Diehard Desire

Rose

It was a bright morning in the town of Westminster. After a long week of continuous snowfall and storm, the sun finally bought in some relief for the inhabitants. 

The snow was slowly starting to melt off the sidewalks of the residential area as pedestrians walked away with ease in their steps. 

People were finally stepping out of their houses and enjoying what nature had to offer after being stuck inside for days. The melodious singing of birds could be heard everywhere.  

Everyone embraced the change with bright smiles. People were eager to come out for a stroll in the morning sunlight. The usually deserted streets bristled with the chattering of people. 

The houses in the street were all identical to each other. With the same handcrafted stone and woodwork and similarly coloured in red. 

The front porch of almost all the homes had small flower pots with seasonal flowers blossoming. The street looked homely as if the whole neighbourhood knew each other. 

The heavy sound of a door banging against a wall had the attention of almost everyone snapping towards the last house in the row. A small girl of around eight came dashing out of the house with mischief in her big, blue eyes. 

She looked around at her surrobristles with a curious smile plastered on her young face. Her long blonde hair was put into two braids on either side of her head. Her pale skin glowed in the light of the sun as she stretched out her arms and took in a lungs full of fresh air. 

"Ivy-Ivannah, wait for us, sweetheart..." A woman came rushing behind the girl and took a hold of her arm. 

"Ivy, how many times do I have to tell you to not run around like that?" She scolded her daughter softly. 

"Sorry, mommy." The little girl pleaded her mother with her innocent eyes, making the woman laugh after rolling her eyes at her daughter's antics. 

"Ready to go, my lady." The man of the family said while wrapping his arm around his wife's waist. 

"Yes, daddy." Little Ivy replied instead with excitement, making the beautiful, young couple laugh out loud. 

Both of them took a hold of either of their daughter's hands as they walked along the sidewalk. They knew all too well their daughter's tendency to run away if given the smallest chance. 

They both knew that they would do anything for their little angel. She was the centre of their world. And in that moment, they couldn't have asked for a better one. 

"Going out to play in the park, little Ivy?" The old man across the street asked Ivy, making her nod her head enthusiastically. Her braids swinging at the side of her head with the force of her action. 

The old man laughed making the wrinkles around his eyes more prominent. It was no surprise that like almost every other kid her age, Ivy enjoyed the outside and left no chance of exploring her surroundings.

He carefully plucked a beautiful red rose from his garden and with tentative and careful steps, walked towards the small family. 

Ivy got out of her parents hold, ran towards the man and hugged him at the waist. He patted her head affectionately and chuckled as she looked up at him with her sapphire blue eyes. 

Being careful that the rose didn't have any thorns that could injure her delicate hands, he handed the flower over to the girl. Ivy took it eagerly in her hands and smelled the rose before kissing the senile man on his cheek as he bent at his waist. 

"Thank you, Mr Richard." She said in her adorable baby voice and kissed the soft, rose petal. 

"I hope that your innocence is forever protected from this harsh world, my dear. I pray to lord almighty that the light forever shines in your eyes and brightens the world around you. He may give you the strength to find the good in the world and embrace it." He prayed softly as he patted her head. 

Oblivious to the meaning behind the old man's words, Ivy scrunched her little, button nose and giggled softly. The couple stepped forward and looked fondly at the interaction between their daughter and neighbour. 

"Oh silly Mr Richard, I already have my daddy to protect me from the big, mean people." Ivy answered with a sweet smile on her face. 

The three adults laughed softly at the child's innocent words and looked down at her lovingly. Ivy frowned at them, not liking it that they were laughing at her. Her father bent at his knee and kissed her rosy cheeks. 

She immediately forgot all about her displeasure and giggled at the feeling of his beard scratching her soft skin. 

Everyone bid their farewells to each other but Ivy kept quiet and clutched the single rose to her chest. Throughout the rest of the walk, Ivy kept quiet and didn't utter another word. She smelled the freshly plucked rose every few seconds and smiled secretively to herself. 

Her face brightened up at the sight of the park infront of her. She freed herself from her mother's hold and ran towards the pond. 

For the rest of the afternoon, Ivy played around the park, forgetting everything else. She made sure not to hurt the flower tucked in her pocket in any way. Too soon for the child's liking, the sun started setting over the horizon and her parents came to take her. 

She started the walk back to her home with a pout on her lips. She had taken the flower back in her hands and was still very careful not to harm it. 

The sun had finally set and there was darkness all around. The only light coming was from the street lights above their heads. Ivy clutched her father's hand, not liking the silence on the street. Her father reassuringly squeezed her hand as they continued their journey.  

Upon reaching a few yards away from their home, the couple saw some men standing in the dark outside their house and looked at each other worridely. 

Their daughter was blissfully unaware of her parents dilemma and looked across the street for her old friend, Mr Richard. Her father quietly passed her hand to her mother and went to talk to the men standing in the dark. 

Only then did Ivy see the people standing infront of her house. Ivy hid behind her mother fearfully and watched as the scene unfolded. First her father and the men talked quietly and then all of a sudden, one of the men came forward and took a hold of her father's collar. 

Her mother came to action almost immediately and hid Ivy behind a bush in the darkness. She looked in the eyes of her daughter and kissed her forehead lovingly. 

"Mommy..." Ivy muttered softly upon seeing the tears misting her mother's eyes. 

"Shh... don't speak. Be quiet, Ivannah. Listen to me. No matter what happens, don't come out, okay. Listen, Mommy and daddy have to go now. You stay strong for us." Her voice broke as she saw her daughter's bottom lip quivering with emotions. 

"Mommy and Daddy love you more than this entire universe. Never forget that, my baby." With a final kiss to her head, Ivy's mother left her there all alone. Shaking in fear and crying silently. 

Everything was silent for a few moments and then the sound of two bullet firing filled the air. Ivy put a hand over her mouth to keep herself from making any noise. 

She slowly peeked from behind the bushes and saw the men get inside a black car. The car was long and looked very sleek. It had a weird looking golden symbol at the front of the car bonnet. It sped away as soon as the four men got inside. 

Ivy observed everything silently. She saw as the people of the neighbourhood got out of their houses and rushed towards her home. 

Soon a large crowd was gathered infront of her front porch. Ivy still didn't get out of the bushes as per her mother's order. Somewhere in the crowd, she heard Mr Richard scream for an ambulance and the police. She still didn't come out. 

Silent tears fell down her face as she saw 3 police cars stop infront of her house followed by an ambulance. She heard people narrating the whole incident to the officers and also her name being mentioned a couple of times. 

A few officers stayed near the car and were talking about something when the lady detective noticed something moving behind the bushes of a neighbouring house. 

She was quick to come to action and stopped infront of the porch with her gun blazing out. She immediately put it away as she noticed a little girl looking very frightened and crying. 

She remembered the neighbours mentioning a little girl and tried to get the possible eye witness from behind her hiding place. As soon as she tried to get the girl out, she started screaming and kicking. 

This got the attention of the other officers and that worried neighbours and they rushed towards the scene. 

The child looked visibly shaken as she hauled and screamed. They tried everything in their power to calm her down and finally, a kind looking lady that appeared to know the girl took her in her arms. Ivy finally calmed down and stopped fighting. 

The police tried to find a relative to take the girl in. They came up empty handed. With no other solution, the police had her sent to the child protection bureau where they knew she would be safe. 

The next few days, the little girl kept crying for her parents but nothing the officers tried made her talk about the night. 

Due to lack of evidence and no witnesses with any valuable information, the police finally shut down the case and the little girl was left at an orphanage at the outskirts of the town. 

The orphanage management too tried in vain to get the girl to talk. No matter how gentle and nurturing they were, the clearly traumatised girl refused to utter even monosyllabic words. 

Every day, Ivy would sit on the windowsill of the grim building with the same book in hand that had a dried up flower inside one of it's pages. 

No one understood what was going on in the girl's head. Oblivious to them, she was waiting for someone to arrive one day and take her back home. Someone that would protect her from the evil of the world. 

One day, he arrived.