JOHANNA
The loud bang of the door on the hallway wall signals the return of Johanna. The second loud bang signals the drop of her suitcases on the floorboards. A cold breeze whips around the house coming in from the open door.
"Hello? Is anyone home?"
I look up from my laptop, where I've nestled myself in the living chair, in my sweatshirt and sweatpants, with the television on some game show called Wipeout. Ryden sits next to me in the living chair, half watching the TV, half watching me as I go on an online shopping rampage. I look up at the ceiling.
From upstairs, I can hear the floorboards creaking; probably Noah rolling himself out of bed after his late night out. And down in the kitchen, I hear the clatter of the plates and bowls on the metal sink as dad washes the morning's dishes.
"Hello?" mum calls again, dragging out the 'o'. I turn my head to the hallway and see as mum pokes her head around the archway and into the lounge room where I sit. She walks fully in and waves a hand.
Nonchalantly, I meet her eyes for a second before I look back down at my laptop and sigh heavily. From the corner of my eye, I watch as mum walks away from the archway, and I hear her calling out for dad as she continues down the hallway.
"You couldn't even say hello?" Ryden asks, nudging my shoulder. I look to him.
"I'm on a no-speaking term with her for at least a week from now. I guess I never told you about how I called her up after your accident," I reply, looking up at the television.
A woman bounces off a big red ball into water below, washing away the mud from her body. The host replays the moment in slow motion, commentating on how glorious the act was.
"No, you didn't. What happened?" Ryden asks.
"She didn't really seem to care; so I'm not going to care about her problems," I tell him.
The sudden thump behind me scares me and I jump in my seat, whipping around. I relax when I see that it's Noah, still just in his boxers and singlet. He looks up at me and smiles, a lock of hair falling over his eyes.
"Was that banging and clanging mum?" he asks me. I give him a nod.
I follow him with my eyes as he walks out of the lounge room and into hallway. He takes one step out into the hallway and the whole house is filled with squealing as mum coddles over her 'big boy'.
"Noah! Look at you! You've gotten even taller, my big boy! How have you been?" she squeals in utter delight. I watch as the two hug out their love outside the archway.
"You're looking so much like your father! Isn't he Robert? Come here and stand next to Noah! I swear you two are just as tall as each other!" she continues to squeal.
Fed up with all the high pitched sounds of my mum, I pull my earphones out of my pocket and plug them into my laptop. Placing them in my ears, I get into Windows Media Player and click the first song that comes up; One Night, Matthew Koma.
Turning up the sound, I block out everything around me, while blasting my eardrums. Opening back up Google Chrome, I click buy, purchasing a new knitted Christmas jumper for Winter.
* * *
Up in my bedroom, later on in the day, I lie stretched out on my bed looking up at my origami birds. They all hang still, with no breeze or movement to cause them to swing around and bump into each other. So many colours; So many metres of ribbon; So many memories... Ryden should get a place up on my ceiling... After all, he'll be something that I never ever will forget.
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How To Love A Dead Boy
Paranormal[editing-slowly] Despite doing everything she can, Lucy Ainsworth can't forget the night that she held the hand of the dying stranger, Ryden Mitchells. However; when she finds herself face to face with his ghost in her bathroom mirror, she's throw...
