Dreams and Ashes

I feel weightless as if I was nothing but smoke and ash. I look down and realize that I was standing above a lake and in its glassy mirror I could see myself. Brown hair cascaded past the shoulders of a frail girl with haunting blue eyes that stared lifelessly back. My feet sent faint ripples through the water as if sending a message to an unknown world. The tips of my white night gown flew lazily with the eerie breeze.

Where is this place?

Am I dead?

I tried wiggling my toes but I couldn't do it...I tried walking but my feet were numb.

Oh........

I feel a sensation.... of weight?

I could feel it flowing through me, filling me......I realised with terror that soon I will sink.

A moment later the lake sucked me inside , I tried flailing my hands to swim, to somehow get air to breath but I couldn't . I needed air ,I needed it now! I forced my legs to work but I only sank more...it was getting darker, my vision blurred . I screamed out of horror and water plummeted into my mouth and burned a path down my nosetrils chocking me, I wanted to get out........

Silence welcomed me when I woke up.

I was panting heavily and my body felt sticky with sweat ....just moments ago I was drowning into a bottomless pool .I knew what the nightmare meant ...death , my sorrow and helplessness would eventually kill me.The clock showed 6'o clock so I got up and showered for school. The water soothed me and calmed my nerves .Since cancer took my mother away last year ,I had been struggling with life. Life felt pointless and directionless. Wrapping a towel around myself I left the bathroom. But I had to move on, there was no other choice. Each step was a giant boulder and I was bleeding .Waking up to a new day everyday I search for purpose, a way in which I could somehow free myself from this internal struggle that constantly clouds my mind. I wore a grey sweatshirt and jeans and walked down the stairs .

My father was a loving man...once. Now he's just an alcoholic who gave up on life. He lay among his beloved bottles on the living room floor completely separated from the rest of the world.I tried waking him up.

"Dad I'm going to school, Daddy you need to wake up"

His unmoving form gave me no reply.

I wonder when he came home last light , I had waited for him till midnight but retired to sleep when I couldn't hold on anymore.

I couldn't leave him like this ! I went into his bedroom to grab a bed sheet and laid it on top of him. He will be thirsty when he wakes up so I filled a bottle with water and kept it in a table nearby along with a stash of Aspirin .Then I grabbed a granola bar and headed to school. I live in a small town called Bloomsville with about 3000 residents . It rained last night so the foot path was slightly slippery but I enjoyed my morning walks to school . Listening to the sounds of nature with cool air filling my lungs, I felt sane.Within no time, I saw my school . I ran up the stairs of Bloomsville High and melted into the sea of teenagers.

Here I was Rose,the nerd who rarely made conversation with anyone.

Its not that I didn't like being spoken to or that I didn't know how to make conversation. Its just that after all the chaos at home, there was rarely any energy left in me to try to socialize and make friends. My first class was Biology, I took out my Bio note from my locker and went off to class.

I was the second person to arrive .

There at the far corner of the room sat a hooded figure, pitch black locks fell into his eyes , he didnt have to look up, I knew those eyes were two pools of dark chocolate.

Something about Tristan Sky reminded me of a starry night sky ....

Dark and holds a million secrets that one life alone cannot unlock, maybe even a life time of work cannot unlock . Like those stars I thought there was something blazing about him, something from the sky. No one knew his whereabouts except his two close friends Logan and Ryder. Tristan was extremely volatile, like a ticking bomb and once in awhile someone lost a teeth or two trying to provoke him.

The class started filling up with students and soon Mr.Lockwood entered. Today he spoke about gene editing, one of my favourite topics. I took down notes while listening to his class. Soon the class got over and the next came by then the next.

I just bought my lunch and was walking towards the bleachers to have it when someone called me from behind.

" Hey Rose! "

A few seconds later Mark stood before me.

"Hey I liked your presentation for English yesterday"

" Oh Thanks "

"Umm ...do you.....do you maybe wanted to have coffee sometime later"

His voice tapered towards the end. Was he asking me out? " Mark I have plans after school today so.....I'm sorry" I didn't have plans,he has been following me around for a while now . I had already told him that its only been a year since my Mom's death and I needed some time to be perfectly normal again..... if I'll ever be. Can't he just leave me alone and give me some space ."Oh ok what about this Saturday ?We could go for dinner or maybe lunch ? "

" Saturday ? I'm going to visit my grandparents this Saturday so ...sorry"

I looked at him apologetically , he looked kind of sad but I knew he'd get over it." Ok well then I'll leave you to your lunch" he said and walked away. One day maybe I will say yes.

The last bell rang so I packed my bag and left school . My dad came back late everyday and going back to an empty home was difficult. So usually I walk around town to get an ice cream or maybe some frozen yoghurt . My town held a thousand secrets and one of them was a grilled fence. There was no information on what was inside except that a really rich guy built something in it maybe a resort or even a slaughter house,who knows .

My favourite part of town was the bridge , I've never seen a more beautiful sight than the one I've seen from there. Two mountains parted by a river,like two lovers who are forever separated by time, always reachable yet so unreachable. The wind blew my hair in all directions and I tried to comb it with my hair. It was getting dark so I started to walk back home .

I was passing a deserted alleyway when I heard noises as if someone was kicking and beating some one. There was a garage nearby and I was pretty sure that that was where the noise came from.

Unable to hold my curiosity under control I peeked in.

Four guys not more than 22 years old were beating and kicking one boy. He was curled up on the floor whimpering and grunting. One of the guys lifted his face up by pulling his hair back forcefully and I gasped when I saw his blood covered blue black face.........

It was Tristan .

The man who pulled his hair back smashed his head forcefully on the mortar floor. My eyes filled up with tears out of fear and terror. I took out my phone to call the police but in the process my hand hit a metal rod nearby which fell down making me jump. I looked up terrified and saw their eyes on me clutching my phone. " Aaron get her, she might have called the damn cops " one of them said. I turned around and ran but in moments two huge arms snaked around my waist and I was lifted off the ground . I screamed and hit his back and dug my nails into his skin.

" LET ME GO"

I was dropped down on the floor and my hip hit the ground painfully. He pinched my cheek between his fingers and slapped me across the face sending searing currents of pain and shock through my body.

Tristan lay half awake on the floor, he could barely move his fingers .

" Now give us our cocaine and we'll let this girl go" said one of them.

" Leave her alone" he whispered.

The blond man among them dumped the contents of my bag into the floor, he took all the money in my wallet "Just 20 bucks man! God we need to get something more from this bitch " .

He searched my back pocket and squeezed my ass ,I tried to scream but my mouth was closed shut with his hand. He continued his search while I tried to squirm away and I convulsed violently when his hand came too close to my core . Tears rolled down my eyes. Tristan tried to get up but one man fisted his hand and sat over his chest hitting him multiple times . The man holding me found my phone and put it inside his pocket .

"This wont be enough give us something more "

I had nothing left except a silver chain with a small diamond star around my neck , it was the last gift from Mom , my last memory. "What about this",he removed my chain and pushed me to the floor. The man who was hitting Tristan got distracted on seeing my chain and at that time Tristan pushed him down and started hitting him . Blood sprayed out of the guy but he continued his assault. Harsh fast blows one after another hit. Even when he passed out Tristan didn't stop hitting him. The other men with him pushed Tristan away and dragged their associate out of the garage .

At last I felt it ....silence.

The garage was silent except for our heavy breaths ,my hips hurt badly and I could feel blood oozing out of my lips . I remembered where his hands were and I felt so violated. I closed my eyes to suppress the memory. Tristan pushed himself off the ground somehow and started limping towards the exit.

Afterwhile he disappeared through the door .

Pain shot through my heart at the sight because even when he reached the edge of the door....... he never looked back.

Author's note:

So this is how it begins...

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