Lifeless... motionless... in a constant state of falling... the boy was in a plight of limbo. In between life and death.
Drowning in a still pond.
Endlessly falling into the never-ending dark void, losing sight of the light. Making his way into the dark known as the abyss. And just as he'd crossed the line of no return, the so-called event horizon, a dark hand would come from beneath and lift him back to the light. Desperately saying "I won't let you die." And just like that, his eyes widened as he saw the light, eventually waking up.
He made it out from the grasp of the dark abyss.
"It's the same one... it's the same dream from that night." He muttered to himself as he rose from bed "That night..."
Memories flash before his eyes, everything that's happened until now, all of it flooding back.
All of it being too much to bear, his heart rate steadily increasing with each flash, his breaths becoming more rampant and unstable as he tightly grabs his chest. A panic attack ensues as he can't suppress it any longer, everything eventually fading to black... all up until he felt a warm hand resting itself upon his head, consoling him. "Everything's alright Selvin, you're safe here." And suddenly, it all went away.
"Yeah, that's right... I'm safe now.
After all, they saved me... after all, they were my freedom." Selvin reassuringly said to himself.
Slowly but surely after having been calmed, Selvin started to see again... he was saved from the horrors of his past once again. Saved by the same people who had saved him all those months ago."I almost just lost myself there carrol, thanks for helping me out."
Selvin sullenly said. "Anytime dear, remember now we're here for you." as she embraced him warmly. His life now was but a figment of his imagination during his past one. Something that he dreamed of having but something that he thought he'd never have. Everything changed, because of the freedom he found.
The freedom even being unknown to him.
In his childlike mind, he believes that they're just good people that took him in, although they are indeed good people there's still more to it than just that. After all his last name is Cain, just like theirs...
Everything worked out in his favor during that crisis, be it luck or the works of someone or even something else, it all ended up working out in his favor, and because of these miracles, he started living out his life, in joy. "Hey it's about time, you should start getting ready for school hun." "Yeah you're right, it's about time I go. After all, I'm looking forward to something today." Her eyes widen "Oh? Have you finally racked up the courage selvy?" she joyfully said while chuckling. He groaned "Hey don't call me that." all the while she continues to laugh. "But yeah, you're right, I finally racked it up... today's the day." as he laughs nervously along.
"You know..." Selvin pauses for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "I wouldn't have made it this far in life... had I not met the both of you. Ever since that day... the faithful day the both of you saved me, my life completely and utterly changed. I've done things I wouldn't have thought about doing or even seeing for that matter in my old life. I've experienced many things I wouldn't have dreamed of experiencing or living through in my old life too. Had I not been saved... had I not taken the steps toward leaving that place, my naive self would've stayed trapped inside that house, until the day I died. Luckily I did make it out of there, but all that effort put into escaping, would've been completely pointless, had the both of you not agreed to taking me in... so I wanna make myself as clear as possible.
Thank you... the both of you for taking me in with welcoming arms."
Suddenly carrol bursts right into tears as she lunges towards Selvin, hugging him tightly.
"There's no need to thank us." as her eyes flooded full of tears. "it was just the right thing to do..."
She cries into Selvin's chest as all the guilt comes rushing in... to think that the child both she and her husband raised to fend for themselves and make an impact on the world... would make such a negative one. It was one of if not the main reason they completely welcomed Selvin in the first place... so that they could make up for their kid's failure along with providing Selvin the love and care that he deserved. Both of them knew it, as they both cried in their own ways. With Carrol beside Selvin, ugly crying, and with Fredrick beside the door outside the room. Wiping the fog off his glasses as he tears up and puts them back on. "you really are one hell of a boy, aren't you Selvin? One hell of a good kid." he thinks to himself, as he walks away barely keeping himself composed.
Selvin gets himself ready for the day, spending almost half an hour in the bathroom to make sure he's in his best condition to confess. He doesn't wanna look or even feel unapproachable at all, even in the slightest. With the amount of time it took for him to get ready he missed his opportunity to even eat breakfast, much less a snack, but nonetheless, he doesn't care, after all, he has a much more urgent matter to think about.
"Alright, I'll be going now Carrol, Fred.
I'll let yall know how everything goes when I get back" he says as he rushes out the door.
But before he even makes it to the first step a voice from behind yells out "wait!"Selvin turns to see it was Fred who yelled from behind, desperately trying to get his attention.
An immediate stop to everything followed right after. They stared at each other as silence and a tranquil calm filled their environment, it was a peaceful scene.
"Before you go." he pauses for a moment, as he makes direct eye contact with Selvin.
"I just want you to know that you can do it, good luck."
In just one sentence, Selvin could understand what Fred had truly meant... all the things he really wanted to say but just couldn't, all of it was heard and acknowledged by him. To think that one measly sentence, could mean so little but also mean so much. Selvin smiled as he looked at them "yeah, I'm sure as hell gonna need it. Thanks, Fred." as he walked off to school.
"Well, ain't he one hell of a boy." he asked Carrol. "Yeah, he sure as hell is.
He's smart, strong, and has a courageous spirit... just to think about how he got his whole life back on track, all by himself in such a short amount of time, it's crazy. Hell, he's even accounted for all the school years he's missed all on his own, and not only that, he's completely ready to start his own romantic relationship-" Fred groaned while cutting her off "well, it was about damn time he went out and asked her out.
They've been good friends since the very damn beginning, with the both of them being by each other's side, helping each other out along the way.
He ain't even got that kind of a connection with any of his other friends, let alone with another girl... you know just to think they met at a mental health clinic and ended up developing such a relationship like this..." Fred pauses.
"It was only a damn matter of time before he reintroduced us to her yet again, but this time as his girlfriend, don't you think?" "you're entirely right." she giggled. "With all his accomplishments from the day we found him to today, the way he worked for everything he wanted and painstakingly earned it, no matter what.
You're damn right to call him that, he really is 'one hell of a boy.' and it's about damn time we see them together."She pauses for a moment "He reminds me of her, don't-cha think Fredrick." He sullenly looks down for a moment "Yeah, he's quite the spitting image, exactly like what she used to be.
Tell me Carrol, where do you think... we went wrong?" he quietly says.
She looks towards him "Even now, I've still yet to know the answer to that. But one thing is for sure,
we failed as parents, the moment we couldn't protect the one we loved the most... from that monster. So let's do our best to never let such a thing happen again." as they both look up to the morning sky with tears in their eyes.
Selvin's life.
"Alright, there's only 10 minutes left of class, 10 minutes left till we meet up, 10 minutes left until I come clean... until I completely come clean about how I truly feel."
Had completely.
"We've known each other for more than half the year now, she's been here by my side from the start... helping me and pushing me through it all."
And utterly.
"From my lowest, all the way up to my highest, she's always been with me, and helped me become the person I am now.
And for all of that... I love her.
I want us to be more than just friends, I want to hold her and have her do the same for me, I want us to live together and start a family, I want us to love each other unconditionally... and above all, I want us to be together... forever."
Changed.
Suddenly the bell signifying the end of school rang, awakening Selvin from his trance. "Oh... it's finally time huh... to even think about that, it's so nerve-racking... but in the end, the excitement overpowers my nervousness."
"It's about time I go spill my guts out." He giggles while making his way out. He runs out of his classroom binder in hand, making his way through the crowd, clumsily bumping into people and apologizing as he keeps making his way through.
As he gets through the crowd he lays his eyes on the school's exits, running straight at them until he bolts through them and keeps his same pace as he runs towards the forest behind the school. He hops over the school's fence separating the forest from the campus and traverses through the thick and lush greenery. Eventually, he spots a small creek running through the forest. After seeing it he quickly speeds towards it and follows it downstream until finally arriving at the spot, the spot they promised to meet at.
The great scarlet oak tree.
The spot itself looked out of this world, as if it was taken straight from a fairy tale, the absolutely massive great oak at the very center surrounded by the creek and its gentle flowing streams, the beautifully lush greenery surrounding the area, the way the sunlight sparkled and brightened up the whole tree, the way the gentle light gleamed throughout.
All of it was breathtaking, the sheer natural beauty of the place was exactly why Selvin wanted to confess there. "Looks like I'm a little early." he thought to himself as he caught his breath. "Well no matter, I'll just lie down here as I wait." he said as he put his things aside and sat down, laying on the tree.
"This really is such an amazing looking place, I'm glad we both agreed to meet up here. She still hasn't shown up yet though... I guess I'll get some shut-eye while I wait. After all, she won't mind... now would she?" as he closed his eyes, and drifted off into sleep.
But before he knew it, he heard gentle steps making their way towards the tree. Each step drawing nearer and nearer to him, all the way up until he felt a presence gently standing before him.
It was only then that he realized who was really standing before him, it was none other than her.
"Jane?" he says while opening his eyes.
"Yeah, it's me." she answers back with a smile on her face.
Selvin's eyes glisten in joy as he sees one of the most beautiful scenes in his life. Enjoying the view of the wonderful sunlight glistening all over jane, accompanied by the foliage in the background... it truly was a mesmerizing sight. She crouches down to get a closer look "so why did you ask me to meet you here all of a sudden?" she asks. Selvin awakens from his trance
"Oh-oh yeah, sorry about that, I'll get right to it."
he tries to get up. Jane lends her hand towards him "here I'll help you up." smiling warmly at him.
Selvin gladly takes the offer with a smile.
She struggles a bit while helping him up "Damn Selv, you've gotten a lot heavier since we've first met. I remember when you used to be so short and as skinny as a twig, I'm glad to see you've grown so much in the past few months." as Selvin gets back on his feet. "Yeah, I'm glad too, I've gotten so much better with everyone's help."
"But really it's all thanks to you for helping me so much from the beginning... thank you, Jane." he thought to himself.
"But that doesn't matter right now." Selvin adds.
"Well, what do you mean it doesn't?"
"Oh no, don't get me wrong it does matter, I am happy about how much progress I've made but... that's not what we're here to talk about right now." Selvin calmly said.
Selvin takes a deep breath "you see... the real reason I asked you to meet me here was that I wanted to tell you something, something regarding our relationship." Surprised Jane asks "wh-what about our relationship?"
Selvin takes the deepest breath he's ever taken before, after all the time they've spent together at last he's ready to tell her now "the real reason I asked you to meet up with me here is that... I wanted to tell you that... I love you."
Gusts of wind flow throughout; both of their hearts beat loudly, with a stern look on Selvin's face and a flustered one on Jane's... he finally confessed.
"You see, ever since we met I had somewhat of an interest in you. Every time we talked, every time we saw each other, hell even every time I heard your name... that interest I had grew and grew.
It formed into me wanting to become acquaintances with you, then to me wanting to become friends, then to even wanting to form connections and deep bonds with you. It went from a simple interest, to curiosity, then finally into a desire, that desire being wanting to spend the rest of my life... with you." he said as he joyfully teared up."I've never been in love before, I've never been loved before, and I never even had a meaning before.
But honestly that all changed ever since I met you, through you, I knew what it felt like to truly love someone, I knew what it really felt like to be cared for and wanted, and finally through you... I genuinely knew what my meaning was. That's why... that's why! That's why I'm asking you, right here right now... to please spend the rest of your life with me, please! Please go out with me!" he cries out to Jane.
Shocked, neither of them could say a thing.
Silence fills the air, and swirls of wind huddle around them. Both of their faces, equally red and flustered, none of them can say a thing.
After a prolonged silence between the two of them, Selvin couldn't take it anymore, his embarrassment and regret got to the better of him... he felt ashamed "I-I'm sorry for dumping this all on you, I'm sorry if you're mad at me right now, I-I'm just sorry in general... I shouldn't have told you any of this, I'm really so-" but right before he could finish his sentence he was immediately cut off.
"Don't apologize you dummy, I'm not mad or feel anything of the sort, if anything I'm mad at you for even apologizing for nothing, you didn't do anything wrong so get that out of your head." she huffed and puffed.
Selvin, still feeling a bit embarrassed tried to say something once more, but right before he could even open his mouth she stopped him dead in his tracks yet again.
"And before you say it the only reason I didn't respond was because It was too much for me to take in, even now I'm surprised... I just don't know what to say. But I also don't wanna ignore your feelings, but even now I still don't know what to do." she sighed. "I really am flattered and happy that you think of me that way... but it's too complicated for me, for reasons I don't want to really get into... I'll eventually let you know what I'm talking about, but not now, I still don't think I'm ready... to re-live that nightmare. That's beside the point though, after all this isn't about me... It's about us, more specifically our relationship.
Now that you've told me about how you really feel I also want to give you a response too, but I still haven't made up my mind." she said as she looked down. "Selvin, what day is it tomorrow?" she asked. "U-uh Friday, why are you asking?" he awkwardly said. "Friday huh." she mumbled as she looked to the sky, pondering about what to do. Until she finally got it "then how about this Selvin. Tomorrow, we'll meet at the same place, same time, and I'll finally respond to your feelings then.
What do you say?" she says with a smile on her face.
"Sure, I'll wait until then... I'll wait until then." he repeats to himself with a smile.
Selvin sighs "Well I'll be heading out first now, I don't want Fred and Carrol getting the wrong ideas." he giggled as he picked up his things." Selvin faced jane one last time, wanting to take in everything for the final time.
"Well bye no-" but right before he could finish what he was saying... jane suddenly ran straight towards him and gave him a hug.
"See you tomorrow." she said as she hugged him tightly, and after a few more seconds she pulled away and ran off, leaving Selvin all by himself.
He smiled to himself without a thought in mind but with a warm feeling throughout, he was content with the way things went.With that in mind, he made his way out of the forest, off of school grounds, and finally went on his way home, walking with that same warm feeling as before. In his trance, he couldn't help but not notice his surroundings as he was fixated on the feeling, he'd been zoned out since he started making his way home, and because of this, he had accidentally bumped into a man.
As Selvin wakes from his daydreams he quickly apologizes to the man. "Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention to where I was go-" But as soon as he laid eyes on said man, an unimaginable terror came to pass all over his body... stopping him dead in his tracks.
He was struck by pure fear... as they both looked each other in the eye.
The man sported a dark appearance ranging from his black trenchcoat all the way to his black shoes, along with that he looked old and wrinkled having gray, messy long hair. From Selvin's point of view, he looked to be between the ages of 50 and 60, the man even towered over him, both physically and mentally. Even with his harmless yet shady appearance he couldn't help but shrivel up in his presence.
"I-I can't move... why can't I move?" he thought to himself as he was frozen in place with goosebumps flaring all over his body.
"I need to leave, I need to get out of here now!!" he persistently thought to himself.
"I need to leave now- wait... what's he doing?" he thought as he could see the man's hand approaching him.
"no-No-NO! Get away, Get Away, GET AWAY!" he shrieked inside as the man's hand slowly but surely approached him.
Selvin was in a complete state of terror as the man reached his arm out to him, it was as if everything was perceived slower to him worsening the fear he felt, as if he'd been in a state of watching him reach his hand out for all eternity.
"Please... get... away-"
"sorry about that kid, I wasn't paying attention either, we're both in the same boat." as he patted Selvin's shoulder "Welp, this sure does teach the both of us a valuable lesson don't it." the man chuckled. "From now on we best make sure to look where we're going, anyways I'm a bit busy at the moment so I'll be leaving now." he said as he took his hand off of Selvin. "Now be well kid, see ya." he waved as he went on his way all the while Selvin stood there stunned.
Even with their interaction finished Selvin couldn't help but feel worry from within, as if something had gone horribly wrong, he just couldn't shake the feeling at all. With that in mind, he hurried along home faster than usual. But even on the way home that worry grew and grew, as he quickened his pace more and more until he eventually made it back home.
He eased up a little as he was in front of his door, but that slight easement wasn't enough to shake the feeling at all. "Everything is fine, everything will be fine, there's nothing to worry about." he thought to himself as he opened the door.
But in the end... that worry he had... turned out to be true.
Nothing was fine, nor will it be fine... and quite honestly... the worry he had from the start was not comparable in the slightest to what he'd see next.
And to think that such a happy day for everyone would be ruined by such a calamity, with Selvin's face becoming empty and white as he saw Carrol and Fredrick's bodies dead on the floor.