The moon had finally made its overdue appearance, casting its twilight blanket across the world. The overjoyed stars greeted their large friend with millions of blinking lights. The wind celebrated the gathering, and danced with fallen dead leaves. Together, the three made the perfect Autumn night.
It couldn't of been worst timing....
Amy finds herself hopelessly traveling on a dirt trail. Her shivering hands stuffed deep inside the small openings of her yellow jacket. The scarf she wore, bandaged up the bottom half of her face, leaving her forehead to embrace the cold.
"Here kitty kitty!" She shouts into the trees.
Amy had left the comfort of her home a few hours back, but still couldn't find her small companion. She had been gone for quite some time. By now, her father and Dustin were surely worried.
She couldn't bring herself to return. The house had been invaded with bleakness. It's gloomy atmosphere and dreadful silence, was enough to keep Amy away.
She did not want to go back and see her mother dying.
She did not want to see the forced smile on her father's face.
She did not want to lay in bed and be bombarded with problems she had no control over.
Returning without her favorite animal, would confirm that the pain had finally penetrated inside her heart.
With this crippling thought, she succumbs and falls to her knees. The deceased leaves cushion her fall, and allow her to sit comfortably. She listens to the hyperactive wind shake the tops of the trees, till a few branches give away.
Amy waits for the right moment, when nature would cover the sounds of her crying. The rattling of bushes and aggressive whistles of wind, was the perfect cover-up.
She lets mother nature carry away her tears.
Deep down she knew, this wasn't just about losing her cat. Everything had been building up to this moment. She could finally break down, and show the world her weakest point. A part of her she kept masked in heaps of confusing emotions.
A scared child.
She was horrified. The universe has done nothing, but burden her with tender anguish. Eventually, she would be on her own and forced to face her dampened spirits.
No father to comfort her.
No mother to tend to her wounds.
No brother to lean on.
She'll be completely alone. Her most frightening fear...
Her hands leave the warmth of her jacket, and cup over her weeping eyes. The trail of tears burn, as the cold unmercifully bites. This doesn't stop her. She takes advantage of this scarce moment.
Mother nature had done her job too well. She was able to cover the wails of Amy's distress, but mistakenly covered the sounds of creeping footsteps. ..
Dustin disturbingly stands behind Amy, watching her with a fixed look on his face. She had not noticed him, for if she had, she would've angrily confront him. He looks down on her, his mind flooded with thoughts.
He had never seen her so vulnerable before. His fist are hungrily clutched, refusing to let his sinister instincts to kick in. Dustin's teeth grind harshly together, unsure how to react to the situation.
Surprisingly, he shuffles the leaves under his feet. The sudden sound causes Amy to quickly whip around. The water in her eyes becomes boiled with embarrassment and anger.
"D-Dustin?!' She shouts, utterly surprised how close he had gotten to her, without making a sound.
He looks down at her, before quickly darting his eyes back to the ground. He opens his mouth to speak, but can't choke up any physical words.
"What are you doing here?" Amy stands up, getting ready to confront him. "Do you know how rude that is? Don't sneak up on me!"
Dustin looked uncomfortable. He didn't know how to talk to Amy right now. For the first time in his life, he felt awkward. He scratches the back of his head, hoping any sort of movement might ease the tension between them
"I don't think I've ever seen you cry like that." The statement was blunt, but it needed to be said.
Amy squeezes her eyes tightly, trying to force the leftover waterworks out.
"Yeah, well.." She stands up and brushes the leaves off her lap, "You'll never see that again."
Dustin was truly dimwitted. He didn't have a single clue, that she suffered this much. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but he knew that might get her all worked up again.
Seeing her... crying. It was almost refreshing to him.
Taking a risk, he speaks up, "I want to understand."
Amy angrily adjusts her scarf. She was in one of her moods. Too stubborn to hear anyone out. Her common sense was clouded with her hotheadedness.
"Understand?" She growls, "What could you possibly understand!? You don't live at home anymore! I have to watch are parents go through hell! You don't understand anything! Your life is perfectly fine, so drop the damn act!!"
"That's not true!" Dustin faces his sister, reaching out for her chilled hands. "I found love."
Amy scoffs, "What's so bad about that?"
He inhales, taking in the Autumn air and the smell of dampen wood. Slowly, he closes his eyes, picturing the massive effect of his actions.
"I found love where it wasn't suppose to be." The words whisper past his uncertain soft lips.
He wasn't giving her much. The severe lack of detail, confused Amy. Dustin understood she wouldn't understand. How could she? He was the last person on earth that should be loving her.
Nature had gone silent. It felt as if the whole world was eavesdropping on their conversation.
Amy's eyebrow slightly rises. The look on her face was pure innocence mixed with ignorance.
"I don't understand."
Dustin smiles. It wasn't time. The small shred of hope inside his heart, was ruthlessly torn into pieces. He still had plenty of work ahead of him.
He foolishly thought that maybe he could skip a few steps, and go straight to claiming his reward.
"I don't either." He lightly chuckles, returning to a reasonable calm state, "But don't you see? You don't understand what's going on with my life, as much as I don't know what's going on in yours."
Dustin reaches out for his sister again, who was completely puzzled.
Amy takes his hand, feeling ashamed of herself. All this time she had been thinking of herself, when Dustin was struggling with his inner demons as well. Her stomach flipped upside down, as she rethinks her poor choice of words. She wanted to apologize, but her stubbornness still pulled at her brain.
"Together, we can help eachother solve our problems." He winks, trying to hide his disappointment.