Diable en France

The Forest

It was the middle of autumn in Paris, France. The trees were full of hues of orange and reds, and the grounds with puddles of leaves that would be disturbed by the mischievous cool winds. The moon was high and gleaming bright on the city. The city was shining as if the earlier rain shower caused dew to attach itself all over.

Far from the bustling and toxic city a boy by the name Gabriel Malheur

sat in a forest on a log with all his materials on a cloth that laid on a small boulder to his left. In front of him stood his easel that held his canvas. He grasped in his left hand his parallel palette and in his right hand was his brush. He was 18 years old with unnatural pure white hair that was curly and unruly that covered his left eye, and like his left, his right eye was a bright violet that held the maturity of a man who lived many years. The unnatural nature of the color of his eyes was a disease he has called Alexandria's Genesis. His build was rather lean, but that was because his job involves lots of heavy lifting. Gabriel was highly unsocial with few friends. He lived alone, well not completely, he had a 12 years old brother who had accompanied him in the forest. Milo Malheur, the little brother, had light brown hair and blue eyes. Milo was a hyper, happy child that was extremely smart. He loved his older brother dearly, and his brother shared the affection especially since they only had each other. Their parents died on their anniversary a couple months ago; on the way home from their vacation, the roads were wet and slick, and a part of a cliff. A drunk man was driving in their lane; when they noticed they swerved into the cliff wall causing a rockslide that crushed them to their deaths. Since Gabriel had a job and was old enough to take care of himself, the court allowed him to keep his brother in his care, but the deal was that he had to keep his job and keep housing for them both or they'd take his brother.

Back to now, the reason the brothers are in a forest is that the older brother loved painting nature scenes, and right now he was in heaven. The day before while driving around looking for inspiration he came upon a forest flushed with colors. It had a stream with a mini waterfall; the water was crystal blue and shone like sapphires in the moonlight, which had a stream of light hitting it as if God was beckoning him to slip in, and it would eliminate all his problems and misfortunes. The ground was evenly mixed with orange, yellow, crimson leaves. Trees stood high above him, and the rocks were covered in a fern colored moss that glistened because of the dew from the afternoon shower. A plus was the wildflower patches filled with pastel colors that stuck out against the bright leaves. While he was painting Milo was hopping tree root to tree root and picked flowers for their parents grave.

Around 1 AM the brothers left and went home. Milo was disappointed that they had to leave, but Gabriel promised they'd go back tomorrow. On the way home, Milo held a bouquet of wildflowers in his hands and stared at them intensely. His brother noticed and took one large hand and ruffled his brother's hair as he kept his eyes on the road causing the younger one to look up at his brother who had a faint, but genuine smile, which made the 12-year-old grin widely at his big brother. As soon as they got home they both went to bed. The flowers sat on the small dining room table slowly wilting through the night.

The Saturday sun shown through the dull curtains right in Gabriel's face causing him discomfort, and waking him before his alarm started going off. Turning off his alarm he saw the time, seeing he had only 20 minutes to get ready for work he rushed out of bed, then he became twisted in the sheets, and face-planted into the floor, which consequently woke, his brother who shuffled down the halls. Arriving at the doorway belonging to his brother's room he saw his 18-year-old brother fighting with his sheets, which made him giggle. Finally, Gabriel noticed his little brother finding his fight for freedom amusing, as soon as he got loose he chased his brother through the two bedroom apartment until he caught him, and started tickling him till tears seeped from the corners of his eyes from laughing so hard. Letting the captive 12-year-old go, he saw the time on the clock that hung on the living room wall telling him he had 15 minutes to get ready causing him to zoom to his room dressing aggressively. When ready his little brother like always waited at the door to say goodbye, and as usual Gabriel went over the rules of safety with Milo: keep the door locked and don't answer it; if you need someone or get scared called the neighbors to come get you, the number is on the fridge; and etc. Giving Milo a hug and a kiss on the forehead, Gabriel rushed out his house to work.

Now Gabriel's job wasn't hard, but it wasn't easy. He worked at a bakery and his job was to unload pounds of flour, sugar, and other spices. He also worked at the counter as a cashier because of his unique look brought in customers. After work, he hurried home back to his brother. As soon as he got home, his brother was waiting at the door ready to go back to the forest from the day before. Quickly Gabriel went to take a shower, and then they were on their way.

The forest was still full of beauty, but this time the setting sun shone through the trees illuminating the forest in a golden glow. The boys found a spot to sit and talked about their days. Later, Gabriel noticed he had forgotten his art material in his car, so he told Milo to wait for him to come back. He ran back to his car, and on his way back he got caught up in taking in the scenery, taking longer to get back than he wanted. When he got back he didn't see Milo, so he walked around frantically screaming Milo's name. Turning around from where he was standing he saw Milo, but the problem was there was a man, a tall caucasian wearing a brown trench coat and had a fedora that was tilted down so he couldn't completely see the man's face, holding a gun to Milo's head, and a hand covering his mouth. Milo was holding the man's arm, and shaking in fear with tears running down his face. His blue eyes pleading for his brother's help. Right before his brother could yell at the man to let Milo go, BANG! Someone had knocked out Gabriel from behind, and the last thing he heard was the cries of his little brother.