CHAPTER ONE
((A/N: The title may or may not change. :P Sorry. Anyways, enjoy!))
I walk alone in Yohashi Park. I often come to a park to take pictures for my popular blogs on Flicker. I draw or paint sometimes, but it's photography that interests me the most. It has a certain. . . emotion to it, I guess. And because it's less time consuming, so I get more pictures in a day. It's Sunday, so not a horde of people come to the park to visit, due to going to church or simply resting before the work week begins. So that became the most peaceful day of the week for me.
Yohashi Park, created by Kiku Honda, is a Japanese inspired garden that surrounds a vast pond. The Cherry Trees are in full blossom, shading over a small bridge that looks over the sun-kissed water. I take a few shots at this spot, hoping it will bring some small amount of inspiration to someone's day.
I sit down on a bench, taking the scenery into a bit more depth. Something about this nature makes me feel alive. The wind that brushes against my skin feel warm and majestic, and the smell of the blossoms gives a sense of being far away from this small town.
This how my life should be. I shouldn't spend on the constant worries of petty things, such as the approval of others. I should spent content with the world, wherever I may be. Peaceful, quiet bohemian town.
I almost thought that's what this town was when I arrived. Almost.
And then, the screams came. The awful screams that convinced me for certain that I was putting myself in hell for the peaceful daylight. The first night I was here, I tried my damnedest to block out the bloody howling of wild college students and rebellious teenagers. It wasn't until the third night I actually got some rest, and I had to actually find a bloody pair of ear-plugs and wear them to bed.
But that was six years ago, when I was finishing up high-school in America.
It got better over time. It certainly didn't get any quieter, but somewhere along the line, I stopped caring or either became more deaf.
Francis Bonnefoy has helped a lot too.
He came into my life in the worst way. I remember it as if it just happened. I remember the way he frantically knocked on my door. I remember swearing because it was only a few minutes after midnight. I remember the very way my stomach churned when I saw what they did to him. And then, I saw his eyes. And my heart sunk.
I check the time. "Damn," I speak out loud. 4:36 PM. I stood, stretching, making a slight groan. If I stayed out for too much longer, I was putting myself in danger of the gate closing before I got the chance to get out. While I doubted they would be ignorant to do that, I still felt the reason to worry. I quickly grabbed my camera and head toward the exit. I walked, trying to think forward to the gate.
But something caught my eye, a beautiful picture of the sun setting perfectly near a sculpture of clouds, looking over the lake as if it were a guardian of light. It was perfect. I couldn't miss it. I just couldn't.
I turned on the camera, and placed it precisely to get the scenery. I snapped the picture quick. I swiftly turned and jogged to the sidewalk outside the gate. Just in time. The gate closed behind right as I got out. And I was going to be able to go home.
It's only a forty-minute walk from Yohasi to the house, so there was really no need to bother for a taxi. Why waste money when you have the working legs the world gave you to run and discover the world? I walked prideful steps, knowing exactly what I was doing and where to go.
That was before I realized how the sun was literally about to set on my little paradise of tranquility.
My steps are hollow on the empty streets. It's a quiet little town for quiet little folk in the day. But, as the sun's ever-looming light fades, the night-walkers form from the shadows. People of all worst kinds if you're one of the quiet day-lurkers. It was amazing this town wasn't on the list for most dangerous places in America. The sun teasingly seems to sink a little faster to make my heart race. I walk faster. I must get home. And then, the howls of the night begin.