|| Tears of the Sky || A Random Love Story || Part 4

"What?" Alex said disapprovingly."She can't be dead! I just saw her! She was just here!" His voice rose, and cracked.

"Alex!", Edward yelled. His attention was soon pulled back to reality, and he facedthe striking green eyes of which belonged to his cousin. Edward took a hold of his arms for a moment, and shook him. "Alex, I don't know what's wrong with you, but you have to understand. Kiyoko is dead. She was murdered weeks ago. Don't you remember?" Edward's voice softened and his hand dropped from his arm.

Immediately Alex began to shake. First slowly, and then it became violent taking him over. Alex fell to his kneels, and seemed to cry. He was too strong to cry wasn't he? Afterall, he was a guy. "How could I miss so much?" Alex said softy. Suddenly it struck him. "She was murdered. But who who did it?" Alex's chin quivered causing him to stutter. How much of my own life have I missed?

There was a moment of silence, but Suzume was the first one to speak up. "The police are still looking." You could tell her voice was weighed down by the sadness within her. Alex stood there for a moment taking it all in. His breaths soon became shallow and shaky, as he turned away from the two walking towards the same cherry tree where he and Kiyoko would watch the sunset everyday.

Memories that seemed lost to him came flooding back in a huge wave consuming him. He could see himself, whistling as he walked through the door.  The Alex in the memory placed his jacket on the couch only to look up in horror. Written across the white wall that he and Kiyoko had painted together was the words, "You're too late." scrawled out in human blood. It would take Alex another moment more to realize that it was Kiyoko's own.

The Alex from the memory had rushed into the accompanying room to see it amzingly clean. Beneath those covers lay a corpse, and the only thing visible from the sheet was a bloodly arm dangling from the edge of the bed. Alex had crumpled to the ground in horror against the bedside when he noticed the glittering bracelet against the crimson blood, that he himself had given Kiyoko for her birthday three years ahead.

The metallic smell of blood quickly filled the quaint little cottage, as Alex remained on the ground leaning against the wall in horror. Alex somehow managed to pull out his cell phone, and dial 9-1-1. A woman responded calling out, "Hello? What's wrong? Answer me!" Still Alex could not comprehend the murder victim, of whom was his own fiancee, that laid motionless before him. "I-I" His words were choked out, his throat dried up, and he soon found himself unable to speak a word.

"Alright, I'm sending the police and ems over there now.", the woman's voice became grave. But, it was already too late. Alex never heard those words, for the phone lay on the hardwood floor cracked in half after Alex dropped it...

Alex soon fell back to reality as he shook the memory away from his concious. But why? Why could Alex remember this now and not moments ago? Was he suffering from memory loss because of the shock or was he losing his mind?

"Why? Why Kiyoko? Why her of all people in the world?"