Faded Petal

Chapter 7 - Charlie - The Past

DAY SEVEN

George, Edith and Beth are already asleep. I am just about to doze off myself when I sense movement above me and my eyes snap open.

Akiki is pushing herself onto her feet, then she sleepily trudges forward, walking awkwardly to avoid stepping on anyone's limbs.

"Akiki?" I hiss.

"Yes?" comes the reply- it's too dark to see her mouth move.

"Where are you going?"

"Bathroom." I realise the irony of her saying this- none of us have used a proper bathroom in a week.

"I need to go too, can I come with you?"

"Of course."

I stand up and follow Akiki away from our silent group. We are heading toward a further-away group of trees for some privacy.

Once we are far enough away, I admit to her, "I don't actually need to go. There was just something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh... okay?" she says, a little uncertain.

"I'll let you go to the bathroom first, though," I laugh.

I stand facing the opposite direction while she goes.

Once I hear her coming back, I turn around. I can only half see her silhouette in the moonlight now that my eyes have gotten used to the darkness.

Akiki comes to stand in front of me, eyebrows raised, waiting for me to say something.

My skin prickles uncomfortably. "Um, can we talk about something else for a second? Just... ask me about anything else."

Her eyes fall to my right shoulder, which is already scabbing and healing nicely.

"How is your arm doing?" Akiki asks warily.

"Already feeling much better than it did yesterday," I assure her.

She nods, then falls silent. The tension in the air is thick. Her eyes begin to wander the landscape. I need to steer the conversation in the way it needs to go, before I lose her interest.

"I appreciate your concern," I continue, "It's been a tough year, you know. Since I lost it."

I've got her attention now, I think, as her eyes snap up to meet mine.

She feels guilty about being so curious, I can tell. But lots of people were, at first. It's one of the reasons I stopped telling people. I stopped sharing, people stopped asking.

But I am making an exception for Akiki- just this once. I can tell she means well.

"It must have been really hard."

"Yeah. I've just realised I've never told you how it came to be... like this."

"Oh, no, you really don't-" she tries to begin, but I cut her off.

"Akiki, listen. I've been extremely rude to you at some points in the last few days. I feel like this is the least I can do. Let's sit"

She nods solemnly, and we take a seat, glancing toward the others to make sure none of them will be coming in our direction any time soon. They remain as still as bodies.

I take a deep breath. And go for it.

"It was last year, so... summer of 1957. My father had recently won some free tickets aboard a small ship, sailing out to Guernsey for a couple of days. His company worked alongside their company, you see, and this was an attempt at receiving admiration from passengers by offering free spaces onboard to their partner's employees. The tickets were extremely expensive, what with my two older sisters, younger brother, my parents and me.