Emily

It was at the end of summer when boy met girl, hope met tragedy. As the warm summer days began to wane, the boy known as Dylan increasingly found himself wandering through the old abandoned industrial estate that crouched in the east side of town, lurking like the spindly corpse of a spider with its sprawled legs in the air. The disused chimneys and towers still reached high into the sky even as the factories crumbled and aged below. Walking through the industrial area was dangerous, it was far from any signs of life and the old buildings were unstable, but for Dylan the area was peaceful and let him be alone with himself. Nobody had ever troubled him there despite his mother's warnings that the industrial area was a forsaken wasteland rife with drug dealers, addicts and 'whores', not that Dylan knew what a whore was. In his head he had pictured a wailing banshee with a flame of red hair and sharp clawed hands and he was sure that he had never seen one of them in the industrial area before. Nothing there but bolts and screws and forgotten memories.

The blistering summers day had faded as the sun began its descent and Dylan knew he was lost. He had strayed from the path and was encircled by crumbling factory structures that blocked any view of the area. He was not worried, of course, he had been lost in the factories before and always managed to find his way out. But that was during the summer months and days were longer. It was only at the start of summer that Dylan had been allowed out to explore. Before that he had spent long days in school daydreaming of far-away lands and adventures waiting to be discovered. Sir always caned Dylan when he saw that his attention was elsewhere, but then again Sir never did like him. He was a poor boy with unkempt hair and a ragged school uniform and Sir was a man of class. Dylan just thought he needed a monocle as his other eye was made of glass but never dared to ask. Sir never liked Dylan.

Little lost Dylan sat on a wooden crate and looked up at the fading light and the darkening sky, sighing. He was not afraid of the dark but he was afraid of his mother who was known to start drinking at lunchtime and stop the following morning. If he was late back and she was not passed out then he would be in for a beating and probably wouldn't be allowed anything for dinner. Just as he pondered this last thought he caught a glimpse of movement in the corner of his left eye. As he turned his head to look a small pebble struck his right shoulder, and a tiny giggle broke the silence. A small girl about his age stood several feet away from him waving. She was wearing an old faded pink dress that was tattered and torn slightly and marked with dust and dirt from the factories. A small pink bow was in her scraggly hair and she had no shoes or socks on. Dylan was taken aback by the unexpected company and of the girl's prettiness. She giggled again and waved, and he slid off the crate and held out his hand to her.

“How do you do miss? My name's Dylan”, he said politely. The girl giggled again and didn't answer him. Her eyes were shining with a hopeful abandon that seemed almost luminescent in the trickling light. Dylan was enraptured by her eyes. Never had he seen a girl who seemed so scruffy and unkempt yet so beautiful. His awkward smile was met by her and instantly his worries were forgotten.

“I've never seen anyone here before, do you like to be alone here too?”, he asked her curiously. The girl nodded and her eyes flashed again with hope and her face beamed with joy. Dylan knew she must have felt alone, like him, because she seemed to be so happy that she had found someone. Aside from the industrial area, he had nothing and no-one and here seemed hope that somebody cared for his presence in this world.

Dylan stayed for hours with the girl, who spoke to him after a fashion. Her name was Emily and the industrial area was her secret hideaway too. She used to help out when the factories were running and her parents worked here. But that was long ago, she said and these days she was alone.

But she was tired of being alone. Dylan understood her perfectly and said as much. As darkness fell the two of them lay together, holding hand as they stared at the stars.

Dylan visited Emily every day for the rest of the week and the two of them played together in the disused factories and derelict buildings, and talked to each other about secrets and loneliness, tragedy and hope, the future and the past. Emily told him that she had died many years ago as the result of an accident with one of the big factory machines, but Dylan did not care. She was the only person in the world that made Dylan feel special and he knew that he loved her, and she loved him. By night they lay together and watched stars create miracles in the sky.

It was the happiest week of his life. But all things come to an end. At the end of the week Dylan's mother locked him in his room and told him to pack up his things. They were going to live with his father in a city many miles away and never return. He cried and cried and refused to pack but his mother was enduring a powerful hangover and beat him with a belt until he was silent. Dylan waited until later when, his mother was passed out and climbed out of his window, making his way to the industrial estate. As usual, Emily jumped out at him when he was in the darkness of one of the factories, but Dylan didn't laugh this time. Instead, with tears pouring down his face he told Emily what his mother had planned.

“But you can stay here with me, you don't have to go with her”, Emily pleaded as she grasped his hand. Her icy cold fingers caused goosebumps to run up Dylan's arm and a shiver to run down his spine. He knew he faced a choice- either he lived with his father and alcholic mother, or remained with Emily, forever. He shook his head and a tear fell down as she stood on tip-toes to kiss his cheek. That night they watched the stars creating miracles in the sky, and Emily fell asleep against Dylan's shoulder as the moon began to set. As dawn broke, Dylan woke Emily and told her he had to go.

“Will I ever see you again?”, she asked with a trembling look. There was a wild look in her eye of hopeless abandon and reckless lucidity. Dylan shook his head, eyes downcast. Emily went very quiet and there was a fiery look in her eyes as she gripped her hands into fists.

“I'm sorry”, Dylan whispered quietly and turned away. If he stayed any longer he knew he wouldn't leave, and his mother would be after him. Emily stood silent, watching the boy turn. The only person who had ever loved her was leaving. She would be alone again, for eternity. Anger welled up inside her as she saw red. There was no pain, only light.

The iron bar was spiked at one end and it was this end that pierced the back of Dylan's skull, sending fragments of bone and tissue cascading to the dusty factory floor. The body of the boy known as Dylan dropped to the floor and a cloud of dust billowed out from the impact. Blood dripped down the crumbling wall and the iron bar clanged to the floor, the sound echoing through the factory. Emily wept uncontrollably and fell to her knees, her anger satiated she realised her actions and cried out loudly for Dylan. Her ghostly screams carried up through the broken floorboards and into the night sky, the eerie wailing of a banshee.

Dylan's body was never found; few wandered into the dusty factories and forgotten warehouses anymore. Though some say that if you wander through the estate at night, you can make out the figures of two ghostly children, running through shadows. It was at the end of summer when boy met girl, tragedy met hope.