Revenge Kills

The Aftermath

 

There are three kids sitting on a log near a stream. One of them looks up at the sky- his eyes are full of a naïve sadness- as he says.

 

“Mom and Dad aren’t coming back, though…” It is soft and the words blend into the humming of the cicadas until they can no longer be heard as the sound fills the uneasiness surrounding the children.

 

One of them, the girl, stares blankly ahead her eyes focus on nothing, the red swollen skin on her face indicates several weeks of crying, most likely uncontrollable grief. But just like the first child’s words that had been covered, her grief had dissipated into nothing as time continually rubbed against it, now all she can do is stare.

 

The last child is young, the most naïve and does not understand the gravity of what the other two have been suffering from, but like the siblings his eyes are red. He is young, he mimics what he sees, the young boy does not understand what has happened. Yet he hiccups, tears once again streaking down his cheeks, and mucus dribbles from his nose. The youngest watched as his brother and sister had done this, and he mimics. It will only be a matter of time before he finds a new thing to copy.

 

The heaviness of silence weighs down against the children again, the cicadas increase their volume, it seems like they are screeching into the children’s ears.

 

The girl’s eyes suddenly focus and awareness surrounds her as she sees a small bug hovering by her face, it is red. Red, it is red like her parents, red, covered, the red, it was everywhere, the red, red, they are drowning in it, the red, red, red, red, no, the red, stop it, red the red, the red, they aren’t moving, red, they are cold, red, the vibrant red, stop it, stop it, red, stop, red, red, red.

 

Thoughts swarm her mind in such a sudden ferocity it causes her whole body to tense, her breath hitches and she feels the humidity in the air stick against her skin.

 

But soon the little red bug flies away.

 

The girl’s body slumps into an apathetic slouch as the memories trickle away and the short amount of life that had returned to her eyes seeps away, she uses the last of her emotion to trail the small creature half-heartedly before returning to her tranced stare into the forest.

 

The eldest takes no recognition in his sisters sudden alert posture, the youngest does, but seeing his brother not take interest he resumes to poking the cool pebbles in the stream, bored by their lack of activity, beautifully innocent.

 

The eldest looks back at the sky, it is pink, it is orange, it is not red. He decides they have been here too long and stands catching the younger children’s attention.  His eyes look over them in a soft, protective manner and he smiles, as if smiling would somehow ease the pain.

 

“It is late, they will be looking soon, and we should go.” Of course though, the ‘They’ he mentioned will not be there at their return. The eldest sees a glimmer of understanding or maybe it’s disgust wash over the girl as she pulls the young child into her arms. He wonders if she really understood him or if it was just her body acting on its own, her mind somewhere far away hiding from the reality.

 

He feels anger wash over him. The Aftermath.