OK wow! Let me just say that I have enjoyed writing every single second of this story! I thank my readers and frequent reviewers for keeping me motivated and inspired. Please know that this is indeed the last chapter for this fic. So please don't make any more requests on this end, (especially if it doesn't end the way you want it to)
Thanks again!
ENJOY!
VXVXVX
The sullen weather of fall had long passed. Eva had sat by on the comfortable cushion of her parent's bay window and watched pointlessly as the leaves finished their transition and collected themselves in the gutters and empty spaces of the street. Her eyes were focused but she could still only concentrate on the book that she clung to her chest. She glanced down at it thoughtfully hoping if she stared into the worn bindings long enough she could fall into the pages and escape the sadness that outlined her soul and every memory.
She continued to reread the title: "Grimm's Fairy Tales." She sighed and breathed in the stiff leather that covered the book. She remembered the silent and gritty day she had found it. Somehow it had made it under her bed and she had paused the second she put it away, remembering exactly why it had been there. She almost cracked a regretful smile at the visual of the bruise it had left on Toad's ample features.
It seemed like his face was always in her mind. Her dreams were littered with this smile and laughter. She knew why he was gone...and she hated herself for it. The miserable voice of the Clown still echoed in her mind, despite his departure he still insisted on causing more heartache before he was entirely gone. She replayed the scene in her head over and over: they had almost been there, but then suddenly she was on the floor watching helplessly as nearly three tons of shattering debris fell on Toad, crushing him in the process.
She flinched away at the memory of the firefighters coming in just moments later as she was tearing at the rubble, cutting her hand in the fruitless process. Other than that the entire trip to the hospital and checkup seemed like a dream, the police interviews, being reunited with her parents, it was all one worthless action after another.
Because all she wanted was him.
Eva turned to a freshly marked page in the book in her scared hands. She glanced at them briefly: a reminder that she was the reason he was dead. At the moment the terrifying thought of cutting them off seemed better than having to look at them every day for the rest of her life.
She turned the page she had marked many times before. And she noticed vaguely that they on had still dried tears from her last venture into it. She read the title silently to herself before she began to read out loud...
"The Frog Prince."
VXVXVXVX
The fierce and hateful winter had left three blizzards, two ice storms, and plenty of used snow days from the schools. The weather had been without a doubt abnormal, but the local citizens took it as it came. And most of them were now grateful for the peaceful weather that was beginning to settle in around them.
There was one woman however who did not feel such a way.
And Eva let go of the steel grasp she had on the steering wheel of her car. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, just listening to the sounds of the winds landing on her vehicle. Her covered hand found it's way to the handle and soon she found herself outside of it.
She leaned against the door and sighed. The steady winds of winter were slowly fading into the oncoming season of warmth. Yet Eva still wrapped the sweater tighter around her form. Hair that was once pulled up blew into her face as though they didn't want her to see the sight that lied in front of her. She ignored her body's reaction however and pushed the strand from her face. She stared at her boots as she hovered over the empty lot. It was clear now, yet Eva could remember a time where it coded the night sky with it's tragic dust and littered the ground with substances of all sorts. Now, however it stood empty as though unaware that a life had ever been taken there.
Toad's life to be exact.
Before Eva closed the door she gently picked up a small carnation, the flower was delicate and she handled it as though she feared it would die under the slight pressure of her fingers. She caught a glimpse of a squirrel in a tall oak tree a few yards away. She smiled slightly and re-crossed her arms over her chest before continuing on her journey.
This place seemed quieter now. She recalled that day when she screamed at the police and firefighters to begin the search. She yelled and bellowed at them with tears of agony shredding down her face. The small group of confused state officials however didn't move toward the wreckage. Instead most of them just looked at her sadly before glancing at one another shrugging their shoulders.
She didn't really blame them for not believing her. After all she had just gone through a "tragic experience." And as far as any of them knew, she was just a hysterical girl who had been abducted by a terrorist/mutant. By the time she arrived at the hospital she was oblivious to their assumptions and was soon fed a medical cocktail to wipe her consciousness away. It even took a while for her parents to believe her. Naturally of course she told them far more details than she had the police. Still they looked at her gravely for quite some time. Her mother grew older with worry every time she retold her story. Eventually her father grew just as tired of the tale and the appeared to be just as sick of humoring her, as she was of hearing,
"Of course we believe you honey...but just maybe don't you think you're a little confused?"
She sighed gruffly. Remembering the medication they wanted her to take for the nightmares, their sighs of alarm when she insisted she wanted to look for him herself...It just went on and on. Eva knew the odds of someone surviving something like that were less than great. But she had to keep trying, sitting by her window every night just waiting for him to come back to her...
But he never did.
And soon her hopes began to diminish. Slowly at first, but then before she knew it the knowledge of his death tolled on her like a heavy weight that refused to be lifted. Her heart hurt, her mind hurt, everything hurt.
The first few months dangled like a useless piece of string. She hated everything that came in her path, there was no sense for school, eating, friends. Everything was bland and tasteless, she found herself sitting by her windows for whole nights at a time reading the Frog Prince until her eyes could no longer identify the words.
Those nights of lacking sleep took a toll on her. But no one realized exactly how much until she fainted one day shortly after her 18th birthday. During that state of darkness she saw his face, only this time it wasn't mangled, or deformed as she had seen in her nightmares. Instead he smiled and looked on at her from a distance she couldn't reach, laughing at her messy hair and school uniform clothes.
When she woke up she realized she had to move on.
So she stood her now, the wind to her back. A year later and she still wondered...
Eva leaned over the empty sight and placed the single flower on the gray and dusty lot. She smiled to the wind that insisted to stay with her and tilted her head to the side.
"Good-bye Toad..."
Thanks again!
ENJOY!
VXVXVX
The sullen weather of fall had long passed. Eva had sat by on the comfortable cushion of her parent's bay window and watched pointlessly as the leaves finished their transition and collected themselves in the gutters and empty spaces of the street. Her eyes were focused but she could still only concentrate on the book that she clung to her chest. She glanced down at it thoughtfully hoping if she stared into the worn bindings long enough she could fall into the pages and escape the sadness that outlined her soul and every memory.
She continued to reread the title: "Grimm's Fairy Tales." She sighed and breathed in the stiff leather that covered the book. She remembered the silent and gritty day she had found it. Somehow it had made it under her bed and she had paused the second she put it away, remembering exactly why it had been there. She almost cracked a regretful smile at the visual of the bruise it had left on Toad's ample features.
It seemed like his face was always in her mind. Her dreams were littered with this smile and laughter. She knew why he was gone...and she hated herself for it. The miserable voice of the Clown still echoed in her mind, despite his departure he still insisted on causing more heartache before he was entirely gone. She replayed the scene in her head over and over: they had almost been there, but then suddenly she was on the floor watching helplessly as nearly three tons of shattering debris fell on Toad, crushing him in the process.
She flinched away at the memory of the firefighters coming in just moments later as she was tearing at the rubble, cutting her hand in the fruitless process. Other than that the entire trip to the hospital and checkup seemed like a dream, the police interviews, being reunited with her parents, it was all one worthless action after another.
Because all she wanted was him.
Eva turned to a freshly marked page in the book in her scared hands. She glanced at them briefly: a reminder that she was the reason he was dead. At the moment the terrifying thought of cutting them off seemed better than having to look at them every day for the rest of her life.
She turned the page she had marked many times before. And she noticed vaguely that they on had still dried tears from her last venture into it. She read the title silently to herself before she began to read out loud...
"The Frog Prince."
VXVXVXVX
The fierce and hateful winter had left three blizzards, two ice storms, and plenty of used snow days from the schools. The weather had been without a doubt abnormal, but the local citizens took it as it came. And most of them were now grateful for the peaceful weather that was beginning to settle in around them.
There was one woman however who did not feel such a way.
And Eva let go of the steel grasp she had on the steering wheel of her car. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, just listening to the sounds of the winds landing on her vehicle. Her covered hand found it's way to the handle and soon she found herself outside of it.
She leaned against the door and sighed. The steady winds of winter were slowly fading into the oncoming season of warmth. Yet Eva still wrapped the sweater tighter around her form. Hair that was once pulled up blew into her face as though they didn't want her to see the sight that lied in front of her. She ignored her body's reaction however and pushed the strand from her face. She stared at her boots as she hovered over the empty lot. It was clear now, yet Eva could remember a time where it coded the night sky with it's tragic dust and littered the ground with substances of all sorts. Now, however it stood empty as though unaware that a life had ever been taken there.
Toad's life to be exact.
Before Eva closed the door she gently picked up a small carnation, the flower was delicate and she handled it as though she feared it would die under the slight pressure of her fingers. She caught a glimpse of a squirrel in a tall oak tree a few yards away. She smiled slightly and re-crossed her arms over her chest before continuing on her journey.
This place seemed quieter now. She recalled that day when she screamed at the police and firefighters to begin the search. She yelled and bellowed at them with tears of agony shredding down her face. The small group of confused state officials however didn't move toward the wreckage. Instead most of them just looked at her sadly before glancing at one another shrugging their shoulders.
She didn't really blame them for not believing her. After all she had just gone through a "tragic experience." And as far as any of them knew, she was just a hysterical girl who had been abducted by a terrorist/mutant. By the time she arrived at the hospital she was oblivious to their assumptions and was soon fed a medical cocktail to wipe her consciousness away. It even took a while for her parents to believe her. Naturally of course she told them far more details than she had the police. Still they looked at her gravely for quite some time. Her mother grew older with worry every time she retold her story. Eventually her father grew just as tired of the tale and the appeared to be just as sick of humoring her, as she was of hearing,
"Of course we believe you honey...but just maybe don't you think you're a little confused?"
She sighed gruffly. Remembering the medication they wanted her to take for the nightmares, their sighs of alarm when she insisted she wanted to look for him herself...It just went on and on. Eva knew the odds of someone surviving something like that were less than great. But she had to keep trying, sitting by her window every night just waiting for him to come back to her...
But he never did.
And soon her hopes began to diminish. Slowly at first, but then before she knew it the knowledge of his death tolled on her like a heavy weight that refused to be lifted. Her heart hurt, her mind hurt, everything hurt.
The first few months dangled like a useless piece of string. She hated everything that came in her path, there was no sense for school, eating, friends. Everything was bland and tasteless, she found herself sitting by her windows for whole nights at a time reading the Frog Prince until her eyes could no longer identify the words.
Those nights of lacking sleep took a toll on her. But no one realized exactly how much until she fainted one day shortly after her 18th birthday. During that state of darkness she saw his face, only this time it wasn't mangled, or deformed as she had seen in her nightmares. Instead he smiled and looked on at her from a distance she couldn't reach, laughing at her messy hair and school uniform clothes.
When she woke up she realized she had to move on.
So she stood her now, the wind to her back. A year later and she still wondered...
Eva leaned over the empty sight and placed the single flower on the gray and dusty lot. She smiled to the wind that insisted to stay with her and tilted her head to the side.
"Good-bye Toad..."
