Edmond Paul

Chapter VI

we both walked along the streets, passing the vendors I saw the night before. With my money in my pocket, I thought of what to get and to buy. I felt like I was with mother again, going shopping, and seeing all the items she wanted. "Edmond, what should we get?" Cècil asked. I looked to and fro, trying to spot an item that would peak her interest. And there, in the window of a shop, was a hat and a dress that she might just adore. I pulled her hand, and smiled at her.
Twas a nice sea foam green that stretched down to the floor. Cècil looked in awe at the dress. I grabbed the tag, and was shocked at how cheap it was. "Only 15 livres!" I said in surprise. Cècil jumped with joy and ran to hug me. "Oh thank you! I've never had anything so beautiful!" I carefully removed the dress from the stand and weaved my way through the powdered customers.
After abandoning her rags, Cècil exited the changing room, and spun in the dress, letting the tassels and décor spin as well. "How do I look?" she asked. I bowed like a gentlemen. "Like a royal." I said with a smile. Once again, she jumped with such excitement and glee, that people looked from afar to see the matter. As we left the shop, other looked over their shoulder to see the exquisite dress. "I feel like a queen!" she said with a happiness filled voice.
      After some walking, we both decided to take a seat, and rest for the minute. "It's a lovely day, isn't it?" she asked. "It certainly is." I responded. Only the tapping of the passerby's feet and the quiet rush of wind filled the air this day. It really was quite the spectacle. But something was amiss. Something I could not see, but rather... felt....
"Is something the matter?" Cècil asked. I looked behind me, with just a rather disgusted feeling. "No...No, nothing Cècil, I'm sorry." Equipped with a face of concern, she grabbed my hand, spun me to where I was facing her, and looked deeply into my eyes. "Edmond, I can see through that lie... what wrong?" I once again looked over my shoulder, signaling. She too looked over my shoulder, and was confused. "Come," I said. "Let me explain."
     We both sat along the bench, and looked down on the passing people. Cècil broke the ice first, and asked, "Now, what was wrong?" I sighed, and described the feeling as best I could. "I..." I didn't know where to begin. "I felt as if someone was following. How everyone starred was okay and all... but..." Cècil put a finger on my mouth, signaling to shush. "Edmond... are you... jealous?" she asked with a great curiosity. "What?!" I responded flustered. "No no no no! It's not that it's just-" she interrupted and laughed. "Edmond, it's alright!" she jumped forward and hugged me tightly. I remained blushing. "But.... But..."
we came to the manor, and stood outside. "So... what now?" Cècil asked. "Well... I think we start anew, and find somewhere to live." Cècil nodded, and agreed. "Okay, but where? A hotel? Your manor?" we both sat thinking about our next residency, when Cècil began to laugh without reason. "Is something wrong?" I asked in worry. "When you were jealous!" she said through the laughter. "But I was not!" I said, almost pouting. Sadly, this only made her laugh even more, and me, even more frustrated.
After some time, the thought of a home became a large one. Since neither of us had the slightest idea of where to go, we settled under a forgotten venders cover, but only for the time being. In a sense, the large factoring classes of my time, both poverty ridden, and the aristocratic elites, shared one common thing in thought. The beggars were dead to them. And being on the streets was our last resort. "Edmond... what are we doing?" Cècil asked. She lifted her dress, trying to escape the muddy waters that puddled underneath her. "Making whatever money we can..." I said, looking for a viable candidate to steal from. "Cècil, I need your help." She looked in confusion. "Okay then... But, what are we going to do?" I readied myself to run. "You'll see." I said with confidence.
As a man passed by us, I sprang forward, and grabbed Cècil to stand right in front of the man. The man was confused, as was Cècil. Then, he began to question her. "Can I help you?" he asked. Cècil stayed quiet, looking behind him, for me. I quietly walked to his side, and looked for a wallet or anything that was valuable. I gave a wave of a hand, signaling I was about to steal. Then, with the launch of my hand, I grabbed his wallet and ran back to the side of the street. Both me and Cècil quickly ran past him, and hoped he didn't see us. And as we ran, we didn't see him anymore, and knew we had lost him.
"We need to see what we got." I said, rummaging through the wallets items. There I found quite a lot of money. I found a French note, issuing over 100 livres. This was a break we both needed. "Oh thank god..." I said in relief. "Edmond... this isn't right-" I interrupted her. "I know it's not right Cècil... but we need it. We need food and shelter. And it costs money..." she shook her head at my remark. "But is it worth taking from a man who could need that money?" I looked at her in despair. "Cècil... there are only two kinds of people in France. The poor, and the rich, and they both hate beggars." She looked mad now. "No Edmond, it's not right regardless of the situation!!" I was enraged too. "No! It has to be done!" I shouted. "No! It doesn't!" I became beyond mad, and thought I hit the wall. "God Damnit Cècil, it has to be done! There is no other answer! We will die if we don't!!" I screamed, an action I regret doing. "Fine! Do it then!" she said whilst crying, and running away from me. "Cècil!" I called to her. But she didn't care, for she ran off, farther than I could see.
      I chased after her, swerving between crowds of pedestrians. "Cècil?!" I periodically shouted, calling for her. I searched between every alley way, and looked for anyone who had seen her. And after searching for ten minutes, I gave up, fearing the worst had come to her. I started to cry. I lost my only friend. The only person in the whole world who actually cared for me, and maybe even loved me... And look what I did to her... I shouted at her, and didn't care for anything while I was enraged. I was saddened and mad at myself...
I sat there, a shell of myself, looking onto the streets of Paris like a fool. Every passerby looked at me with either disgust, knowing I was a pheasant, or sadness. Either way, I didn't care at all. I thought about what she said more than ever now. How life has lost its meaning and such. She was right. Not, life was completely useless to me in this hollow body. For no other reason to live had came to me. I stood up from the ground I sat upon and ventured into the back alley, where I was met with a wall. It was there, that I began to pound, and sob. As my sobbing became louder, my fists hit harder. I pounded with more and more force with each and every passing second, not caring if anyone overheard my sorrows. My sobs became shouts, and my fists became numb from sheer pain itself. What else would I do? I was met with a task that I had brought upon myself, and greeted it with sobbing and fists.
My rage subsided, as did my will to live. I was even more hollow than when I was in the orphanage without my consent... these are the things I dread in life even more so now, than ever before.
I pondered the streets of Paris as a lost soul. I walked with my head down and drooping, as my feet shuffled through the masses with little to no effort. They all tried to look at my face, seeing the faces of many glare at me made me sick to my stomach. They all were curious, wanting to know of my misfortunes and laugh or point, saying nothing more than silence and dead stares. My will was gone, as it was Lost to the hands of humanity and its cruel methods of torture.
I returned to the last place I wanted to revisit, my parents manor. The door's hatch was broken, and the windows appeared to be in worse condition than they had ever been. I sobbed once more at the foot of the doorstep, thinking of my parents. As I walked in, I heard a faint cry. It sounded like pain, but I was unsure. I cared not, but my curiosity got the best of me. As I turned the corner to see the sound, I was met with a horrific surprise.
     The ceiling was engulfed in blood, and dripped down to the floorboards with haste. I immediately knew why, and I held my nose for I caught the stench of a rotting corpse. She died a death no woman deserved, no matter how gruesome or harmful she was.
      I turned around to leave, but the sound of cracking wood caught my attention. I didn't know what to think, but I panicked and ran into the dilapidated commons area. It was then, that the ceiling from around the corner had collapsed in on itself with tremendous force. Dust then began to fill the air and filled my lungs. I hacked and coughed, and fled the area for clean air.
I waited for a minute or so before finally returning to the site of the blood. I feared what I would see. I feared to see a carcass, and death incarnate. My fears were confirmed, whence her body was shown from the pile of rubble that lay atop her fragmented skeletal and flesh remains.
What was left of her skin was now a pure black mucus type substance, and her bones jutted out from her skin, piercing all that remained of what you could call skin. Her eyes were no longer distinguishable. It appeared that the fleas and rats consumed her, and sped the decomposition process by tenfold. I wanted to approach her corpse and wish her well in the afterlife, but I feared something else would befall on my half.
My world felt as if it was falling like the ceiling just had. It was already cracked by all the sights I've been forced to witness, and those I forced myself to look upon, but its process was speeding up, due to the absence of Cècil.
As I walked through the manor, trying to regain its value as a home, I remembered something. The Brute, Andre. I was unsure if he had escaped or not, for the door was broken, and that may have been him. I panicked for some time, but eventually came over the fear. But I was wrong, oh so wrong, for there in the trap I set, was Andre. I didn't know what to make of it all. he still remained motionless, reminiscent of when he fell under his weight. I carefully approached him, without making any sounds. Yet he spoke ever so lightly for his baritone voice, and simply, asked a question.
      "Why did you come back?" I was taken aback by his calm state, and was even more so by his voice. "I... I'm not sure... but why aren't-" I jumped back in midsentence as he raised his hand, as he faced away from me. "That is not the question to be asking. Only answers remain in this house lost by-" "Humanities cruel punishment..." I said, finishing his sentence. His gargantuan head nodded. "Precisely. But please, answer." I was confused at his request to know. Neither I, nor him knew of exact reasons for my presence.    
"I guess... I-" "Came to view the destruction of your home?" I was taken aback once more. "No... no..." I paused at this thought... "Did you come to view the life you took, and the life you thought you took?" I stared at him in a strange mix of emotions, ranging from rage, and depression. "What on earth do you mean by that?!" I asked, shouting simultaneously. He chuckled at my ignorance. "You watched her suffer a slow and painful death, and let's not forget that it was you who committed the act. You know very well Edmond, you know very well." I drew closer to him, as I was enraged. "I know I did!! You don't have to point that out!!" I shouted in retaliation. "I do Edmond, for you do not understand the severity of what you've done!! You are soon to be damned Edmond! God will be at the foot of your suffering-" I threw my foot down, and created a loud echo.
      "Sure he will! Just as soon as I can fight my way through hell, and fly! Where is he now!? Where is your God now Damnit! ANSWER ME!" I was beyond furious; I was engulfed in rage completely and was blind to all my senses but sight and sound.    
"This is what I've brought upon you! And you stand here, in rubble, preaching about religion!" he shook his head. "You know very well Edmond-" I threw a piece of wood at his head, and interrupted his sentence. "What now?! What now?!" I shouted with yet another block of wood held within my grasp. Without words, he arose from the ashes and rubble that fell upon him and dusted himself off. "Do, that, again..." he said in a more sinister voice. I froze where I stood. He knew all along that he had the strength to get up and kill me, yet he didn't. He waited, and I rushed him.
"You... you can move?" he turned to me, with his one blank eye. "Yes Edmond, I've known since a little after you made me fall." I was dumbfounded at his movement. "But why did you not move sooner?! Is there something holding back your decisions?!" he moved out, and looked towards the annoyance's body.
      "Her name was Marian, and she was like a mother to me. She took me in after seeing me sit outside the orphanage she inherited from her mother, Antoinette. She was my closest thing I had to family. And somehow, in a mere time span, no less than a month, you managed to kill her, and everything she loved in one fell swoop." I stood in awe at his performance. Truly every book is not to be judged solely on their cover, but underneath the written pages of their stories laid another meaning. One I failed to see.
"I-" he turned to me. "No, don't be, you've caused enough damage in this life haven't you?" I was stunned once more. "But..." he hit my weakness, Cècil, and my life. "Your presence is already bothersome. You would do us all a favor to die." My fists clenched tighter. "No! One person cares! Of all the people in the world, one person cares!" he smirked. "You mean that pheasant child?" my mouth dropped, from pure rage. I was blinded by my emotions, and charged towards Andre. "She is not a pheasant! She is more than what you say! Don't you dare say that about her, EVER!" I screamed whilst charging at him. Andre swiftly grabbed my head, and hoisted me up.
"It seems she means a lot to you... I admire that.... But since you took something from me, I'm taking something from you"