WILL WAS RUNNING LATE. He gasped as he ran through the all too familiar streets, skidding to a stop when he bumped into someone. Will took a step back and looked at the stranger apologetically, "I'm so sorry."
The young man Will had bumped into stared at him curiously before smiling at him. Will took in a laboured breath before mumbling an apology again, and the man nodded and smiled before hurrying away in the opposite direction.
That is strange, Will thought. He had never seen the stranger before, and he knew everyone in Blackwood. There might be a possibility that the person had just moved into Isle Blackwood. But if that were the case, he would surely have heard about it as rumours spread like fire in their small city.
Everything about Blackwood was familiar to him. From the shops with the closed signs on them to the people scurrying like ants. The street he was walking through was a jumble of shapes as if a child had put blocks down randomly and so close to each other that they almost touched. What Will had always loved about Blackwood was the fact that it wasn't completely taken up by a labyrinth of buildings, but was very close to nature.
There were hills, beaches, and trees. The citizens of Blackwood had always been united, even when it came to issues like protecting the environment. No one wanted to cut down the trees for the sake of their own selfishness, to build residences or factories when Blackwood had plenty of them already.
Cold seeped into his gloves, numbing his fingers. He stared blankly at them before snapping out of his reverie. The cold air stung his cheeks as he scanned the surroundings around him. The roads were coated with a fine layer of snow and people were moving around sluggishly.
The sound and the smell of the waves soothed him, putting Will at an ease. People bearing familiar faces walked by, some of them smiling at him. The sense of familiarity vanished immediately when he was reminded of the recent happenings.
He watched the police patrolling around cautiously, and he remembered the headline on the newspaper: Suicide rates hit a seven-decade high in Isle Blackwood.
Out of all the Islands in The Royal Isles, Isle Blackwood always had the lowest crime rates. People would only visit the police station due to petty fights or to file a missing report on their pet cat. Not any more.
Their city was no longer safe, not with people disappearing like clockwork. Extra police forces had been sent into Blackwood to ensure the safety of the citizens.
People started killing themselves. It started with one suicide. It was enough to shock everyone. It slowly went up: two people killing themselves a week, three people killing themselves a week. Currently, on average, seven people die a week: the cause of death being suicide.
A startling sound pulled Will out of his thoughts, and he sucked in a breath. He immediately looked for the source of the sound and took in a breath he had been holding. He had stepped on a dry leaf.
It's nothing, just a dry leaf, Will told himself as he stopped on the pavement to calm his racing heart. Misty fog escaped his mouth every time he took in a breath. Since when did he become so weak, so vulnerable?
Will's boots crunched against the snow as he walked again. His legs felt heavy as he dragged himself to keep moving forward. There was an equal heaviness in his heart; the way it had been for two years. Will's vision blurred as he thought of his mother.
Oh, mom, a voice cried longingly in his head. Almost everything he did, no matter how small it was, was a constant reminder of his mother. People have always said that his manners were very similar to that of his mom, but he never believed it. He didn't believe it until his mother was taken away from him. That was when he noticed every small thing about him, scrutinizing them.
He shook his head to get rid of the guilty thoughts that rose whenever he thought of his mother. Instead, he focused on searching for the girl he had been looking for.
There she is!
He concentrated on the blonde girl he was walking towards, hoping it would relieve his mind from the deepest traces of guilt. Her eyes were fixed on a building in front of her. Judging by the look on her face, Will could tell that she too was thinking about her dead parent.
But unlike his guilty thoughts, she was relishing her good memories with her dad.
He stopped in front of her and called out her name, "Shay?" A cold wind blew, which caused her soft blonde locks to dance around her face. Momentarily distracted, he sighed.
"Shay?" Will whispered softly, so he doesn't startle her with his sudden presence. Silence answered him. She seemed to be lost in her own memories and thoughts.
For a second, a pang of guilt hit him for interrupting Shay's happy trip down the memory lane. Will dismissed his guilt quickly when he felt the sudden need to hurry up, as their island was no longer a safe place.
At least one case of a missing child was reported every day, which was causing apprehension for both parents and the children. To top everything off, suicide rates went alarmingly up and were not showing signs of coming down.
"Shay?" He called out again, louder this time. He snapped his fingers in front of her face when he didn't receive a response. Having no option, Will snatched her beanie to grab her attention.
A young officer patrolling their street looked at Will with suspicion, narrowing his eyes at Will.
Will's eyes widened in alarm as he glanced at the beanie he had taken from Shay, the same beanie from a month ago.
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A/N: I would like to thank all of you for giving my story a chance! Thank you so much, it means the world to me! Hope you enjoy my story!
Also, I would stress upon the fact that the place where this story is set in: Isle Blackwood, is purely fictional. I am aware of the fact that there are plenty of places named Blackwood, but I would like to make it clear that this place is completely fictional. This Isle Blackwood is located in The Royal Isles- which doesn't exist.
English isn't my native language, so please feel free to correct me if there are any mistakes in the text.
I know this chapter is short, the length of the chapter will increase from the next chapter.
Trigger warning: This story contains themes like suicide.
Thank you again!