Blue

Magdalene Kitch had Della Breed collecting rents again.

“Who can say no to a cute girl at 5:00 in the morning?”

All the tenants rents would take about two hours to collect so Della made sure to get a good nights rest. Her sister was worried about her going door to door by herself but Della successfully argued that it would get her out of the apartment and give her a chance to make new friends.

Della also enjoyed the idea of being able to get some answers about her mysterious dreams. Della first collected her own rent then set about to get the first floor’s. Most people put the money in Mrs. Kitch’s mailbox but those that didn’t would get a nice wake-up call from Della. One such tenant was Alice V. Franklin. After knocking on her door the first thing she heard was a screaming baby followed by three locks on the front door unlatching. She left the chain latch on cracking the door open just a sliver. Della could still see that unlike most of the other tenants Ms. Franklin didn’t have as bad a case of bedhead.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake your baby. I’m Della, I work for Magdalene Kitch… I’m here for the rent.”

“Oh, right.” She closed the door and Della could here her receding back into her house. Della was about to knock again when Alice opened the door slightly and pushed a manilla envelope through.

“Thank you,” Della paused before adding “You know… if you ever need a babysitter…” Della didn’t really mean it but it didn’t matter.

“That’s sweet but… no thank you.”

At least I can say I tried.

After returning the money to Mrs. Kitch Della set about her day in the cemetery. Sarah was forcing her to go back to school soon and she needed to study to catch up with her classmates.

Once outside della noticed that there were far more people out and about than there should have been at 7:00, the early shifts had already started and other jobs wouldn’t start for another hour or so. Everyone seemed to be moving in the same direction. Instead of fighting the current Della allowed her curiosity to get the better of her and she followed the crowd to the insane asylum.

Blue. Blue everywhere. On the building, on the people, on the man laying on the ground. Della couldn’t take it. She ran down Herbert Johnson Road towards Boulevard Avenue. She stopped panting. Hands on her knees she saw flashes of her parents’ death all in blue. Once she had finally cleared her head of the blue she looked up to find herself in the abandoned lot behind O’Harley’s. Boo radley was licking her face trying to comfort her. He tried to herd her away but she couldn’t leave. Something kept her glued to the spot.

Just as she thought she had gotten away from the images they came back. Only it wasn’t in her head this time. She was standing before a mural in all blue graffiti paint. And it was about her. It looked as if a giant comic book had fallen open to a page full of all her secrets. Above the images the graffiti read: “You can’t run away Della Breed.”

It was all there. How she had dreamed of the numbers 8 6 and 10 months before her parents death on August 6, 2010. How she had dreamed of their death through the video cameras that would not catch the murderer’s face. How the night of the murder she had dreamt the act from the killer's point of view. How mixed with the recurring dreams of their death she had seen other murders only to find out later that they had really taken place. And the latest one- the one of Sarah. Her laying in a pool of blood on the carpet in Dawn’s apartment.

As she was taking in the public shaming and the weight of her silence she noticed a man with blue hands. He seemed to be laughing. Della turned on him.

“Did you do this?” She screamed. “Do you think its funny, people dying, other’s pain?”

He stopped laughing and looked at her. Suddenly she felt sick. Before she ran his eyes changed and heard him softly say “I’m sorry” before his hard stare returned.

Running towards the cemetery she almost knocked over Rick the bartender. She knew he would tell her sister about the events of the day if she didn’t know already. After crying in the cemetery until dark she couldn’t bear to face her sister so she spent the night in the house on Blue Boulevard.

She spent the night believing she’d never get away from the color blue.

If I Laugh

They were back.

Since she started working for Magdalene Kitch, Della had been able to keep the nightmares at bay. She continued to dream of the cameras hidden around Dreamwood Terrace. She'd even let her self think she was getting better, if only slightly. Having no idea what could have caused them to come back, Della dressed quickly and headed towards the cemetery.

The decaying flowers from her birthday were gone and the grass looked cut, which meant Leonard had been by earlier. And there was Boo! She hadn't seen him since her nightmares ended. Calming herself by nuzzling his soft, light-brown fur, she rocked back and forth trying to think of something that would dissipate the tightness in her chest.

Just after sunset, before the light had truly disappeared, Della headed to New Hope Children's Home to meet Sarah. When she wasn't working, Sarah was volunteering at the children's home just like her mother had.

Della waited outside next to a bonfire. She watched as the flames leaped, danced and crackled with laughter. She wished to be that happy again. Suddenly she burst out laughing and couldn't stop. She was so caught in her fit that she didn't notice when another woman walked up. She immediately straightened up and regained her composure. She made "polite chit-chat" as her mother would call it, until Sarah came out. Sarah nodded her goodbyes to the woman and the sisters headed for home. 

Along the way and all through dinner, Sarah chattered about her day. But Della's happiness had worn off. She couldn't stop thinking about the night. She could never tell Sarah what she saw in her dreams. Praying that her work tomorrow would keep them away she closed her eyes and pushed herself into sleep.