After my brief encounter with Aaron I left the subway station and headed towards the abandoned diner. Crystal's favorite spot.
I walked past Starbucks and dairy queen and soon found myself in the familiar dark alley that lead to our favorite place. It was dark and stinky, as always but it was a different smell. Kind of like death, like decay. It dawned on me that the picture in the letter had most likely been taken in a place like this one. Maybe Crystal was here with me maybe the picture was wrong.
I walked around in high hopes looking for her. Shouting her name. Only then did I realize how stupid I was. She was dead. And that picture proved it. I wandered aimlessly for about an hour before deciding to visit her favorite spot in her memory. I walked around the diner until I found the metal door leading to the secret back alley. I smiled remembering the day we found it.
Flashback:
"What is this place?" I asked Crystal. "No idea...lets find out" She said in a mischievous voice.
We were standing in front of an old abandoned diner that was falling apart. The once smooth leather seats in the booth had been torn up beyond recognition. There was glass everywhere and the stools that used to stand next to the counter, were strewn across the floor. Even in it's dilapidated state, the place had an aura of happy and good times that made it less scary. We made our way around the place looking for something; anything to pique our interest. Suddenly, Crystal shouted
"Look!" and pointed to the right.
"What's that?" I asked with curiosity.
"A door, silly" she answered matter-of-factly. "Let's open it!"
"I don't know. We shouldn't even be here" I said nervously.
"C'mon its fine" she said.
The memory faded and my smile faltered. I still opened the door. For her sake. And when I opened it, I couldn't believe what I saw.
This chapter is dedicated to @unearthling for making the beautiful cover on the side.
