Ib opened her crimson eyes with a start. The morning sun spilled out onto her face through her window. She struggled for a second, trying to release herself from the sheets tangled around her legs. She had the same nightmare that she's had for the last three months. Ever since they escaped the gallery she found herself struggling.
She was trapped. The door was locked. The Lady in Blue crawled towards her. Ib pushed herself up against the wall leaving as much space as she could between herself and the horrific painting-lady. She braced herself. Everything went black for a second. The Lady in Blue slowly melted into a familiar blonde haired girl in a pretty green dress. Only the dress wasn't that pretty when it was speckled with blood. She held a small, bloody knife in one hand, while her other hand was a clenched fist. She opened her hand slowly and blew the delicate blue rose petals into Ib's face. "He loves me" she cried with a delightfully evil smile.
Ib got out of bed and put on her normal clothes. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind and brushed her long brunette hair. Not even her nightmare could hold her back today. Today was special. She told her mom she would be back later and gave her a hug. She pulled on her red shoes and hopped outside. She jumped down her steps and started her walk. Her nightmare seemed so far away now as she walked past her neighbour's beautiful garden filled with roses. Ib passed by many cute, trendy shops. She carefully crossed the road and walked into a dainty little café. She glanced around.
He must not be here yet. The thought bothered her as she sat down at her favourite table. The waitress smiled at Ib but made no move toward her. They came here every Saturday. Even though today was special, she insisted that they still came here. She loved those Saturdays and every Saturday they could have together.
Ib stared out the window. The window faced a brightly coloured playground. Children were laughing and running; however, what caught Ib's eye was a young blonde girl, probably no older than five, playing by herself in the corner. She was the happiest looking girl Ib had ever seen. The young girl got up and skipped over to two people sitting on a bench, presumably her parents. The mother reminded Ib a lot of her own mum because of her appearance, while the dad looked wildly out of place with his odd coloured hair. Ib couldn't help but smile at the family, they looked like the perfect example of happiness.
Suddenly, she couldn't see the family anymore. She couldn't see anything. Large hands covered her eyes.
"Guess who?" A familiar voice asked her. The hands let go of Ib as she jumped off her chair and practically leapt at their owner.
He towered way above the young girl. He had a warm, genuine smile that could make any girl melt. His hair was dyed a light violet and had darker parts on the top. Ib never asked if it was natural or if he dyed it, she just assumed it was dyed. His eyes were a bright blue. He was the kind of guy you know that you could always trust.
"Garry!" Ib said excitedly as she wrapped her small arms around his waist. Then she scolded, "You're late."
"I know, I know. But I have a good reason. I had to arrange some… things."
"Things?" Ib asked curiously
"Yes, things." Garry said with a smirk "But onto the important part, happy birthday, my dear Ib!"
The waitress finally made her way over to the table. Ib guessed this is what Garry had been arranging. She set down a prettily wrapped box and winked at Ib "Happy birthday dear".
Garry thanked the waitress and pushed the box towards Ib.
"I hope you'll like it" he smiles at the wide crimson-eyed look he got.
Ib unwraps the red ribbon first, then takes the lid off the top. In the box was several macaroons piled together to look like a birthday cake. There were candles on the top, along with a smaller box. Garry carefully took the "cake" out of the box and set it in front of Ib. He picked up the smaller box and placed it beside the treats. Then he took out his silver lighter that he always carried with him, and lit the candles.
Garry had never seen a bigger smile on the girl's face as she blew out the candles. She got up and hugged him.
"You haven't even opened up your gift yet!" Garry laughed while she squeezed him tight.
"I know, but I want you to know, you're the best Garry!" Ib smiled at the man and sat back down. She carefully opened the miniature box and gasped.
"It's not much, I found it at an antique shop, but it made me think of you" Garry explained, suddenly embarrassed. What if she doesn't like it? Why would I know what kind of jewellery she likes?
"Oh, I love it. Thank you so much. It's perfect" Ib exclaimed. Dangling on a thin, silver wire was a beautiful vintage, red rose pendant.
"I'm glad you like it Ib" Garry smiled tenderly at the girl.
He was happy. He was happy, she was happy. He was happy, that what had happened at the gallery didn't consume her life, or at least it didn't seem to. He would sometimes have nightmares that he was back there. He didn't want to upset Ib by telling her about them, but something inside of him wished he could tell her. Garry also wished that Ib was older. He enjoyed talking to her and loved teaching her new words, but he knew that no ten year old should experience what Ib has experienced. He also… felt things; things that no nineteen year old man should feel about a ten year old girl.
"Are you okay, Garry?" He realized she was staring at him.
"Hmm? Oh yes, I'm fine. Why?" He asked.
"You're really red in the face right now" She giggled, shoving the last bit of a strawberry macaroon in her mouth. She wiped her hands on her skirt and picked up the necklace.
"Uh, well it's kind of warm in here. Would you like some help putting it on?" Garry asked, gesturing towards the necklace. Ib nodded.
He got out of his seat and stood behind Ib. He pushed his bangs away from his eye so he could get a better look. He took the necklace from her hands and held the necklace in front of her and then swept all her hair to one side. His fingers brushed against her neck and he noticed it sent a shiver down her spine. He did up the clasp and arranged her hair back; he let his hand linger longer than he should have.
Garry sat back down and grabbed a raspberry macaroon from the "cake". He glanced up at Ib and noticed she was blushing an adorable shade of pink. Did she get these awkward feelings too?
"Can you believe it's been three months?" Garry asked in a desperate attempt to stop his inappropriate thoughts.
"No, it feels like just days ago we were trapped" Ib said sadly "I... I have nightmares about it."
"Me too, but at least we got out. It's done now, and Mary or anything else, can't hurt us anymore." Garry said absentmindedly reaching over and putting his hand over Ib's in a comforting way. He noticed Ib looking at their hands.
"Oh. I'm sorry, Ib. That was weird of me" He apologized, his thoughts were taking control.
"That's okay, really it's fine. Honestly, I don't think Mary was all that bad. She wanted a friend but went about the wrong way of getting them. She made a mistake, just like everybody else has" Ib said with a sad smile.
"You know, you're really mature for you age." Garry said, glancing out the window at the children playing.
The two sat in the café finishing off the macaroons and making small talk. They reminisced about what happened in the gallery but Garry made sure to change the topic whenever he noticed that Ib was upset. He would let her bring it up if she wanted to talk about it. Eventually, Garry glanced outside and noticed the sun was starting to set. How did we not get kicked out of the café, we stayed for hours and didn't buy anything? Maybe because it's Ib's birthday.
"I wish we could stay and chat all day, but I think you should be getting home now, Ib. I don't want to worry your parents."
"Oh right. I promised my mum I wouldn't be home too late" Ib laughed. Garry threw out their garbage, dropped a bit of money on the table for a tip, and then thanked the waitress. The wind chimes over the door, tinkling as the pair left.
Garry walked Ib back to her house, even though his apartment was in the other direction.
"You're really something, Ib." Garry said with a smile as he leaned down on one knee so they could have a proper hug.
"You're not too bad yourself, Garry." Ib smiled back and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Goodnight, Ib." Garry said and started his walk back to his apartment.
"Goodnight, Garry." Ib smiled to herself and went inside. Her parents greeted her with her favourite supper and a few gifts. Today has been absolutely perfect. After supper she thanked her parents and went off to her bedroom for the night.
She pulled on her pyjamas and crawled into her warm bed. She turned off her bedside lamp and laid in the darkness. She did feel a little uneasy about what she knew was coming; her nightmare. However, her perfect day took off the pressure. She knew she always call Garry if she was scared. That thought was so comforting.
Garry will always be here for me.
She closed her eyes and as usual she fell into dreamland. But for the first time in three months, she had a different dream.
She was trapped. The door was locked. The Lady in Blue crawled towards her. Ib pushed herself up against the wall leaving as much space as she could between herself and the horrific painting-lady. She braced herself. The door opened beside her and Garry pulled her in at the last second. He locked the door behind them. That would not be enough to keep out Mary. They had to act fast. They ran towards the painting on the furthest wall of the room. Mary appeared before their eyes, crying. "Please don't" she cried. The two looked each other. Mary hadn't done anything wrong, all she wanted was to be loved. Isn't that what everybody wants in life? Everything turned white for a second.
"Mary!" she called out to her young daughter playing in the sand at the playground "It's time to go home, sweetie." The blonde girl skipped towards her parents, with a huge smile on her face. She grabbed her mum's hand and with her other hand she grabbed her dad's hand. "Dad, why do you have purple hair? Some little boy said it looked like an eggplant." Mary asked her father, suddenly.
Garry looked at Ib, then back at Mary. He shrugged and smiled. "Why not?"
Ib smiled at Garry. Garry leaned in and kissed Ib.