Flowers

Chapter 3 [Silver]

I thought of Mes as I walked back through the green forest. About her eyes, and her face, and her beautiful hair. I thought about how curious she was about everything as I walked back into the village. People stared and sent me dirty looks as I went through the town. It's not my fault, I wanted to say. I didn't set a store on fire, my dad did, I wanted to explain. Yes, he set a store on fire, don't ask. People whispered and talked in hushed tones.

I approached my house and heard a yell. There was mumbling before a clear statement could be heard.

"Where is that blasted boy!"

I winced and opened the door, seeing my father looking into my room. He turned, obviously seeing the light from the street light that poured into the room.

"Where have you been?" He asked, his tone serious and mean.

"I went out," I responded, walking in and shutting the door.

"Did I tell you that you could go out?" He said.

"No, you didn't," I said back.

"So why did you!" He screamed, throwing a bottle of whiskey that he had in his hand. I ducked, but a small shard hit me, leaving a medium sized gash in the side of my face.

I winced as I touched it, looking at the blood that now ran down my face. That's going to leave a scar, I told myself. I looked to him. He was breathing heavily and concentrated on me.

Though he'd thrown plenty of bottles at me, all of them shattering, this was the first to hit me. Most of the time I'm a good dodger, but not today apparently.

"Are you done?" I asked him in a mean tone. He looked down.

"Stupid boy. I'm going to sleep," he said before walking into his room and slamming his door. I sighed, going over to where we had bandages and cleaning supplies.

I did my best to clean the blood, but didn't have a bandage big enough to go over it. I ended up leaving the wound open, giving up. Frustratedly, I walked into my room and shut the door.

I quickly changed and got into the sad excuse of a bed I had. It was basically a mattress on the floor with blankets over it. I couldn't complain, it could be worse. I shifted uncomfortably until my thoughts ultimately focused on one person. Mes. That soon put me to sleep, with a happy dream in mind.
---
"Get up!" Father yelled into my ear, making it ring. "Work," he said drowsily. I sat up, ruffling my brown hair. Work, how could I forget? I had to do his work, like I always do.

I got up, got dressed, and went into the kitchen. I ate a piece of toast and some eggs. I left a plate for father, because he's always hungry after his hangover.

I put another coat of antiseptic over my cut and went out to the shop. Though our family is disliked, were the only people in town who can make, fix, and alter a carriage. It's how we get money.

I walked into the small shop and flipped the sigh from "we're closed," to "we're open," on the door. I walked over to the counter, looking at the jobs we had to do today. It was going to be a long one.
---
"So Mrs. Hedwig, what can I do for you?" I asked when she opened the door.

"Just fix the wheel," she said, pointing to the broken wheel on a carriage that stood near her barns. "And don't try anything son," she said before going inside. People just don't like me.

I went over to the wheel, inspecting it. One of the wood pieces had snapped, making it impossible to move. I quickly fixed it using the tools that I had with me. It was quite an easy fix, if I do say so myself.

After I was done, I collected the money from Mrs. Hedwig and started on my way home. She was my last stop, so I'm glad hers was easy.

As soon as I got home, I looked at the time. I still had about an hour before I had to meet Mes. I still don't know how I'm going to get there, but she said that she would show me. I honestly couldn't wait.