Faded Crimson

Chapter 1 - Duplicitous Sorrow

    "Simon, you almost forgot your wallet!"
    I look behind me, and meet eyes with my co-worker, Alice. Her long black hair reached about three inches beneath her shoulders, swaying gently in the light breeze that filled the evening air. Her smile was wide, not that it's any different from her usual appearance. She's has a happy, go-lucky personality; the exact opposite of mine.
    After an awkwardly long stare, I take the wallet from her hands. She laughs, and punches my shoulder gently.
    "How would you survive without me? Wait! Don't answer that. You wouldn't!"
    I let out a long sigh, and wave her aside. She's annoyingly persistent on trying to start conversations with me after work, and no matter what I try she always manages to track me down.
    "Listen Alice, I've had a long day. I just wanna go home and relax, can I please go?"
    She looks at me, and sighs. She then brings back her usual grin, and nods at me.
    "Yeah you can go. Just don't forget to take care your plants! I'll text you tonight to remind you."
    With that, I do my best to smile back, even though I'm horrible at it, and begin walking to my bike which I left beside the building; resting on the curved metal poles and locked down with a padlock. I shuffle around in my pockets, looking for the key. After shuffling through a combination of my wallet, chap stick, and several sticky notes that I had stuffed in my pocket as reminders, I manage to pull out the key and undo the padlock, rehooking it to my bike and then sitting on the seat. I begin pedaling towards my house, while watching the autumn leafs fall.
    It's going to be winter soon, piles of leafs litter the ground at every corner, while trees are stripped down to their bare wooden frames, sticking out of the ground as a reminder of their baren presence. I cough from the cold air, and realize I hadn't had anything to drink since breakfast, and after pedaling for a little while longer, stop at Clowh Park. The park had been around since I was a little kid, and had a vending machine near the benches, where the adults would usually sit and watch their children from afar. After several failed attempts to insert cash into the vending machine, it finally takes the money and dispenses a cold lemonade. I unscrew the cap, and take a long drink, letting the cold liquid run all the way down my throat.
    I haven't been to this park in ages.. But it looks the same as it did back then.
    I look over at the swing set, staring at the empty seats which were swaying ever so slightly side to side.
    That's right, I remember now. That girl... She used to always come here and sit on those swings.
    Memories of my past, more specifically my 6th grade past, began to envelop me; dragging me into boundless thought. I had completely forgotten about it until now, perhaps because I wanted too, or better yet, needed too. The girl's name was Scarlett, and she was in my 6th grade class. She was a quiet type. However, on my way home from school every day, I would see her sitting on the swings at the park by herself. Her face was always cold, distant to the world around her. Any time she walked past me in class, I could spot bruises that spotted her body like a leapord, which made it incredibly hard to ever look at her without pitying her.
    The day still sits crystal clear in my memory. I remember walking by the park after school and seeing her where she normally was, but this time was different. The look on her face was that of sheer agony, tears streamed down her face but she never made a single sound. She sat there, looking straight at the ground, laden with snow. Slowly, she mouthed herself the words "Save me.."
    After that day, I would never see her again. She was kidnapped, and found after the snow had melted. Not only that, but she was not the last victim. Afterwards there were two more. One of them was my close friends Mia, and someone from a nearby school named Lilly.
    It's all my fault, I could've helped her. I could've changed something. Why didn't I help? Why am I remembering all of this?
    I shake my head, and clear my thoughts.
    Thinking about it now isn't going to help anything. Just move on.
    I remind myself that I'm biking home, and steady my breathing. I arrive at my appartment, and haul the bike inside to put it on the wall mount.
    "Look who finally showed up. How's it going kiddo? Had a long day at work?"
    Initially I was heavily thrown off, at first by the voice in my appartment since I live by myself, and then afterwards when I realized it was my mom. I walked into the kitchen, and there she was. Standing at about 5'4. She has short, brown hair, which is very similar to mine. Her eyes were a radiant blue, always with a spark of energy. She's 49, but still looks almost exactly the same as when I was 12. My only explanation behind this is that she's a witch. She was making curry on the stove, and it smelled amazing. Well, all of her cooking does.
    "What are you doing here mom? Actually, more importantly.. how did you get in?"
    She laughs, and flicks my forehead softly.
    "You don't need to worry about that. I'm here because I'm going to be living here a while, I've been getting lonely in my house and I want to see my son more often. Problem?"
    She challenges me with her gaze, daring me to say otherwise. I sigh, because I know better then to try and win an argument with her.
    "That's fine, but where are you gonna sleep? I only have one bed."
    She smiles, and walks over to the couch, where she then holds up a sleeping bag.
    "Tadah! I brought a sleeping bag! You won't need to worry about me kiddo."
    I roll my eyes, and lumber over to the fridge in search of something to drink. My mother glances over, and then mentions
    "Oh yeah, we're out of milk. Could you head over to the store real quick?"
    I wince, mainly from the thought of having to leave my house again when all I wanted to do was relax.
    "Yeah, sure. I'll be back."
    I begin walking over to the store, it's only a couple blocks down so it's not worth biking. the neighbors cat walks by, purrs, and strolls along the street. Then the cat's owner picks him up, and brings the cat back into their house, while stroking the cat behind the ear gently.
    We're out of milk, I think we need more eggs as well.. Was there anything else?
    I walk into the store, and search through the isles on a conquest for items on my grocery list. I locate the eggs first, which were on sale for 15% off, and then pick up a gallon of milk. From the corner of my eye, I spot a girl, probably around 10 years old, walking across the street.
    Suddenly, I lose all feeling in my body, starting from my feet which quickly invades the rest of my body until I'm falling on the floor. As I fall, the floor disintegrates and everything around me falls apart, crumbling to ruin as I descend into the void.
    reminiscence... why now?