Eternal

Chapter two - Raineview Cemetery

                                                                 Chapter two 

                                                          Raineview Cemetery

                                                                     Selene

The old gates were taller than me and the cheap black paint was chipping away, revealing its true silver color. The Raineview Cemetery gates were usually locked, that is, they were before I broke the lock with a few hard kicks and a bobby pin, out of anger and a bit of madness.The day my family was put here, the grounds keeper, Joe, had politely kicked me out when it had gotten dark and told me I couldn't stay anymore. So I hid in a tree and waited about an hour for him to leave. That's when I snuck back in, and spent the night near my family's headstones. He found me in the morning and threatened to call the cops on me, but he didn't. Joe's a big softy and forgave me for sneaking back in. My only punishment was to pay for the busted lock. He replaced the lock the next day only for me to re-break it again. Joe finally gave up and just made me a spare key.

The old gates screamed as I pushed them open. I think they still hated me for kicking them, if that was possible. This cemetery was enormous and old. The oldest headstone I've ever found was from 1820, and I couldn't read anything else because it had sunken into the earth. More than a few times I have seen things move out of the corner of my eye, Ive seen somebody standing next to me, and ill turn to it and nothing is there. Ive herd complete conversations going on, thinking it was just other mourners, and i'll look and look for them to find no one but me in the cemetery. I've seen stones being tossed and iv'e had some of my things moved while I was here. I was just guessing it was my sister for a few days, I didn't really know it was her for sure until the day when I saw her.

She had been smiling and wearing her favorite red petty coat and rain boots, Her thin blond hair was in its usual two braided pig tails and she had waved at me to follow her and I had followed her all around the cemetery until we came to be at the very back where the small old buildings were. I had never went back this far in the cemetery and I was surprised to see all of the flowers here. The tulips were everywhere, it made the ground look as if it was red and I had watched my dead sister put one of the flowers behind her ear and then lay down in then and make a flower-angel. Then she was gone, her flower-angel was still imprinted in the flowers, but she was gone. I had cried and sat down next to her flower-angel, I had picked a tulip and put it behind my ear just like my sister had.

My dad, and my sister, were not far back in the cemetery, just down a slow, winding, and uneven path alongside the edge and there they were, under the old oak. They each had white headstones and bouquets of dead flowers lying in front. There was a headstone for mom even though she wasn't gone, it was next to my dad's, just waiting.

I looked at them all for a moment before I leaned my bag against the oak, and I crouched in front and began to wipe away dead leaves, I hummed a tune that had been stuck in my head lately. This has become my routine lately. Leaning against the giant oak tree that had gold and red leaves. I sat cross- legged and retrieved my knife from my backpack pocket and took off my jacket.  I made a slow little cut on my forearm and stopped. I hated how good it felt. I just played with the knife, not sure if I truly wanted to get back in the habit that I knew all too well. I sat there throwing the knife up into the air, watching it tumble end over end, and then catching it perfectly. I did that for a long time, debating with myself. Before I knew it my legs were asleep and tingly and my back hurt from the bark of the tree.

I inhaled sharply as I stood, regretting staying still for that long. I stretched my legs by walking around the base the old oak. Leaning against the hard bark of the old tree, I pulled up my sleeve again. I examined the one cut I had already made, seeing it had barley bled at all. This time I pushed harder when I drew the blade across my wrist about two inches. Mid cut I heard a familiar screech, and I jumped at the sound and I sliced my wrist open way more than i'd intended too. I bit my lip, muffling a whimper and trying not to cry out at the pain. I gazed at my wrist through watery eyes. My wrist had a horrid deep straight gash in it, and it was bleeding too much. Blood dripped from my wrist and landed on my shoe. This was bad, I was shaking and I knew that I was bleeding way too much. I had to do something.

I quickly went to my bag and found my gym t-shirt, shoving my knife in my back pocket, I tied the shirt tightly around my accident to try and stop the bleeding. Then I remembered why I had slipped. The gates...someone must be coming....who? I was completely behind the huge oak tree now, and I was glad that it hid me well.  Peaking from behind the tree, I saw a glimpse of a guy walking through the trees and headstones. Expensive black leather motorcycle jacket and boots, shaggy, dark hair, tall, nice muscular build and very interesting for some reason...but why?  My instincts kicked in, Hide!. Chills ran up my back and suddenly I was scared.  I stumbled and caught myself on a branch before I hit the ground scattered with autumn leaves. I climbed the tree. Six branches high, I found a sturdy place to hide. I lay on my stomach on a wide, almost four feet thick branch and I watched him. Mesmerized.

He walked and kept his head low, he carried a bundle of roses in his hand, at least two dozen. As he walked up to a stone near the base of the oak and knelt down, he said something low, his voice was hypnotic and rich, I watched as he gently set the roses down by the stone. Then his gaze suddenly snapped up to me, and he stood looking up at me in the tree, eyes wide as if he was scared.

I thought of absolutely nothing because I was trapped in his magnificent and unique eyes, I could see the detail in them from up here. They were a deep green, with a black almost purple looking ring outlining the iris, with strange starburst of gold around the pupil. His eyes held so much in that one look, but the most prominent feeling was relief. He walked over and stood beneath me. He smiled a sad smile and held my gaze. Suddenly his eyes came to be a iridescent royal purple color that stared into my soul and awakened something in me. Suddenly I remembered this man, I remembered us.

I remembered us dancing and him kissing my hand, I remember crying on his shoulder, and the sky being a purple color, and there being two crescent moons up above us as we kissed. I remembered him giving me the necklace that I have worn only in my dreams, a thin black stone circle with a leather strap looped through the middle and tied onto my neck hanging perfectly on my chest. Now, as I looked at the familiar stranger standing beneath me I can see that he has that very necklace around his neck now. So many things rush to my head, names, places, celebrations, so many moments that involve him.....then all of a sudden they stopped.

I open my eyes, not remembering closing them, and find him still staring, but now smiling. I drew a slow, shaky breath and breathed a single word. "Damon."

His smile grew emencly at the word, and he looked like he was going to speak but then his smile faded and his eyes locked with mine for a few more seconds before his warm purple eyes turned back to the deep grey with the black ring and he shook his head and walked out of the cemetery. Leaving me feeling confused and emptier than when I had arrived.

I stayed there for a while just laying on my stomach on the branch, just replaying it all in my head, replaying all of the memories that just had resurfaced, replaying everything and trying to figure it all out... I jumped when my phone went off for the first time in two weeks.

I mechanically and quickly felt for my pocket, because when my friends used to talk to me I would ALWAYS have it handy, but as it rang again I could now tell it was coming from my backpack at the base of the tree below. I climbed down and realized I was extremely dizzy. I zipped oven my bag with high hopes that it might be one of my ex-friends. I didn't even look at the caller ID, I just pushed the green button and answered, "Hello?", I asked with a rasp in my voice. I was surprised at how much I needed to clear my throat. I did quickly then repeated my question. I closed my eyes and shook my head at the stupid Indian telemarketer on the other end, he was going on and on about some deal that  I was missing out on. 

I hung up, knowing that I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. I was getting a bad headache. After looking at the time on the screen and cursing at how little of it I had to get to school. With my knife still in my back pocket, I shoved my phone into my bag and threw it over my shoulder. I didn't bother shutting the gates when I left this time.