Innocence

Staring into space with eyes swollen and her makeup drained because of her subsequent crying, Sarah did nothing but sit and wait for her family. She was still in shock because of what had happened in the park. That very real vision of herself, ten years ago, did nothing but beat her emotionally. Sarah knew she needed those pills that freed her from her depression and nervous breakdowns, but she had sworn, over a year ago, that she would never take them again.

That medicine she had been prescribed, more than eight and a half years ago, did nothing but increase her stress levels, her bad dreams and her hallucinations. Sarah had grown tired of taking them as they had no positive effect on her, even though her doctor advised her to follow the treatment to the letter and that this was part of her healing process. Sarah felt with every pill something in her head exploded.

It was as if the psychiatrist erased her memory with every milligram of the medication, but, even though she took them, all her memories insisted on hitting her very hard. And in the last year Sarah had felt a kind of peace of mind not being with her psychiatrist anymore and especially ingesting that medication. Yet the nightmares and memories of the Labyrinth were there, sailing in his mind, reminding him every night what she lived in that magical place and what came for the next ten years.

Sarah took the sleeve off her sweater to clean her make-up when she noticed it had dry mud on it, she weirded out and gave a quick look to herself and discovered all spotted. She had forgotten that she took her anger out in the mud and did nothing but feel sorry for herself. Looking for a clean part of her sweater she began to carve her face to remove the makeup. If her parents saw her like that, they were able to put on a show in the middle of the porch and that was to be avoided at all costs. As she carved her cheeks she looked like a blue '95 Chevy approached to home and spotted a little boy sticking his head out of one of the car windows.

"Sarah!" He shouted cheerfully as he waved.

The seriousness that had forged her face hid behind a warm smile as she saw that little boy. Sarah raised her hand and answered the greeting. The Chevy parked in the garage of the house and that boy left the car in a hurry; Sarah approached the place and the little boy pounced on her with a huge happiness that she could not deny.

"Toby!" She exclaimed with a smile. "Wait, my clothes are all dirty and I'm going to stain you."

"How good of you to come, Sarah!" He exclaimed without letting go, he cared little about getting dirty. "I have missed you very much."

"I have missed you too," Sarah replied as she hugged him very tightly.

"Sarah!" Her father called as he got out of the car. "I'm glad you came!"

She looked at him and only smiled. Her father was still so inexpressive but noticed the happiness in his gaze. At the passenger's door his stepmother came out with that smile, which changed the view of the condition of her clothes and seeing how Toby had also stained himself.

"For God's sake, Sarah! Why are you soaking wet?" She asked with some discomfort as she approached both children.

"I went for a walk as you arrived and a car completely wet me. And for a change my umbrella broke down and the rain finished what it started."

With the typical sigh of mother she shook her head and greeted Sarah with a kiss on her cheek

"Well, Tobias Williams," she mentioned after the warm-heartedness in her usual mother's tone, "go home and change your clothes. And you, Sarah Williams, will go in and take a bath and change your clothes." And as good children, they both smiled and obeyed their mother.

As she entered the house, Sarah looked at her former abode with great feeling. The memories again flooded and overwhelmed her. She looked at the room where she played her act for his little brother, the stairs that both ran across without any precaution and Sarah recalled that Toby had sustained a huge wound to his forehead for not being cautious when playing on the stairs; and the window to the courtyard where they both sat down to read "Labyrinth", especially on rainy days, such as the one presented today. That's why Sarah hated coming to visit her old house, because there were so many bloody memories.

In those moments, Toby stretched the sleeve of her sweater and turned to look at him. The little boy still had his big smile on his face and Sarah, still wearing her seriousness, smiled again; the smile of his little brother made her feel like the old Sarah, a Sarah full of life.

"I have so many things to show you!" he exclaimed cheerfully. "Mom bought me new toys and promised me a new bike, if I do well in school."

"Great, Toby," she said as she stroked his head, "you're going to have to study really hard for that bike."

He smiled and let go of his sister's sleeve to help her with the lighter suitcase and take her to the room where she would stay. They went upstairs and Toby kept talking about what he had done on this vacation, telling her what he still had to do and Sarah listened very attentively, responding with the most natural joy that she could. As they climbed up and continued their walk down the hallway, they passed Sarah's old room, which now belonged to Toby, and she glanced sidelong at and stopped in her tracks. Toby didn't notice and he kept talking but Sarah just stood there and she felt a terrible chill running down her back.

Toby came to the room where Sarah would stay and as he turned around to see her and he found her out completely frightened. Toby ignored the mental situation that Sarah was in, he only remembered the crying days, the days out of reality or the completely angry days. In his mind came the memory of the sudden change in his sister's way of being, all because of her classmates at school.

The most popular and self-centered girl in entire school hated Sarah, and she made her in her enemy without even bothering to meet her. It was true that Sarah had no friends to live with except for Iris, she didn't mess with anyone for better or worse, but that girl who, on top of that Sarah also hated, had done the most horrible thing she could imagine.

Without knowing how, she realized she was visiting the psychiatrist and what she did to her, on a Friday day, was fatal and Sarah remembered it with much pain. She was humiliated in front of the whole school, without the slightest impudence at lunchtime. The girl lifted Sarah from her chair and began shouting with the greatest cynicism in the world that Sarah was visiting the shrink; she didn't even bother to say doctor or psychiatrist. The moment Sarah heard those words coming out of the mouth of the most plastic girl in the school, she felt her heart stop flowing and begin to wither with shame and pain. Iris was with her that day, unaware of the fact that Sarah was visiting a psychiatrist, and it was the cruelest way she found out.

"Crazy Sarah" "Insane Sarah" was yelled at that day and the days after that event. That was one of the most horrible days in Sarah's life and for which she had gone home to take refuge, being a tip from Iris to avoid pain and shame.

And it was that weekend that Toby would never forget how his sister found herself collapsed in tears and bitterness.

Sarah kept in shock and Toby had been worried to see his sister like that.

"Sarah?" Called curious

He began to walk in reverse and stopped at the door of the room, turned his head slowly and there, in a desk on the wall, he observed what she thought had been discarded years ago. Sarah looked at some stuffed animals; one in the form of a hairy beast, the other was a fox with a patched eye and one of a curious red bird with bulging eyes. There was a paperweight in the shape of a gnome and a figure of a man with extravagant hair and fine clothing with an extended stick in hand and he seemed to give orders.

"Toby... where did you get that?" Mixing courage and fear asked.

The boy surprised came over and looked for what Sarah was looking at. The bureau.

"You mean your stuff?" he asked worried.

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "I threw them away years ago, they should be a waste in the dumpster! Toby... Where did you get them?!"

Toby had been frightened by the behavior of Sarah, who looked at him with angry eyes, so much was her courage that he could not remember the last time he had seen her this angry with him. Even if that last time was a baby.

"I... took them out of the trash," she looked at him with more courage. "Don't be angry, Sarah, it's just that the day I saw you throwing away all your stuff, I felt bad. I didn't want them to leave."

"Toby, how could you not want them to go?! All that was rubbish, no use, they were a nuisance!"

Sarah kept screaming like her stuff wasn't productive at all and Toby started feeling some kind of stress inside him. Hearing her sister's every word, he couldn't take that kind of behavior from her anymore.

"Because they make me remember the moments we spent together!" he exclaimed in sadness. Sarah stopped in her tracks and was surprised at her little brother's response. "All that brings me the best moments between us. I will never forget how you told me your victory in the Labyrinth, how you defeated the Goblin King and rescued me from him. I will never forget the moments that we shared, that we played, that we did plays. Nothing Sarah! Because they are the best moments that I have of you. I want you back, Sarah!"

"Toby..." she mentioned very surprised.

Without looking at Sarah anymore, the little one went into his room and slammed the door shut. She was still surprised and now not knowing what to do, she took the rest of her stuff that Toby left and went to the room that she would occupy.

She came in, threw her bags into bed and closed the door. Her parents would soon come up to ask why it was so loud and loud, but she didn't want to explain it and Toby sure didn't either. She just walked to the window to watch as the rain ran out of the window and a few small tears came out of her eyes. She would have been surprised to notice that she still had tears in them; her makeup still stained her face and she kept thinking about what Toby said to her.

Toby didn't know how she felt and how the Labyrinth had tortured her all this time. Toby was still an innocent child and could not explain her situation to him, as there was no way to make him understand that the fact of being martyred for a story, which she loved with all her soul, had caused her the worst moments in these ten years of her life.

A/N:

Thanks so much for reading. I will be deeply grateful with any comments, constructive criticism, opinions and / or suggestions :3