The sky was dyed in a vivid indigo blue as I walked down in a crowded street. A burning savage red sun gradually blends into the dark indigo sky. Some people stood still to look at the magnificent sunset. Others chatted silently on the street while I walked alone and carried a bouquet of blue daisies against my chest.
I walked like a man with a broken leg. My legs were strong and energized. It was my heart that ached and was broken into pieces. I haven't seen her in five long days. Her eyes, like the vibrant sky blue color of the daisy's petals, stuck inside my head like glue. The sound of her gentle laughs carved deep inside my brain. Her voice is bright like the vigorous yellow stamen in the blue daisy. She would leave a subtle, youthful and playful smell of daisies as she walked past me. Her pupils enlarge. Her breath . . .
There was no mistake. I could no longer wait and hide my mad love for her. Her love is like a menacing fire burning in the night sky, luring me, calling me, attracting me like I am a moth flying toward the red flames that will sentence my final death. I want to reach for her, hug her, grab her and scream out her name. Luna! Luna! Luna for Moon! The guiding light that can shine bright on my dark soul and wash away my filthy past!
A familiar sharp shattering noise of cards had interrupted my dream. I looked around and saw myself standing next to a lavish white building with thick glass windows. Inside the building, dozens of rounded green tables were presented with red armchairs circling around it. The rug had the same bloody red color on the chairs. The sound in the building was too large that I could hear it all the way from the outside. It was like an orchestra of human's earsplitting laughter, aggressive screams, rolling dice, sharp sounds of chips that stacked up high on those green tables, and the familiar shattering noise of those white poker card . . . the gambling house. My eyes widened with excitement; I peeked gingerly at the cards on the strangers' hands.
I put my left hand onto the cold glass. My right hand gradually held the bouquet of flowers vertically. An indistinct noise interrupted me from looking at the players in the gambling house. One of the blue daisies had dropped on the floor.
"Darn." I put the flower back rapidly inside the bouquet, like it was before.
"Shouldn't see that, Shouldn't see that," I repeated, and I ran away from the building.
I quit gambling five years ago. But, I can still smell the salty sweat, hear murmurs and whispers next to my ear, the piercing sound of chips, feel the smooth white cards and the waists of beautiful and slender ladies sitting around me. Yet, I forgot their eyes, forgot their voices, only remembered their bright red lipstick and a woman purposely poured red wine on my new white suit. But, I have seen savage fists that rumbled the table, long sharp knives, brutal fights with sore eyes and bleeding knees. I have seen the eyes of the enemy and red blood flowing on the blue concrete floor like the red stain on my white suit.
"You there!" A large sound came from my back.
I shivered and looked back. A tall man wearing black was walking straight toward me. I struggled, looked away from him and walked faster. The man in black suddenly turned right and headed toward an old man wearing a purple suit. I sighed with relief. "I quit," I said to myself. "I'm clean right now."
Yes, I'm a game company's investor right now, and that is how I met Luna. A humble, hardworking, intelligent and playful young senior illustrator in a game company. Her smile was the mild scent of daisies in spring, washing away the horrible noises and images from my past, making me feel youthful and playful like a blue daisy. How I'm eager to protect her smile, her warmth . . . . . . that had saved me.
In front of Luna's house, I am standing on top of a lavender blue carpet. I took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell. The door cracked open.
"Bought you some flowers . . ." I said awkwardly, my hands shivering rapidly.
"They are so lovely, Victor!" A beautiful young woman with short dark brown hair and bright blue eyes gently holds the bouquet of blue daisies.
"I mean, I should've brought you roses . . . or something else . . . but I really like their blue daisies . . . I mean, I've seen it often next to that ga . . I mean the company I used to work for before." I shivered.
"The other game company when you were a programmer, am I right?" she added.
"Yeah . . . I said it before, I was bored with programming, so I thought about investing in companies instead . . ." I look down at the flowers. "Anyways, do you like it?"
"I do!" Luna smiled enormously, and her vast watery blue eyes smiled at me. "So what are you here for?"
"I . . ." I looked straight at her shining blue eyes. "I want you to know that I deeply cared for you, I'm attracted by you and loved you at first sight. Your love is like oxygen that breathes me in. You awake me from my deadliest nightmare and award me the best moment of my whole life. Luna, let me protect you. Be the love of my life."
Luna ran toward me without hesitation, folding her arms tightly around my neck. In a split second, my neck was burning like a wildfire. Time turned slow. All I could hear was Luna's subtle breath whispering next to my ear, her warm and silky white breasts pressing against my hard and cold chest, the faint sound of friction between the petals and the plastic wrapper and my fiery neck . . .
Suddenly, the sound of plastic wrappers, leaves and flowers crashed to the ground. I could feel Luna's hand loosen from my neck, her heart beating faster, and she stepped away from me.
BANG. Something hit me hard on the head, making me fall down on Luna's staircase like a helpless domino. My head was dizzy, aching, burning like fire. Tiny sparks of blue and white dots covered my eyes. I couldn't breathe. I felt as if I was deep in the ocean, unable to hear or see. The next thing I saw was two black-suited men holding Luna against her front door. She was screaming, kicking, struggling hard to let go. I tried to get up, but my body turned into a magnet that pulled me tightly to the ground.
"You are looking good there, Victor," someone said at my back. A young man who wore a black suit grasped my shirt tightly.
"Who are you and what do you want?" I choked a blob of blood out of my mouth.
"Nothing." His mouth twitched to the right, and in his right cheek appeared a deep dimple. "To see you struggling in agony is better than wanting my two billion dollars back."
"What's going on, Victor!" Luna screamed.
"Please," I beg, "whoever you are, just let her go. It's none of her business. I'll give you anything . . . four billion . . ."
The young man paused for a moment. He nodded.
"You are a liar!" Luna yelled at me.
"Four billion is a great deal," he said sharply and took out a pistol. A huge bang echoed the silent street. The next moment I heard was a strident sound of sirens. I saw instant flashes of red and blue lights, three men running as fast as they could, a silent corpse lying down on the lavender-blue carpet that was now painted in red and blue daisies in the blood of my lover . . .
Florence Li is a senior majoring in Computer Arts at the School of Visual Arts. She is currently working on a short 3D animation called "Rebirth." To see more of Florence's artwork, please check her Instagram at: florenceli18.