Trapped: Andrew and the Grey [Part2]

But then Mary and Jane grew fatigued and retreated to their dark, damp repose underneath the bed. And Andrew was alone again with his unimportant thoughts and unseeing mind once more.

         The grey got to him and his mind cracked open just a little more. He shuddered the bad feelings away and tried to invent a new world. He determined that he would go outside and explore the river he already knew so well.

         He wandered out onto the barren landscape and knelt down to the riverbed. With a stick grasped in his left hand, Andrew began trace little circles in the water. He wished to himself that there could be fish in the river so he would have new friends.

         Andrew then heard a strange noise. It was almost a footstep, but it sounded too heavy for that. He was befuddled; there was never any noise in the grey. He raised his head, hoping to see perhaps something that would fall onto his head, maybe even giving him a mild concussion. The hospital had a certain greyness about it as well, but anything and everything was better than here.

         Unfortunately all he saw when he looked up was the lonely sky, absent of sun, birds, clouds, or color. Then he heard a voice.

         “I’m over here,” said the girl standing behind him slightly to his unaware left. “Do you have hearing problems?”

         “It’s been so long since I’ve heard a real noise; I’d forgotten where they came from.” Indeed, Andrew realized how long it had really been. When had he last seen his parents or Caroline? This drifter, this stranger, her voice seemed unusually loud to him, standing there boldly with her hands on her hips. Or was it just that his voice was unusually quiet? ‘Let’s just go along with this,’ Andrew thought to himself. ‘Just see where it goes, don’t think just do.’ But at the same time, he felt hesitant. He didn’t want to scare this girl off. She was free of the grey, that much was clear. It wasn’t often one of the lively ones would come out here. Why was a pretty, young girl like herself out in a terrible, bleak place such as this?

         “Why have you come here?” Andrew asked with an even softer voice. He didn’t want to sound rude, he was only curious, but he had forgotten how to sound polite. She cautiously took a seat next to him in front of the slowly flowing water that wearily dragged on. She crossed her legs Indian style and set her bindle down. Andrew could only fathom what sort of an interesting assortment of items she might collect in there.

         “I followed the river,” she responded, looking him in the eyes. “Are you alone here?”

         “It feels that way most of the time.” Andrew wanted to look back down at the river, but he couldn’t bring himself to fall away from her eyes. They had life, even if a certain sorrow had apparently made its way into them over a number of abuse filled years. The eyes were misty and green; they made Andrew think of plants. He saw them again when he looked at her. “What’s your name? Where do you come from?”

         She seemed not to hear him as she proceeded to ask, “Do you have any food?”

         “I’m Andrew,” He offered, meeting her eyes with his of pale blue once more. “I don’t believe we have much food to eat here. I eat what Caroline gives me. And she puts out food for the rats.”

         The stranger raised her eyebrows in shock and repulsion at this. “Why would you put out food for rats? That’s absolutely disgusting. I’ve come a long way and seen many odd things, so I really must inquire: why do you put out food for the rats?”

         Andrew scrunched his nose and eyebrows in confusion. “I don’t know,” he replied. “I never thought to ask.” For a moment, he thought the girl with the forest eyes would leave. To his surprise, and perhaps even to his delight, she raised a hand to her mouth and giggled, still not taking her eyes off of his.

         “You could come inside,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “I could try to find something for you.”

         To his utter disappointment, she just shook her head. “I best be on my way. I have places to go and things to see.” She saw the displeasure in his eyes and across his mouth, so she added, “The world is a wondrous place you know.”

         He smiled wistfully. “I only wish I did know.” His face fell once more and his eyes reflected his absolute desperation. “I hope to see you again, stranger.”

         “I won’t be back, I can promise you that much.” And she left him.