Dollface [Chapter Two]

I watched the sky, the best part of the day, as the sun began to set. He and the moon stood side by side for a few moments making chit chat, no doubt, then he handed what appeared to be keys to the moon. They smiled for a few more moments, then the sun walked away, under the horizon waving. The sky changing from orange to purple with every motion. The moon waved back and turned towards the world and smiled.
"Good evening, everyone." He said, not caring if we responded or not. I waved, and he smiled, but I knew he couldn't really pick me from the crowd.
Then, one by one, the house lights came on, extending on in every direction, for what seemed like forever. I heard the street lights complain to one another about how the house lights were always late, running on their own schedule's. They accused them of being arrogant and self-absorbed, I just laughed and kept walking.
I did notice, off in the distance, to my left, at my ten o'clock as they say, a mountain. It appeared to be a mountain, at any rate, but very small. It was covered in trees, like splotches of fur, and glittered with white neon lights that had a blue Aura around each of them. My gaze was so fixed on the small incandescent mountain that I didn't hear the truck until it was almost too late.
But luckily I was pushed out of the way. The whirling sound of metal and steam flying by, scratching at my back, was what really scared me.
"What are you doing in the middle of the road, you idiot?" The voice pressed against my body asked. I could feel hands gripping my biceps.
"I was just daydreaming and didn't notice the truck." I said, my face flat against the pavement.
"You need to pay more attention to what's going on in the world, not some girl!" The voice said, I could feel the warm breath on the back of my ear and neck.
"Wait, what?" I asked, the voice removed itself from me, and I rolled onto my back for a better look. I saw an old man wearing glasses that glared the harsh bright light from the street posts back at me, his eyes immersed in the glare. So much so, that I couldn't see them. "How'd you know there was a girl?"
"There's always a girl." He said reaching his hand out, I took hold of it. He helped me to my feet.
"I guess you're right." I said to him as I patted the dirt off of myself.
"I'm always right." He said. "You might think that if you find love then life makes sense, well that's bullshit. A girl isn't worth anything. She isn't worth the money or the time you put into her, all she is-"
"I got it." I said cutting him off. "I understand, you were hurt by someone. That's why you're so cold hearted."
"Someone? No, not just someone, my wife. She just up and left one day. No warning!"
"No warning?" I needed confirmation.
"That's what I said, isn't it?" His voice getting raspier. "One day she was just gone."
"Did she die?" I asked.
"I wish." He said, and started walking back across the street, the way I had come. "No, she said I was too depressed, too angry. That my every thought and all the things I did and said were all just out of pent up anger." I followed him across the street, heading away from Pompey.
"So, you're a grumpy old man, I get that. But then why're you giving me advice?" I asked, quickening my pace in order to catch up with him.
"Because, I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did."
"What mistakes?" I asked, now next to him. He stopped and turned to me.
"There are more important things in life than girls."
"Like what?" I asked.
"Like tangible things, things you can touch!" He said.
"But you know you can touch a gir-"
"I meant love, idiot!" He cut me off. "Love would be the only thing making you walk to Pompey. Only the strange, the broken, and the lost end up there, and you seem pretty broken to me. A broken doll looking for a bottle of glue, its pathetic." He started walking again and I just stood in place. Was he right? Was I really a broken doll just looking for a bottle of glue, and was the headfuck 'love' what put me there?
Love.
A word.
Was it a word that was dismembering me from the inside out? Or was it the feeling? That ineffable feeling of complete and total attachment, the only feeling in the word that can conquer anything. How many people have made complete fools of themselves, or thrown away everything, because of love? How many hours of human life is waisted, tossing and turning, the whole time mind wide awake, spewing out thoughts of the lover?
No, it wasn't the word creating all these problems. Its entirety consisting of only four letters;

L

O

V

E

I watched as all four letters of the word hung practically motionless in front of me, drifting effortlessly into the growing wind. Then I watched as all four of them were swept away into the night sky.
No, this wasn't about a word, this wasn't about the feeling. It wasn't even about the past, the past that Aribella and I shared. It was about our present, our future. I knew I'd have to go through our past, in whatever order they appeared to me in, in order to make it into Pompey. I was ready for it.
At least, I thought I was.

-Sir Jestro