A/N: This is a new idea I got a while back. I often struggle with writers block, and I've found that the best way to work through it is to write whatever you want. So this is going to be a collection of stories that I've written. They are all one shots, and not one will be like the one before. There will be love, struggling, loss, happiness, heartbreak and so much more. The theme is love, of course. I think I will add one every week.
In this first story, I've gotten inspiration from an old swedish novel and then changed it up a bit. This is agony, so if you're not one for tears, I suggest you don't read.
For this chapter, the theme from Schindler's List by Ian Sutherland is recomended.
Blood red and white.
Seven pieces of sugar cubes is lying scattered in the grass beside the road. A few of them white, others red. They are the only sign of what has happened in the small village.
Everything is quiet now. No children are playing by the swings, no neighbours are chatting over the hedges, there are no sound of a TV to be heard from a open window.
It could be just any other day, if everyone had simply chosen to stay in instead of enjoying the sunshine outside.
But it is not just any other day. The red sugar cubes tell a story of tragedy, heartbreak, pain and life long guilt.
They tell of a man, who never knew that on that day, he would kill a child.
oOoOoOo
"Edward? Did you talk to Alice? Are they on their way?" Bella was too busy to look up when she heard her husband open the front door. She was just taking a pie out of the oven, and smiled at the sight of it, glad that she had gotten it right this time.
"They'll be here in 30 minutes." Edward answered as he came into the kitchen, placing the grocery bags on the counter. He then walked over to stand behind Bella, putting his arms around her waist and kissing her neck softly.
"Mmm.." Bella mumbled, closing her eyes and leaning back against Edward's chest with a content smile on her lips.
"I don't know what smells the best, you or that pie." Edward chuckled, continuing to trail kisses along Bella's neck.
They heard the soft sound of footsteps, and then a little gasp as the footsteps haltered. "Daddy, are you a vampire?" a high trilling voice sounded behind them.
Edward and Bella turned around to see their 6 year old daughter standing in the doorway, watching them with wide eyes. Edward laughed as he let go of his wife and began to playfully stalk towards the little girl.
"Yes, Renesmee. I am a vampire, and I just love to snack on pretty, bronze haired girls who smells as good as you do." He stretched his arms out towards her, pretending to grab for her. Renesmee let out an excited shriek as she turned and ran out off the kitchen, followed by her dad, the vampire. Edward let her get a head start and then laughed as he chased her into the living room, knowing very well that this was his daughter's favourite game.
Bella shook her head indulgently as she turned back to her cooking, smiling as the sound of her daughter's laughter filled the house.
oOoOoOo
A few miles away, a man named Peter walked towards his car. He had just gone on vacation for the summer, and he was more than eager to leave his work place. It was a perfectly sunny day; Peter and his girlfriend Charlotte were going to take the boat out for the first time that year, something they had both been looking forward to for quite some time.
Peter drove to the kindergarten where Charlotte was working. He was a little early, but decided he would much rather wait there than to spend more time at his office.
It was a 20 minutes drive from the city to the little town where they had their boat and summerhouse, and Peter decided to put the top down on his convertible as he waited outside for Charlotte. He knew how much she loved it when she could feel the wind on her face as he drove.
He had just gotten the car ready when Charlotte came out of the building, smiling as she spotted him. After getting into the car, they took off.
oOoOoOo
Bella had just finished setting the table out in the garden, underneath a huge oak tree where Edward had set up a swing for Renesmee the previous year. She smiled as she remembered how animated he had been when he'd gotten the idea, and how happy it had made Renesmee when she saw it for the first time.
She heard the sound of the doorbell ringing, and then light footsteps as Renesmee ran to the door to let Alice and Jasper in. There was a loud sound of excited voices as they all greeted each other and then Renesmee's heart warming laughter as Jasper picked her up.
After double checking that everything was in place, Bella went inside to join the others.
oOoOoOo
Peter had made a mix CD with all of Charlotte's favourite songs on it. He loved hearing her sing a long to the music, since she had a beautiful voice.
They had been talking excitedly about the weeks they had before them, which would be filled with sailing, good food, exploring and relaxing.
Peter pushed down on the gas, eager to get to their destination.
oOoOoOo
"So, Renesmee, what do you want for your birthday next week?" Jasper asked, smiling at the child who was seated between her parents at the table. "Turning 7 is huge, you know."
Renesmee beamed at him, "I want a kitten!" she sang, oblivious to the conspiratorial glances her parents exchanged over her head.
Jasper caught it though, and so did his wife Alice.
"A kitten? Why now, that would be quite the present!" Alice said with a serious expression on her face. She knew all about the present her brother and his wife had picked out, and she was looking forward to seeing the little girls face when they gave it to her.
Renesmee nodded, equally serious. "Yes, aunt Alice. But I really, really want one. I love kittens, don't I mommy?" she turned her head to look up at her mother, who tried not to crack and tell Renesmee all about the sweet little kitten they had picked out for her. She wanted her daughter to have everything she'd ever whish for. That was her number one priority, always.
Edward nudged his wife gently, winking. "We know you do, honey." he said, leaning down to place a kiss on his daughter's forehead.
oOoOoOo
Peter and Charlotte were getting closer to town of Elora, which was their destination, they had just one more village to cross.
Charlotte was leaning back in her seat, eyes closed as she listened to the music.
"Are we gonna go to that small café by the dock? The one that had the ice tea that I liked so much? It was such a nice little place." she asked, smiling as she remembered the other times they had gone there the previous summer.
Peter reached out to take her hand, shifting his eyes from the road. "Of course."
Charlotte gave his hand a gently squeeze and smiled. "Good. It was such a nice little place." she said again.
oOoOoOo
"Edward! You forgot to buy sugar, didn't you?" Bella called from the porch. The others were still seated by the table, chatting, while Renesmee was on her swing, her legs stretching out into the air as she tried to go higher.
Edward looked up with a guilty expression, smiling sheepishly at his wife. "Maybe."
Bella rolled her eyes, not capable of scolding him when he smiled like that. Luckily, they were good friends with the old lady across the road, and she was always more than happy to help out when ever needed.
"Okay, well I'll just head over to Mrs. Clearwater and see if she has any. Edward, can you keep an eye on the tea while I'm gone?"
"Mommy! Can't I go? Please? I want to see Mrs. Clearwater's new kitten, she said I could come by anytime and look at it! Please, please, please?" The little girl jumped off the swing and ran to her mother with an excited smile on her heavenly face.
As always, a smile like that was too hard for a mother to refuse. "Alright, you can go. But don't stay too long, okay? Just take a quick look at the kitten, and then go straight home, honey. We're having dessert in a few minutes." Bella said, stroking her daughter's hair.
"I will! Thank you mommy!" Renesmee sang, racing through the house to get her shoes. She was out the door and across the street before Bella could blink.
oOoOoOo
A blue car reaches the little village a few minutes past 3 in the afternoon. The man is driving fast, music is playing from the speakers and the man has one arm around the woman next to him. She is singing along with the music, a carefree smile on her lips as she enjoys the sun on her face and the wind blowing in her hair.
The scenery is familiar; they drove through this place many times last summer. It is a beautiful village; small, charming houses are built fairly close, but divided by hedges. The greenery is breathtaking and the road is lined with tall growing bushes and trees.
oOoOoOo
Life is unfair in many ways. It is unfair because only seconds before a child is killed its parents sit together under an oak tree, talking about their beautiful daughter and how much they are looking forward to seeing her grow and live and love and laugh and learn.
It is unfair because in the same second, a man in a car thinks about how wonderful his life is with his girl by his side. It is unfair because a child is looking at a little kitten, whishing she could stay longer but knowing that mommy wanted her home, and so she says goodbye and opens the door and walks down the steps and to the path that leads to the gate.
It is unfair because in the same second that a child opens a gate and steps out onto a road, a mother is smiling at her husband and telling him how happy she is, and a man in a blue car is closing his eyes for just one second, one short but at the same time eternal second, and thinking about how he cant wait to see the ocean again, how much he loves the woman by his side.
Afterwards, it is all too late. Afterwards, a car is standing in the middle of a road and a woman is screaming and holding a bleeding hand over her mouth and a man is opening a car door with a deep hole of fear in his chest. Afterwards, a few pieces of sugar are spread across the road in blood and gravel and a child is lying motionless on its stomach, an angel face pressed against the ground. Afterwards, two people are running, their faces pale as they take in a sight that they will never forget. Because the sight that will haunt days and nights for the rest of their lives.
It is not true that time heals all wounds. Time does not heal a dead child's wounds and it does not heal the pain of a father who forgot to buy sugar or a mother who sent her child across the road to borrow some and it does not heal the agony of a once happy man who has killed a child.
The man who has killed a child doesn't go to the ocean. The man who has killed a child goes home in silence and beside him he has a quiet woman with a bandaged hand and in every village they pass, they don't see a single person smiling. The shadows are dark, very dark. When they separate it is still silent and the man who has killed a child knows that the silence is his enemy and he knows that he will need years of his life to try and defeat that silence by screaming that it wasn't his fault. But he will know that it is a lie, and in his dreams at night he will whish that he had one endless second of his life back so that he could do that second differently.
But life doesn't show mercy, and so everything afterwards is always going to be too late.
I very much appreciate anything you have to say, and also if you have any idea for a one shot for me to write, please let me know.