Red Bows and Bare Knees (part 14 of 27)

a Non-Anime Fanfiction fanfiction by Shorttail

Back to Part 13
House


Sleep of beautiful. House of wonderful. Despite the faint pain I leaned 
forward. Shook her until we were both awake. Contagious happiness. She 
stretched her arms and legs. Yawned. Pressed even harder against my 
center. Then she got up.

The girl stepped out onto the bathroom floor. I joined her. We were 
dripping wet. Soaking the floor. We took the clothes, the paper, and the 
crayons. Outside. The other door in the room was closed. I didn't feel 
like opening it. Outside was better.

A garden. Small and surrounded by a tall, green hedge. Circular. The 
grass was lovely. Caressed my naked feet. Emerald green. Greener than 
anything. I felt an urge to lie down. The girl nodded and threw herself 
onto the grass.

Dresses and shoes. I put them down to dry. Her bandage was gone when we 
awoke. Her wound. I sat down next to her. I felt her skin. Her shoulder 
was fine. No sign of injury. Not even a scar. It had to be the sleep. Or 
the water.

She smiled and rolled over. Started drawing. She gave me some paper. The 
beige crayon was enough for me. I drew a worm. I wanted to draw a 
butterfly too. She used all the crayons. She was good. Didn't want to 
disturb her.

I rolled onto my back. There was a sky high above us. Blue sky. Beyond 
the hedge it was covered in mist, but just above us it was clear. A 
little bit of sun reached us. Warmth. The clothes would dry in no time. 
And so would we. Already my belly felt less wet.

Green grass and blue sky. This was happiness. A shame it wouldn't last 
forever. The moment was nice. Something I wanted again. Maybe when it 
was all over. Lying on the softest lawn, looking at the sky.

Perhaps this place was of my imagination. The cabin and the valley were. 
It could be. A place of happiness. I wanted to lie naked on the grass. 
For the rest of my life. And I wanted to see my face. See my reflection. 
That's all I really needed.

She was done. I got up next to her. A nurse. She had drawn a nurse. And 
a hospital room. It was quite good. She had used all the crayons. There 
weren't any left. She looked nice. The nurse. Someone I'd trust. It was 
weird. I never trusted any adults before. Except for him. But he was 
different. Not really a grownup.

We were both dry now. The clothes too. Clean and aromatic. Like when we 
got it. New. Flawless. Perfect. It felt so soft and protective. We put 
it on again. I tied her red bow and she tied mine. Everything. Helped 
each other. More than needed. Family. Or something else.

We left the garden. We left the house. Back into the mist. We left 
behind the drawings. He said he wanted them. That he'd handle the 
hospital for us. We were in the street again. Right in front of the next 
place.

A shop. A shop that sold old things. Green above the door. We walked 
down the stairs. Through the door. It was dim inside. There was nothing 
from him. Empty.

Through the bookcase. Into the back room. I'd been here before. But I 
couldn't remember much. So long time ago. So much sleep. Too long.

It was not a place of happiness. An altar. Candles. My stomach twisted. 
This was too much. Memory. I wanted to destroy it. But I couldn't. The 
cardboard box was here. A gift.

She opened it. Pulled up a bucket of paint. The same as last time. 
Except for the leather. She handed it to me. A sheath. Cover for the 
knife. It was in the too. The knife. I carefully pressed it down the 
sheath. This time I wouldn't drop it.

The strap was too short for me. I carefully attached it to the girl's 
shin just below the knee. It was nice of him to make a sheath for it. It 
worked better as a weapon now. Carrying it all the time was hard. I 
wondered where I had dropped it.

A bucket was opened. I dipped my pencil. We painted the same thing. 
There was a bit less space. But it was okay. It felt so natural to both 
of us. She made the nicest of circles. I made the signs.

Howling. Came from behind. Unexpected. I fell first. Awful sound. 
Distant. Headache. Pain. The girl collapsed. The painting was 
unfinished. Elsewhere. It wasn't here. The room changed. Hostile.

Flames. Fire of misery and death. The candles on the altar. Alit. More. 
More. I could see nothing else. Cage. I screamed to wake up. The girl 
was silent. The flames hummed.

The place was laughing at us. I knew it. The flames were strong. I 
couldn't get near the altar. Anger. I wanted to leave a scar in its 
face. I got up. Dipped the brush.

The girl would die soon. I wrote on the wall. I wrote something. 
Something the people with the altar would hate. I smirked as the letters 
formed. This would be enough. The headache. 

Onwards to Part 15


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