The first time he sees her, everything seems to freeze. She's hiding in an alley, shaking so hard he thinks there's an earthquake. There is a shadow over her hooded expression, a certain darkness in her eyes as her hair brushes her face softly.
She's beautiful.
It's the only thing he's certain of at that moment.
The first time she sees him, she's crying in the alley again. Everything hurts, there's blood everywhere and she can't stop seeing red. The murders have been happening faster now, the blood is coming quicker, and yet she can't help but stare as the boy, calm as he might be, watches her with a curious expression.
There is a bruise on the back of his neck, there is a dark trickle of blood coming from the corner of his mouth and yet he doesn't seem to notice. His eyes, they're a calm shade of blue and she finds herself lost in them for a moment and then she feels pain shoot through her arm as it takes her back to reality again.
The first time they meet each other, it's midnight and she is walking down the street trying to stop herself from crying. He sees her, and he smiles, and when he comes closer he speaks.
"Hi," he says softly, and she looks up with tears gracing her dark eyes. Her hair is lined at the roots with a barely visible grey and the brown above it has strayed over its boundaries. She recognizes him and tries to smile, but it feels too strained.
"Hi," she replies and looks down. Her voice is cracked and it seems the only thing she's done is scream.
She refuses to come to his house and if he takes a picture of her, she scrambles to delete it. Something's going on, bigger than he knows, and finally he starts looking for clues.
They end up in court together and she's tapping her feet on the floor anxiously, trying to keep her face hidden behind him. There's a victim/witness form in front of them on the table, filled out several years ago and he stares at it in silence. She sighs and averts her gaze as he picks it up, reading it with a small exhale.
VICTIM/WITNESS FORM: REOPENED CASE
Age: 16
Witnessed: 37 murders throughout ten years
Victim to: Abuse
Disappeared/taken: 15:04 A.M., White 21st, 233 A.F.(After Flood)
Found: 18:32 P.M., Green 14, 243 A.F.(After Flood)
Victim full name: Naomi Agate Amethyst-Dolg
Family: Sarah Key Dolg, Michael Grey Amethyst(Divorced), Maya Ship Dolg
Captor: Verdandi Circle
Notes: Attempted escape three years before giving up, abused for eight years
"I'm so sorry," he whispers, and she shakes her head.
"Don't you dare try to pity me," she glares at him and then looks away, blinking away tears. He stares at her for a moment before standing up and going in the direction of the door.
He takes a file down from on top of the shelf and gives it to her.
CRIMINAL FILE: CASE CLOSED
Age: 14
Name: Nicholas Forget-me-not Blake
Criminal activity: Vandalizing, shoplifting, purposeful inflicting
Family: Elliana Rose Blake(sister)
Years sentenced: None
Notes: Swears not to do it again;lie-detector scan used--training to become a police officer
She looks at the paper, reads the title, looks back at him. He's fidgeting, staring at the ceiling, his hoodie draped over his shoulder. She smiles a little, weakly but real. "Hey," she says softly and he meets her gaze in the silence.
He sees her.
He hears her.
He's the only one, it seems.
"Thank you."
He's shared with her his past in silence, he's shown her what he's kept in darkness for years.
She asks him if he ever made it into the police force because she doesn't know his other life as well as the part he spends with her. He shakes his head no and changes the subject as they wait for the officer to return.
"I'm scared," she says quietly as they stand in front of the closed doors of the ball. He puts a hand on her shoulder and smiles reassuringly.
"You'll be fine." This is her return to society, to not having to hide and keeping the pictures she takes, and she's terrified. She's dressed up, wearing a long-sleeved navy-blue sweater over her flowery white dress. He opens the door a crack and peers through. "Ellie's waiting for me, I have to go." And then he steps through the crack and disappears into the bright light and music and people.
So many people.
She stares out for a moment, and sees that they're not dancing. They're standing there, looking around, trying to find someone, and suddenly she knows.
They're looking for the innocent little seven-year-old who used to play at the park with them, the little girl who'd bother to give the kid who'd dropped their ice-cream cone her own--vanilla, like she usually gets it so it's plain. They're looking for the girl who has changed with her eyes darker and hair greyer and her skin paler. They're looking now for the older girl who's lost everything and broken everything. They're looking for the broken girl that's been through too much to want to live.
I'm not broken, she tells herself as she takes a deep breath and opens the door. My eyes are different. My eyes are new. I am me again.
He watches her from a distance, his sister by his side, and stares as she steps out and smiles and looks at everyone. Her eyes haven't changed. They never change. They hold experience, a tiredness she shouldn't have to hold, yet they also hold stars. Bright little stars shine in her eyes and it's like a galaxy in her gaze. Her hair is grey and brown and soft, tied back in a Chinese braid that her mother has made for her, after a long round of hysterics and hugging. The dress she wears twirls around her as she turns to close the wooden doors, and when she turns back their eyes meet. She smiles at him and it's as if he's meeting her for the first time again. His sister grins up at him with that knowing teenage smile she always has, and he grins back before looking back to her and lifting his cup.
Cheers, his eyes seem to say and though she doesn't have a cup she nods in understanding.
Thank you, she mouths through the storm of people staring and everything goes silent.
THE WILL OF NAOMI DOLG--PART TWO OF FIVE
Dear Nicholas,
Thank you. You've been my friend from the start and you've made me want to live again, even when we were both in court and I was scared, you were there. You changed my world and I'm so glad that I got to be in your life and that you get to be in mine. This world is so beautiful even though the first thing I saw was its shadows, you need to teach your children that. Tell them Auntie Naomi says hi. And when they're old enough, don't forget, Nicholas, to tell them our story.
--Always here,
Naomi Agate Dolg
P.S.
Thank you for everything and I love you. Brother and sister not by blood, but by an unbreakable friendship. Wish I knew how to rhyme. -Naomi
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Nothing to Say
Historia CortaWho's had inspiration block before? You know, the thing where you don't feel inspired to do the thing you like doing? Everybody's gotta experience it. And when storytellers get inspiration block, either they've been grounded by their overprotective...
