Under The Blue Sky

[16 Years Earlier]

Alfred took one last look at his wife, who was still arguing to the best of her ability, and closed the door. Even though a door separated the two he could still feel the rage radiating off her and seeping through the gaps in front of him. He could feel himself being consumed by that rage but he knew that if he were to try and fight back he would end up with even less then he started.

He had found himself caught in an endless guilt filled loop that wasn't planning to let him go anytime soon. The only escape from this constant force upon him was his two month old son.

He turned away from the screams and towards his son who was sleeping softly in his decorated crib. The gentle sound of him breathing was enough to make him forget about all the horrors of the world he lived in. Now that he was calm and relaxed enough to think clearly he reached into the crib and cradled his son. No amount of crying and arguing could separate the focus he had on his son at that time. There was an everlasting bond between them that brought hope to Alfred every time he saw his cute, little face. The pain only seemed like a bad dream when he was in the presence of his true love. Alfred felt himself tearing up at the thought of his perfect son being ruined by the demon snarling behind that door. He didn't want see something so beautiful grow up to be a monster just like his mother. At that moment he promised to himself that he would make it all better. He promised that he would make it all right.

And with that, Alfred gently placed his son back in his crib, and departed from the house with a small backpack.

He soon found himself walking familiar streets under the pale moonlight. It was very late but time never bothered Alfred. His mind was too troubled to be worrying about time. He had much more important problems that he needed solutions to. He started to make a list and there were so many that he felt more and more depressed with each realisation. This activity seemed to be almost like a hobby to Alfred. These streets were more welcoming than any being he's ever met before, except for his son of course. He sometimes felt that these streets were the only things that understood him, but he quickly dismissed that, adding 'crazy' to his of flaws.

He was usually alone. He didn't hate being alone ,in fact it seemed to him an escape from all the pain and hurt that was put onto him. In the back of his mind he knew there a was always another form of escape. He glanced over his shoulder to his backpack, and quickly looked ahead again. He knew that kind of escape would be useless and would only end in misery. He also knew it would be useless since it would help his son in no possible way so he sent that thought to the corner of his mind where it belonged. He didn't erase it, he just kept it tucked away.

The moon was so bright that it blinded Alfred. He wasn't used to bright. Bright didn't fit into his world. There was something particularly peculiar about this sudden light though. He struggled to move his sight away from the irritating brightness but he soon realised that it was all around him. Those familiar streets he had walked down many times before we're now gone. He wasn't even sure if there was a ground beneath his feet.

His feet...

He didn't know what they were, or the ground, or anything. His mind was being stripped of everything and all he could do was try helplessly to remember what he was thinking about five seconds ago. Soon, Alfred was a blank slate of a human being. The last thing he could remember doing was closing his eyes slowly to escape and be alone again.

Alone again, he opened his eyes painfully to a bright blue sky. He didn't move for a while. He just kept staring up above, almost paralysed in confusion. He suddenly remembered everything that had just happened and he shot up quickly as if he had been electrified intensely.

He looked around to find nothing. Nothing was there except an endless field of grass that he sat in uncomfortably with the haunting blue sky above him. He checked himself a dozen times just to see if his belongings were still with him. He had his bag (which contained everything that he had left in there), his glasses and his wristwatch which after quickly glancing at again was broken. After repeatedly patting himself down to just make sure he fell back into the warm and sweet grass for just a few more minutes. Although the blue sky was tempting to look at for hours on end he knew there was no place for him here.

Alfred got to his feet and started walking.