A heart's cry

post by Rose and Thorn (lucas-weatherly) · 2022-04-06T01:59:37.046Z · LW · GW · 0 comments

Contents

No comments

Here is a short story I wrote a while ago. I ended up submitting it to a short story contest a few months ago but I haven't hear back. I thought you guys may enjoy it. Also yes this the root of my username.

The world is full of love. At least that's what they told me.  They told me love was real but to me, it’s not. I leave my room for the water fountain. The sounds as I walk down the hall remind me of the principal walking down the hall. That was back when I was with Mother of course. I don’t remember much about my life before Mother brought me here. I barely remember Mother’s face but the look on her face when she brought me here it is chiseled in stone in my mind. It was one of disappointment. 

Now I have forgotten why I was in the hall. My lips feel like the desert that reminds me of the water fountain. That’s why I’m here. The water hits my lips like a garden hose on a forest fire, a temporary relief. It will be like this for a while. The medicine they give me is chalky, dry, and filled with the devil’s fire. I need to get to sleep, I think as I glance at the hallways clock. I only have an hour or so until the medicine pulses through me like a fire in my veins. I rush back to my room and fall on my “mattress” from my memory; this is nothing like the ones I had with Mother. One time I saw a mattress on television… I closed my eyes slowly and drifted into the abyss.
I awake to the drifting of a nurse’s cart in the hall. I might as well eat now it’s five, fifteen in the morning. I stroll down to the mess hall. There is a new girl with light freckles, burgundy, fairly short hair, slight dimples, with sculpted features standing there talking to the headmaster. I kinda think she’s cute but I better keep that to myself. I walk into the kitchen and grab a cinnamon bun, milk, cream cheese, and a bagel. I wave to Eddy, the chef no one is supposed to go in the kitchen but I’m allowed to because I’m what they call a “good kid”. I asked why other people were not allowed in there and had to wait once, they said something about other kids could hurt themselves. I asked Eddy to slice the bagel. He gladly does with a smile. I walk out in the mess hall and take a seat in the far left corner like always.

 The headmaster ushers the girl to come to sit with me. I would complain but there is no point in scaring the girl. She sits down. I ask her what her name is, and she replies Rose. I say my name is Asher. “Rose, Rose, Rose” her voice repeats in my head. The luscious scent of a new batch of cinnamon buns coming out of the oven reminds me of the one under my nose. I decided I can share today even though I normally would eat my cinnamon bun alone, in peace. I ask Rose if she wants a part of the cinnamon bun and she solemnly replies “Yes please”. The cinnamon roll tears with a delicate touch and reveals the inner cinnamon filling. 

We take turns doing this until there is one piece left and I move the plate with the cinnamon bun to her side with half of the bagel with the other half in my hand. I get out of my seat and stroll back to the kitchen. I grab another carton of milk and hear Eddy say “I see you found yourself a lady friend”. Eddy is like my annoying older brother based on all of the shows on the television. I come back down to earth and walk back to the far left corner. That’s when I see that Rose has pushed the plate back to where I was sitting. I sit down, put the milk in front of her, and push the plate back. As soon as I can't see the plate in my peripheral vision she moves it in front of me. I eat my bagel in a hasty four bites then move the plate in front of her. I seamlessly stand up and walk out of the cafeteria.

As I’m walking in the hallway I glance into the art studio empty just how I want it to be. I walk to the back of the room and open my “personal studio”. It apparently was where the kiln was but the kiln was overheating so it was moved out. Then the art teacher said I could occupy it for now. I sit down and grab a pencil. I start drawing lines sporadically. The lines fade in and out of focus. I end up with the profile of a female face. With a piece of charcoal, I add features to the mouth, the nose, the eyes, and a rough outline of the hair. I leave the room to grab a set of natural colored pastels. On my way back I hear someone in the hall. I just speed up. I'm in the zone right now and human interaction is the opposite of what I want. I don’t like other people any way they are always temporary.

 I reach the door just as someone walks in so I just close the door behind me. I sit down and start adding color burgundy hair and almost butterscotch colored skin. The person still doesn’t leave the room walking around and opening the drawers and doors. The door slowly opens, it's Rose then I look back at my artwork and I realize I drew her. This could be awkward I think as I use a hasty kick on the easel to make the cover fall over. I look back up to see her wave and close the door. She had a key sticking out of her pocket I note. Once I stop thinking I put the drawing away on the floor. They don’t let us have shelves I asked once and someone said something about hanging off the shelves. I get out another one of my normal drawings. It was half done but right now I don’t have the focus to finish it. I go to find Rose, I’m starting to think she is sweet, she found me and let me be that is sweet, right? I looked everywhere in the building that she could be. I end up running into the headmaster. 

So I ask him if he knows where she might be. He says “I told her she could go outside but the sun hasn’t risen yet so, I don’t know.” I say a quick absentminded thanks and hurry on my way back to my room. I grab the tarnished leather jacket my father gave me before he disappeared. Then I bolt out of my room and out the door to the yard, empty. Once in the yard, I unlock the small but high gate to the creek. I walk down the path and about three-fourths of the way down I can make out her faint outline sitting on a blanket with her legs hanging over the ledge on the shore of the creek. 

I hurry down and take a seat next to her. I look at her shivering in the faint light. I open my jacket to gesture if she wants my jacket. She gives me a little smile which I take as a yes. I decide it’s now or never so I only take one arm out of my jacket. I pull the jacket to the far side of her and she puts her arm in pulling me so my shoulder is brushing up against hers. I can see the sun start to rise then I feel her put her head on my shoulder. This must be love I think as I put my arm around her and watch the sunrise.

 Later as I would learn love is a form of trust to you to a person. Trust that they won’t hurt you. As one learns through life often this trust is broken. The following day Rose would not wake up. Rose heard my heart’s cry to be released from solitude and taught me what love can be. Though her rest was silence in a conversation between hearts. 
 

0 comments

Comments sorted by top scores.