Scrawlers

She opened the door to the empty hallway. A musty smell hung thick in the air. Her head turned to the left and saw the exit sign through the darkness. Her high heeled feet stepped onto the wood floor. She slowly clicked along. Inside her head her theme music played. It was a slow rock that climaxed as she headed through the door.

Light flooded into the door from the window outside. Her eyes slanted as she clicked her way down the stairs. Bright red sunglasses shielded her eyes as she stepped out into the world again. The music stopped.

I picture my father climbing into the car on my birthday. He told my mother he was going shopping, but he never came back.

Weeks later, he called from a Phoenix motel and spilled remorse into the phone. He asked for me, but my mother hung up. For twenty years after that, I believed he was dead.

My father took me to the park one night. He put me in the baby swing, gave me a push, and disappeared into the bushes. I remember hearing a woman's laughter.

What the hell do I do with a memory like that?

The weather was perfect. Sipping steaming hot coffee, Roy sauntered to the balcony to witness the swaying eucalyptus’, dark clouds in the backdrop. Memories surfaced. She was no more but for once he felt her fear - What if the winds uprooted the trees and they came crashing towards him ?

He wept aloud, begging it to happen.