Ripples

CHAPTER FOUR

A small town

"Daddy, look!" A flash of red shot forward from the distance, picking up dust as it rushed across the craggy beach, crashing into a tall man's leg. "Woah, there, little man! What's the find, pirate?"The young man smiled down at the child - about five or six years old, grabbing unto his leg. The boy moved back, flushed plump cheeks spreading into a toothy smile under sparkling heterochromia blue-black eyes.
"Look." The boy spread his palm open, and the young man bent down to see - their identical brownish red hair next to each other, catching a sun ray and burning under the glow. "Woah, a dime! Where did you find this?". The boy pointed behind him. "Can I keep it?"

"Hmm. I'm not too sure. " The young man covered his lips, looking contemplative and hesitant, yet his black eyes sparkled mischievously. "But I dont see why not." He grinned and ruffled his son's head. Another young man who'd been standing beside the red head spoke then. "There's your cousin Gavvy. Come down with his mom now, Sammy. Won't he be envious of you? He'd wish he hadn't been sulking all day about coming here. " He chuckled at the expense of his son. The three of them turned around to watch; there were two women in pretty sundresses. One was heavily pregnant and holding unto her sister and a basket hung on the bend of her other arm, the other equally dark haired woman was navigating the both of them carefully across the rocky path with a dark haired boy following closely behind her, moodily kicking at some rocks. Both were under wide rimmed - their laughter carried over the wind to the men. The young man pat Sammy's back and stood up, motioning to the women with his chin. "Run over to your mom, Sammy, and take your cousin treasure hunting."

Waves over waves crashed against the rocks, leaving behind foamy residue.
"Daddy?" The red head squinted his eyes. The bright sunny sky had turned grey, overcast with rain. Looking down, he saw Sammy wet and shivering in front of him, lips tinged blue. "Can we go to the beach today?" The young man frowned, worried and confused. He opened his mouth, but his response was muddled and unclear, and his arms were so heavy to lift. The back of his shirt was growing wet, and soon, he began to shiver, too. Sluggisly, the young man reached out to his son, touching an icy cold cheek.

Harry slowly opened his eyes. Something had woken him up, but now he couldn't remember what it was. Wind blew through the window, causing him to shiver, and he noted blearily that the windows had been open. He was lying on his side, his arm dangling out of the bed and touching the cold floor. Another gust of cold breeze swept through the room, pulling him out of his stupor. He rolled unto his back and stretched out his limbs. The residual warmth on the bed told him that Evelyn had got up not too long ago and was downstairs cooking. He sighed. Every morning now, he always woke up alone, without the warmth of the soft body pressed against his back. With a grunt, he got up from bed and went into the bathroom to wash up by the sink, the weird feeling from his dream lingering with him.

Drying off quickly, he put on his work clothes, down the stairs for breakfast, and was soon by the door with his jacket on. As he bent and kissed her forehead, he hesitated. He wanted to remind her to close the windows since the morning was so chilly. She's an adult, she'd know what to do. But knowing how forgetful she is...

He remembered the bedroom window she'd left open last night, then he remembered how distant she'd been at breakfast, eyes roaming everywhere except at him. Their past youthful, irrevocably inlove selves contrast so harsly to them now, no better than roommates. Wasn't it less than a week ago that they'd been laughing on the bed over nothing, yet here they were again; hot and cold. Harry frowned, straightening up. He felt sorry that he wasn't even deeply hurt by this thought but instead a weird cluggy feeling hung in his chest, he resisted the urge to rub it away and turned away, murmuring, 'I'll see you at six'.
Don't forget to shut the windows, you know how easily you get a cold. Make sure to keep the heater burning and not lose track of time. He walked away, there was work to be done, and there was no time to reminisce. Striding past the tall heads of their crop of millet -long overdue for harvest and down the hill, ready to blend in with the lives of others.

Another day had begun. Rinse, dry, repeat.

*** *** *** ***

Evelyn returned back to the dining table. Her food lay before her, cold and untouched. She'd stirred her food around her plate the whole time she sat with Harry. Her stomach churned with the thought of eating anything. She sighed and packed the food away to the kitchen. She always felt this way the closer it was to her son's death.
Evelyn sat blankly, a basket of clean, dry clothes lying by her feet. Feeling listless - just like that humid afternoon, Evelyn felt again like going down into town. The numbing silence was chilling her even more than the cold breeze sweeping the curtains in a dance. It wasn't that she hadn't felt the loneliness throughout the past 3 years. Sometimes, she'd run out into the field, nearly mad. Her thoughts were growing louder and heavier it was almost taking form - ready to consume her. But that day, she felt the hair on her neck prickling as if someone was watching her. She thought she'd gotten better. Since the past year, she thought she no longer hallucinated that her dead child was watching her, following her, blaming her. For two years, her sister had stayed with her all the time, protecting her, keeping her sane. So when she felt that familiar feeling, she was too afraid to go anywhere in the house. Too afraid to be by herself.

"Nyeee! Nyeee!" Evelyn sat up, her body stiff with fright. What was that? What was that!? The soft milky cry of a baby sounded through the window, gradually filling up the house as it grew into a wail. God help me.

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Author's note:
Sorry for the late update.
I actually wanted to use being sick as an excuse, but that was like two weeks ago.😅.
Hope you're enjoying the book so far. Don't forget to vote and comment.
I'll see you in the funny pages!.