SWNOVELS Chapter [38]
◄WINTER ROSE►
It was time to move out this house. I had finally managed to pack everything up within the last three days. My dad was waiting for me and my mom out front, while I re-checked anything I missed inside the house.
The rooms were empty. The walls that were once with vibrant wallpapers were now parched and covered with thick dust. The colors were now vividly uneven, and there were marks of cabinets and closets imprinted on these walls. The lights were still working, but I wondered until when it would be? I moved onto the far end of the hall and opened the door to my—our—room, flicking the lights open. It lit for a good five minutes before it burned out. The leaking roof I never paid much attention to ever since you left must have caused it.
A tear slipped onto my cheek as I scanned the room. The bed was still unmade, some of your old clothes sticking out from the cabinet, and a few candy wrappers scattered all over the bedside table. It was for your sweet tooth that I never could quite understand. You were always the biggest fan of toffee.
A smile broke through my poker face as I caught a glimpse of broken pencils on the floor. You used to love sketching before everything went downhill. You would always tell me to take hour-length poses just so that you could capture the moment we were in. I told you that pictures would do both of us a huge favor, but you never could quite understand why pictures were so mainstream, because you believed that capturing them with your own hands could make the memories last longer inside your mind. It used to irk me all the time, but I loved you for it anyway.
“Honey, it’s time to go.” I heard my mom say.
It took me a while to notice she was there. She had already knocked thrice on the door before she got my attention. Wiping the tears streaking down my face, I placed the pencils back where I found them.
“I’ll be right there, Mom. Just give me a sec.”
My mom nodded and left the room to give me some more time. It is the last day I will ever see this room before the entire house is renovated as an orphanage. A sigh escaped my lips when I realized that even this wouldn’t last forever.
I got up from the floor and dusted my butt before walking to the door, when I almost slipped on a loose sock.
“Ah!” I yelped, trying to hold onto anything to keep my balance, but to no avail, failed to do so, landing on the cold hardwood floor.
“Ow…stupid sock.” I muttered in annoyance. Even when he’s not here, his things still come to haunt me in the back.
I bent over to pick up the sock lying on the floor. I was about to place it back into the drawer, when something fell on the ground. Curious, I picked that up before throwing the sock onto the drawer.
“ Winter Rose ”
A shiver rose on my spine at the penmanship of the name that was written.
It seemed to be a letter…for me.