Luciano

Prologue

Luciano D' Angelo.

That was it. No birth date, no written farewells, no beloved mentioning.

All that was present was a fancy old fashioned name with a deceased date right beneath it.

C. 1940

I sat kneeling down, playing with the single white daisy I placed on the damp soil.

I had plucked it from my neighbors garden. It was sad really, this particular grave stone was empty.

It was a small town, and you'd think someone would take care of it.

The name imprinted on this particular grave stone was also strange. Italian perhaps. Nothing compared to the other stones with several Alberts and Marys.

So I took the duty upon me to treat this particular grave as my own property. After all, the cemetery keeper didn't mind. If anything, he appreciated the extra help.

I placed small rocks around the make shift square to outline the grave. The plants I planted around it four months ago had grown, some fully blossomed. I enjoyed it. The man may be dead, I may not have known him, but despite that, it gave me something to do.

Also someone to talk to.

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School to me, was just a regular and mandatory routine in which was completed everyday.

I sat in the far corner in complete disengagement to everyone else. The teacher did the same. She sat at her wooden desk with her glasses pushed right up to the brim of her nose, her skinny and old figure shaking as she wheezed, taking another drag of her lit up bud.

I sat and stared. This is how it's been forever. I held an empty, dull feeling that I could never shake away. Numbness is what I'd like to call it.

The only time I lifted my gaze was to glance at the clock planted above the teachers head, almost unidentifiable due to clouds of thick, cancerous smoke.

Four, three, two, one.

"Class," A cough, "-dismissed."

Then I followed the same routine. Exit the small cramped up class room, and then simply exit the building entirely.

Once I stepped out, I went to my usual place like everyday.

The route was easy. Exit the gates of school, turn left and continue the road straight.

Trees were aligned on either side of the road, blocking out more light than necessary. Dark clouds were always present and the enclosure of trees didn't make the cemetery look welcoming.

But to me, it always was and will be.

The grave I was after was located further in the cemetery. It required the sight of dozens of graves before reaching the one I wanted.

I paused, staring at the name.

Then I did something I didn't do very often.

I relaxed my shoulders and slouched letting out an exhausted sigh, despite my inactivity.

I crouched down, staring at the imprinted name once more, like always.

"Hi."

"Today was the same."

"My teacher hasn't coughed herself to death yet, you know, the old one," I commented, resting the brown backpack I carried on the gravel near me.

I was greeted by eerie silence. The kind of silence you'd expect in a cemetery.

However I glanced around, perking up just a little to spot Arnold. His grey hair sticking out of his usual battered red cap wasn't evident.

I lowered back down.

"I'm guessing your day wasn't that great either," I said bluntly, "-You know. The whole being dead thing," I added casually eyeing the ground.

And so I sat there. I didn't speak much, except for muttering odd questions or saying odd comments.

After what I'd guess to be an hour I decided to leave. Only to return back later of course.

I stood up and paused. I dusted at my knees and grabbed my backpack, throwing it over my shoulder and gazed down at the grave.

"Talk soon Luciano."

I turned around and began to walk away. It was getting dark, the clouds were big and angry, ready to release the days exhaustion and weight it had been carrying.

I eyed the black gates of the cemetery and once I walked through them I spotted activity just a little down the road. I walked straight, with a blank look, ready to head home.

I didn't have to direct my gaze to the left, to spot three boys beside the upcoming trees.

They attended my school. Or at least did. One morning the three of them simply stopped showing up.

I heard their conversational boyish laughs fill the air until one nudged the other- pausing.

"Look," the short one I knew as Timothy said, "-It's her again."

I was slowly nearing them and the tallest one of them all with auburn hair and verdant eyes, Ethan, smirked almost immediately.

The red headed associate of theirs Roy, also snickered and held a fist to his mouth.

Just as I was going to continue straight pass them, Ethan stepped out in front of me and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hey Grace," he grinned, tilting his head before eyeing me up.

I didn't look at him. I continued to stare straight ahead and simply paused.

"Yes?" I asked blandly in the same uninterested tone I was feeling in the current moment.

Ethan's grin widened and he tilted his head further to gaze at the path behind me, before standing up straight once again, his gaze on me.

"I see you're leaving the cemetery again. Do you speak with spirits or chant rituals or something?" he asked sounding somewhat genuine and I glanced at him.

Roy, the red headed acquaintance, slapped his friends arm and gave me a peculiar look.

Ethan continued to stare at me, with a straight face now, not acknowledging his friend.

"No but seriously, why do you always visit the cemetery?" Ethan asked his expression completely serious and curious.

However I chose not to answer, making him sigh.

Timothy examined me with amused eyes and nodded at the road ahead of us.

"Go on. Go home. Before the ghosts come out," he urged, saying the last part in a hushed tone.

I gave Timothy a single glance before replying, making his face drop.

"Okay."

I then continued my route feeling like a dead corpse, walking blindly. My eyelids feeling heavy.

I heard them whisper behind me. I didn't mind. Sooner or later I'd never see them again. So really, it didn't matter what they thought.

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A/N

Hey guys! It feels awesome to post a story again!

So this is a really old idea that I never liked enough to post, however I thought I'd see who'd be interested :) I'ts a different genre to what I have written before

Tell me your thoughts please!

(short story perhaps?)

-E