Young Writers Society

She was so Beautiful Part One

18th of January 1994

She was so beautiful, but sadly she didn't see herself the way he did. She saw herself as a monster which had bore another. Seeing. That's what started all this and now he feared that what he had longed for would be her undoing.

Her hair danced wildly in the wind as she looked over the edge of the building like she had done many times before. Slowly she turned towards the man she called John and gave him a weak smile.

"You promised," she said to him, her eyes looking directly into his.

He wanted to reach out to her but it was not within his power to interfere. He was born with only one power and to save people was not it. So he watched silently as the woman he loved took a step back. And then another. Until there were no more steps, only screams from the pedestrians on the street who were unfortunate enough to witness a suicide.

Chapter 1 ~ Peter. 2nd of February 2010

Peter sat in his living room chair, waiting for his eighteen year old daughter, Lucy to get ready for school.

"Lucy!” he yelled from the living room. "If you want a lift to school you’re going to have to hurry up."

Peter’s eyes were drawn to the photos on the wall and he smiled at the image of Lucy as a five year old. Her rosy cheeks and rich black hair paled in comparison to the bright green eyes and Cheshire Cat smile she wore for the first day of 'big school'.

The young woman who came down the hall was not that girl. Peter turned away from the photo and inspected Lucy’s clothing. It was as conservative as he was going to get from a teenage girl. Lucy beamed at her father and for a few minutes he allowed himself to believe it was real.

"Morning, Dad! I just have to grab breakfast and we'll get going. Have you taken your medication?" Lucy asked as she made her way to the kitchen.

Peter nodded and tried to maintain a cheerful, healthy facade.

"Great, let's go," Lucy said and Peter grabbed his keys.

The conversation on the way to school mainly flowed in one direction with Lucy telling her father all the gossip from Edward James High. Peter nodded even though he failed to recognise any name or pop culture reference.

Pulling up to the school Lucy practically jumped out of the car and Peter could not help but feel a pressure being placed on his head as he watched his daughter walk merrily into school with her friends. It was a nagging feeling that continued to remind him that all this, as much as he wished otherwise, was not real.

Upon returning home, Peter slumped into his favourite arm chair. Keeping up an appearance of good health was taking a heavy toll on his body.

Sensing someone was watching him Peter stood up and went to the kitchen to have a glass of water and take his medication. As he slowly moved, the feeling moved with him, hovering as he made his way to the sink. Peter knew this feeling well.

Turning around, Peter put the glass of water down on the table and sighed a very deep sigh. “Hello John, that time already?”

Chapter 2 ~ Lucy 2nd of February 2010

A swift jab in her back sent Lucy spinning around to face her best friend Alisha Swots. The two had been inseparable since the year before.

“What are you doing after class?” Alisha mouthed. Lucy thought about her father sitting at home, enjoying the rest of his medical induced holiday.

“Nothing,” Lucy mouthed back with a wink. They both knew their afternoon would be filled with asking shop assistants, “do you take EFTPOS?”

Lucy sat back in her seat and looked out the window to see a familiar figure in black staring back at her. But within the time it took her to blink he disappeared.

Dad, she thought to herself, as the bell rang. Standing up Lucy told Alisha she would have to get back to her about shopping, picked up her bag and ran.

I can’t be too late, she thought as her feet pounded the pavement. She felt a sting of pain in her right shoulder from her oversized handbag full of school books and her feet constantly reminded her that ballet flats were not ideal running shoes. But she pushed on. She had to.

As she continued running down the street Lucy remembered she was missing one crucial thing and stopped instantly. She looked up and down the street, and surely enough a car came speeding down the road full of teenage boys.

Waiting for just the right moment, Lucy ran into the middle of the road waving her arms and jumping. As expected the driver, in a state of surprise, swerved the car sharply to avoid Lucy and fortunately hit a light pole instead.

Lucy slowly approached the car and stared at the injured passengers inside. She recognised the driver, Matthew Dallas, but none of the backseat passengers. Matthew moved his head to look at Lucy in what appeared to be slow motion and tried to speak.

“I’m sorry” Lucy whispered as she watched Matthew close his eyes and his body turn lifeless.

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If you have enjoyed this story please let me know and I will upload the rest.

- lunasouseiseki