The Muddy Beanie's Short Story

It was late at night when the rain had finally lessened. A little girl who had been taking shelter from the downpour inside of a vegetable store poked her head out the door and smiled. It was finally okay for her to go home. It was still a sprinkle, but at least she could just run without being drenched after being under the rain for one second. 

"Thank you!" her small voice yelled for the store owner to hear as she waved. The old lady just smiled warmly and returned her wave. With that, the little girl ran outside. 

She ran, her small feet making splashing noises as she ran through the crowded city. When the time came she was supposed to cross the road, and she accidentally stepped on something before she left the pedestrian lane. 

It was a soft blue beanie. 

With her tiny hands, the little girl picked it up even though the rain and the mud and dirtied it. She looked around wondering who could've lost it, but found that no one was looking for their hat. Though, she did notice that there was a crowd forming in the middle of the road. 

She had no time to be curious about that, though, and she had to go home soon or else her big sister would be worried about her. Seeing as no one would miss the hat, she held it in her hands and continued running home.

She never knew that the owner of that hat was in the middle of the crowd forming. Eyes closed, hands stiff, and heart no longer beating as their loved one held them close, releasing cries of grief. 

The door was closed softly as the little girl took off her shoes, and excitedly yelled, "I'm home!" 

From the kitchen, she could hear her big sister yell back, "Welcome home! Get changed!"

She wasted no time in heading into her room. Her house was just a small rented apartment. There was a leaky sink, a dead plant, and the wallpaper was peeling off, but it was her home nonetheless. 

The little girl opened the bathroom door connected to the room she and her sister shared and quickly washed the beanie she found. She was pleased to see that its real color was a pastel baby blue. If she dried it, it would be very soft and fluffy.

After looking at it closer, she realized it had the initials J and K. She wondered who it used to belong to and what the letters meant. 

Laughter rang throughout the small apartment room. It was a warm room that contained a variety of plants that were well cared for. There were many windows that despite the cloudy weather, the furniture was still able to bask in so much light. 

"Stop! You're going to make me drop the hot cocoa!" a voice said. A young man with glasses bit his lip as he tried to contain his laughter, all the while trying to balance a mug of hot chocolate in his hands. 

"This is my revenge for you interrupting my game last night!" another man yelled mischievously as he poked the other gently in the places he knew he was ticklish. 

"No! NO! Jay, I swear! I'm serious!" but in contrast to his strict words, his face was scrunched up from the strings of laughter escaping from his lips.  "My cocoa! My life!"

"But what can we do, Kevin? This is the price of your actions... ACCEPT IT!" Jay took the mug filled with hot chocolate and placed it on the counter table beside the soft, white sofa they were playing on so that he could continue the tickle punishment without a chance of an accident happening. 

They were just a normal couple. Spending their days away as they tried to make the best of the life that was given to them. Their earnings were average, they had people who loved them and people who went against them, but what was most important to them was the now. 

Right now they were happy and that's all that matters. They had each other and their other loved ones. With that, they were content. 

"I love you... did you know that?" Kevin whispered. After the tickle war, they ended up crowding the same small sofa. Jay reading his book and Kevin just quietly sipping on his unspilled cocoa. 

Jay raised a brow and smiled, his attention switching from his book to the one he loved the most. "Of course I do. You've only said that like a hundred times." Jay put down his book and urged the other man to come closer. "Let me tell you a secret." Kevin leaned in and turned his head so that he could whisper into his ear. "I love you too." and with a peck on Kevin's cheek, Jay succeeded in turning his lover into a red tomato. 

"You're so cheesy!" Kevin pushed Jay away, adjusted his glasses, and put his full focus on drinking his cocoa.

Chuckling, Jay went back to his book and said, "Say what you want, but you know you love it." he smiled and placed his hand inside of his pocket, feeling the cold metal of a ring. He turned his gaze to Kevin and thought to himself.

There's nothing he wanted more... but now wasn't the time. 

Kevin looked at the clock on the wall and remembered something. "Oh, right. I needed to get the groceries for next week."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Nah," Kevin shook his head and jumped off the sofa to grab his coat and the blue beanie Jay gave him for his birthday. "We don't need a lot of things so I can handle it by myself." 

"You should get an umbrella. It looks like it's going to rain today." Jay said as he looked out of the window to see the cloudy weather. 

"Got it!" he waved the umbrella to show that he had it and then opened the door. "See you tonight!" 

When Kevin had finished getting the groceries the sun had already gone down. Jay was right and it really did start raining, although it was harder than he thought it would. The crowd was bustling about, and it amazed him to know that there were still so many people wandering the streets despite the fact that it was basically a waterfall outside. It was a good thing that he brought an umbrella. 

"Excuse me...pardon me!" Kevin yelled as he pushed through the crowds of people trying to get home as fast as they could to avoid the rain. 

It was at that moment when he bumped into a rather large person, his face colliding onto their back causing his glasses to fall down. Before he was able to say sorry, the man had already left. While he was looking for his glasses, he took a step forward and heard a crunch of glass underneath his shoes. He knew that he had experienced bad luck. 

It's alright. Their apartment was just right in front of him. He'd be home soon. He just needed to cross the street and then he'd be warm again-

Someone cut through, accidentally pushing him off the sidewalk and onto the road. 

Jay closed his book, satisfied that he had finished reading it. It was a good ending. Realistic. Granted, the couple didn't get together in the end, but the decision made sense and he couldn't have thought of a better ending. 

He looked out the window and was shocked to see that it was already so dark. It was raining hard too. Jay wondered what was taking Kevin so long. He stood up and walked closer to the window to glance at the roads to see if his lover was already on his way, but instead, he saw there was a crowd forming in front of the building. 

Wonder what that was about. Curious, he took his coat and left the apartment so that he could take a better look at the commotion.

Jay approached the crowd of people, but he wasn't able to get a good look. So, he asked the person right in front of him. "Excuse me! What happened here?" He asked after tapping the woman on her shoulder.

The woman turned and gave him the saddest look. "There was a car accident... someone died." 

That was sad... Jay clicked his tongue and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Condolence to them. It's such a shame. Yet another life wasted. You never know when you're going to die. 

He didn't want to see the dead body so he turned away to get back inside the building, but he caught something from the corner of his eye.

It was a hat in the mud. It was dirty, but he could see it. A blue beanie with the initials J and K. 

His heart began beating quickly. 

Quickly, he turned back to the crowd and pushed through. "Move! MOVE!" with his heart beating in his chest, he forced his way through the bodies hoping for everything that it wasn't who he thought it was. "I said MOVE!" he yelled, finally making his way to the front.

 His heart stopped.

In front of a car that had yet to have its engine turned off was the body of a young man. His curly chestnut hair was damp, making it stick to his face and covering his closed eyes. His mouth was half open, but it was clear that those pink lips were beginning to lose its color. 

"W-what..." he looked at the crowd, his eyes crazed and in a frenzy. "Why isn't someone calling the ambulance? CALL THE AMBULANCE!" he collapsed in front of the scene and pulled his lover's cold body closer to him. "Kevin? Kevin are you there? You're going to be okay... I-" he turned back at the whispering people and yelled. "What are you DOING?! Help him! Somebody! Please!"  

Someone who had been on the phone beside the car put his phone in his pocket and approached Jay. "Is he your relative? I- I'm so sorry- I-I he just appeared out of nowhere and I-"

"Did you do this?" Jay asked, eyes locked onto the stranger. 

Panicked by such a sharp gaze, the stranger stuttered, "Y-yes... I'm so sorry I-" the man took another glimpse at Kevin's unmoving body and then gagged. "Oh god-" he turned away and proceeded to puke out his guts on his own car wheel. 

Jay could hear the sound of sirens coming closer and then turned his attention back to Kevin. "It's okay... it's gonna be okay,  Kevin. It's almost here- you're going to feel better soon." he tried so hard to ignore the amount of blood that pooled on the ground, quickly washing away with the rain that was turning gentle. 

He tried to hold back his tears, but they just began flowing. Soon, he wasn't able to control his screams and sobs either. 

In the midst of this, he had forgotten about the blue beanie, not knowing that it had already been taken away.

A week later, the little girl was admiring herself in the mirror, happy with how the hat looked on her. It was a little big, but it was very cute. 

"Josephine Kerstine, I swear, if you aren't dressed by the time I enter your room I'm going to take your crayons!" Josephine heard her sister yell. 

"I'm dressed!" she yelled back. 

"Get your bag! You're going to be late for school." 

Josephine picked up her bag and put on shoes, but she didn't forget to look at the small altar right next to the kitchen table. 

It was a small altar that had a candle and a picture frame that contained the image of a beautiful woman.

"Bye, mom! See you tonight!"

On her way to school, she decided to take a shortcut by passing by the local cemetery. It was a bit scary, but she was running late. As her little legs rushed her body forward, she didn't take notice of the fact that there was a burial going on at the moment. 

A burial where a young man was crying, the cold metal of a ring placed once again in his pockets.