A Dusky Rose (Collection of Short Stories)
written by Winter Lily
Short stories that I've written over time. In chronological order. Trigger warnings are: Suicide, depression, anxiety, murder. I will write individual warnings for each story. Feedback is welcome
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
12
Reads
501
Waiting - Gigs
Chapter 9
Dedicated to Gigs Kathy - For all your pure beauty and open-mindedness, it's really amazing, honestly.
(30 January, 2018)
Waiting, waiting. Always waiting. A figure dressed in blue stood in the rain outside the train station, head tilted down. They stood there, every afternoon, from two until five. For three hours they would stand there, not talking to anyone unless they spoke first, not going inside to catch a train, not waiting for a bus. They would come, no matter the weather. You could always find them there, rain or shine, weather didn’t matter to them it seemed. All that happened was they quietly walked to their spot at one and then quietly walked away at six. No one came to meet them, very rarely did someone talk to them. So they just stood there, alternating between their head being tilted down and looking up at the sky. No one knew who they were and no one was inclined to find out. Well, almost no one.
James shivered and wrapped her coat more tightly around herself. She was 13, but very small for her age, short and thin. She was often mistaken for a much younger person. Not that she minded much, she liked being small, it was easier to hide that way. She had decided to take a different route home from school, she usually walked around for an hour or so before going home and so she decided to try somewhere new. Her steps were quick and despite her small size, she moved along quite quickly. Most days she just walked aimlessly, she didn’t meet or talk to many people unless they spoke first, she wasn’t exactly the most sociable person. Today however, she had a particular destination. Today, someone had run out of school in the middle of a class, she wasn’t sure who the person was or anything about them really, but they had seemed panicked and they had dropped a piece of paper on the way out. James had picked it up quickly. She wasn’t really sure why she had picked it up, but it seemed important. She waited until after school to read the piece of paper that was full with cramped words. Most of them made no sense.
“Death. Home. Hotel. Music. Note. Come. Gun? Bridge? Hm. School. Lie. Lie. Lie. You lie. Back, come back. No, no, no. Maybe? Yes, but not. Honesty. Kill. Today? Death. Gone. Please? Friend? Maybe not. One dark night there was a silence. Will they ever find out where I’m truly from? They call them UFOs ha!” That was what was written on the note. James couldn’t make any sense, but there was also the name of a street. Maybe that’s where the person would be, she thought to herself so off she went, walking quickly. Suddenly, she stopped, she saw them. The person who had run out of class. Sure enough, standing on the street. Wrapped in a blue coat. They was just standing there much to James’s surprise. Why would you just stand there? In the cold?
“Are you alright?” she asked the figure, her head tilting as she waited for a reply.
“Are you talking to me?” the blue-wrapped figure asked, looking around them, for some other person, James supposed.
“Yeah. I am.”
The figure laughed, a crisp, clear, musical laugh. “Well that’s a first. I’m as alright as I can manage.”
James looked at the figure, doing her best to figure out the person. It wasn’t often she met a strange person who stood on the edge of roads and laughed when people asked how they were. It was pleasantly refreshing, but also slightly concerning. So she smiled at the figure and hesitated before continuing. “Don’t you want to go home? Or at least somewhere warmer?” she asked, looking up at the sky as it threatened to rain.
“You know what?” the figure began, leaning towards James. “I don’t. Or at least, I didn’t. But somewhere warm might be nice, soon.”
“Soon? I think now might be better.” James shook her head at this strange person. “Come on. Tell me your name and then we’ll go to the library. It’s freezing,” she suggested, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.
“Kai. My name is Kai. And the library? Well, sure I guess.”
“I’m James. Let’s go.” Glancing down at her watch, James smiled; 3:54, plenty of time before she had to go home. Looking down at their own watch, Kai was astonished, they had never left this early before, but there was always a first time for everything.
(30 January, 2018)
Waiting, waiting. Always waiting. A figure dressed in blue stood in the rain outside the train station, head tilted down. They stood there, every afternoon, from two until five. For three hours they would stand there, not talking to anyone unless they spoke first, not going inside to catch a train, not waiting for a bus. They would come, no matter the weather. You could always find them there, rain or shine, weather didn’t matter to them it seemed. All that happened was they quietly walked to their spot at one and then quietly walked away at six. No one came to meet them, very rarely did someone talk to them. So they just stood there, alternating between their head being tilted down and looking up at the sky. No one knew who they were and no one was inclined to find out. Well, almost no one.
James shivered and wrapped her coat more tightly around herself. She was 13, but very small for her age, short and thin. She was often mistaken for a much younger person. Not that she minded much, she liked being small, it was easier to hide that way. She had decided to take a different route home from school, she usually walked around for an hour or so before going home and so she decided to try somewhere new. Her steps were quick and despite her small size, she moved along quite quickly. Most days she just walked aimlessly, she didn’t meet or talk to many people unless they spoke first, she wasn’t exactly the most sociable person. Today however, she had a particular destination. Today, someone had run out of school in the middle of a class, she wasn’t sure who the person was or anything about them really, but they had seemed panicked and they had dropped a piece of paper on the way out. James had picked it up quickly. She wasn’t really sure why she had picked it up, but it seemed important. She waited until after school to read the piece of paper that was full with cramped words. Most of them made no sense.
“Death. Home. Hotel. Music. Note. Come. Gun? Bridge? Hm. School. Lie. Lie. Lie. You lie. Back, come back. No, no, no. Maybe? Yes, but not. Honesty. Kill. Today? Death. Gone. Please? Friend? Maybe not. One dark night there was a silence. Will they ever find out where I’m truly from? They call them UFOs ha!” That was what was written on the note. James couldn’t make any sense, but there was also the name of a street. Maybe that’s where the person would be, she thought to herself so off she went, walking quickly. Suddenly, she stopped, she saw them. The person who had run out of class. Sure enough, standing on the street. Wrapped in a blue coat. They was just standing there much to James’s surprise. Why would you just stand there? In the cold?
“Are you alright?” she asked the figure, her head tilting as she waited for a reply.
“Are you talking to me?” the blue-wrapped figure asked, looking around them, for some other person, James supposed.
“Yeah. I am.”
The figure laughed, a crisp, clear, musical laugh. “Well that’s a first. I’m as alright as I can manage.”
James looked at the figure, doing her best to figure out the person. It wasn’t often she met a strange person who stood on the edge of roads and laughed when people asked how they were. It was pleasantly refreshing, but also slightly concerning. So she smiled at the figure and hesitated before continuing. “Don’t you want to go home? Or at least somewhere warmer?” she asked, looking up at the sky as it threatened to rain.
“You know what?” the figure began, leaning towards James. “I don’t. Or at least, I didn’t. But somewhere warm might be nice, soon.”
“Soon? I think now might be better.” James shook her head at this strange person. “Come on. Tell me your name and then we’ll go to the library. It’s freezing,” she suggested, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.
“Kai. My name is Kai. And the library? Well, sure I guess.”
“I’m James. Let’s go.” Glancing down at her watch, James smiled; 3:54, plenty of time before she had to go home. Looking down at their own watch, Kai was astonished, they had never left this early before, but there was always a first time for everything.
