The Truth about Life

Roses are Red

Two weeks. It had already been two weeks since Victoria Walters body was found and she was announced dead. The tornado had rested about 15 miles south and laid down the young 17 year old in the outskirts of the town.

I never read the paper. I didn't feel the need to know every gruesome detail about how they found Victoria or what she looked like. In my mind I liked to picture her when they found her body, peaceful and wrapped up in a blanket of dirt and red roses. I didn't know much about Victoria, besides the fact that she loved red roses. She was always drawing them on her notebook. I think it would be safe to say she probably loved the color red too since she had worn it about everyday.

She wasn't much of a talker. Her parents owned a farm about 12 miles east of Forest High. As far as I knew she was the oldest of seven and she would always be the first one to class because she would have to hitch a ride from the farm and walk about 5 miles after that.

She was a good student. The only reason she was taking English again was because her daddy had enrolled her into home school so she could help him out on the farm during the harvest. She was definitely smart though. One time I caught an eye on her paper when Mrs. Waters passed back our essays and she had gotten an A plus. I remembered that when she had noticed I was staring she had quickly tucked it under her binder, not caring to show off. I'm sure she could have been an excellent writer.

As I walked around the town, examining the ruins the tornado had caused; I suddenly found my face looking up at the sky. It was the only thing that was bright and cheery. It didn't make any sense for the sky to be so bright blue when the town below it was covered in a layer of gloom.

"There's got to be a God in a time like this right?"

I turned my head to the right. An old woman dressed in a sunflower dress peeked out from under her rather large hat and smiled, but it wasn't the kind of smile that confirmed anything, it was more forced if anything.

I found myself looking back up at the sky. It was mainly clear with a few clouds floating on by.

"I'd hope so. But sometimes a person gets to wondering." I replied.

The woman gave a low chuckle in response and turned away. The experience made me think about life again. What was the purpose of living? Sometimes nothing made sense.

I wanted to scream in frustration. I couldn't do anything "normal" anymore. Everything I did seemed pointless. I found no comfort in my thoughts, they were too dark and complex. My mind wondered from one thing to the next. Focusing on anything seemed relatively impossible.

"Hunter!...Wait up!"

I turned around to find my best friend Molly red faced and huffing. She bent forward, gripping her knees as she fought to catch her breathe. Out of all the people here in Texas she had to be the most energetic person you'd ever seen. She was always running around doing something. I assumed she must have been on a jog by the athletic attire she was wearing.

"Good run?" I asked as I scanned her face for a confirmation.

She nodded and exhaled deeply. "Yeah, I had to get out of this part of town. It's too darn depressing around these here parts. I feel like Imma bout to go crazy. I can't handle all this doom and gloom. It's not good for my vibes."

I shook my head at her. She wasn't the best person to expect to be able to mourn with for longer than a few minutes. I know she has to feel something, but I think she prefers to put on a brave face instead of face the realities. Myself on the other hand, well, I wear my heart of my sleeve. Sometimes it's not the best thing in the world, but I consider it a very genuine thing. At least no one can ever call me a faker.

"What do you expect Molly? The memorial is tomorrow and a lot of people are preparing to be thrown into a whirlwind of emotions. It's a small town and mainly everyone is going to be there to pay their respects."

Molly nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right...I don't know if I'm going to go though."

I wasn't shocked.

"That's alright. I was debating myself to go...I do think we should at least go for the first thirty minutes or so at least. She was a nice gal and I know you're mama would freak if other people noticed you weren't there. There's not much hiding us girls can do in a town like this."

Molly nodded and took another deep breath.

"I guess you're right. Mama really would freak. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah tomorrow at 6pm. It's going to be at the creek up Grand. They are having a candle light vigil."

~~~~~~~~
Later that night as I was lying in bed I was overwhelmed with sorrow. I wasn't sure when it happened, but I found myself crying after waking up from a nightmare. My whole body was shaking. The thing that freaked me out the most is that I couldn't recall why I was crying or even what my nightmare was about. I sat up in my bed and wiped the thin layer of sweat that had accumulated on my forehead.

I looked around. The whole room was still and peaceful and a light breeze lifted up the white curtain from my window sill. Getting up slowly I stretched toward the window and knelt down. Outside was calm and the night sky was clear with a full moon in view and a few sparks of light from the stars.

My mind started racing again and this time my heart was too. Sweat slid down my neck. I got out of bed and sat by the window to get some of the cool breeze.

The sky was a midnight blue and a full moon illuminated the fields of grass that lay outside the house. There were flickers of light as the fireflies swarmed around and they seemed to flicker in some kind of unison. It caught my attention and I decided to stare outside at them for a little while longer as my brain and heart started to relax.

I inhaled deeply and thought of Victoria Walters. I couldn't help but wonder where she was at now or how she was doing in the after life. Was she comfortable? Was her body all mangled up? Was she in heaven?

I shook my head. I wasn't too sure about anything anymore. Who was to say, but the almighty God himself. I was always told he knew everything.

I suddenly felt an urge to pray, but it had been so long and I wasn't sure how to pray or even what to pray about. I pushed the urge away and climbed back into bed. Tomorrow was another day and I'm sure there would be praying at the funeral.

As I closed my eyes I envisioned Victoria in a red dress floating nicely down the river on a bed of red roses. I was sure she would like that.