Author Games Compilation [Cycle 1]

Task 8 - The Last Goodbye (NN)

A/N: So...I haven't reread this yet. And it's already sent because some bad things happened. So, yeah, a warning beforehand.
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Lights: the equivalent of something Naomi just couldn't pinpoint. They twinkled at her, winked and giggled. The mist of her own breath in the cold could never mar the brightness of which they shone. Brilliant little whites stuck out against the sky, a sky in which orange had taken over, and black clouds scattered here and there. As a man she once knew would've said, it was "ablaze; burning fiercely."

These lights were strung all around, trees boasting small flecks of light between their gnarled, broken arms, hoping maybe, possibly, that would make up for all the dead they've lost. Those wrinkled leaves were gone with the wind, off to something better than clinging to those branches for eternity. The trees never minded, though. They couldn't bother themselves with something so miniscule. There'd be replacements once winter faded and spring slinked its way in.

Naomi didn't like the whole replacement bit. It made her feel guilty, as though her presence in this park wasn't fair to those that now didn't have the choice of staring on at empty trees and Christmas lights. They'd missed Halloween, and Thanksgiving, and now their families would, instead of opening presents and eating dinner with cheerful demeanors, be spending the holiday in mourning. No children were there to bound down the stairs and wake them up, and for those siblings still alive, it was doubtful they'd be so excited so soon.

Then again, children were children. And parents were parents. For all they knew, their brothers and sisters were only on a long trip that would take years for them to return from. Left in the dark, those kids would never find out the truth until the wrong time, as things such as those tend to happen when a person's at their lowest, when someone's about to break.

Maybe that's why Naomi told her boy everything before letting him even think of calling her family.

A giggle blew with the wind and tickled her ears, and immediately the corner of her lip stretched a smile across her cheeks. She turned, hugging herself as a means to keep herself warm, and looked on at the assortment of playground equipment. Green swirly slides came down from a massive jungle gym. Twisted stairs led to a lookout den up above, and from there, a fireman's pole. If she looked to the side of all that, she'd see a set of swings, abandoned once the sun struck the horizon. Monkey bars, tires, balance beams - all clustered around each other, vibrant with the colors of red, green, and blue even in the darkening light.

But no kids to make it whole. At least, none that could be seen. Naomi raised a brow. That little squirt is hiding. I know it.

Her feet crunched the mixture of mulch and snow as she crossed the distance between her and the jungle gym, offering a short series of whistles as she went. She paused, listened .

The same tune was repeated back to her, followed by a giggle, conveniently right above her head. Her smile deepened, and she looked up, right at that little lookout den. I've got you now. She crouched down and grasped a yellow rail leading up through the jungle gym. Positive he couldn't see her from there, she began her ascent, only the faintest clinks of her boots - not heels, dear god no - sounding for her ears only.

She met one of those clanky bridges that one either had to cross really quickly or not at all, and only one of those options was quiet enough to keep her cover. But if she could just cross it, three long strides, that's all she needed...she'd have him. Her smile had disappeared by now, replaced by tight lips of concentration, her tongue stuck through the corner of the two out of habit. Excitement surged in her chest, or maybe it was adrenaline? No matter, whatever it was, it was nice, and it was a thrill she found safe and sound.