Hey I'm back from vacation! But I guess this update came out faster than the other one. Oh well. ^-^
-Ib- Age 18-
The next day, I seriously couldn't stand any longer. I had to find Garry; so I just took the car and went all over town, asking about him. Words were heard about art, pottery, someone dying, and painting.
I pushed open the door to the cafe, and I inhaled the scent of coffee and cakes. There were many people here, and Ib tried to ignore the fact that Yoji was sitting in one of the seats, a girl, supposedly Sakura, was sitting across from him, stirring her tea. I tried to walk past them, but I had no luck.
"Ib!" Yoji said, and waved to me. But didn't Yoji hate me? He got up from his seat and pulled me.
"What?" I snapped. He whispered into my ear.
"This girl is driving me CRAZY! All she ever talks about is school! I can't take it, get me out of here, I'm sorry, I knew you were the one, Ib, just get me out of here," He said all too quickly. I glared at him and shoved him back in the seat.
"Deal with your own problems." I said and advanced to the counter.
"Hello there! May I help you?" A man asked at the cafe counter.
"I'm here because I am looking for a tall man with light purple hair, whose name, or nickname, is Garry. Know him by any chance?" I said, and I didn't care if he thought I was a stalker. He gave me a weird look, and then nodded.
"Ah, yes. The man you are speaking of comes here every now and then, and he works at the art shop about a block down," The guy said.
"Okay, thank you very much!" I said and dashed out the door. I drove down until I found an art store. Its outside appearance was kind of bland, just a plain white building with a sign. I pushed open the door, and looked around. There were canvases all over the store. But the paintings looked like masterpieces. But then I froze in my tracks. There was a painting with a blue and red rose embracing in the wind. He remembered? Was he looking for me as well? I could feel my heart pound. I looked on another shelf and there was a painting with a small girl with blonde hair. This was...! It looked exactly like her, but instead of her eyes being deep blue, they were hazel. Maybe he didn't remember so accurately. Then I forgot what I was here for, so I went up to the counter.
"May I speak to Garry?" I asked.
"He took a day off today, no one knows where he went." the guy shrugged. "If you need to say or give something to him, I can do it for you," I felt my heart drop to the ground. All this, and he's not even here!?
"No, no, that's quite fine. Thanks!" I tried to smile, but I couldn't. It was almost 10:00, and this was the last place. He'd be here tomorrow right? But I didn't think I could stand another night... I left the store and got into the car. I drove slowly and went wherever my car would take me.
-Garry- Age 29-
The next day I felt I had to go to the park to see Maria. She had tad of sadness in her voice, and I felt she was going to tell me why. I took a bus to the park at noon, and Maria was already there.
"Garry..." She said, "I have so much to tell you," She said.
"When I was 23, my dad lost his job, and my mom was so stressed out about everything. She thought peeling an orange was stressful, good lord! So she started to drink, and she drank about 24/7. My dad got quite worried about her, and in an attempt to run from him, who she thought was a monster, she jumped off the balcony and hit her head and got some brain damage," She said, sounding sad and looking at the bright grass around us.
"Oh my, Maria..." She was tough when she was 18, but now she was as fragile as a delicate rose. My heart felt heavy at the comparison for an unexplainable reason. It made me feel sorrowful, not for Maria, but about something else...
"Then after that Sean proposed to me... it was an instant "yes", but when he came over to talk to my dad, my mom started to beat him, and he left my house with a few bruises and some blood off his leg, and he never came back. When I got home that day, my mom was so mad at me, I was the next target, but my dad came to my aid. With that, my mom that the whole world was turning against her, and she got a knife from the kitchen, and... and..."
The tears came rolling down her cheeks.
"Good lord, Maria…" I said, I felt so bad for thinking she was inexperienced.
"He was…*sniff* gone… I managed to get away, and I still have a scar where she cut me…" She said, "Could I… lean on you? I feel a bit light headed." I nodded, and a flashback came.
"Lean on me… when you're not strong, and I'll be your friend, I'll help you, carry on," I sang.
Garry waved goodbye as his father left for America, and he looked to the watch his father had given him not long ago. Garry considered it his treasure, for his father had worn it just about every day. He would miss his father, but he was only six years old. He stared at the place where he'd seen the car disappear into the horizon, and just cried, sitting there on the porch. The door opened, and his mom sat next to him.
"Come here, honey. Lean on me," she said, and put his head on her shoulder. Her eyes were heavy with tears, and she began to speak.
"When you are at a time of hopelessness, there is one thing you can do without besides painting…" and she began to sing.
"Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's
Always tomorrow
Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
Till I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on
Please swallow your pride
If I have things
You need to borrow
For no one can fill
Those of your needs
That you won't let show
You just call on me brother
When you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem
That you'll understand
We all need somebody to lean on,"
His mother had a sweet voice. Whenever you were stressed, or in a state of hopelessness, just sing.
"This song gave me hope when one of my best friends died in high school, just listening to it made me feel better"
I could remember the exact moment, for it was a memory to treasure. Maria smiled, and then she sang.
"For it won't be long Till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on" I immediately felt better, about the rose, about the sorrow when I sang this song.
"Please, swallow your pride, If I have things, you need to borrow," She looked like she felt much better.
"No one can fill, those of your needs, that you won't let show,"
"Just call me brother, when you need a hand, we all need somebody to lean on, I just might have a problem, that you'll understand, we all need somebody to lean on," we sang together. That moment, everything was still, and Maria rolled over and kissed me. The kiss was long and quiet, and I felt that I needed it. When I opened my eyes after, everything seemed brighter, and I felt alive again.
"I love you Garry. I've been crying all night about that and now… I feel hope," she said. I smiled at her. She grabbed my hand and we strolled around the park, and I didn't even wince at the sight of roses. I think I was getting better from the strange state. We were the only ones at the park for hours, and I enjoyed it very much. It was like all hope was lost for Maria, and I was the last drop of hope she had.
Soon, when it was dark, a car pulled up, and Maria and I eyed each other nervously.
-Ib- Age 18-
I felt dead, which maybe I was. I didn't know where I was going, but I didn't swerve off the road or hit anything. My arms and legs just drove the car wherever it would go. I went by the mall, looking out the window at the bright lights in the dark night, and I just kept going. I went by many neighborhoods, looking at some of the children go inside for bed time, and lights turning off in many houses. I entered and exited neighborhoods, just observing. Next I went by the art store again, and went in, just to check if he was there, and I wanted to look at the paintings a bit more.
"Is he back yet?" I asked the cashier, and he shook his head.
"Sorry miss," He said. I turned and looked at all the canvases around me. There were beautiful paintings of autumn mornings, summer nights, and there was a painting of a lady with long, brown hair in a red dress. I gasped, and took a step back.
"Are you alright, miss?" The guy asked, and I clenched my fist.
"I'm fine, sir," I almost expected to come out and start to chase me. I went to the other side to inspect paintings, and then I heard a crash. The painting was coming alive! I whipped around to see the blood thirsty lady in red. I dashed for the door and screamed.
"Miss? Where are you going?" I could barely hear as I dashed out of that place. When I was outside, I noticed there was nothing chasing me.
If your spirit suffers too much, you will start to hallucinate…
The door opened, and there was a blonde girl standing in the doorway. A palette knife in hand, she inched towards me. I screamed and ran to my car. I hopped in and drove until I felt safe. I looked behind me, hoping not to see her on the back of my car, and I didn't. I breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at where I was. It was the park, a nice and peaceful place. I saw the beds of roses, and I held my breath. But then I looked up, and in the light of the headlights was a tall man with light purple hair and a girl with light blonde hair. I would recognize him anywhere. I burst out of the door. I couldn't help myself. He was here.
"Garry!" I shouted and hugged him. He looked a little confused and surprised, and began to say,
"Who-?" But then there was a scream, and a force tugged me off of his arms. A fist was thrown at my head, and I felt a little dizzy. There was another blow at my stomach, and I felt like I was going to throw up. I looked around, but everything was blurry. Two more blows to the head, and I stumbled over. I heard shouting, and my vision cleared. My worst nightmare was in front of my eyes. An older version of Mary stood before me, a crazed look in her eyes.
"LEAVE! HE'S MINE!" I didn't get the second statement, but the first one made me freak. I was reliving my nightmare.
"G-Garry…" I said slowly.
"GET AWAY!" Mary came and gave me the final blow. I could feel a bit of blood leak out of my head as I tried to run away from my living nightmare, but everything was blurry and kind of red, and I made my way to the seat in the car. I started it up quickly, and stepped down hard on the gas, and I drove away, but I couldn't see anything. Spots and lines were blocking my vision, and red stuff was getting in the way of everything.
There was a loud crash, a pop and a scream, which was supposedly mine. There was so much red stuff in my eyes I couldn't see, and there was paint all over my entire body. Blood was leaking out of probably every limb in my body, but I didn't care. If I couldn't be with Garry, I might as well not be alive. I stepped on the gas as hard as I could in this strange state, and my whole body jerked forward, and I hit my head so hard on the steering wheel the beep could be heard for miles.
Hey guys, my eyes got a little watery when writing this chapter, and I will probably cry while writing the next one. If you enjoyed, please please please leave a review for the next chapter within the next two days! If you favorite and follow it will come faster! Thanks so much for reading guys!