the room is silent. I feel goose bumps rise on my pale skin as i step on the hard planks of wood that makes up the floor. I take another step, looking around me in both wonder and fear. gradually the floor seems to decrese in tempriture as i make my way down the dark hall untill i relise it is no longer wood i am standing on, but concreat. A door blocks my path to what i thought was a never ending corrador. my hand grasps the steel handle, i push it with forcve and it creaks open. light floods out into the hall, lighting it u, revilening photo's and portraites of two indervisiuels. both with their faces scracthed out, making them unrecornisble.
I shiver. I step carfully into the room, closing the door behind me, shutting out the disturbing scene i had just endured. The light starts to flicker, a cold breeze carreses my neck. I turn around quikly, finding myself in a tomb. My eyes lock on two stone coffins straight infrount of me. i close in on them, running my fingures across the top. A name plate on the larger of the two coffins reads romeo monatgue, the other reads julliete montague. A married couple. I finger the edge of the lid, when i suddnly freeze. i turn around shakerly, face to face with a dark looking figure. He opens his mouth to speke but only a slight croak escapes. He looks devisted and looks around frantecally. Then his eyes light up. he walks gracefally over to the bigger coffin, points to his chest, then to the name plate. I look at him, my eyes widen. He was romeo montague. His hand reaches out towards my face, but goes right threw it. As if it was not solid.
I run.
My eyes shoot open. I'm breathing heaverly. A dream. Just a dream. I sit up and wipe the beads of perspiration from my forhead. I look around my unusually tiedy room and my eyes come to rest on a photo of mothers propped up on my bedside table. its warn and obviusly old. I picked it up when mother attempted to throw it out. i found it intresting. it's of a boy. a stranger. He has sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. peircing blue eyes. He has a sort of angelic look about him. So thats what i call this totall stranger. My garidian angel.
As i look deeper into the photo, a sense of dajarvu overwelms me. i lean back. confused. I had seen those eyes before. Recently. I throw my head aganst the pillow in fustraiton. Who is this boy? or, Who was he? Then i have an idia. maybe its not a memory i know him from, but a dream. He's romeo. i pick up the thin object, running my fingures along the sides. A plump man is waving in the background. a small laugh escaps my lips. its frire laurnce, a nice man who looked out for me , well, my whole life.
I dont think much of it. I slip the photo into the pocket of my nightwere and gingerly step out of bed onto the sleek wooden flaw. i shiver and make my way to mothers door. i knock gently and tehn enter as i hear a replying grunt. The strong scent of home made perfume makes me gag. I pad over to her bed, sit down and rock her, using her shoulder. Her brown eyes shoot open in alarm, then half close at the sight of my face. She adresses me in a false sickly sweet voice " yes darling?"
She spits out the words. She was never fond of me, said i am to much liek my good for nothing farther.
i dont reply verbally, instead, i place teh photo on the pillow , next to her. she sighs, looks at it, and stops dead. fury takes over her face. She shoots up , ripping the photo and grabbing me bye the coller of my shirt and presses me hard against the wall. i wimper in pain. She snarles, spit sparying over my face " were did you get this?" she bangs my back hard against the wall "WERE" i look at her with terrifide eyes, my voice comes out as a pathtic squeek " you were going to throw it away , it seemed liek to good of a picture... you know i like intresting things" she looks hard into my eyes " and do you know who this is?" i shake my head, not wanting to couse further upset. she lets me go, i sink to the ground, tears spilling down my face. i watch her sit on the bed, her head down.
My mother is named rosolyne. She's beutifal. Stunning, but edgy. mean. She has never had much luck with men. said she was to good for them. But judging bye her reaction about romeo? i think he ment alot to her.
I dont make any effort to comfert her., knowing full well taht effert will be rejected. But as her tears fall onto her lap, i give in. i cnat bear it. i get up of the floor, shaking slightly and make my way towards her. I sit on her left side, and whisper two simple words " Tell me?"
She shakes her head and looks at me, her eyes deep brown pools of sorrow and despare. i look back into those eyes, thinking how my own are gray. so differnt. pure gray. They can be intimidating. i use it to my advantage.
she lets out a sigh that is crossed with a sob, and slowley point sto the picture. " you'll find out someday . so why not now?" she breaths deeply and then looks down, uttering the two words that i know will change my life forver. " your farther"
I stare blankly at her. then stand up , pick up teh picture, and straiughten it out. There are resenbelnces. The same cheek bones, eyeshape, hair couler..
This stranger is, or was, once, my farther.
I look at mother, who is now sobbing heaverly. I decide not to pressure her into anymore infomation. it wouldent be fare. I leve the room and enter my own. I strip down to my underwere and walk to my closit, blindly taking a dress and thrusting it over my head roughly. I relese my hair out of it tie, allowing it to fall down my back. I tug a brush threw it , relising the snarles and knots that have formed over night, letting it bounce into its reguluer curley form. I'm ready.
I walk onto my balcony, overlooking the town, swing a leg over the raling, and climb down gracefally. i have had many practices. Its not untill i reach teh end of my street that i relsie i should have bought water. the sun is furciosuse at the best of times, today, its torture.
Finally i see my target. the green house.i climb the steps, and push open the flimsy glass door, breathing in the smell of fresh plants. i smile, running my fingures under the leves of one strangely exsotic plant.. A deep rumberling cough stops me. I turn around to find myself in the company of frire laurnece. I think back to the picture, wich is now in my hand , how he had looked rather skinny in comparson to his midly obese form he know owns.He smiles frenderly, followed bye an obviuse quistion. " so young julie! what brings you hear on this fine morning!"
I cough. " well frire, i found out something rtaher percualier today and evidence supports you know something about it. fire, did you know my farther? romeo? i have a picture..." I pull it out of my hand, but his own restrain my wrists. he's shaking.
" please dont julie..." i pulls away from him, eager to find out the reason to his reaction " i need to know! please, im BEGGING you. pleese?" i see him weakan as he sits down on a wooden stool.
" He was a boy. Just a boy. 15. Your mother had left him, he never knew why, that was reavild after. it was beacuse she was pregant. with you. " He points to me half hartidly " Romeo was heart broken, but soon found love again, with the doughter of a rivel family. julliette. They came to a tragic end. I'ts my foult. I should have never have given her that stupid cocncoction. i'ts my foult."
tears flow freely from his eyes, when i dont replay, he carries on. " The girl faked her own death using my concoction. so they could be toegther. Romeo found her, he couldent bear to live without her. He took a deadly posien. again, from my belongings, and took his own life to be with her. When she woke, he was still. dead. So she took her life aswell."
He is full on sobbing now. My own tears fall. it was such a tragic stroy. One barley baribel to hear. My farther was a year older than i am when he took his life. its hart braking.
" Were you close to them?" he nods. i look down. My farther had taken his life to be with the person he loved. he's a hero in my eyes. Frire laurence looks at me with sad eyes. " i'm sorry... he was like a son to me. He sniffs. My heart brakes. I embrace him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. He lays his head on mine. I look up at him, nod my head, then make my exit.
I look at the rack of coulerfal viles, lightly i run my fingure round the rims. It comes up wet. It starts to sting. I look at it, red dots spreading rapidly. Frire lournce see's, he sprints towards me, his hand outstreached, he knocks the table. A light knock. But thats all it takes. Viles smash, liquid surrounds my feet. It fizzes. I go light headed, my whole body burning. I collapse into the coulerfal mess. My eyes close.
I'm in the dream again. But this time i dont run. I take romios hand. im free.
