In The Last Days

Surrender.

Silence.

Drip... Drip....

Silence.

Drip.

Her shoulders shook and her teeth clattered.

Rose's eyes were closed, her hands balled in fists. She opened her eyes and she saw a mix of red and green. The grass beneath her was stained scarlet. Slowly she looked up to see people laughing, pointing fingers. Some even had their phones up.

"N-no...." Rose whispered. She couldn't stand the sight of blood.

Not again.

Dad...

Her breathe hitched and she shook her head violently trying to force the horrible images back.

Not being able to take it any longer she took off. Tears slid past her lids as she ran. She caught sight of Brenda and something broke inside her.

She couldn't breathe.

Among the laughing crowd she saw Joe. He wasn't laughing but he had on a look of satisfaction and his dark eyes held even much more sinister promises.

She ran out the lawn down the street. She kept on running, she didn't stop, not even when she got to her house.

She ran as fast as she could as far as she could. She didn't stop not for several minutes.

The few people who saw her on the street kept their distance.

Her white gown was completely stained red. Most people thought she was crazy.

And they were right. She was slowly losing it.

She stopped, crashing down on the floor. And she sobbed. All the pain washed down her face in silent tears.

She looked up and saw that she was in the park. Still sobbing, she crawl-walked to a familiar tree.

And she leaned against it. She pulled up her knees to her chin and wrapped her arms around herself. She began sobbing.

"Hey baby, can you go bring that little red thingy for daddy?"
Four year old Rose giggled shaking her head up and down.

"Yes daddy." She turned around from the tree where her father stood and ran to her mum. They were having a family picnic and she'd never been happier.

"Mum, mum, daddy told me to bring that." She pointed to a covered pocket knife on the picnic mat and her mum chuckled, looking over her to see her husband grinning from ear to ear.

"Okay Rose dear, but be careful. " She gave her the small pocket knife which she'd use earlier for bread and jam.

And Rose ran back to her dad, glad she'd accomplished the mission.

She gave him the knife and together they carved their names in the tree.

Rose still shaken, turned to look at the old carving on the tree that was now starting to fade with time and she only sobbed harder.

"If only you were here." She said wistfully. She traced the damaged bark with shaky fingers.

'Daddy and his little angel, Rose.'

Those were the happier times , when she had a semblance of normalcy in her life.

A time when she still had a real family, a time when Brenda was still her best friend, a time when school was at least bareable.