A/N: Hello to all of my readers, hopefully there is more than one. I tried this writing thing a couple years ago on and none of my stories turned out to be major "hits". However, I'm stepping up to the plate and trying it again, so please if you are reading this, stick with the story even if it is boring. And, if you really like the story, please feel free to drop a review! Happy reading. I put the title of the story and the chapter name and number of the story in between different scenes. I did this for the fact that for some reason, my computer wouldn't copy any other sort of thing down. So, I had to use that method to separate different scenes or different points in time. Sorry about this.
"City of a Broken Smile"- Chapter 1: Unanswered Questions
The air was crisp and cool as fall approached the crowded city of Deling, taking its toll on the trees that surrounded a small, aged park. The once fresh, green leaves that covered the ancient trees branches were now golden and sunburst red, slowly floating to the ground with each gust of wind. The cracked pathway that curved and circled its way around the park was drenched in patterns of leaves and puddles of acid rain, creating a saddened and depressed look to the forgotten place. People passed by the park, not acknowledging it in any way, shape, or form. A little girl around the age of three pointed at the rusted swing set that sat alone in the park, for the slides and merry-go-rounds that once occupied the park were torn down to be recycled into new, safer park equipment. She tugged on her mother's brown coat and called to her mother's attention. The girl's mother bent down and patted her on the head, and with a small whisper she hushed her daughter's whining, squeaky voice.
The little girl frowned and heaved an exasperated sigh, following her mother reluctantly by the tugging of a strong hand. A man watched as the little girl was led away by her mother and with a sharp flick of his wrist, his cigarette was on the ground and devouring the leaves with each dying flame that burned within the ashes. As he turned the corner, moving at a calm pace away from the park, smoke could be seen enshrouding the once quiet park into a disastrous, roaring flame.
Panicked voices filled the air as the civilians quickly ran to their safety. The smoke had blanketed a portion of the city with darkness as black as the night itself. Sirens could be heard from a distance, their whirring sounds speeding closer with each new flame that aroused in the park. The streets that passed by the park were empty now, completely bare and lifeless of the people that usually lined them with chatter and the consistent sound of footsteps clashing with the pavement.
By the time the Deling City Fire Department had arrived on the scene, there were no witnesses, no suspects, and no victims to be found. After a long 15 minutes or so, they had successfully exterminated the fire and saved any other part of the city from being burnt to a crisp. The head of the Fire Department wiped the sweat from his brow as he rested his hands upon his waist, peering at the ashes that took the park's place. His neon yellow jacket lay in a heap beside him, covered in black soot, dotted with droplets of water from the hose they had used. He was an older man, short in stature and a bit wide in size. His stomach expanded farther than his overalls, which were also a bright yellow in color. His sweat-drenched hair was pinned against his head as he continued to breathe hard and stare on at the horrific sight before him.
Eventually he turned to one of his fellow firefighters and gave a nod towards the ghastly park. "What do you think happened here?" he asked with a deep, gruff voice.
"Don't know," the younger man replied simply. The older of the two shook his head at the man's half-witted response and turned to the man on his left.
"What about you?"
The blonde just shook his head and let a smirk cross his lips, "I couldn't say, Cid. I'm guessing we have a man out there on the loose who set flame to this one."
Cid nodded and ordered his men to help clean up some of the ash that littered the streets. The blonde that he had talked to turned towards the corner and felt the sun catch his eyes as it illuminated them in a brilliant emerald green, he held his hand up to cast a shadow over his vision and caught a glimpse of someone's coat, disappearing around a building.
"Hey!" he called after the figure. Cid turned and stared at his comrade, who was now speeding down the street and around the corner, hoping to find the person he thought he saw. "Hey!" he yelled again, louder this time. The man stopped and kept his back facing towards the disgruntled firefighter.
"... Was there something you needed, officer?" he asked quietly. The man had on a long, black overcoat and black dress pants, which seemed too baggy for his small form.
The blonde caught his breath and stood up straight, staring a hole through the man's skull, in attempt to see his face. "I'm not an officer... I'm just a firefighter. I was hoping you had some information or some sort of witness to the crime that was just committed."
"I'm sorry. I am afraid I have no information to your... crime. I will talk to some of my co-workers and see if they witnessed anything. If one of them happens to know something, where might I contact you at?" he asked with smoothness to his voice. His voice was calm, untouched, and unsuspecting. He still remained with his back facing towards the firefighter and it seemed he had no intention of turning around, either.
He raised an eyebrow and gave a quick nod, although he knew the man couldn't see him. "Yeah, you can contact the Head Chief of the Fire Department. You can find the Fire Department's number in the phone book, obviously," he said with a bright smile.
The man paused and turned his head to the side a little, his hair covering his face. "I would much rather contact you. Sometimes, these... 'Head Chiefs' have an attitude towards average men like myself, sir."
"No, he's a nice guy. I'm sure he'd be willing to cooperate with you, especially on something like this."
"I'm sorry. I'm afraid I must be going now," he started walking and was interrupted when the blonde called back to him.
"Wait! Here, I'll give you my phone number," he took a step towards the mysterious businessman. "Do you have a pen and a piece of paper?" he asked.
The man, in response, took another step forward as if afraid to get too close to him. "No, I'm sorry, I don't."
The firefighter shifted his gaze to the man's briefcase and grew slightly suspicious of the man and his actions. "I guess... I'll just tell it to you. Hope you have a good memory. It's 473-0092..." he felt uncomfortable giving his phone number out randomly to a stranger, but he figured it was for the better if the man ended up having any information to give.
He nodded and continued his walk down the empty, lonely streets of Deling.
"City of a Broken Smile"
He looked at it and smiled slightly, "What's this?" he asked curiously.
Her small grin made him want to hug her and never let go, "It's just something I picked up for you today..." she said innocently.
His blonde hair blew softly in the breeze that came in from the open windows. "Thanks hun," he said sincerely. He took the lid off the box and found a small sketchpad with a few charcoal pencils taped neatly to the front cover. His green eyes shifted to her and with a momentary pause and a confused look, she let out a laugh.
"I found out from your mother that you wanted to become an artist instead of a firefighter," the small smile still played upon her soft, pink lips. "So, I picked this up for you thinking that maybe you could still follow your dream."
He turned back to the sketchpad and lifted it from its resting place. "I think I'll go draw something right now," he said with a smile. He headed into the living room and took a seat on the couch.
"Seifer," she said quietly.
"Huh?"
"The man who helped me pick that sketchpad out for you owned the art store I was at."
Seifer slid one of the pencils out from under the tape and flipped over the front cover. "Oh, um... That's nice," he responded awkwardly.
The dark brown chocolate color of her eyes sparked over with concern and worry, "He said he knew you. I never... mentioned your name."
"Yeah, I've stopped in there before just to look, Rinoa. That's where he probably knew me from," he started to sketch an outline of a figure.
She kept quiet for some time before taking a seat next to him. "Seifer..."
He sighed and turned his attention towards her, "Yes?" He rubbed his chin, "What's wrong, anyway? You seem edgy."
She clutched the necklace that she had worn for so long, its once silver color now turning dull and gray. "The fire at the park... He knew about it." She heard the tip of his pencil snap as he quickly stood.
"Does he know who did it?" he asked frantically.
Rinoa shrugged as she gazed onward at her distressed fiancée. "I think you should go talk to him... He seemed... different..."
"Chapter 1: Unanswered Questions"
His car sped up to the curb and jolted to a halt as he shut off the ignition and climbed out of the car. He rested his gaze upon a split sign that contained the words 'Art Supplies', as he moved closer to the darkened store he sensed someone was watching him. Figuring it was just his imagination, he continued towards the front entrance of the small corner store. The windows had been boarded up and leaves were pressed against the small crack in the doorway. Seifer frowned as he tried to turn the doorknob, finding only that it was locked.
He slid his hands into his pockets and took a step back from the storefront, gazing upon the second story. Sighing, he realized the place was deserted and had been for some time. He shook his head. "Rinoa must have went someplace else..."
He turned around and came face to face with someone, they met eye to eye and he could feel the man glaring down at him. He jumped and stumbled back, his surprise not affecting the opposing stranger at all. "Sorry," he managed to mumble out.
"What are you doing here?" the man asked curiously.
"I was just coming to see if that store was open," he pointed in the direction of the battered down storefront. "My fiancée said she bought a sketchpad here and met someone that had some information that I needed."
The man he had explained his situation to had never taken his icy blue eyes off of the storefront. His eyes held emptiness to them, and yet a certain wisdom and truth were deep within his pupils. His shaggy brown hair blew aimlessly in the wind, which had picked up, the leaves now darting every which way, circling around the stranger like a tornado would circle around a tree. His clothes seemed oddly familiar, a black trench coat hanging down to his knees, dress pants that were too baggy for his slender build, and thick black boots that seemed like something a soldier would wear. A black die draped loosely from his neck, looking as if he had recently unfastened it.
"There hasn't been anyone occupying that store since last year. Maybe you have the wrong place," he said, sounding strangely annoyed.
Seifer nodded and felt uncomfortable around the man, so he took off for his car, which what he saw as safety and security from the stranger in black. Something halted him, paralyzed his movement, and as he tried to speak, his voice seemed drained.
"I have some information on your fire. You are the man that stopped me on the street shortly after the incident happened, are you not?" After no response from the firefighter, he continued on. "Maybe what brought you to this store was the presence of a man who used to live and conduct his business here. The ex-owner of this place is an elderly man named Erik Eschner, and he lives in an old house near the outskirts of Timber. He knows of your criminal," he said strongly.
The blonde cleared his throat and fiddled around in his jacket for his phone. "Cid needs to know of this, him and the police need to be involved in this, not me."
The stranger came towards him and took a position of leaning on Seifer's car. He crossed his arms and stared as Seifer dialed Cid's number.
"Cid. Hey, it's Seifer. I have some information on the person who set fire to the old park on West Avenue. Yeah, supposedly a guy named Erik Eschner knows something of the criminal, or who did it anyway. He lives in a house outside of Timber," he paused and listened to Cid's directions on the other end of the line.
After the short conversation had finished, he shut off his phone and with a sigh, he asked aggravated, "What's the fastest way to get to Timber?"
The man smirked.
"City of a Broken Smile"
The train pulled into the station with a quick shot of smoke rising from one of its engines. Rinoa looked onward at the mass of machinery that was going to transport them to Timber so her fiancée could better investigate the cause of the park fire that had happened only a day before. Even though it wasn't his job to investigate such a crime, for he was only a normal firefighter and not a police chief or detective of any sort. But, yet, Cid insisted that he go and talk to the man, gain some new information and report back to him with the details. Apparently Cid was busy and could not afford to take a day off of work since he was the Head Chief.
Seifer, himself, was looking irritated and uneasy as he took the steps into the trains compartments. With his fiancée straight behind him, he took a seat near the front of the train and allowed her to have the window, which she argued she must sit next to. He looked at his watch once he got settled into a comfortable position and glanced over at his fiancée who was resting her head calmly against the cushioned burgundy seat.
He slowly took her hand and smiled, intertwining his fingers with hers. "Thanks for coming with me," he said.
She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, still clutching his hand as if she was never going to be apart from him. "No problem," she said with a relaxed smile. He examined the ring on her finger and was happy to know that in only a week's time, he could call her his wife. He had never been so sure of a decision in his life; he used to always be an indecisive, careless person. He kissed her hand and set his cheek gently against the top of her head.
The train ride itself was long and uneventful, as most train rides are. However, Seifer was uneasy and uncomfortable with the current situation at hand. There was a knot in his stomach that had formed over the course of the train ride and sweat that had beaded up on the back of his neck, soaking into the collar of his shirt. He choked down a swallow and looked at his fiancée who was now leaning against the foggy window, her eyes shut and resting.
The
train slowed to a stop, jarring Rinoa awake and startling Seifer out of
his thoughts. She stretched and stood up, waiting for her fiancée to do
the same. His hand was shaky as he stood, reaching for the handle that
they provided. A momentary worry crossed Rinoa's features as she
watched her fiancée stumble down the aisle and out the door, not even
bothering to wait for her. With a sigh, she rushed after him.
"Chapter 1: Unanswered Questions"
The old, wooden front door squeaked open and out came a man, in his late 50's, carrying a cane. He peered over his spectacles and tapped his silver eagle-headed cane on the paint chipped porch before Seifer.
"Mr. Eschner?" he asked wavering.
The man looked up
at him and gave a smile, which revealed perfectly straight, sunflower
yellow teeth. "Ah, Mr. Almasy, I've been expecting you. Please, come
in," with that, he held his arms in the direction of the open door and
the darkness that lie inside.
"City of a Broken Smile"
A/N: A lot of the scenes in here may seem worthless, but each one has a significant meaning. The sketchbook that Rinoa purchased for Seifer will add a great twist to the story later on. And yes, to settle your wondering mind, Squall will appear in the next chapter of the story, clearly identified this time. Yes, he was the 'mysterious stranger' you seen in this chapter, if you hadn't already guessed by my description. The fire, the abandoned store, Squall's clothing, the sketchbook, Seifer's uneasy feeling, and the house in Timber all have symbolism in them, which will be revealed later in the story. You might have to think a bit to figure out their meaning, though.
This story will focus mainly on thriller/suspense, of course there wasn't much of it in this chapter, but there is more to come as long as you send me a lot of good reviews! Please, I need reviews to carry on; it took a lot just to write this chapter. Also, this story is to be read on a symbolic level, keep that in mind. For future reference, there will be Squinoa action; I said that to get you to send me reviews. Please drop a review and I'll start working on the next chapter. (The title of the story is symbolic as well.)