts me to actually escape to the roof.

I look back to Alec to see that he's disappeared.

I roll my eyes and take the escape, making sure Jackie doesn't see me because she will definitely pull me back into this treacherous party.

The slight wind and the smell of rain hits me as I begin to climb the steep steps. I'm careful not to slip as the steps are wet. As I reach the top, there's a ladder to the roof. I place the rim of my cup between my teeth and start my climb to the top.

When I finally step onto the gravel of the roof, I feel liberated in a way. The way the traffic below seems farther and the air up here is clearer. The smell of rain filling my senses, making me feel warmer somehow. I walk to the edge of the roof and look down below.

I've never really been afraid of heights. I actually love it.

I think it's an amazing feeling to feel as if you're on top of the world, that nothing can reach you when you're up so high.

I take a deep breath and shut my eyes as I lift my arms, feeling like I'm flying as the wind races past me.

"You aren't going to jump, are you?" A deep, accented voice asks from behind me.

I turn slightly to see a dark-hooded figure slowly make his way out of the shadows. I mentally curse him for ruining my freeing moment.

I step off of the ledge as the stranger finally appears next to me. I can't quite see his face but from the side I can see his sharp features as the lights below shine upon his face. Small curls peek out from under the beanie and hood he wears and I watch as he stares down at the traffic below and takes a sip out of his red cup.

"It's weird." He says as I turn my gaze back down to the streets below.

I wait for him to finish but he doesn't.

"What is?" I ask.

There's a short silence again before he answers me.

"The scariest part about heights is feeling like you're going to fall." He says. "But when you're actually at the highest part, you feel manumit. Like nothing else matters and you don't care if you fall."

He steps onto the ledge, his dark boots keeping a firm grip on the edge.

"Are you going to jump?" I ask, mocking him.

He breathes a short laugh. "No." He says. "Come."

I don't know why but I comply. I carefully step back onto the ledge and look down with him. My hair flys back as the wind whips harder.

"People see flying as freedom but one thing I know is that at one point....you have to land." I gaze at him before I blink back down at the streets below. "Close your eyes." He says. I look back to him to see his eyes closed, so I shut mine. "Think about the sky above the clouds. The sun rising and you're flying towards it."

I imagine it and actually do feel liberated.

I breathe a small laugh. I'm floating way above the clouds, the sky is a mixture of rosy colors. It's quiet. So quiet that the only thing you can hear is the pumping of your blood through your veins.

I open my eyes again and blink to the strange man. He's already looking at me and I feel some strange feeling under his gaze.

I step off the ledge once again as does he.

"Not much of a party person?" He asks. I shake my head as I play with the rim of the red cup in my hands. "Me neither."

"Why'd you come?" I ask.

"The birthday boy's one of my best mates." He says, setting his red cup down on the ledge as he sits. He looks up at me and pats the spot next to him.

I take it.

"Why did you come?" He asks, taking his cup again and taking a long sip.

"Uh I kinda live here." I brush a strand of hair from my face behind my ear. "Jackie's my best friend and Fredrick is her boyfriend."

"It's always a friend of a friend." He says and I breathe a laugh as I nod because it's true.

We sit and listen to the cars honking down below and the wind whistling in our ears.

We don't speak. We just sit.

And in this moment, I have never felt so relaxed in my entire life.

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