Never After

One; Red

Tying her mahogany hair back with a red ribbon, Annalise examined herself in the full length mirror. She had picked out the crimson dress that stopped just above the knees that morning, mainly because she loved it, but partly because she wanted to look nice for her visit to her grandmother's house.

Although Annalise often spent time with her grandmother, she was doing so more often since she had announced she had cancer. Despite the news, Annalise wore a smile for her visits and treasured every second.

Skipping downstairs, she almost bumped into her younger brother, Greg. Snorting at her, he raised an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't you be too old for skipping now, Anna?"

"Greg, I'm fifteen, not ninety! Anyway, I've seen you playing with your old Action Man dolls. Surely at twelve you're too old for them?" Annalise grinned.

Greg mumbled something and stormed past, nudging Annalise with his shoulder. Amused, she entered the kitchen and spotted a small picnic basket on the table. Annalise turned to her mother and asked what it was for.

"Well, I was going to come with you but Gregory needs me to take him to the skate centre. Think you'll be okay going by yourself? You and granny could have a picnic in the garden."

No problem! I'll get a bus to the park and walk through the woods to granny's," Annalise smiled.

She'd never been to her grandmother's on her own before. It wasn't particularly far, but the woods could get dark if the sun was hidden behind the clouds. The sky was clear, however, and the day was warm and bright.

Annalise stood at the bus stop, basket hooked on her arm, waiting for the bus to arrive. As she waited, she had a quick peek into the basket, curious of its contents. A few sandwiches, a selection of fruit and a couple of biscuits sat inside; not a feast, but enough for a young girl and her grandmother.

As Annalise looked up she saw the bus approaching and fished out her purse from her jacket pocket. In case the weather turned, she had grabbed her red zip-up hooded jacket on her way out, which now lay on top of the picnic basket on her arm.

Stepping through the doors, Annalise paid the driver and headed for a seat near the back. On her way up the aisle she subtly scanned the bus to see if there was anyone she knew. There wasn't, but one man met her gaze. He looked to be in his early twenties, wearing baggy jogging pants and a black hooded top. Although most of his face was hidden by his hood, Annalise was drawn to his eyes and her gaze lingered a little longer than she had intended. 

Taking her seat, Annalise pictured the stranger's eyes again; a hazel colour so light they could almost be yellow. She found him attractive, but knew he was way too old for her. Shaking thoughts of the stranger from her head, Annalise stared out of the window for the rest of the journey.

The park's main gates stood open, tall and grand, and the gravel path wound away towards the pond. Starting down the path, Annalise admired the birds swooping above and smiled at the children playing in the distance. The park was one of her favourite places, especially on days such as that one.

As she reached the pond, she peered into the reeds looking for fish and frogs. Bending to get a closer look, a gentle tap on the shoulder startled her into lurching forwards and almost falling in. Luckily, the tapper held her arm to steady her. Turning to give them a piece of her mind, Annalise stared silently up into almost-yellow eyes.

"Sorry about that, miss! You dropped this," the man from the bus smiled, holding out Annalise's purse.

"Oh, thanks! And don't worry, you didn't mean to make me jump," Annalise giggled, "Good job you were going this way too or I'd never have known I'd dropped this."