AN: Thank you so much to my reviewers! And a really big thanks to Onyxswarm who spotted a mistake in the info for this fanfic, and who also put this story on Story Alert. It honestly made my day! :) Thanks so much, Onyx! I really appreciate every review!
Okay, just telling you peeps, if the format is messed up, it's because I typed half of it on an itsy bitsy keyboard on my iPod Touch because I was away from home with no computer. I'll probably fix anything later, but for now, you're just gonna have to deal with it.
Anyways, behold, Chapter 3! Plot starts here. *mad writer's laugh* *cough cough* *hack* *wheeze* Anyways, I hope you like it, and please review! Reviews help me and keep me motivated to get up and write, so please give me that motivation! I will love you for ever and ever if you do!
Okay, enough rambling. READING TIME! 8D Enjoy! (hopefully)
Oh, by the way, sanku very much, Anna for being so inspiring. 8D You make me want to get up and write!
Oh, and also, thank you so much Breanne (Riverspirit86) for always being the first to review when a new chapter comes out! It seems like I upload it, and then thirty seconds later I already have a review, and it's always from you! You also gave me an idea for the history of a future character in the story! SANKU VERY MUCH! You are one of my best friends and always will be! 8^D I'll wuvz joo forevers and evers.
By the way, people, if you like D. Gray-Man, and especially Lavi x Kanda pairings, then I suggest you check out her stories. She's Riverspirit86, go check her out. Her stories are really original and totally full of awesomeness! Just like a cream-filled doughnut. Gosh, I'm making myself hungry! Anyways, thanks so much, Breanne, and to all of my readers, too. I love you all!
Oh, you can read the story now, by the way. Author's note, OVER.
I pressed my face against the window as all the suburban homes passed by in a blur.
"Get your nose off the window," my mother scolded me as she gave me a sideways glance from her position in the driver's seat. She returned her eyes to the road as I removed my face from the window and she added, "I just cleaned the windows yesterday and I don't want to have to clean up the smudges again."
"Fine, Mom," I said with a resigned sigh. Mom always had to have everything spotless, as demonstrated by her meticulous cleaning up of my hair clippings from yesterday. You did NOT want to get between her and a speck of dirt. "When are we going to get there?" I inquired after listening to the sound of the tires against the road as we transitioned from the local roads to the highway.
"Oh, in about thirty minutes," Mom estimated, eyeing the clock on the dashboard.
We rode on in silence for a while as I turned my attention back to the window and the scenery beyond it. After a while, I slouched down into my seat and rested my eyes for a while.
Peering out the window after a while, I saw that Mom was pulling onto an exit in the highway and we pulled into a more residential area. This area was more recognizable than the barren highway, but not because it was easier to distinguish from other areas, but because we used to drive by here every day.
The park that was our destination was the park that we frequented before we moved to our current home. We lived in one of the smaller homes in the area before Mom got her new job and often provided our own entertainment by going to the park. Our happiest days were at that park, and some of my best memories came from there. The new development we moved to had a park, but it just wasn't the same. We decided we'd still go to the old park, but we went less frequently because of the distance, and the park visits became more of a treat for both me and my mother. We both loved spending time together and being able to escape from the real world, if only for a couple of hours.
This particular visit to the park was special, though. It was our first visit after winter. Normally, we would go during winter, but this past winter was just too long and too cold to go. It would feel nice, getting out there after such a long time, and it would feel extra special and like a more precious experience.
I woke from my reminiscence of past park visits as I heard the crunching of tires on gravel. I sat up from my slouched position in the car seat and excitedly peered out the window as we pulled into a parking spot in the small, gravel-covered parking lot in front of the park playground.
The playground was not very big, and was old and most of the equipment was rusty, but the playground was loved by many people and thus well taken care of by the neighborhood.
The playground was a little square area filled with mulch held in by a worn wooden frame, sort of like a giant mulch-filled sandbox. Inside the wooden box there stood a swing set. There were three swings, all with blue plastic seats and rusty metal chains. Someone had taken the liberty of wrapping a thin layer of protective foam around the rusty chains to keep children from cutting their hands. Beyond and slightly to the right side of the swings stood a metal slide. It had been painted bright canary yellow at one point, but was currently faded to a more creamy color. The paint was chipping in places, especially on the handrails leading up the little metal steps to the top of the slide. To the left of the slide was an old squeaky see-saw, and beyond that was a single bench where parents could monitor their kids in the shade of the trees that lined the playground.
On the right side of the little mulched-in playground, through the trees, was a little grassy area where families would picnic at or bring their dog to play with. On the opposite side of the playground there was a little strip of a sandbox. The sandbox was as long as the playground but only about half as wide, so it ran in a little strip beside it. The sandbox always had a little sand spilling out around the edges and every once in a while you could find a forgotten toy half-buried in the sand.
I tore my gaze from the playground beyond the window and pushed open the car door. I slammed the door of the old beat-up light-blue Oldsmobile and walked around to the trunk to help my mom unload the blanket and the cooler. I stood on my tiptoes, reached into the trunk and pulled out the fuzzy blue blanket we would sit and eat lunch on after I played in the playground. I tucked the rolled-up blanket under my left arm as Mom held the cooler in her right hand. I held mine up to her and she took it, swinging it gently as we walked across the playground to the bench.
I let go of Mom's hand as I neared the bench and eagerly raced towards it. Next to the bench, I kicked off my shoes while resting a hand on it and set the blanket down on the seat. I then made a beeline for the sandbox as I always did, every time we came here, but stopped short. Mom looked up at me as she set down the cooler next to the blanket and noticed my sudden stop. "What's wrong?" she asked, a crease forming between her eyebrows in the way it always did when she was concerned.
"I think I'm going to do the swings first today," I replied slowly. It was quiet for a second, and then I turned my head and looked over my shoulder towards mother and asked, "Is that okay?"
She looked confused at my deviation from the routine, but said, "Yeah, sure…Why not?" I returned to the bench to let Mom wipe my feet before I put my orange flip flops back on. As she was pulling out a wet wipe, she asked, ""Is there any particular reason why you want to do the swings first?"
"No," I replied as she wiped my right foot, then my left. "I just felt like doing something different today." This answer was true. Today felt different, so I just thought I would do something different as well.
I slipped my flip flops back on and took Mom's hand as we both turned and headed towards the simple swing set. I then returned to the routine and asked a question I asked every time we went to the park. "Mom, will you push me on the swings?"
Mom chuckled and replied as she always did, "Of course, sweetie." She put her hand on my back and I wrapped my arms around her waist and hugged her. I then dashed off and hoisted myself up onto the swing on the far right.
I smiled to the kid on the swing beside my as my mother moved behind me and adjusted the hem of my little floral dress that I picked out for our special day. Mom started to push me, and I kicked my feet up as the swing journeyed towards the sky and the top of the trees. I had to scrunch up my toes to keep my shoes from flying off, which they always ended up doing anyways.
This was how it always was. I would always swing on the same swing, and Mom would always push me, even though I was able to pump since I was about six. I don't think Mom really minded pushing me, and I think that she just liked spending time with me while pushing.
We swung silently for a while, watching the other children who were enjoying their day at the park go down the slide and climb back up the steps. After a few minutes, my dress started to slip uncomfortably, and I tried to adjust it by sliding around in the swing, but that just made me slip a little. Carefully, I let go of the swing with one hand to adjust my dress, but as the swing was swooping forward, my dress slid underneath me, and I shot forward, losing my grip with my other hand, and flying forward off the swing, into the mulch at the bottom of the slide.
I cried out as sharp pieces of mulch pierced the skin on my palms and knees. After the pain, I felt a cool breeze. This breeze brought shock to me. It brought shock because even though it was just a gentle breeze, the breeze should have blown my hair around my face, but it didn't. Instead, it blew the hair on the wig lying on the ground a few feet in front of me.
AN: HAHA CLIFFIES! 8^D Oh no! What'll happen next? You'll just have to find out in the next chapter, I'm afraid. Well, this chapter was longer than my previous ones. I really hope they will get longer and longer. I've seen some chapters that are like, 27 pages long, and this one's only what, three? So, yeah, but what can I do? I'm just a newbie writer. ~ Ah well. So, review please? More reviews make me write faster! They really make me want to keep writing and are the only reason I haven't completely abandoned this project already! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! Review like the success of this story depends on it, 'cause it does. Anyways, thanks if you read this, and poo you if you didn't. 8P