Midnight descends itself in Anchorage, Alaska. Just as the lamp poles of Olive Park lead from darkness to light, a snow blizzard begins blowing. The slides and rides, gardens and gazebos, bushes and thorns are overtaken by the snow. Under the Yellow Cedar, between two lone benches lies a blood-covered key.
Far in the obscure alleyways of the city, another key is inserted into a doorknob and a door opens. This time, a gorgeous young woman with her elegant brown hair muffled in snow, enters her home. With the name “Emerald” pinned to her vintage coat, the moment she turns, a catastrophic disaster returns; opposite the entrance, an edge of the dining table was bent as if someone’s head was banged on it. An Opus One, 2007 smashed in pieces lies on the floor as wine drips from the countertop. From a glance, the hands of a woman covered in scars can be seen as she mourns. Bolting towards her, she falls to her knees seeing it is her mother. Her arms are covered in bruises and her head is bleeding. In a state so woebegone, Emerald cries. She holds her hand until her mother hears footsteps and signals her to leave knowing that he’s back. It just so happens that Emerald’s father, holding a belt is a few feet away from them, intoxicated in alcohol. Emerald tries standing and as she dashes to her room upstairs, he charges onto her like a wild beast hunting its prey. Managing to make it in the nick of time, she shuts the door on his face. As he bangs and screams, with a pillow covering her head, Emerald cries herself to sleep. She wakes up early next morning and after remembering last night, she rushes to freshen up. Scared of her father, she decides to sneak out. With the support of the pipes, she successfully leaves the house. A notification pops on her phone and she begins marching towards Olive Park. At her destination, under the yellow cedar, a tall young man with amber-red hair by the name of Rosseau, leans forward to hug her. The rest of the group smiles in a moment of awe, as he gives her a necklace. Scarlett, Kassia, Ludwig, and Finneas have their own gifts to give as yesterday was Emerald’s birthday. The necklace falls and both Emerald and Rosseau bend down to find it, while he finds the beauty, Emerald finds a key. The blood on it reminds her of last night and she freezes as she realizes her mother is still there. Fear strikes her and shivers run down her spine as she continues to think of her mom. She shoves the key in her pocket and begins running, like if she doesn’t hurry, death would reach home. The door opens with a thud and Emerald’s mother is on the couch, unable to move due to belt marks all over her skin and neck, as if she’d been choked.
Image by Anja from Pixabay
Emerald, currently horrified finds her friends at the door gasping for air. They make their way in and see the condition of the house and her mother. She cries and confronts them. This isn’t the first time. Rage is in their eyes for her father who deserves a good beating, and a feeling of melancholy is in their hearts for her mother who is weeping. Kassia and Finneas attend her mother’s wounds. The others search for her father’s presence. On exploring, they find a narrow entrance which leads to the basement. They call the others as Emerald adds she could never go there. As the group comes closer, Emerald gets an eerie feeling, her instinct hits her for the key. Her hands twist the doorknob and... the door opens. What was supposed to be “the basement” had torn wall papers with bloody handprints. The stinking scent of rust and alcohol, with rats passing by every second, there remained rusty knives and belts on the side table; on the bed was a photo album. Emerald rushes to grab it and they all leave. In the living room, as the pages of the album kept turning, her eyes kept widening. Young Em, was standing with a handsome boy. The last page inscribed:
My Charcoal black hair,
Your Hazel like eyes
Small tiny fingers,
our beautiful smiles.
- Herald.
Following this was a letter, it turns out… Herald was her brother. He died when she was three. He was diagnosed with Childhood Alzheimer’s. However, he was strangulated to death by the hands of his own father. Why? He was unlike other children. He kept forgetting everything, incapable of anything, was a disappointment to him. He tortured him until his last breath, as if dying was better than giving him to live his rest. He was buried under the Yellow Cedar, where the key lies…and always returns. What hit more than a meteorite shower, was the letter by her own mother. There’s always the worst for someone, it destroys them. Not like a stab in the chest, but slowly like a walk towards death. They live with it, even if it’s not what they deserve. The blind trust on a person, can sometimes make one broken. For Emerald, this was her worst; all her mind wanted now was... to get away. She asked everyone to leave, and Rosseau, handing her the necklace, bid her farewell. Her mother was calling her, but she didn’t listen. The feeling of betrayal struck her hard and she wanted no reasoning. Packing her bags and ignoring her mother, she left. With tears in her eyes and her fading smile, she boarded the train towards Denali, not knowing what was her journey. She held the necklace in her hand and fell asleep by the window. Unbeknownst to her, a few seats behind was a gentleman, with amber-red hair, smiling as he read a newspaper.
The winds blew by in Olive Park and the key returned…All in the glimpse of an eye.