Rooftop Garden

Something I wrote last year for one of my writing classes. Enjoy!


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 Her hand reached around the blade of grass, so fragile and weak. It was still dotted with the morning fog that had wrapped around the hills, ensnaring the cityscape in an almost cryptic allure. She smiled and gently pressed the green foliage over her fingertips. The rooftop garden was a beauty, even now having gone years without someone to watch over its growth.

In the absence of caretaker it had run rampant, creating a scene that reminded her of a storybook she'd once found in the remains of a bookstore. Of a leopard that roamed in a rainforest, the way the huge branches dipped towards the forest floor. Much like the vines that dripped into the gravel underneath Mina's feet, curling and unraveling in spindly threads. She especially liked how the roses in the planter boxes had broken free from their confines, forming large overgrown bushes that poked over the side of the building. The blossoms themselves were like droplets of crimson from the spectator's point of view on the roadside five stories down.

Mina walked over to the fountain and watched the reflection of the clouds overhead, their mighty formations a preclude to the oncoming storm brewing just out at sea. And as the young lady pushed away a few strands of her ebony bobcut she could peer onto the distant strikes of bright light against the contrasting wall of billowing black.

How poetic.

Would it be the last storm she'd ever see?

Her gaze shifted downward and she adjusted the pistol in her right hand. The cold metal tingled against her palm, the aftereffects of firing such a powerful weapon. Would she have to do so again? So soon? Of course she would... What sort of question was that? She holstered the piece in the side of her boot, the adrenaline having fallen away only minutes before. And now the fear was beginning to seep in. It was a quiet torment that pressed deep into her soul the moment the rage and the gunfire had stopped and it was only her left standing. Only her and her opponent lying quietly against the cool marble of the lobby below.

His blood had spilled out from the hole in his neck, painting the ivory surface scarlet. She'd killed before, but always at a distance. Never having the opportunity to look her attacker in the eye. This time though she had no choice, but to walk over and gaze into his deep blue orbs. They stared back at her just as she would stare up at the sky and see the same. That beautiful azure. And yet this man and the sky were so different. One that continuously gave, to provide a place for the clouds and the stars. The other so consumed with selfishness and destruction.

It was then that Mina returned to the present when she heard the distant pounding on the rooftop door. Two steps away from the fountain and she could view the metallic jarring of the entryway and see the statue she'd pushed in front of it slowly shifting forward. It wouldn't be long now before they broke through. It was time act, to return from her paradise in the overgrown garden and back into the world that was her realty. That she was being hunted by these men and that she was her only source of freedom, her only form of power.

The ebony haired woman raced across the garden and hopped over the oversized tomato plants and thick patch of blackberries to the side of the building. Grimly she realized that the fire escape wasn't on this side and so back she dashed, madly this time. Rounding about the fountain and taking one last look at the callow lilies. And as she ran beyond the doorway she could hear the men calling to her, screaming and promising her a merciless demise.

Mina had no time for them, unless she wanted to expend the remainder of her bullets which were so few already. No, they were not worth the effort and so she wrapped her hands around the cold rust laden ladder and made her way down one floor at a time. The first two floors were easy enough, the third not quite. For it was then that she peered inside the many windows she'd passed along and saw, staring back on her, one of the men.

Had he been waiting for her?! No. She forced herself to look at him and saw he was just as surprised to see her. But their only difference was his gun was already drawn. And as he aimed she let her grip on the ladder falter. The gunfire echoed in her ears, but Mina had gotten off easy. She plummeted and her boots hit the next metal floor, knocking her off balance. She rammed her knees into the grating and cried out as the hard surface pressed into her skin.

Mina was no fool. There was just no time to complain about flesh wounds. She gripped onto the railing and brought herself back up as the bullets whisked through the air around her. Two floors to go, just two more... And she'd be free of them. Adjusting the thick scarf shielding her bare shoulders Mina again took to the ladder and made her way down. By now her attacker had loosed all his bullets and she was free from everything he could throw at her, save his foul words.

The wind had already begun to grow in power, pressing through the alleyway she dropped into and tousling the remains of ancient garbage in half rust eaten cans. Mina only took one glance ahead of her and one toward the back of the alley before she made her decision on which route to take. The girl sucked in her chapped lips and looked up the fire escape. Only now had the men gotten beyond her makeshift barricade.

She smiled inwardly and let her limber legs take her to the back of the brick building she'd successfully descended from and out onto the next street behind it. Here she took a moment to breathe, her brown eyes peering over the abandoned scraps of cars and trucks. A bus that she could have sworn she'd taken before all this had begun. This new world filled with anarchy and decay. Kneeling down she dug into her boot and retrieved the pistol that had been busy rubbing her skin raw She needed to find a new pair socks, perhaps a jacket.

Checking to see if her gun was as full as it could be, Mina hurried down the sidewalk and minded the overgrown weeds creeping up from the gutter and manhole covers. Amazing, how Mother Nature always had a way of taking back what was hers. If only she'd taken care of the remaining bits of street scum perusing Mina. They wouldn't stop their chase, not until she was miles away from this place. That man she'd taken out would surely spark some sort of humanity in their souls, the part seeking revenge for a fallen friend. Even one who was better off dead.

Again Mina took another alleyway route, diving into its darken depths in the hopes of keeping herself from being found. This one had so little to offer her by means of a hiding place, not that she would hide here, no. It was still far too close to those men... So she continued, onto the next street and through a little mini mart on the next corner.

Her eyes scanned over the counter and the aisles, but like a carcass the store had been picked clean. There was nothing for her here, nothing, but a reminder of a life she'd long ago left behind. In this savage wasteland. The young woman hit the employees only door and pressed out through the back of the building, finding that her travels were leading her closer and closer to the hills. Then, she felt it. That first little splash of water across her cheek.

Mina's chocolate irises peered upward and over the sprawling heavens above. The cloud line she'd watched only twenty minutes before had finally rolled in and was hell bent on dropping its cargo. No. No, she couldn't seek out cover, not yet. She had to continue lest those men found her. They'd show her no mercy... She needed to make her way for just a little while longer.

As the droplets began to tumble forth from overhead Mina kept her eyes peeled and her gun cocked. Ever vigilant was she, constantly roving over the cracked streets and broken pavement. Peering up at the empty buildings, once so filled with life and purpose. Now they only posed a problem for her, a place for someone to watch her and track her. Her skin tingled at the thought and she shook back her fear with a shrug of her shoulders. No, the city was no place for her.

Ten more minutes of darting along the darkest corridors and beyond the buildings and Mina was beginning to see that nature in the older suburbs was winning over humanity's machinations. Entire houses were covered in vines and weeds, spilling into broken windows and open doors. Much like the lushes rooftop garden she'd escaped to when she'd been scouting. With nowhere to go, but up when the men had cornered her. And now she was returning to her sanctuary, her place of solace and safety.

A long, heavy sigh escaped her and Mina did what she knew she should never do. The lady dropped her guard and stretched, relinquishing the tense ache that had built up and into her shoulders. She unwrapped the soaked scarf and let the rain clean her tired, dusted frame. Her tank top hung close to her body, sucked in from the water and clinging to her half starved self. Her bones protruded around and about her chest, her jeans that had once fit so well now two sizes too big.

It was only when the rain started coming down in a torrential fit that she ducked into the nearest house that still looked halfway decent. Dripping from head to toe she wandered into the bedrooms, hoping to find a change of clothes. Nothing. Much like the rest of the city, much like her... The house was a skeleton of its former self. Mina made her way back to the livingroom and looked out the broken front door. It would be dark soon, she'd dare not travel then.

 And so the lass moved through the darkened hallway and back into the master bedroom, pulling the remains of what was a moth eaten comforter and a chair cushion underneath the bed and curling up for the night. If she was lucky she'd get a few hours rest.

If she was lucky.