Evangeline (Unedited)

04

T W O A D U L T S

Floorboards creaked under me as I slowly crept through the doorway, carefully eyeing everything before I continued walking. I felt like I was intruding, The hallway was dark, and covered in dust and cobwebs. I sneezed when I shut the door behind me so nobody would hear. I squinted my eyes closed trying to figure out where I was or see, well, anything. It was almost pitch black, just the rays of light from under the door. It was enough for me to see the walls. What was on them.

Pictures. Hundreds of pictures scattered and framed on the wall of people and memories and life. I could see an entire family tree on this wall, entire lives, people who are probably long gone, but their pictures still exist. In the complete darkness. Did nobody come in here? Were these pictures, these people, forgotten about? A frown settles on my face as my eyes well up with tears. I don't know any of these people, none of this reflects my life or me, so why am I about to cry?

I continue walking, stepping even closer to the walls. I admire the many different shapes and sizes of frames. I groan when I realize it's almost impossible to actually see the pictures, and take a step back. I look at the door I came from and further down the hallway, deciding if I should just continue walking or feed my curiosity. I choose the latter, and quickly walk back to the door I came from, trying to open it. When it doesn't open, I get nervous. I look at the knob and try again. Of course, I would get locked in.

"Hello?" I find myself calling out, hoping maybe somebody will hear. I repeated this a few times, knocking gently, unsure if I wanted to bother anybody with this. Just as I change my mind and begin to walk nervously down the hallway, the door opens with a loud thud. I jump and turn back around.

Squinting, I recognize Alessandro. He looks alarmed.

"Evie, is everything okay?" He questions, flicking the light switch. Honestly, I didn't even see it there, but it wouldn't have mattered if I did because nothing changed. He sighs, and crosses his arms, looking up. "I've been meaning to get that lightbulb changed for quite a while now."

He eventually looks back at me, a soft smile on his face. He pats down his pockets, pausing when he feels something. He reaches in and moments later hands me his phone, flashlight on.

"Oh, no. I couldn't." I deny it, shaking my head. He chuckles and grabs my hand, placing his phone gently in my palm and winking at me. "There's no need."

"I said you could explore, didn't I?" He smiles. "You can't exactly do that in the dark, coccinelle."

"No, but-"

"But nothing, Evie. Have fun." He winks at me and steps back, closing the door behind him.

I stared at the closed door for a few minutes, debating if I should chase him down and demand he take his phone back, but I was just so curious. I concede that if he wanted his phone back, he could come get it, and I would take extra good care of it until he does. I turn around and find myself in front of the photos again. This time with Alessandro's phone flashlight shining on them.

My attention was quickly caught by a photo of an old lady on a wooden porch, and a younger girl in front of her. She was getting her hair braided with a smile. Her mouth was open as though she was speaking, her eyes far away as though she couldn't even fathom she had the entire world to live with. I imagine she was a curious girl. She sure seemed like it. I noticed writing on the bottom of the picture.

'Nicolina et Édith, 23/07/93'

I don't know either of those names, I don't know either of those women. I do recognize the similarities between the women and the men I have met so far, so I could bet that they were relatives. My eyes trail a bit to the left. Surrounding a photo of two teenagers, was a blue frame. A guy kneeling on a field of grass, one knee stuck out, and a girl sitting on it. The same girl from before, only this time her hair was not being braided rather it was flowing in wavy rivers down her back. The boy was laughing and looking at her, but she was oblivious to it. Love pooled in his eyes, mirroring the pooling in my own but for all different reasons. One day, I hope to have a love so strong that even strangers will be able to feel it even decades later just by viewing a photograph.