A Troubled Mind.
Chapter 1: Where it all started.
Blossomed trees, brown leaves and most importantly the sparkling sun, shining down on our world, lighting it all up like a candlestick in a dark maze, leading the way. A fairy lit forest with crunchy leaves and tall trees is my happy place. A secret place, a good place to think. A place to allow your imagination to run wild, to glide through the trees, over the sticks and into the water. Everyone has their own happy place, their childhood home with the fresh smell of pancakes. Or an island in the middle of the ocean. But this is my happy place, a world without stress or guilt. Peace and quiet. I often go there when things get tough when I need to breathe. I just close my eyes and drift.
Present
[Rosie Tulle: 6:32am] Sixteen years I have lived with this man and yet I still have not learnt his tricks. I can hear him pattering downstairs, it’s too early, he shouldn’t be up yet. There's another man with him, what if it’s the man from last night? I’m being paranoid, how would he know? He wouldn’t, exactly, there’s no way in hell he could know, I did everything right, I’m sure of it.
[Noah Branson: 7:49am] Last night changed everything. This could either be a new beginning, or a tragic end.
3 weeks before
Rosie Tulle was a damaged soul from the beginning, she was ruined from the very start. Her father present but absent, her mother precious but useless and herself, well now that’s a complicated story. She began her day as she has for the past couple of years or so, sneaking in through her window and ruffling her bed to make it appear as though someone had slept in it. She sat in front of her mirror and stared at herself for a moment. Glum, her features were drowned by the substances that were consumed the night before, she longed to be like her friend Tilly who could awake looking as fresh as a daisy, even with the red lipstick smeared across her face from partaking in various unspeakable activities. Rosie got dressed and went downstairs, her father passed out on the couch with a trail of coke leading from his nose to his mouth and sprinkled like fairy dust all over the sofa. Still unsure of her mother’s whereabouts, she messaged her for the 36thtime this week, no reply yet again, so she left, slamming the front door behind her, before passers-by could see the crack house she called ‘home’. As she wandered aimlessly through her dreary and run downtown, she became solely aware of her surroundings and citizens to keep her mind from going to dark places. The roads were old and worn down as well as the pavements, so many stomping feet and wheels tearing away each layer until eventually, there’s nothing left. The housing estates stood crouched, each one with a door to another life, some like Rosie’s, some completely different. Rosie often thought about and imagined other people's lives, made incredibly specific interpretations of people’s backstory’s, home lives and love lives. Distractions were key. She came across a bench about 10 minutes from her house, sat was an elderly couple, sharing a meal. They were completely mute, speaking no words to one another, just enjoying each other’s company and kind eyes. Their silence brought Rosie some comfort, her life was always so loud, events constantly pondering her thoughts, consistently preventing her from finding peace and quiet, she smiled. Her smile quickly faded as she took the last turn of her journey down Old Grand Brooke way where she waited almost 2 hours for her seller. He arrived wearing old and torn grey joggers but were now a dewy brown colour. He wore a baggy puffer jacket, with pockets full to the brim with goodies.
“Alright Rose?”
“Hey Kev, same as usual.” She said to Kevin, with pleading eyes. Kevin was the one constant in her life, he was always there for her when she needed it, when she was having a hard day, or needed a little ‘pick me up’.
“No worries darl’, you been alright?”
“Same as usual, Kev.”
“Tell me about it.” He says with a forced laugh.
She says goodbye and walks to see her auntie, Jazz. Jasmine Kane was Rosie’s mother’s sister, more like a mother figure to Rosie, something she never really had. When her mum left, Jazz stepped in and filled the one of many holes in her heart.
[Noah]
