C Street shone like the Vegas strip while the store keepers rushed to secure their store front windows. I glided passed the gift shop where I worked – correction, used to work, it looked as odd as the other shops with the store front windows gaping wide open like jaws edged with sharp glass fangs where windows should be.
Every owner hoped looters wouldn’t prevail. I doubted any of them had figured out what caused the wreckage. I threw myself in with the lot of confused and bewildered town’s people. As I passed several saloons, it wasn’t the usual laughter filtering out onto the boarded sidewalks that stopped me, but the loud voices in full discussion covering everything which had transpired this afternoon. The taverns had to be filled to capacity. It didn’t take much to shake up this tiny town, and today’s events were nothing short of a mystery. How would this quiet town ever recover?
I blocked out the noisy voices from the bars, letting my eyes take in the shadowy mass of mountains looming ahead. The bleak and rocky structure seemed foreboding, and the enormity of it made the town seem even more infinitesimal. I continued south on the main street, lacking direction, and found myself on B Street, also known as Millionaire’s Row because of all the old mansions erected so long ago by the millionaire’s who supposedly built this town.
These new millionaires built their homes on the town's highest ground in order to keep a trained eye on their lucrative mines. But it was the block Bethany lived on. I knew I would be safe there… close to my best friend, even though she wouldn’t be able to see or hear me. I never had the chance to say goodbye to her. I didn’t want to. I missed her terribly. I wondered how Bethany was dealing with the news of my passing. Although she has always been resilient, my death had to be devastating. We were like sisters.
I had cringed in pain as my mom told Bethany the bad news. Their phone conversation had been unexpectedly brief. She spoke to Bethany through an avalanche of tears as my friend of two years listened with a strangely calm tone. Bethany had already known so my mom had proceeded in asking her if she would like to say a few words at my service, which was scheduled for Tuesday morning – two days away. Bethany accepted, and told my mom she had to go. Where, I had thought. My mom said she understood and thanked Beth for being an incredible friend to me.
In the streetlamp lit darkness, sudden images of the mammoth and fluttering caped shadow emerged in my head, sending ice cubes through me. I quickly glided down the oak tree lined street. I couldn’t wait to be amongst my friends. Bethany, along with her older brother Nikolas, moved here from Bedwyn City, one of Nickel City’s neighboring towns, about two years ago after losing their parents in a tragic car accident. She and her brother lived in what used to be their great – grandparent’s house.
I noticed that the front windows to their huge house were lit behind the sheer curtains, the lone light shining on the long block like a warning beacon. The homes, appearing obscure, were probably due to most of the residents still hanging out in town, rehashing the events of the day over foam topped and throat scorching beverages, of course.
I observed the moving silhouettes in the living room as they paused, as if on cue. I noticed a third figure. It was the silhouette of a male. He was tall but not nearly as tall as Nikolas whose towering presence I recognized almost immediately. One of the three shadows was definitely Bethany, who wore her hair pinned high on her head, her staple.
I literally walked right through the towering wrought iron gates which wrapped around the entire property, the abnormal perks of my new existence as a specter. I headed up the narrow cobblestone walkway leading up to the wide front porch. I paused once I was at the base of the two Grecian columns, which always reminded me of some of the
Every owner hoped looters wouldn’t prevail. I doubted any of them had figured out what caused the wreckage. I threw myself in with the lot of confused and bewildered town’s people. As I passed several saloons, it wasn’t the usual laughter filtering out onto the boarded sidewalks that stopped me, but the loud voices in full discussion covering everything which had transpired this afternoon. The taverns had to be filled to capacity. It didn’t take much to shake up this tiny town, and today’s events were nothing short of a mystery. How would this quiet town ever recover?
I blocked out the noisy voices from the bars, letting my eyes take in the shadowy mass of mountains looming ahead. The bleak and rocky structure seemed foreboding, and the enormity of it made the town seem even more infinitesimal. I continued south on the main street, lacking direction, and found myself on B Street, also known as Millionaire’s Row because of all the old mansions erected so long ago by the millionaire’s who supposedly built this town.
These new millionaires built their homes on the town's highest ground in order to keep a trained eye on their lucrative mines. But it was the block Bethany lived on. I knew I would be safe there… close to my best friend, even though she wouldn’t be able to see or hear me. I never had the chance to say goodbye to her. I didn’t want to. I missed her terribly. I wondered how Bethany was dealing with the news of my passing. Although she has always been resilient, my death had to be devastating. We were like sisters.
I had cringed in pain as my mom told Bethany the bad news. Their phone conversation had been unexpectedly brief. She spoke to Bethany through an avalanche of tears as my friend of two years listened with a strangely calm tone. Bethany had already known so my mom had proceeded in asking her if she would like to say a few words at my service, which was scheduled for Tuesday morning – two days away. Bethany accepted, and told my mom she had to go. Where, I had thought. My mom said she understood and thanked Beth for being an incredible friend to me.
In the streetlamp lit darkness, sudden images of the mammoth and fluttering caped shadow emerged in my head, sending ice cubes through me. I quickly glided down the oak tree lined street. I couldn’t wait to be amongst my friends. Bethany, along with her older brother Nikolas, moved here from Bedwyn City, one of Nickel City’s neighboring towns, about two years ago after losing their parents in a tragic car accident. She and her brother lived in what used to be their great – grandparent’s house.
I noticed that the front windows to their huge house were lit behind the sheer curtains, the lone light shining on the long block like a warning beacon. The homes, appearing obscure, were probably due to most of the residents still hanging out in town, rehashing the events of the day over foam topped and throat scorching beverages, of course.
I observed the moving silhouettes in the living room as they paused, as if on cue. I noticed a third figure. It was the silhouette of a male. He was tall but not nearly as tall as Nikolas whose towering presence I recognized almost immediately. One of the three shadows was definitely Bethany, who wore her hair pinned high on her head, her staple.
I literally walked right through the towering wrought iron gates which wrapped around the entire property, the abnormal perks of my new existence as a specter. I headed up the narrow cobblestone walkway leading up to the wide front porch. I paused once I was at the base of the two Grecian columns, which always reminded me of some of the
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