Playground of Bones

Chapter 8

The cold corpse stared at Seth, still gushing out blood, haunting his thoughts even in the broad daylight. He still couldn't believe what he was seeing. Sure, he always teased Eliza and stole her belongings, but both him and Eliza knew that it was just a game. It was a game they never got tired of playing, would never get tired of playing if only Eliza was still alive. No matter how he stared at the dead girl, the truth won't sink in, it was probably the same for everybody else too, but nobody dared to even make a sound. The death brought silence to the playground.

Seth was four when he met Eliza, only a few moments before entering where they'll live for ten years. He couldn't remember how he ended up in a room with eight other kids, or why he was there, it was just the truth. They were always taught to simply accept the truth. She was sitting in the corner, drawing circles on the ground, mumbling "mama" over and over again,scared and fragile. For a moment Seth was shocked, the girl did not know how to "accept". It was the first lesson every child was taught. He thought only he didn't understand. 

So he walked over, stole the girl's hair tie, and ran away.

"Hey, stop being a meanie!" the little girl whined and chased after him, tripping over her own feet. 

He stopped in his tracks, a smirk on his face, and raised his hand so the hair tie was just above the girl's reach. he watched her hop in front of him, trying to catch his arm. Even though he was only a year older than the little girl, Seth was tall for his age, Eliza could never reach it. 

"you're still a meanie."

Seth watched the girl in amusement, her face red and puffed, an angry expression just beneath the surface, and gave in. he held the hair tie with two fingers and put it right in front of the girl, who's face immediately brightened up. It didn't last for long though. Even with two fingers, Seth held a strong grip, Eliza was pulling with both hands, but the hair tie wouldn't leave Seth's hand. She gave up after two attempts, both failing, and sat on the floor.

"Will you give me my hair tie now?"

Seth laughed, making Eliza laugh too, and handed her the hair tie.

"Your welcome."

It was his way of making somebody feel better, by temporarily capturing their full attention. Since then, whenever Eliza felt down, Seth would always take her things. It was their game, and nobody else's.

It's only his game now, since Eliza is gone. he can never play the game again.

And the hair tie was still on his wrist.