The Random

Chapter 1: Abduction

        Charlie gingerly rose to his feet, making sure those who were pursuing Marygold, were gone. He was inside that huge trash container for almost 15 minutes. Carefully, he moved the cover ajar and allowed himself peep around before finally getting out. He shook his head and patted his shoulders with his hands.

     "Marygold..." he muttered, still drawing air into his lungs His stay inside that container almost suffocated him. A rush of anxiousness filled his thoughts as he mindlessly brushed his pompadour hair— now messed-up, tips curled in the sweat —with his hands.

     "I should get MG warned before those men get her" he said, mumbling as he strode forward through the street of Agremula which soon led to the much narrower street of Remus. Taking advantage of it as a shortcut passage to the busy bussiness district of Servidron, he moved as fast as he could to get to the other end, determined to reach Marygold before those armed men do.

     Striding, thoughts about what happened that morning came to pour inside his head. For the first time, he was able to tell Marygold what he'd been feeling for her all this time. She'd been his best friend for almost 12 years, and breaking that confession to her, exactly on his birthday, was far more difficult than he thought it would be. He could remember everything. It streamed through his mind like threads of sunlight.

     "I—I like...you..." he started, stuttering over those very first words. Marygold stared at him with anxious anticipation as she handed a small red box. A gift, Charlie presumed.

     "I—I mean, I love...Oh god—

    "What are you trying to say? You're stuttering. You're funny" said Marygold, a forced smile taking shape in her lips. Inside, she was trying to hold back what she was really feeling that moment: anxious, worried.

     "I love you"

     Finally, he said it. There was as if an explosion happened—thunder rumbled inside him, and butterflies broke out from their reverie.

     For a moment, Marygold stared frozen at Charlie, her lips twitching sideways. She let out a difficult breath as she sat herself on the bench behind her. Charlie followed and sat next to her, feeling uncomfortable and appearing as if he himself, were not able to believe what he just said.

     "Well" Marygold glanced sideways at him, letting out barely audible laugh.

     "If by 'love' you mean...” she groped for the words inside her head. “You know, like best friends, siblings—ah...don't get me wrong, we're best friends since first grade, and that's given, we love each other right"

     Charlie met Marygold's gaze with a pair of embarrassed eyes. He nodded in an obscure agreement and then turned his back for a short moment to hide his face that showed regret. Once again he succumbed to this crazy 'friend zone' thing. He shrugged his shoulders a bit before bringing his eyes back to her, still contemplating what words to say.

     Drawing in an air of relief, Marygold smiled at him. She moved her hand close to Charlie's as if they were going to touch, but drew them back, quickly. A bit ashamed, she bit her lower lip, red starting to manifest across her face. She faked a chuckle.

     Standing up, "I must go..." she said, her eyes looking at the end of the road as if searching for something.

"That's my gift. Happy Birthday" she added, pointing her lips at the small box she handed to Charlie.

     The unusually chilling autumnal breeze came to blow suddenly and Marygold's hair flew along, tips gleaming in sunlight. Charlie had one frozen moment as he stared at her with wide-open eyes, his mouth gaping in amazement. Today she decided to let go of the braids and have her hair drop to its full length—now beyond her shoulders.