Quoth the Raven Part 2

     Sorry I didn't upload this yesterday. Writing that last post just... I needed a break is all. Anyways:



     Yes, Scarlett came for me next. Not to kill me though, no. She wanted to save me. I guess after living all those years, knowing nothing but loneliness and anger, she managed to convince herself that nothing else existed. Nothing else but the brief moment of bliss that came to her when she took her father's life. She must've figured that I was no better off than her, and I deserved a chance to feel that feeling of overwhelming satisfaction.

     The day I first met her... It's so vivid and strong in my mind, as if it had just happened a couple of minutes ago. I remember I was in the basement playing on my NES with my brother, though, I didn't really know what I was doing. I remember hearing a knock on my door. I figured it was just one of the neighbours or a relative stopping in for a visit. I normally would've gotten up and rushed to see who it was, but I was in the 'zone' at that moment. I could hear my dad answering the door. I didn't hear another word after that until I heard him calling for me to come upstairs. He used that tone of voice that I only ever hear when I was in trouble, so I paused my game and went up the stairs as slowly as possible. I remember noticing a very strong silence over the whole house, but at the time I figured that it had something to do with my overwhelming sense of fear.

     When I had finally made it to the door, I noticed a very calm yet, very unsure look on my father's face. I looked at the woman in the door. My first thought was that she was very pretty, and therefore she must've been a very nice person. I had somehow ingested that message from watching Beauty and the Beast, can't say I know why. She must've noticed me looking up at her with all kinds of curiosity in my eyes, because she smiled at me. I smiled back. At the time, I thought that smile meant something good. I thought it meant I had made a new playmate. If only I had known what it's real purpose was.

     My father spoke; "Raven..." I looked down at the floor. He was using that tone of voice again. "There's something we've been meaning to tell you..." as he said this, I realized that he wasn't angry at me, but I had the feeling I was in for some very bad news. I continued to stare at the floor. "We wanted to wait until you were older, but I suppose..." He paused, I assumed he was shooting a glance over at the lady. "... I suppose there's really no point in hiding it now." I looked up at him. I had never seen him look like this before, I was more curious than frightened now. "Raven, this... this is your sister Scarlett." I felt both relieved and happy. I had always wanted a sister.

     Both my father and Scarlett went on to explain how I came to be, and how I ended up where I was. I more or less understood what they were talking about. I just continued nodding my head and smiling at Scarlett whenever I got the chance. When they were confidant that I understood she finally asked "So, the reason I came here was because I just missed my little sister, and I was wondering if I could maybe spend a day or two with her?"

     My parents quickly agreed, saying that we could spend as much time as we need to catch up. I remember that we took the bus to get around, because my parents never let me on the bus, I was very excited. We rode around town all day. She took me to a store and bought me some ice cream and a teddy bear, which I burned years later. Finally, when it was starting to get late out, Scarlett said that we had to go to one more stop before heading back to her place.

     "We're picking up our new playmate." She smiled. "You've never met our mother before, have you Raven?" I shook my head. "Well, would you like to?" I nodded. At the time, I didn't understand why our mother kicked us out. I thought that maybe once we were all back together, we could all live at my house and happily ever after. Childhood ignorance. Gotta love it.

     We came to our last stop. Some old slum in the east side of town. I found it a little intimidating, but I managed to occupy my brain with the thought of finally meeting my mother. I remember walking down there, probably with the stupidest smile on my chocolate-covered face. Considering how ridiculous I must've looked, and the fact that Scarlett was wearing a bright, lacy spring dress, I don't think we exactly blended in with the rest of the people there, who were giving us odd looks.

     We finally arrived at a run-down looking townhouse, complete with smashed windows, bricks that had fallen off, incomprehensible graffiti and of course, the classic bullet holes in the front door. Scarlett knocked on the door and whispered to me, "This is where the real fun begins!" She had said it in such a way that even in my ignorant 6 year-old mind I was thinking that something wasn't quite right with how she said it.

      The door was answered by a grumbling middle-aged woman. I remember the distinct smell of alcohol, and something else that kind of smelled like skunk. Despite her old age, she was wearing extremely high heels and very revealing clothing. What must've used to be very vibrant red hair was now faded into a dull sort of pink. She first looked at Scarlett, then down at me. "Oh... you two... Whaddya want?" she groaned. Scarlett just smiled, "I think it's time for a family reunion, don't you?" She then reached into her purse and pulled out what looked like a small handgun.


Bleh, I don't have time to write anymore. I'll try and wrap this up tomorrow. It's taking longer than I thought.