(Just Like) Starting Over

Anniversaries and Bullet Holes

December 8th, 2017

10:50 pm

Rita Redfield held the bouquet of roses in her hands while walking towards the crowd in the park. Hearing a familiar song being sung from the crowd, she sighed in disappointment. 

Tears fill her eyes and cursed to herself. Wishing her parents were with her although she felt childish for wanting them since she is a grown woman.

The woman walked until she reached the crowd; she realized that they were singing Imagine and smiled.

Excusing herself through the crowd and stopped once she got to the mosaic; she put gently the bouquet of flowers on it. 

Rita went through the crowd again to an empty area where the benches were, grabbed her smartphone from her pocket to look at her reflection; she saw that her mascara was smudged on her soft light brown skin. She chuckled softly to herself, how could she get over emotional about a man that she never met.

Rita was only five when he died. Recalling being woken up by her parents that night; her father sobbing while telling the terrible news. That being the first time she had seen her father cry. Young Rita didn't know what to think, she had become obsessed with John after hearing his new single. Replaying it so many times that her mother had to buy her a new one by the next week.

The older woman smirked at the fond memories; singing from the crowd became louder causing her glance at her watch. It was ten fifty-five.

"Gotta get home." She thought and while she was about to get up, she felt a thud on the bench. She looked to see a body. Confused seeing that she was the only one on the bench, she felt the urge to check on the person.

Rita stood up from the bench and squinted at the body; regretting not wearing her glasses. It was a white man (most likely sleeping), who is dressed too nicely to be a homeless person.

She walked over to the body and gasped in shock. The man looked like John Lennon. Calming herself down seeing that he was more prone to be an impersonator.

Rita had a suspicion that he wasn't a mimic. She shook the man, aiming to wake him up but it looked like he was in a deep sleep.

"Damn, he's out like a light." She murmured to herself.

She checked his pockets, feeling nothing she turned the man on his stomach and looked at his back in terror.

There were four gashes in his back, he looks like he was shot at. Rita immediately frowned think the man must have taken his impersonation too far. Nevertheless, she put her fingers on one of the wounds and felt a sticky substance.

Terrified, the older woman took her phone from her pocket and turned on the flashlight, flashing the light on her fingers. Her fingers were painted with blood which seemed to be evaporating by the second. She moved the light towards the man's back and saw his body healing on his own, relatively rapidly. Eyes wide and mouth gaping, they felt numb with shock. She nearly screamed at the sight.

"These things only happen in the movies, this can't be real."  Turning the body on its back again. Rita stared at his face. She knew was him.

Rita slipped her phone in her pocket and wiped her sweaty palms on her pants.

Dragging her hand (the one that didn't have blood vanishing off of it) through her hair and paced back and forth. "What in the world, am I going to do?" She reckoned, "I have to do it. It's him."

She glanced at the crowd, no one paying her any attention. Sitting John up on the bench, she took his glasses off and propelled him over her shoulder. Putting the glasses in her pocket and looked over the unrestricted shoulder to see if anyone was watching her; realizing that no one was, she held on to John tightly and fled to her car.

The adrenaline pumping through her veins as she ran out of the park, strangely there were no cars or people on the street of New York. Something that she hadn't witnessed in her entire life.

Once she got to her car, Rita quickly opened the back seat of her car, softly put John in on the seats; she ran to the drivers' side, throwing the door open and jumping in. 

Putting on her seatbelt, she glanced at John through her rearview mirror. 

"What the hell did I get myself in to?" She groaned.

*

Rita makes it to her apartment with John over her shoulder without running into anyone, which also hadn't happened to her before. Locking the door, she removes off her shoes and strides toward the bedroom. 

"Mom?" Rita freezes. It was her daughter Jackie. Slowly turns around, "Yes, love?" 

Jackie tilted her head causing her jet black hair fall out of her lazily made bun onto her shoulders. Wearing a pair of dark pajamas that were getting small for her quickly growing body, the end of pajama pants were barley touching her (somewhat ashy) ankles. She gave her mother a curious look.

"Why do you have a man over your shoulder?" Jackie crinkled her nose in realization, "Wait, I don't want to know. I'll go to my room-." Awkwardly pointing her index finger towards her room.

"No, I'm not doing anything with him. Please come and follow me." She profusely whispered at her. Her daughter gave her a confused look but followed her anyway.

Once they arrived in the room, the older woman laid John down on the bed taking off his shoes during the process. Eyes widening in realization, "Why is there a John Lennon clone in our house?" She took his glasses out of her pocket and put them on his face.

"It is John Lennon." Jackie gave her mother a narrowed eye look.

"Ma, are you high?" Rita shook her head profusely, "No, it's him." She recalled the events that led up to now.

Her daughter reached her hand to feel her mother's head. "Are you sick? Hallucinating?" The fourteen-year-old walked around in circles, "I think you kidnapped a homeless man. What if the cops come? Ma, you just can't steal a man from a bench. What the h-!" Stopping once she saw John's body twitch.

Giving her daughter a soft look, "Jackie, I promise you it's him." Noticing the tense look on her face and followed her daughter's glance. The man was waking up. 

"Oh my god," Rita whispered profusely, "What do we do?" Jackie turned red, "What do we do? You're the adult! You're supposed to tell me what to do!" Rita scowled. "Watch your tone with me young girl!" "Watch my tone? You brought a random guy from off the street into our home!" The younger one yelled. "He's John Lennon!" The older woman exclaimed. "How do you know? He's an impersonator!" The two women continued to argue. 

Little did they realize, John had arisen from his deep sleep and was watching the scene play out. John waking up, confused, and frustrated waking up to their argument; he was in a room that he wasn't familiar with, people that he didn't know, and the fact that he had a splitting headache. He realized that he had enough and decide to make his presence known. 

"Excuse me, can you tell me where I am and also why I'm here? And do you have any medicine for headaches because I have a terrible one?" The two women stopped arguing and stared at John.

Jackie froze and stared with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, "Jesus Christ, you are John Lennon."

so...
did you like it?
i've had the idea for this for almost a year now
and i finally got the courage to write it
i have a lot planned for this book and i can't wait to show you guys!

please comment and vote
it motivates me to write!

i should update that least on a week until school starts back up again (we'll get to that once it happens)

i love youuuu 🥰