8. Faces in the Sky

They resumed their usual spot on the swings, silent save for the creak of each motion as they rocked back and forth. They were content to be with each other at this point, there wasn’t anything needed beyond that feeling of company. Nobody else knew, nobody was watching, no cameras filming, not another soul in the world cared, or so it seemed.

                The breeze was cold and artificial, the rustling through the trees didn’t feel natural any longer. They had sat in silence too long, the outside was making itself known.

                A shadow danced through the trees, a baby cried in the background, and a teardrop shed from the clear sky landed on Scarlett’s cheek. She jumped, and looked over at Dalton.

                “What is it?”

                “Do you feel that?”

                “What?”

                “Is it raining?”

                “No, I don’t think so… I haven’t felt any rain.”

                Scarlett nodded and kept to herself, and the smooth rhythm of swinging back and forth was restarted. The wood creaked, but it got quieter each time as the sound faded into the background. The wind whispered Scarlett’s name. She shuddered and let it go, repressing it as nothing more than a chill down her spine. The park seemed still, and it was safe. She was with Dalton, it had to be safe.

                Dalton seemed unaffected, calm and unaware of the little movements Scarlett was seeing.  He lifted his head to look at the sky, counting the stars and trying to create his own patterns through them. He hadn’t ever studied the sky, he never felt reason to when he could make his own meaning out of it.

                “That, right there,” he pointed upwards, “doesn’t that look like a face in the stars?”

                Scarlett looked up, fixating her gaze in the direction of Dalton’s finger. “Yeah, it does…” She couldn’t stop staring at it, couldn’t help but feel utterly drawn into the eyes that looked back at her so threateningly. The sky was watching her and she knew it. Had Dalton realized it?

                He didn’t think much of the face in the sky, just as he never thought much of the faces he found on any other non-human surface. He had no reason to be afraid, or even cautious. Not over something so silly.