Red

When war breaks out and children are left to fend for themselves, they are looked upon as insane and ordered to wear masks to exclude themselves from the rest of society.

The sadness in her voice could be heard across the courtyard. The red blood dripped off her little fingers rapidly just like the water spilling out of her brown eyes. Her tattered dirt filled clothes soaked with the blood of the little girls next to her who laid on the ground lifeless. It was late afternoon when she found her, the dirt on her body now replaced by blood. She screamed even louder than before her voice echoing the lifeless girls name over and over again. Minutes had passed into hours and still she did not move from her position on top of the girl she once called her sister. Taking off the huge mask that covered her head she touched her forehead and combed her hair like their mother always did. Her face was so much prettier than she had remembered. Her soft pale skin and bright blue eyes harmonizing with her light blonde hair. She only remember her sister with that light blonde hair placed in braides and nothing more. It was how it had been before they had to place on the masks permanently. Whispering her name softly she once again cracked out the sentence she had repeated for hours.

“Please wake up Violet, I need you”

She shook her again the mask around her own face now soaked with her tears and irritating her skin. Her hand skimmed across her once lilac dress which was now faded and covered in that horrid red. It was the only thing she could think about, how to get that color off of her sister’s cold body. No matter how much she touched it, no matter how much time she took, not one spot would come off. Finally she let go crawling back from the body and placing her self down on the ground about ten feet away.

The world was so much different than it was five years ago. Violet would be dancing in the front yard as Ella tried to copy her sister, their parents watching. It all seemed like a dream to the little girl who now sat next to her dead sister. The bright vibrant green grass and blue sky changing into an eerie gray and brown as war took over. It was all suppose to be a peaceful resolution, no fighting was involved…. they lied. The bombs ruined the cities, the soldiers took over the towns, and people all over hid in fear from the large guns they shot the innocent with. Ella still had nightmares about the creaking floorboard, and banging on their front door, the way her mother and father pleaded for their daughters lives and the way the gun made sound when the red blood hit her face once their bodies collapsed onto the ground. It had only taken a second before they were gone and the two girls were left there to hang over their parents bodies. It took weeks until random people came in their house to help. The two girls still hugging their parents now rotted and filling the room with a decomposing smell. They were forced off and taken away from their tiny home.

It was only Violet the little girl had left. They were placed in one of the broken down homes on the edge of town that were abandoned a long time ago. The house was missing half the roof and reeked of mold and dampness. The people who brought them there spoke to them with orders that Ella had forgotten except for one. They had to wear masks over their faces in order to let others know that they were orphans and should not be bothered. It was the only thing they could do to all the now orphaned kids whose parents were dead from the war. Most of the children left alone suffered and had gone totally insane trying to kill the people that had helped them. Now all the orphan kids were treated as the outsiders or a threat to society. As the years went by the orphans started dying one by one from starvation, infection, and disease. The ones that survived were constantly struggling with the hardships of society. Other kids who saw that mask and thought of them as ‘ragged freaks’ would tease them going as far as beating them up or killing them just for fun. They were a normal kids game now and her sister was the example.

When morning rose and Ella’s eyes opened slowly her sister was still in the same position. Her knees buckled into her chest and her hair covering her face. She examined her closely wishing she would just wake up like yesterday morning and all those other mornings before. It had taken a lot from her to finally get up and move to her sisters side again. Her red shoes were missing off her feet which was something those ‘kids’ did to show off that they had ‘won’ the game. It had happened to many others before her, they would beat the kid alive until they stopped breathing and steal one of the items off their bodies as some type of ‘momento.’ She had taken a glance around the park her fingers wrapping around her sisters mask before she started to walk away. The only thought on her mind was red.

The school yard was packed with all kids from different ages. They ran past her not stopping once to notice the mask on her face that made her different from all the other kids. She had flashed back to the time when her and her sister both played in this very school yard waiting for their parents to pick them up.

“What are you doin’ here? Get goin’ now!” An older lady in a tan sweater waved her hands high shooing Ella away from the school yard and away from all the other children now staring at her. She ran off quickly across the street and behind one of the many dead trees waiting until she could at least walk back. It had taken a couple of minutes until the lady had disappeared and Ella was back walking across the street and into the schoolyard. She watched everyone thoughts racing into her mind until the door had opened and out came a little girl. She was about Violets height with similar blonde hair. She wore a light blue dress and stockings that matched her bag in her hands. The girl had taken no notice in Ella and walked along the road down the dirt path by herself. It was rare to see anyone walk by themselves anymore but she didn’t have a care in the world. Ella didn’t care anymore than she did as she followed her down the street, her sister’s hanging mask in her hands. The only thought on her mind was red.

It had been the end of school the next day when the girl in the light blue dress and stockings walked home alone again. She smiled down at the ground hoping her mother had cooked her another meal like she had done every day the girl came home from school. Her house was huge set in a small part of the town where the bombs did not hit and the soldiers did not go. It was white with a red door which welcomed her whenever she had spotted it. It was the only one of it’s kind on that street and it greeted her with comforting bliss. She skipped up the stairs opening the door gently and placing her bag down like she did everyday. Closing her eyes she smelled the air waiting for the waft from her mother’s cooking to move into her nose but when she opened them her smile was gone and her body turned cold. There was no smell and the house was rather too dark than it had been every other day. The house was ice cold and there was no laughing or talking that could be heard from her parents daily conversations.

“I’m home” She screamed with no reply. Thinking maybe they were out somewhere which was kind of unusual she creeped into the living room, her dad who was commonly on the couch was no where to be seen. She next checked the kitchen across from the living room where her mother would always be cooking and cleaning with a bright smile on her face whenever she caught sight of the girl. The kitchen was too empty and cold as the living room had been. Finally she had reached the dining room where she had found both her parents on the opposite ends of the table. It had taken her a moment to look at everything around the room. The blood splattered on the curtains and pouring all over the glass table they were both limp on, her body trembling at the sight.

“Here yah go sister” The girl had turned around to see a little girl with a mask over her face standing right behind her, a familiar mask in her hand. The girl whimpered as tears fell from her eyes and she backed away from the girl in front of her. “It’s o-k” The other girl moved closer to her placing the mask over her head and covering her wet face. The masked girl took the newly orphaned hand pulling her out of her now old house. She couldn't quite make sense of it all but she knew as she looked down at the shoes on her feet that the game she had played was only beginning for her. The only thought on her mind was red.

Author's Note

Inspired from the picture.

Reviews

[Jack Wolfe]

This was quite inspired and well written, you have a talent, the narration was a bit suspicious as it reads a bit like an accounting from a news-reel, but very creative. You could have given this so much more depth through depiction of one perspective, but it didn’t take away from the whole. I would recommend putting a break between paragraphs, in hard copy it doesn’t create a problem, but when in digital format it make the read compacted. I enjoyed this, I would have rather the narration been done through showing, but it came across strong, but lacking in a bit immersion.

[tess]

Thanks for the review, I really appreciate it! I do agree with the points that you made, it is a bit confusing... I will defiantly edit it when I have the time!

[Closing Thoughts]

Very interesting! Sure, it's a bit gruesome, but I feel like it needed to make an impact on the reader. It's incredibly sad, and sort of reminded me of Lord of the Flies (as in, what happens to children when they are left to fend for themselves). Unfortunately, just because they are tiny, they are still human. The reality may be that we are no better or worse than children in our warring. I really like how this made me think; and you were able to do it in such a short amount of time. Fantastic job. I could read a whole book based on this, honestly. Like Jack Wolfe said, I would like to be immersed MORE in the story; I want more detail about these girls, their lives, and smaller details about them. Of course, it's not needed, but if you wanted to make the story into something more or edit it or anything, let me know, because I'd love to read it. (so, sorry, you were wrong. I actually liked it ;)

[Closing Thoughts]

***I forgot to say, I think it's cool you got that inspiration from the picture. I like to see how other people's creativity works, so it's cool that I got to see where your idea came from. Awesome job

[tess]

Thank you! I will edit it once I have the time and add a few details about them both, I already have ideas. I'm glad you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!

[Nessie_AJ]

Absolutely LOVE this piece! Not only is it one of the most creative pieces I've ever read, it has these vivid images that just invade the reader's mind! I love how you describe the 'red' blood and the masks. Especially love your line "normal kid's game." Jut a little repetitive with the word 'girl' in the first paragraph, but otherwise I think this is an amazing piece!