Big Yellow Taxi

They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot,
Don't it always seem to go,

It was a dull, evening. The street was empty. Not too many people passed by this urban area unless they were students from the nearby school. There was a small playground between two houses that eventually went down to a river. The sun's lazy evening rays shone on the vacant area, reminding it that it was nearly time to go to sleep. There was only a young woman kneeling in front of a small, normally unnoticed, memorial. Her auburn hair was splayed over her shoulders and her hazel eyes were sadly looking down on the little memorial.

That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot.

However, a young man, probably about the same age as this young woman, was hurriedly walking down the street. He normally would have been chauffeured, but he wasn't in the mood for it today. His blue uniform was neat, tidy, and buttoned all the way up, unlike some of the boys. His brown hair was combed and neat as well, despite his harrying day. His blue eyes were focused on some unseen object that was annoying him. Since he was so focused on the air ahead of him, he had taken no notice of the girl that was kneeling at the memorial, prompting tripping over her and knocking both of them over.

They took all the trees, and put' em in a tree museum
And they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them
No, no, no, don't it always seem to go

"Ow! What are you doing in the middle of the sidewalk? You can knock people over like what just happened." He growled, irritation dripped through every syllable he spoke. He sat on the ground near the girl he knocked over, rubbing an injured knee.
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone
They paved paradise, and put up a parkin' lot.

"Sorry, but you didn't exactly seem to watch where you were going either." The girl softly whispered. "What was I doing?" She asked again. "I was paying my respects to my little brother."

Hey farmer, farmer, put away your DDT
I don't care about spots on my apples,
Leave me the birds and the bees - please
Don't it always seem to go,

"Hmph. Don't waste your time on dead people. It won't get you anywhere." The blue-eyed young man replied. Dwelling in the past was something he hated.

That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
Hey now, they've paved paradise to put up a parking lot
Why not?

The girl was silent for a moment, thinking how to respond. "Don't you have family? A younger brother or sister that you would go to all lengths to protect?" She didn't receive an answer, so she continued talking, "I don't want him to think I've forgotten him since I started the next grade."

Listen, late last night, I heard the screen door swing,
And a big yellow taxi took my girl away
Now don't it always seem to go,
The brunette was silent for another moment. He couldn't tell her off, he did have a younger brother he would go to all lengths to protect. "How did your brother die?" Neither pointed out that they hadn't gotten off of the dirty, cement sidewalk.

That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
Hey now now, don't it always seem to go,

"It was an accident," the girl began. "He wanted to go outside in the rain. He had forgotten something of his at this very playground and wanted to go find it. I just shrugged, told him 'Whatever, just don't bug me anymore.' That's what I said. Exactly, word for word. That's what he did. He grabbed an umbrella and left for the playground. It had been really wet that day and the rain wasn't letting up. He was pretty small, only ten-years-old too. From what we were told, the driver didn't even see him until it was too late. They tried to swerve the car out of the way, but they were going too fast on the water, they couldn't stop. My brother got ran over and the driver hit this light pole too. Here it is, the dent from the front bumper." She sat up pointing it out.

That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved paradise to put up a parking lot
Why not, they paved paradise
They put up a parking lot
Hey hey hey, paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

"Do you blame them for what happened?" He tried to stay unconcerned, but the girl's story hit him hard.

I don't wanna give it
Why you wanna give it
Why you wanna givin it all away
Hey, hey, hey,

"No, I blamed myself for a long time. 'Whatever, just don't bug me anymore'. Those were my last words to him. Those words always rang through my head, every time it rained, every time I passed by here, every time I tried to go to sleep. 'Whatever, just don't bug me anymore'. About six months ago, I finally stopped blaming myself. It was hard. He was always happy-go-lucky and always trying to make me laugh, even if I thought he was being annoying. What kind of sister was I, tarnishing his memory with sadness and self-pity? If he came back, I would laugh at every joke, even if it wasn't funny." She explained, fiddling her fingers in her lap. "Now, I visit every day, trying to come with a new joke for him.

Now you wanna give it
I should wanna give it
'Cuz you're givin it all away, no, no.

"Oh!" She suddenly stood up, "I've been rambling all this time and you probably have somewhere important to go. I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you." She bowed to him and turned away. "One more thing though, with your little brother or sister, try to tell them you love them each time they leave your side. You never know when it will be the last time you see them." The young woman walked away, leaving the young man to think to himself. He slowly stood up and walked to his home and his little brother.

I don't wanna give it
Why you wanna give it
Why you wanna givin it all away,

"Hey, Seto!" A young boy with long, messy, dark hair happily chirped. "Want to play this new game with me?" He suddenly paused, looking downcast. "Oh wait, you probably have some important work to do, don't you?" His blue-eyes stared sadly at the floor.

'Cuz you're givin it all givin it all away yeah, yeah
'Cuz You're givin it all away hey, hey, hey.

"No Mokuba." The elder young man said, causing his brother to suddenly look up. He ruffled the little boy's hair as he said, "Today, I'm putting it aside for you."

Hey, paved paradise, to put up a parking lot
la,la, la, la, la, la, la ,la ,la ,la ,la
Paved paradise, and put up a parking lot.

Elf: I really like how this turned out. Please tell me what you think of one of my few sober stories.By the way, this girl will probably never have a name or turn up in another fic.