Through the Painting

New York City 1943

A girl, no more than fifteen years old, lies slumped in the corner of the alleyway. She pulls her limbs closer to her torso in a desperate attempt to preserve body heat. It's obviously not working though, as her fingers have begun to tremble slightly. She wears thick brown rags and hole ridden boots. The harsh cold has overtaken the January of 1943 and this means death for the unfortunate souls left without refuge in New York City. She tries to remember what it felt like. What it felt like to be warm. An almost forgotten memory creeps in, and she succumbs to its depths.

She is on the porch with her mother. Yes. Warm rays of sun douse everything in a golden light. She can hear her voice.

"Look here Addilyn. Careful now, we don't want to scare the birds away from the nest." She watches with fascination as her mother lowers the basket of flowers for her to see. In the midst of the foliage is a delicate little nest. It has been made with the utmost care and meticulous attention to small details. Within the nest are three minuscule blue robin eggs. Addilyn looks up and smiles at her mother.

"I love you Addilyn." This must be what it feels like to be warm. She soaks up the memory and for a moment she forgets. She forgets that this is just a memory and nothing more. Addilyn can already feel herself slipping back into consciousness against her will. She can already feel herself losing this battle against time as she struggles against the inevitable. As the image grows fuzzy and the colors blur together, she is dragged back to the reality of the cold alleyway.

Her eyelids flutter open and she braces herself. At least the wind can't catch her between the two buildings. From her spot in the shadows she can see the comings and goings of people in the city. She loves to watch the people rushing back and forth all day. Each person brings a new story. Focusing on other people's stories is far better than focusing on her own. She has suppressed and kept her past at bay for as long as she can remember. 

Squinting, Addilyn notices a woman walking briskly down the pavement. She evidently has somewhere rather important to be, and whatever it is, nothing could possibly deter her. She sports a crisp white blouse and black skirt and although she couldn't be more than twenty, dark circles hang heavy beneath her eyes. Her hair is pinned up in the front, and the rest of it is left to fall in light, strawberry blonde curls. 

Carefully, Addilyn heaves her emancipated body up off the ground and pulls herself to the edge of the building where she can get a better view. Weaving carefully in and out of people on the streets, the young woman passes a glowing sign advertising a new film. Casablanca is a crowd favorite for theater goers at the moment. She watches a couple excitedly whisper to each other as they enter the movie theater. The woman sighs, and Addilyn detects a hint of jealousy. Moving just beyond the theater, the woman stops on the curb. Addilyn stares as the stranger reaches up to meet some invisible barrier. Her hand vanishes into thin air. It makes her it look like she only has a stub at the end of her arm. Nothing even remotely out of the ordinary appears to be on this particular street corner. And yet something is. Nobody notices this occurrence though. Nobody except the girl peering out from the alleyway.

Addilyn moves cautiously toward the spot where the person disappeared. Stepping onto the street curb she notices a subtle change in the atmosphere. An unresolved quiet seems to choke the air. It hangs there, cloaked in nothingness, like it knows it can hide in plain sight. The sounds of the bustling street cease, even though she can still see the people hurriedly walking and the locomotives moving. Her eyes widen as she looks up. In front of her is a painting. It's a bold array of colors that shift and ebb like the ocean. None of the passerby around her seem aware of it. Carefully, Addilyn steps off the edge of the street and into the painting.

A/N:

Thank you so much for reading!!! This is my first original story on wattpad so we'll see where this goes. I'd love to know what you think of it so far!! Please comment and vote if you enjoyed! :)

-21sparklebird