He ran through the thicket of the forest despite the rain falling heavily and clouded the little good view he had, he held tightly the knife he had unsheathed from the leather belt he steeled from those territories. The fear that oppressed his chest was paralyzing, but he got rid of the wish of falling to the ground on his knees and start trembling or even crying. He had promised himself that he would find the woman he loved: ALIVE
The pain in his leg was beginning to become unbearable, forcing him to slow down at times and curse his own body. Every second that passed on the clock was against not his life, but hers, he could not lose her ... he could not lose the only person he loved and who had accepted him just the way he was.
The tiredness forced him to fall on his knees and began to breathe with difficulty, the thoughts of "what happen to her" was more paralyzing than what was surely happening, he began to whisper her name with deep sadness, as if she could appear at His side, alive, only by listening to his call. A tear fell down his cheek that he immediately wiped and strongly held the handle of the knife.
He knew that tonight he would have to kill to live, to bring home that girl that so many people appreciated, a thunder was heard near him and he looked up to the front, then he saw ... he saw the monster by some instants due to the lightning, then everything was dark again, but he could still see its silhouette. He could see the traitor's silhouette.
He got up quickly and hunched his whole body on alert.
-What was it that you did to her, you son of a bitch?
The traitor's laughter sounded arrogant.
-The selfish boy of the neighborhood wants to become a hero, sure, that will serve for your curriculum.
-Where is she? Where's Poppy?-He yelled furiously.
The monster simply shrugged.
-She finally has the peace she needed so long ago.
Tears began to fill his eyes, near both a tree received all the discharge of lightning, and its branches began to light in brutal flames, it would not take long before the fire consumed the entire forest.
- Are you sure you want to do this, honey?
She turned her head to see him, he was holding the steering wheel quietly and looking intently at the house.
-You know he does not have the best manners with you.
She smiled, opened the door and got out of the car holding a gift bag in her hands.
- He was the only one who did not attend my farewell party yesterday, it will not be long, you can come with me if you want.
-No, dont worry, I think I will be better if I wait here.
Poppy smiled and pushed the door hard to close it, circled the car ahead and crossed the street to get to that small gray house with the withered front yard and that she once remembered was full of pots with medicinal plants and many flowers.
She raise her hand and knock on the door several times with her knuckles.
-Branch, are you there?
There was no response, she turned her head to see Creek watching her quietly from inside the car, she shrugged and hit the door harder.
-If your a seller, I dont want any lottery tickets-a voice was heard from inside the house.
-I do not come to that- Poppy replied
-Then I told you that I don't hack computers.
-Branch, I'm Poppy.
For a moment there was no response, then they began to hear the noises that the plates and chains being removed by the owner of the house. Poppy grew impatient with the amount of all the security the old wooden door had.
Finally the entrance opened a little, revealing a tall dark-haired boy with a weary gesture, still wearing a green robe to sleep, even though it was already ten o'clock in the morning.
- I woke you up or did you just take a shower?
Branch shrugged.
-I was preparing a cup of coffee, what do you want Poppy?
-I brought you something- she answered raising the bag, Branch groaned and opened the door a little more to let her pass.
She entered with some distrust and closed the door behind her, Branch walked halfway down the hall, Poppy remained there, she saw nothing strange; however, from the lobby she perceived something that seemed strange to her. Searching for the right words to be able to express herself, she scanned the neat tables of the room, the walls freshly painted, the planks of the neat floor, despite having immaculate furniture the house seemed to be empty.
What really gave her that feeling was the absence of pictures on the walls and decorations on the tables; nobody had left the newspaper badly folded on the armchair, nor a book outside its bookseller or something out of its place, because there was nothing more than some furniture scrupulously clean. It was a house with no signs of life.
But she knew that the house had not always been like that.
He saw Branch returning from the kitchen with a wooden tray with two cups and a teapot. Poppy look at him, he was a Sturddy man, although his arms, legs and chest showed the good physical condition that he had; due to the exercise he tried to do every day (not because he wanted to,because the doctors forced him). Even though he was only around 24 or 25 years old, some wrinkles were marked on the sides of his eyes, making him look even older than he really was.
The dark circles showed that he was always tired, not physically, if not psychologically; of brown skin and beautiful blue eyes rare to see in a person of dark complexion but who seemed dull, his black hair as the night always had it combed up, although at that time it was probably messy because of the pillow.
Poppy always had the impression that the young man was off, that his true colors had disappeared and turned into a gray ash.
- Are you going to come and have a cup?
Poppy shook her head, stepping out of her thoughts and slowly approaching the little table set in the middle of the chairs and sitting in the opposite chair that Branch was sitting on; it was not that she was afraid of him, but she knew full well that he hated all physical closeness.
She taked a cup of a material that looked like mud; she try to bring it to her lips, but he snatches it away, being careful not to spill the hot liquid on her.
-Hey, and why was it?
- This is coffee, Poppy.
- What does it have?
-It has enough caffeine, and something tells me that it is not recommended that you drink it or you will be even more unbearable than you already are- he place the stolen cup back on the tray and take the other delivering it-but you can drink this.
-What is it?
-Iced tea.
-Really?- She replied with a funny grin on her lips.
-If you want to drink the crap I do in the bathroom, they are all yours.
Poppy did not know whether to laugh or be disgusted, she just rolled her eyes while absorbing the liquid from her cup. Without wanting to fix his eyes on Branch's legs, although his robe was long and he wore slippers, he could clearly distinguish the metal immobilizer that covered his entire right leg.
Quickly she turned her gaze away so as not to make him feel uncomfortable and looked for the small gift bag.
-You didn´t go to the party yesterday.
-I don't go to parties.
- Not even the farewell ones?
-Farewell?
-The party was because today I'm going to the dormitory of the university.
Branch took a big sip of his coffee.
-Didn't you read the invitation I sent you?
-I never read them- replied the young man rudely.-It's not like you're my neighbor and I'm able to hear the glass echoing through the music.
For a moment nobody spoke.
-What career are you going to study?
-Art and Theater, Creek got me a good room and...
-Creek? -her companion interrupted her- what does He have to do with your studies?
- He will study gastronomy at the same university, he give several courses at the same time and have acquaintances with who he speak so that I would have a single room.
Branch clenched his fists around his clay cup.
-When will you understand that that bastard is not what you think?
-Why do you hate Creek so much, Branch? He has always been kind to you and to others.
-Under that skin of innocent child, a snake hides!
Creek and Poppy had already been dating for a month, in which Branch behaved even heavier than he already was.
-At least that snake if he has an interest in continuing to study even if he already had more than half of a previous career!
- What do you want to show with that?
-What, unlike him, do you never want to leave your armor? When are you going to study something?
-I do not need it, I am mature enough to get a decent job and not spend it doing stupid parties every night.
Poppy frowned annoyed, in the distance you could hear the car's horn calling her.
She leave the cup of tea on the tray and walk quickly towards the door.
-I don't know why I always think it's a good idea to try to keep you company.
She closed the door tightly and got into the car.
-Come with me.
She pulled his playful arm trying to drag him toward the dance floor, but he managed to remain still and smiled faintly at her.
-Poppy, please understand; this is the only way I must pay for the mistake I made.
She looked at him sadly.
-I understand you ... no; I want to understand you Branch, I really want to do it, but if you don´t let me ... How do you want me to help you?
He turned around and walked away from Poppy.
- At least you will tell me what happened?
Branch didn't turn to see her when he answered:
-It's better to leave it like that.
Branch opened his eyes with the usual heaviness, although he had slept a long time; he still felt like two heavy sacks, dreaming about it always put him in a bad mood. He look at the clock; It was ten thirty in the morning. He raised his arms and covered his face with his hands.
The thought of the day:
You're nothing but a piece of shit.
He withdrew his hands from his face and remembered that on that day he should get up with his right foot, take the sheet aside and stretch his right leg towards the side of the bed. He look for the slipper with his touch but his foot stumbled over something, slipped and ended up reloading on the floor.
Branch growled, bewildered, according to what his doctors recommended in this case; He went back to bed on the soft mattress, covered his body with the sheet, yawning trying to deceive the day ... and fell asleep another hour and a half (the indication was to go back to bed nothing else, not stay loose in bed forever) .
When he woke up again he realized that it was already past midday, he got up again and this time he supported the right foot and got up from the bed. He began to do his daily flexion and extension exercises, although he had already lost the illusion of walking and running again as before a long time ago
His right leg began get tires from the stretching exercises and to carry the weight of its owner, Branch leaned with one of his hand on the wall to go for his immobilizer that awaited him accusingly on the old mahogany desk.
He sat down tired on a swivel chair and proceeded to carefully place his immobilizer, adjusted it tightly so that it really held him and this prevent him from loosening while doing his activities and falling on his own weight. The immobilizer covered his entire leg from the waist to the heel of his foot.
He got up again and reluctantly performed his stretching exercises, then took a towel and walked to the bathroom to take a shower. He opened the key and went under the stream of water without tempering it. It was cold, but he stood motionless under the shower and leaning against the wall with his arms.
You're nothing but a piece of paralytic shit.
It was said in a whisper while the icy water covered his back.
When he finally dared to get in, he did it carefully so as not to slip on the wet floor, walked slowly to his bedroom and dressed in brown pants, a gray shirt and a thin green jacket. He combed his tangled hair up and gave himself one last recriminating look in front of the mirror.
He left his house and walked through the withered and lifeless garden to the red and mistreated mailbox, quietly took out the mail and closed the door of the mailbox, his hand remained there when his sight stopped at the house next door, painted in a cream pale color.
It had been four years since the owner of that house had left and her absence had almost immediately become evident; no longer listening to music late at night, in the street you could not hear the constant laughter caused by a thousand and one games; the block no longer smelled of pastries and there was no glitter everywhere.
But above all; There was no longer that smile that made Branch still have enough energy to continue existing.
The sun beat hard that summer day; although it bothered him enough in the eyes, he observed it insistently.
Your smile…
Branch looked down and walked back to his house while he thought.
The sun itself becomes jealous ... and refuses to go out behind the clouds...
He opened the wooden door and entered the house with the mail under his arm.
Knowing that it will never have that brightness
He sat down at the table in the small dining room and said almost in a whisper:
- That's right, you have it ...
He support his head on his hand, he would write it later.
He began to separate the correspondence on the table, there was nothing out of the ordinary, bills and receipts about the services that the house needed, he take the morning newspaper with the intention of reading it and when he opened it, he heard something thin fell to the ground.
He tilt his body to check under the table, it was a yellow envelope, with a familiar smell of Poppy, he immediately recognized the perfume and hurried to pick it up, put it on the table and with a contained emotion for years opened carefully the yellow paper and take out the content with care.
It was a yellow leaf folded in half, opened and immediately received a small dose of glitter in the face and that went flying everywhere.
-Oh, Poppy-he speak with a short voice but full of affection.
"Happy birthday number twenty-seven Branch"
It was the sign that was with quite large and colorful letters inside the three-dimensional letter along with a small green troll with black hair holding a heart in his hands.
Sincerely, Branch no longer knew if Poppy's fascination with those little beings of the eighties was something to laugh or worry about. She had her own troll design for every person she knew, and she drew them in her notebook or she just stuck them wherever they were and there was space.
He could still see her, he was looking out the window of his house and watched with joy as King Peppy came out of the house across the street carrying a little girl in his arms and she played with joy the bell of her house holding a little troll without clothes, with a diamond in the navel and pink hair combed up.
Branch caressed the letter gently, as if part of him wanted to be convinced that the letter was really in front of his eyes.
Poppy never forgot a birthday, knew and memorized dates like no other person did, knew when it was the birthday of one of her friends, her father, neighbors and even the milkman who brought milk bottles every morning.
Although he had no damn idea about what Poppy was doing to get that personal information.
And always, she always gave them one of her dimensional cards without any fault, Branch laughed all the creativity that the girl had since childhood, since their cards always managed to have something original that made them different from the previous card.
Branch smiled at the card, that was the fourth he received for his birthday, since Poppy had gone to college, before he used to receive cards much more often, but without the party organizer each week, the correspondence had diminished considerably.
The previous three had arrived just the day of his birthday, it was already late for about a week, probably because of the correspondence.
Finding himself as a victim of a feeling he no longer knew, he discovered himself checking the rest of the correspondence, he had the small hope that she would have sent him two letters this time, although that never happened.
However, he found another yellow envelope with the same perfume.
He opened it quickly but to his disappointment it was not another three-dimensional letter. It was a rare ordinary letter to receive considering the person sending it, but he recognized the girl's bent letter by writing his name.
Dear Branch
The years seem to happen too slow, in others you look back and it seems that it was too early, at least it is what I feel at the moment now that I have just graduated, and I am already packing my things, if ... just as you read, I'm coming home this week.
I really want to see you again and know how you and the rest of the guys have changed!
He read the letter with emotion, Poppy would finally returned home after so long, from where he was able to notice that Guy Diamond and Dj Suki hung a huge sign on the facade of her house.
Welcome to Poppy house.
He got up from the chair and went to a wooden trunk that was stored in the room, opened it and looked inside ... all the cards that Poppy had given him over the years were stored in that small space of wood, put the new birthday card so that it was safe.
He was about to put the other letter when he stopped it, read it again and check the date Poppy had planned to return. It was today, surely the gang was already organizing a welcome party.
He thought about the options he had; He had really missed her during those long four years, it was true, he never attended any of her parties but that did not diminish the fact that she finally returned.
Besides, if Poppy had bothered to send him that letter, it meant that she still considered him good enough to even tell him about his return, she saw the sign in Poppy's house again through the window; maybe it would be a good idea to go and greet her that night.