Tales of Aridia

Sparrow

I swayed and twisted, struggling to keep my body upright. My vision had blurred and was mostly engulfed with a wave of flames. Someone tugged my arm. I fell weakly onto the floor. I couldn't see who it was, but they grabbed me and laid me out onto the rocks which were splattered everywhere from the explosion.

Someone was waving a hand back and fourth in front of my eyes. I struggled to focus on it and gradually it became irritating. I snatched the hand in the air and pulled it down. I concentrated on the cracked glasses and the taunt frail skin covering the girls face, it was Lucy. I was so unaware of what was happening that I did not let go of her hand, I stared blankly through her cold dark eyes whilst piercing her wrists with my fingernails. "Let go Robyn! That hurts!" She exclaimed. I let go immediately not realising what I had done.

A guard strolled up behind me. Pulling out a pocket watch he placed it in the palm of my hand. "We found this in the wreckage." He said.

I examined it closely, the golden pocket-watch had turned bronze at the edges and it was covered in scratch after scratch. Engraved on the underside were the initials "S.W."

It immediately sank in. I dropped the watch on the floor. "Sparrow Woodlands." It stood for. I recalled the day I had bought it for him on his 10th birthday. The joy in his face when he got it still made me smile to that day. I grew angry and frustrated, begging the guard to tell me what had happened. He managed to squeeze out a few "I'm sorry's" but nothing of importance.

"Sparrow was in the building when it got blown up. It was an accident. We thought everyone had been cleared out, but we have yet to find his body. Ma'am please do not blame Jayden for this." He explained worriedly.

"Jayden?" I thought. My brain was processing all that was being said and it still did not seem true. "What does Jayden have to do with this?" I asked. "Well, he works with explosives. He blew up the building." The guard said.

I shrugged off his hand which was resting on my shoulder trying to comfort me. Lucy stood there awkwardly not knowing how to deal with something as emotional as this. "Leave." I said.

No one moved, they all just stood blankly staring at me. Their faces growing more and more nervous with every breath I took. "I said, LEAVE!" I screamed. The guests who were huddled together in a circle stopped and stared as well. I did not care.

I broke out in tears and agony. It was unbearable. My brother was gone. I covered my  mouth with my hand to muffle the sound of cries from my quivering lips. Footsteps rushed up behind me. "Robyn!" A familiar voice shouted. I turned around, it was Jayden.

My heart stopped. I looked at him. He was Jayden, the boy I had grown to love. And he had been the one to take my brothers life.  "I'm sorry Robyn, I didn't know!" He cried. Tears streamed down his face. He was white and shaking.  He bowed his head in disappointment and shame, his clothes were stained red and so were mine. Jayden reached behind him and pulled something out of his back pocket. He held a gun in his right hand.

"What is that?" I asked. "It's for you," Jayden replied. "Is that a threat?!" I asked, astonished. "No, it's an offer." He said.

He held out the gun to me. It was fully loaded. "A bullet through the head will kill me straight away." He explained slowly. The gun shaking in his cold white hands. "You're asking me...to shoot you?" I said. He nodded slowly, "I'm asking you to kill me Robyn."