“Lovely weather, isn’t it?” The man beside me says.

I don’t look up from my phone as I respond. “Yeah, definitely.”

Silence follows. I check the time, sighing when I realize the bus is late. I scoff and turn to the man, ready to complain.

Then I see him.

His friendly smile is there but it betrays the look in his eyes—bloodshot, wide, unblinking. They’re dead eyes, staring straight through me, and my heart stops. A stare I thought I’d never have to face again.

“Lovely weather, isn’t it?” He repeats, but I know what he means this time.

I smile back, trying to seem unphased, but my voice shakes as I respond. “Yeah, definitely.”

The little girl stands facing her mother, her eyes peering up at her. “Do you like me?” She asks. Her mother is quick to respond, “of course I love you!” With a bright smile she makes her tone warm and inviting. The little girl doesn’t move. Her mouth is carved into a frown, and she doesn’t smile, she just stares at her mother. She looks at her in sadness, and this time, with a quiver in her tongue, she asks “but…do you like me” while tears are forming at the spot. Her mother stares at her again, this time thinking. Her expression changes from warm to cold, her eyes showing a cruel undertone that was not visible before. “Don’t be silly, Madison.” she states, then walks away.

Daisy: Babe… You busy? I need you ASAP. My pipes need a good cleaning…😜 sent, 4:32 PM ——— Ronnie: Oh, yeah? I think I got a good snake somewhere. I might be able to slide by and take care of that for ya… 😏 Sent, 4:32 PM ——— Daisy: Mmm… don’t be making promises you can’t keep, big boy. 🫦 Sent, 4:33 PM ——— Ronnie: Lol, don’t underestimate me, baby. You know I’m the master when it comes to plumbing. Sent, 4:33 PM ——— Daisy: You sure about that? Cuz I got a real bad leak too. Dripping all over the place. It’s a sopping wet mess! 😊 Sent, 4:33 PM ——— Ronnie: Damn, girl. I DK… I may not be the man for the job then. By the time I get done, there’s gonna be a flood! Sent, 4:35 PM ———- Daisy: Dammit Ronald… Get your ass over here before these pipes bust! If anybody busts them, I want it to be you! Lol. I’d work on them myself… But I can’t do it like you can!!! Sent, 4:35 PM ——— Ronnie: Lol, getting excited, are we??? Don’t worry, babe. I’m on my way. And I’m packing the biggest, most efficient snake you’ll ever find. 😉 Sent: 4:36 PM ——— ————— ——— Ronnie: Hey, doll. I made it home. Told you I bust them pipes lol. 😂😂 sent, 7:01 PM ——— Daisy: Damn straight, baby! I’m still cleaning up the mess! 🙏🏼😳😘🩷 Sent, 7:03 PM

Sally looked up abruptly from her desk, suddenly aware that someone was walking toward her. She gasped as she saw Jeff making his way down the hallway toward her. She hastily shoved the papers she had been focused on into her desk drawer. She cursed under her breath when the drawer caught the edge of some of the papers, causing them to crumple slightly. She pulled out the drawer again and quickly but carefully pushed the papers down and nearly slammed the drawer shut. She looked up and, putting on her best cheery, nonchalant voice, she almost shouted, "Hi Jeff! How was your weekend?"

Jeff had been lost in thought as he walked in to the office, his feet operating in autopilot as they navigated him toward his cubicle. He snapped out of his daydream at Sally's voice. He froze mid-stride, feeling the heat of panic rising into his face. He probed his unconscious for what Sally had just said, but couldn't find anything. He mentally shook his head to clear the panic from his face, and said as brightly as he could muster, "Oh hey Sally. How are you?" Was she the one? He was sure someone had seen him last night. He had run out of plastic sheeting so he had to use the curtain to wrap the body. He could swear he had seen someone walk by just after he had taken down the curtains. Was it Sally? She was certainly acting fishy this morning.

"Oh, I'm great," Sally let out as she surreptitiously put a hand on the drawer to make sure it stayed closed. Had he seen what she was looking at? Her mind raced as she searched for something to say. She tried to push the thoughts of the stolen top-secret documents out of her mind. "Have you tried the coffee this morning? It's really good. I think Brad brought it back from his vacation in Brazil." The words fell out of her mouth in a rush and Sally felt her cheeks flush, realizing that she didn't have a cup of coffee on her desk to back up her small talk. She let out a quiet sigh when Jeff didn't seem to notice.

"Brazil, eh?" Jeff narrowed his eyes, recalling that his last victim - the one wrapped in that ugly floral curtain he always hated, the one wrapped in not-plastic and probably bleeding all over his kitchen - was from Brazil. What was she getting at? Was this her subtle way of telling him she knew something? "I've never been to Brazil," he continued cautiously. "I'm not a big fan of the heat." He stared intently into Sally's eyes, trying to read her expressions. For a moment he thought he saw what looked like suspicion, and then it was gone. She knew. She was the one that saw him last night. That was the only explanation. He made a mental note to add her to the list of loose ends to get rid of.

"Well, it's nice, I've heard," Sally said, trying not to let her apprehension show. Jeff was staring right at her, as if he knew something. He must have been the one she heard walking by while she was rummaging around in the Archive room last night. She couldn't take any chances. No one could know what she had done. She made a mental note to add him to the list of loose ends to get rid of.

"Alright, well, I gotta get to work before they fire me," Jeff chuckled.

"Yeah, me too. I'll see you at lunch time," Sally responded sweetly.

They waved genially at each other, inwardly plotting their next moves.

“So how was work,” Tess asked, keeping a nonchalant face and pondering about her own affairs.

“You know just normal veterinarian things,” Sarah replied, secretly scratching blood off her hand.

“Mhm,” Tess muttered, trying to figure out if she will be able to pass security for her next mission.

“So is your boss still mean,” Sarah asked trying to seem less suspicious.

“He will always be mean,” Tess says, noticing the blood building in her fingernails. Her face turns sour wondering where the blood is coming from.

“Oh uh I cut myself and forgot to wash my hands,” Sarah chuckles, her palms start to sweat.

“Oh, but isn’t that a safety hazard,” Tess asks, trying to get some inside view.

“Oh yeah I had to rush out of work today,” Sarah answers, trying her best not to avoid Tess’s eyes. “Ah well this is my stop, bye Tess,” She says, sprinting up to her door.

“Uh bye,” Tess yells, as the door slams. She considers Sarah as a government enemy but dismisses the thought considering her reaction to the blood question.

— Little did they know that both of them are government spy’s. And soon will they realize that they work for the same boss —

[C1] “So, how’s your day going?” I inquire, smiling absently behind them. Other thoughts crowding my mind.

[C2] “work was murder,” I announced jokingly. Chuckling silently at the truth in those words.

[C1] I giggle slightly, “As for me…” I start shuffling my feet awkwardly, “I think it went quite well.”

[C2] “oh?” I look at her in curiosity. “How so?” I ask, pretending to have interest in my friends boring life. After all my brain was overflowing with the past events at work.

[C1] “I completed a lot of..overdue, things,” I down my water bottle quickly, nervous as I was, my palms weren’t sweaty.

[C2] I smiled. “That’s good” what was with the hint in her voice? I wondered. We arrived to our destination, the train station. We’d be parting ways soon. We worked in the same building but different departments so we often found ourselves walking home together.

[C1] I giggle. “Well, I guess we both had..interesting, days,” My voice was clearly hiding something. I just stood there, watching a train fly by on its way.

[C2] “I guess so,” I say gazing into those mysterious eyes, what could she possibly be hiding? But she had to be hiding something. It was in her voice. Did she sense my nerves perhaps? Maybe I’m just being paranoid. “We’ll I’ll see you around Nimona. Have a good night” I say suspiciously. I got on my train and watched her turn into a speck. “Odd, she seems like she knows something, better call the boss” I mumble.

[C1] “Goodbye.” I mumble to myself as their train takes them away. “They seemed paranoid at the end..maybe this job it too much, or something’s going on with them..” I whisper to myself, finding the texts with my ‘secret’ boss. I text ‘Alright, they’re gone. Where’s the meeting place? I’m ready for the trials.’ They respond, ‘The Westland Forest, middle section.’

[C1] Knifes Edge

[C2] Cannibal

Mike stood in front of his ex, Hannah. The northerly wind from this overcast day gave a little bite to the March afternoon. He had his cup of coffee in his hand and was headed back to his new place. Trees lined the sidewalk in front of the coffee shop. "So...how have things been?"

Hannah kept her face emotionless, a royal flush only she knew and refused to hint about. "Wonderful," she answered, "especially now that the weather is beginning to warm up and we can get outside and play."

"Yes," Mike said, unable to contain the expression in his eyes, one of intrigue. Did she know? He hadn't asked yet! "It is nice to have a sunny day once in a while."

"I like sunny days. Sometimes stormy days, too." Hannah hesitated before asking, "Have you had some sunny days where you live?"

What an odd question--Hannah only lived 5 miles from his current townhouse. "Very sunny," he responded. "Warm and sunny."

"Many days have been stormy for me. And windy. Sometimes it makes me feel...sick to my stomach."

"I suppose springtime has those days, too." Mike shifted on his feet uncomfortably. "You just need good friends to support you on those days...those rainy days."

"I agree. I was thinking that some friends could show up more during rainy days, to support them." Hannah gritted her teeth. Too much.

"My friend doesn't like being out on rainy days." Mike was getting irritated. He wasn't going back. "She really loves playing outside on sunny days. Warm, sunny days."

Hannah's nostril's flared. "Is your sunny day blonde?"

What? How?

"I mean, how is she going to handle sunny days when there's a little storm cloud around? Huh?"

"I think she'll do just fine." Geez, Mike knew Hannah tolerated them, but apparently she downright hated them!" He turned to leave, to run away, to escape...again.

Hannah grabbed his arm and twisted him around. His coffee splashed around in his paper cup, thankfully secured with a lid. "She'll have a name, you know."

"She already does."

"No, not your new 'girlfriend.' Our baby!"

"What? How?"

Hannah threw up her arms and groaned. "You're infuriating! And you bet your butt you and your new blonde bombshell will be paying child support when the baby comes." She stormed off.

Mike stood there in a daze, a twister of thoughts swirling in his head. Was he really going to be a father? With her? Crap! All he wanted to do was ask Hannah to watch his new golden-doodle puppy while he was out of town, not burden her with child support papers. He turned and walked towards his place to let his puppy La Nina out of her crate, wishing he would have made coffee at home.

(Not the prompt bc I already wrote a story for this prompt that actually was the prompt posted it too!

Like a indelible beach scene becoming a lost pencil on the sidewalk The little girl walking like a scatterbrained ego Leaving her cozy blanket behind Bringing herself a million miles With the yearn to belong to a locale full of rabid wolves

The waterfalls screamed through the night As the water whooshed down to the bottom Creating a millipede of beautiful sparkles To her the sparkling glee was a dark forest

Years back her soul was a trillion gallons of dazzling light She never closed her eyes, not once Even the bears gave her Christmas presents Then she locked the doors to her heart And turned it into rocks

Her family became a shattered picture frame Because she was their Mother Teresa It may have been raining cats and dogs outside But inside it was raining bears and tigers

But each evening Through a repetition of spoken jewels And the continuous hope of her reversion The sun appears above the rain It begins to sun shower Then they would say ”Today has still been a good day” Because one sun shower was a million sunflowers

Because of the ongoing loop that existed In there serene evenings Ultimately, a lost pencil on the sidewalk Bloomed into not just an indelible heart warming scene But a indelible laughter filled conversation Once again

♥️❤️♥️ This is how much all our family gatherings impact me. Especially every holiday we celebrate together It makes me realize how hopeful, amazing and beautiful this formidable and pessimistic world can be.

“Je suis fais mon lit.”

“Bein. Ça va, Annalise?”

Annalise à plissé les yeux. Le soleil du matin brillait à travers La fenetre de La cuisine. Elle Trouvé Le chiffon est, Elle essuie Les verres. Les verres scintillent comme des diamants au soleil du mantin.

“Oui Mama.”

Sa Mama lui a donné ce regard. Annalise savait que sa Mama avait plus à dire qu’elle.

“Et toi?” Du l’oeil, Elle regarde sa Mama Cherchez pour Une réponse appropriée.

“Bein merci,” Elle dit alors qu’elle marchez sortir La cuisine.

Annalise met Le verre dans La table et a commencé à ouvrir Les placards furieusement. Dans La minute fente qu’elle a eue sans La supervision de sa Mama, Elle a fermé Les yeux et Trouvé Un couteau.

Libre.

“Lucy Gray, where are you going?” Snow's standing in the hallway, watching me. He takes up all the space in the doorway, his arms over one another, biceps buldging. He flashes a crooked smirk and tilts his head slightly. "It's raining."

I can't believe that I was this close to freedom. I turn to face Snow, smiling. "Bitta rain ain't killed nobody." I say, as upbeat as I possibly can. I try to maintain eye contact as long as possible. Snow always told me that looking away is a weakness.

The rain is lashing against the window at this point, filling the silent seconds between us that feels like hours to me. The rain seems to distract Snow as his eyes flicker from side to side, studying my face. I become excruciatingly aware of the space that I am taking up in the hallway. Snow could reach up and touch the roof, I couldn’t even if I stood on my toes.

After a couple of beats, he unfolds his arms one by one. They fall to his side, and for somebody with arms longer than his torso, he makes a good effort to never look awkward. He takes a step forward. "I thought you hated being wet." He speaks in a questioning tone, licking his bottom lip. His hands had entered his pockets as he shrugs, looking taller. "I mean you did, last time it rained, remember?"

Its my turn to study his face. He looks intently into my eyes, the light from the main room reflecting off the side of his face, making me feel a pang of uneasiness at his appearance. Is this what his victims seen last? I can feel his stare bore into me, and I feel like he is able to read my mind. I avert my eyes before he can get too much information.

I can hear the TV in the background, I hadn’t noticed it before as it was so quiet. "I wasn't wearing a coat back then." I say quickly, almost stuttering but not letting my smile waiver. I try to be exactly what Snow wants me to be, and he seems to relax slightly in this moment.

"You aren't wearing a coat now." He throws me a conceited smile. I look around the hallway, hoping that a coat is close to me. But as with everything in this house, it is impeccably clean. Not a thing out of place, no coat to be found. I waited too long to make my move, and Snows voice echoes through the hallway once more. "Come back in, sit with me."

I start walking towards him, walking past the window when I suddenly catch a whiff of the rain from outside. I had almost forgotten what that smelled like. I stop in my tracks, looking out longingly. The sky was pitch black, no star in sight. The wind was blowing the trees aggressively, the trees trying their best to stay rooted in the ground. I envy their dedication.

I wipe a tear away from my cheek, noticing but not recognizing the girl reflected in the window. I feel Snow’s eyes on my face, and I force a smile and quickly speak so to distract him from seeing me emotional. Emotionality is weakness. "Windows open, no wonder why the rain had been so loud." I say in a distant, far off tone.

I put my hand out the window, feeling the rain on my bare skin. It feels refreshing, and I welcome the moisture. This house is bone dry a lot of the time, as though the smell of old damp wood sucks the water out of the air. The rain falls on my hand lightly, rolling down my arms to the crease of my elbow.

I hear the footsteps approaching me, I feel his presence behind me, then I see his reflection in the window. He is at least a head taller, looking down at me. His reflection completely envelopes mine, he is taller, wider and bigger than me. He pauses and stares at me for a minute. I feel myself tighten up. If this had been a few days ago, I would have said he looked at me with love. Things have changed since then.

"I'll get that for you Lucy Gray." He reaches towards the handle, the sudden movement making me jump in fear. Then I see his knuckles. They’re caked in blood, swollen and fresh. He had attacked somebody while I had been at work.

"What happened to your hand?" I ask innocently. He doesn't pause for a second, following through with closing the window. My chest feels tight, my breath catching in my throat as he slams the window shut, making me jump slightly.

Leaving a long moment of silence, he finally responds. "Grazed them against the brick wall at work." He looks down at his knuckle, smiling to himself. He shrugs and sets his arm to the side, walking towards the light in the main room, not looking back to see if I'm following him. He always knows I am.

I stare longingly at the door for a second. My heartbeat is in my ear. The rain has gotten heavier and the wind is howling in the distance. I take a step towards the door. I'm so close to freedom. I can practically feel the air wrapping round me, anticipation tingling through my body. I can smell flowers in the distance that is carried by the wind.

A warmth spreads over me as I start thinking about my mum, I need to find a phone. I haven’t seen her in such a long time that I start to feel tears well in my eyes for the second time tonight. This is it. I take a step forward.

"Lucy Gray." His voice is loud and booming, demanding my attention. He is standing in the door way again, waiting on me returning to him. I take a last look at the door before joining him.

—————-

Just a disclaimer I do not own these characters! These characters belong to Suzanne Collins from The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - I am only using these characters as a way to practice my writing skills :)