There was a gentle feeling in the air. The sun peeked out from behind tall buildings, casting glares everywhere. Fall never ceased to be beautiful in the hectic city. For a moment, the craziness of the world would stop. Frozen in time, suspended on top of the clouds, overlooking a graceful pause waiting for when winter would eventually come. The once pink cherry blossoms were now almost blood red, sprouting shimmering bronze and gold with it. Already fallen leaves crunched beneath feet, the old warm days gone, replaced by shorter and colder ones. 

Drifting along with everything was a girl, laying by the edge of a river, stuck in pensive thought. Her beanie sat snuggly on a head full of long, black hair that fell down to her hip. Every once in a while, she would pull her navy blue jacket closer to her, perhaps in longing. The girl rested against a small backpack, using it as a pillow while she stared at the violet sky. Her old white shoes were dusty, covered with mud, and falling apart. However, that seemed to be the least of her worries. With every breath she took in, she smelled the freshness of the day, as if it would bring her closer to her dreams. 

The sound of children running along the streets shook her from her fantasies and the girl seemed to notice the darkening of the sky. With one last tug of her jacket, she hopped off the ledge and began walking. Walking, walking, and walking. She had walked for so long, by the time she took a rest, the night had been fully set in motion. Neon signs hung from buildings and long, snaking lines were usually an indicator of a popular nightclub. The girl’s cheeks were rosy red from the cold weather and the considerable distance she had covered. Suddenly, she was pushed off to the side by someone. 

“Watch out!” The person said, without much extra care for the girl who had fallen down onto the asphalt. Was the phrase needed then if the damage had already been dealt? She seemed to enjoy the lack of conflict. In fact, a smile had even crept onto her face. Her hands were scratched, small rocks embedded into the cuts but her heart was beating harder than ever. It was evident that she recognized the quickly fading figure enough to stare at him or her longingly. The figure materialized in her eyes as a young boy, around the same age as her. Her eyes reached for him as she slowly got up, mirroring his footsteps. One after another, her actions were seen by nobody but herself. In this way, she was very happy. Longing while being careful. The boy caught up to his group of friends, and laughed with them. The girl also laughed, happy to see his face. 

“I wish…,” she trailed off, “There are too many that I wish for. Sailing on a ship that is disappearing in the distance. How I want to grab those sails and anchor my wanting down to shore.” As if she was thinking out loud, she began daydreaming again, humming a tune. 

The girl imagined lives, lives where she would have a family, have children somewhere. With that boy’s shining smile in mind, she thought about what her kids would look like, their names. They would live in a big house, with a backyard that had a lot of running space. She wanted it to still be near the city, as she enjoyed it here. It couldn’t be too close though. There were dangerous people in the city that could harm her children, harm their perfect family. As the protector of this dream, the girl had to keep everything flawless.  

The back alleys were filled with trash and gave you an inexplicable chill. The scariest ones weren’t the ones filled with squatters or crazy, perverted lunatics. The most unsettling deep crevices were the empty ones. Even during daytime, if you tried to take a shortcut, you would often find yourself frozen in place, too scared to walk further and stranded with nowhere to run. Many parents would not allow their kids to travel the back alleyways of the city because of the dangers that lurked in them. For the most part, everyone followed this rule. Some adults were petrified of these dark corners in the city. However some defiant teenagers believed that traveling in groups would solve this issue. With so many people, criminals would have difficulty overwhelming them all. It was not unheard of though, to see some disappearing, never to return because of a childish mistake.

The group of kids suddenly reached one of these dark alleys. A foolish boy brought up the idea to travel through it. Being the children they were and feeling forced to act under peer pressure, everyone agreed. The group brought ruckus to the silent darkness. Trying to swallow their fears, they acted rashly, banging the walls and screaming about. In order to dry their sweaty hands, they targeted each other, stirring up playful fights and creating dares. Too focused on one another to notice that a member of their group had been pulled away. They would not notice until much too late that the boy who was initially still falling behind, had completely disappeared. They would not notice that he had been pulled into a small corner that led into a newer, darker, and sinister alleyway. Much too worried about their own fears to see that the boy was gone. 

He backed up against the grimey walls as a hand was pressed against his body. It was too black for him to make out the person clearly at all. He could only stand in terror with tears dripping down his face and try to find a means of escape. 

“What do you want from me?” He mustered up but the cracks in his voice were evident. There was silence for a second before the voice responded. 

“I don’t want anything from you. I just want you.” It was spoken so innocently but that innocence frightened him to his core. 

“Please, I’ll do anything as long as you let me go.” The hand moved up until it settled upon his throat. He began to choke violently, gasping for his breath. 

“But why would I let go of such a good chance?” The choking and coughing became louder and more frantic as the voice continued. “There must be a quote somewhere, that one should never let go of a good chance if the opportunity arises. I can’t let go now, it’s right in front of me. How disappointing would that be. You could have everything. You will have everything. The world is at my hands currently and I want to make use of that.” The person dipped into an eerie whisper. Along with the quietness of the voice, the boy also seemed to quiet down. A loud car sped past the blackness, revealing the hidden figure that had been quietly making her move. She began humming her tune, the one that just moments ago had felt so childish and free. Now it was a haunting melody in the boy’s last moments. The light was short lived and again, darkness surrounded them, swallowing the bodies.

The morning would rise again. The sun that had been going down would come back up to greet the buzzing city. Fall would continue on its path, preparing for the harsh winters. The cherry blossoms would stay their dark red color and soon drift onto the ground just like everything else. The petals would break under shoes and turn into dust that floated off into the abyss. Dust that would travel through streets, behind buildings, and into small backstreets. Small backstreets that held many secrets and truths, just like the one that held the boy. The dust would land on his cold body and blue lips. Then it would begin its passage again with the wind. The morning would turn into night just a little faster than it had before and would be a reminder of shorter days to come. The girl was not there any longer and she would not be there again. Maybe it was the quickly disappearing daylight that forced her to daydream at home. Or maybe, maybe it was the lengthening darkness that brought her a new joy.