"Pink."
Sirens whirl around her; the red and blue lights switch from side to side, illuminating the night sky. Indistinct chatter and people in nightgowns litter the yard.
Around her, an off-lemon coloured blanket, one of the firemen placed on her. She witnesses the orange fires still dancing and swallowing the house. Neighbours gasp and out come two firemen, each with a body over their shoulder. The bodies are limp and black with soot.
One is Stephen's, the other Dante's. She whimpers a little. Knives puncture her fragile heart as she sees his strands of hair hang down with bereavement and sorrow. Little needles pinprick at her bloodshot eyes, salty tears drop.
"Go." One of the fireman shout as three of them wrestle a massive hose that sprays grey water onto the flames. Iara watches as the commotion unravels; both the water and fire fight each other for the ownership of this demented house. After minutes, the apricot blaze gives up, and they sink down before dying, floating upwards in a ghostly veil towards the night sky.
She then remembers the gift he so sweetly handed to her. The blanket falls off as she turns her back and grabs the woollen good in her cold hands. She squeezes it a little, feeling the fibres soft against her skin. She opens it up, unfolding bits of knit. The photo of Dante and his mother rest snuggly in his knitted creation.
"Thank you for setting me free." She reads, off the note below the image. She smiles and feels the warm tears soak the apples of her cheeks. A little hand-drawn heart at the bottom right side corner.
She takes the image and note and places it between her legs. She unwraps the material tenderly and sees that it is a scarf. She wraps it around her neck and over her chilly lips and nose, like a bandana. Iara softly inhales the wool and can sense Dante's scent which warms her heart and ignites little placid fires.
The cold night air whisks around her but she feels none of it. After a while she inspects the intricacy of the pattern and from inside that blood room nothing could shine, but out here she notices the scarf's amorous colour - pink.
YOU ARE READING
PINK
HorrorIara, a new adult who is held hostage by her inner critic and her manipulative boyfriend finds it hard to not feel pity for her tragic partner, who lures her back to him everytime she finds herself set free. When she manages to untangle herself fro...
