Love and Loss

Chapter 1: Into the Night

     The first thing I felt when I opened the mansion's door was the cool midnight breeze against my face. The stars twinkled in the night sky as the full moon shined with a brilliant light. As I gazed ahead, I found that, besides the street lights, the only lights in the town were either from bars or from a single window in a house. That meant that I was unlikely to stumble across anyone for the night.

"Okay, no turning back now. You owe him this much, at least," I said to calm myself. None of my friends knew that I was even awake right now. Paul was still fast asleep next to me when I quietly got out of bed. George was asleep as well when I checked on him. 

I took once last glance behind me to make sure that neither of them had followed me. The emptiness of the hallway assured me so. 

Sighing, I took a few steps forwards so that I was outside. Once I was out of the doorway, I turned around to close the door. 

The creaking of the old hinges was the only sound that I could hear. I clenched my teeth, hoping that the sound was not loud enough to wake anyone up. Once the door was shut, I stood in front of it, once again surveying Liverpool.

'It's only a matter of time now.' I thought to myself. A sense of unease was slowly forming in my gut, but I brushed it off. There was no use in stopping now. I had already spent years doing that and it was selfish. Still, It did not help that, as each minute passed by, I started to feel more anxious.

'You just got out of the mansion, Johnny. You can't quit now.' I closed my eyes for a moment. 

I knew that this was coming for a long time now. Why was I still so scared of doing it? It's not like...

Well, there is no way to finish that thought. Maybe if I focus on something that did not remind me of my destination, my mind will be clear for a while.

I turned my head to the side and looked down. I pulled my arm up so that I could see it.

The black sweater I had on was the only piece of clothing that hadn't faded over the years. As for my shirt, what had once been a bright shade of green was now more like a dark pastel green. The splotches of a grey pink color did not look any better.

My pants, which had once been two different shades of purple, were now almost the same shade of faded lavender. The red and yellow lines that ran down the sides of them did not fare any better. While the red did not seem that bad, the yellow had faded to more of a white color.

If someone were to cross paths with me, they would probably ask me why I decided to wear these. If that happened, I wouldn't know what I would say. 

Of course, there is a reason why I'm wearing these. Only thing is is that the reason may not make sense to a stranger. 

Earlier today, George had found our old clothes stored away in a closet, the same clothes that we had worn the day when Old Fred showed up. Paul was probably the most excited at the discovery. I knew that he was very fond of his red and yellow tie, even though it had faded over time. Seeing him in his purple attire again gave me the motivation to wear mine. George wore his as well. It was as if we were all reliving the trip to Pepperland all over again, but there was something missing.

George had not found Ringo's clothes in the closet.

Ringo.

The thought of that name made the uneasy feeling within me grow even larger. I took a deep breath and ran my fingers through my grey hair.

'Pull yerself together, you can at least make it through the journey without turning back.' I forced the memories to the back of my head before they had the chance to take hold of my mind. 

Even though I knew that, one by one, they would occupy my thoughts until I reached my destination, I could at least not have all of them assault my mind at once. 

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I began to walk forward. I needed to find a street name before I could plan my path. Luckily, the street lights did a good job at illuminating my surroundings, even though the night was not the darkest it could have been thanks to the full moon. 

I eventually noticed a street sign in the distance and I made my way towards it. It looked like it had not been replaced in years, for the letters were all coated with rust. I had to adjust my glasses in order to read it.

"Hope street, huh?" I said with curiosity. What a clever name for a street. Though, there was something about this name that I recognized, but I could not place a finger on it.

"Okay, I know where to go from here," I said to myself. I began to walk alongside the empty street. There was no one else around here and thus gave me the opportunity to think again.

With not much else to think about, there was only one thing that I could do.

"I should have known that this was coming,"I said to myself as I realized what I have to do.

This was going to be the longest night of my life.