All Falls Down

Regina awoke on the cold ground. Dirt and twigs clung to her hair. Rocks jabbed into her side as she cuddled her body trying to keep herself warm. She knew she couldn't stay on the forest floor forever. She had to get help more importantly she had to get home to Brian. She was pretty sure that he was worried about her after she rushed out of the house. She slowly tried to get up. Her head was swimming as she struggled to stand.

She braced herself against a tree waiting for the trees to stop spinning. A shiver ran up her spine as she looked out into the dense fog that had formed. She clung tightly to her thin gray sweater as she turned around trying to take in her surroundings. The trees were vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place exactly where she was. She checked her cell phone, but she didn't have a signal. She walked around in circles trying to find service and after a few minutes she got a bar. She quickly dialed Brian's number, but just as it was about to connect it died.

“Fuck me,” she cursed as tried to turn on her phone again knowing full well that it wouldn't. She looked around and decided to just keep walking hoping that she would come across a road so she could get some help, “This is just what I needed.”

This had always been her type of luck in life. Most people hoped that things didn't get worse when something didn't go well in their lives, but Regina knew that they would for her. It was a pattern that began as a child and it continued into her adulthood. Every choice she made seemed to stem from another poor decision she made and no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't get ahead. She wanted to believe that she had a chance in life, but she was doomed from the start.

When she was younger she wanted to be a veterinarian. But being a veterinarian was her dream until one evening when she was four years old Gavin played the piano at a dinner party that he and her mother were having. She snuck out of her room to steal some cookies for herself and Rodney, but on the way she was captivated by the music coming from the office. She listened to him play and found herself loving the music her produced. It was then she figured she made her greatest mistake.

She could have gone straight into the kitchen and grabbed the cookies. No one would have seen her if she had gone through the dining room, but instead she went closer to the office. She wanted to hear more of the music. Her mother rarely played music in the house and if it was it was more than likely in the style of Etta James, Teena Marie, or sometimes Stevie Wonder. She enjoyed listening to it all, but this was the first time she heard anything classically played. She spent her night on the stairs listening to him play beautifully until all of guests started pouring out of the office. From that night forward music took over everything in her life.

It was the constant that kept everything in a perfect balance. She spent hours humming the little melody that she heard Gavin playing. She would often sneak into the office to try and play the piano. She was horrible, but that didn't stop her. She did that for days until Gavin caught her trying to play. Reggie thought that he would have been upset to find her playing his piano, but instead he offered to teach her. He had taught numerous kids in the neighborhood how to play - including Matt and Jimmy. She loved it when the two of them would spend hours playing the piano in his office. Learning to play the piano was one of the happiest times in her life.

By the time she was thirteen years old she had practically played every piano score that she could get her hands on.. Her mother and brothers enjoyed listening to her play and cherished the moments she graced them with her musical ability. However, Regina didn't have the same passion she once had for the piano. She enjoyed playing, but only for her mother or her brothers. She hated having her lessons with Gavin and found any way possible to get out of them.

She started vocal coaching from the choir director at her family's church and guitar lessons from Brian's father. Lessons that took up more of her time and eventually took the place of her piano lessons. Her mother wasn't particularly pleased in the fact that she gave up the piano in the beginning because Gavin had cut back on his own students to give her lessons. .

Regina shook her head trying to forget about the past and focus on the now. She had been walking around for what felt like ages and was certain that she had walked past the same tree three times. She knew she was lost, but she just wasn't sure how she got there. Her last memory was Brian calling her phone as she drove along the highway. She knew she had to have been near Willow's Bend, but just not sure where her car was. As she continued to walk she looked ahead and saw a small hill coming into view. She just hoped that at the top there was a road.

As she got closer she saw the edges of what appeared to be a railing, but more importantly she saw a girl. She reached the bottom o f the hill and started to climb. She looked up to where the girl was, but she was gone. Reggie hoped that she wasn't gone. This was the first person that she had seen for hours and her only hope for getting home. When she reached the top she didn't see the girl any where. She hadn't heard a car or any car for that matter so she knew she didn't drive off. She had to be around there somewhere. People just didn't vanish into thin air.

Regina started walking along the side of the road hoping that someone would come along and see her. It was a long shot, but it was the best she could do. She walked along the road for a few minutes and she heard the rumbling of an engine. She ran ahead to meet the vehicle waving her hands frantically praying to God that this person would help her. As the car neared her a smile spread across her face. However, as the car drove past her the smile faded. She shouted after the driver, but knew that there was no use in trying.

Everything inside her ached as she watched her one hope of getting home fade away before her very eyes. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream, but none of that was going to help her now. She was still stuck in the middle of nowhere and had no idea how to get home. She turned to start walking back down the highway and she saw the girl again. She was pointing behind her in the direction the other car had gone. Reggie turned to see what she was pointing at, but there was nothing there. She looked back to the girl, but she wasn't there.

“I'm not insane,” she whispered to herself as she continued to walk.

She walked along the side of the highway for awhile and she started to get a grip on her surroundings. She wasn't too far out from Willow's Bend and from there she just had about a twenty minute walk to the nearest phone. She just hoped that she would make it before it got dark. As she continued to walk she saw the girl appear in front of her again pointing behind her.

Regina had to admit, if only to herself, that she was a bit frightened by the appearances of this young girl. Her skin was pale and had long light brownish blonde hair. Her eyes were covered by her bangs. She looked to have been no more than ten or eleven years old. Reggie wasn't usually freaked out by horror movies, but this girl almost reminded her of the girl from The Ring. From watching Ghost Adventures and talking about horror movies with Taryn, Regina knew that provocation could possibly make things worse. For all she knew she could have been like Melinda Gordon and cursed with seeing ghosts because of some bump on the head. She needed answers and this girl was the only one who could help her out.

“Who are you?” asked Regina, “What do you want?”

The girl lowered her arm, “To get to the end you must go back to the start.”

“To get to the end...I don't understand. What do you mean?” she asked. The girl only pointed behind her and disappeared. Regina stood on the side of the road contemplating just what to do. She could continue on the road and go home. On the other hand, she could figure out what the girl meant. Something inside told her not to turn around that she should just go home to Brian and forget everything. Her gut told her to go back and she always followed her gut, “It's official. I am insane. Completely in-fucking-sane.”

She walked back down the road following her first path to where she first saw the young girl appear to her. It was then that the girl appeared again. She was standing a few yards down the the road pointing down the hill. She walked down the road and followed her gaze. She saw that the railing was busted and there were tire tracks going down the hill. The girl slowly made her way down the hill and Regina followed. At the bottom of the hill she noticed a car. At first glance it looked like a black BMW, but she couldn't be sure.

“To get to the end you must go back to the start,” said the girl as she looked at the wrecked car.

Regina moved forward and made her way around the car slowly the scent of gasoline filling her nostrils. The windshield was shattered and the front end was smashed into a tree. The passenger door was hanging off the side of the car and from where she stood it looked like there was someone in the car.

“Help,” said a faint voice from the driver side of the car, “Someone help me.”

She moved along the side of the car quickly. Hoping that the person was okay. If anything maybe they had a cell phone so she could call for help. The driver door was so badly damaged that there was no way she would be able to open the door. The window was cracked a bit from the wreck and it was only way inside. She saw a small branch that had fallen and tried to pick it up. With a little effort she was able to pick it up and take it back to the car.

She looked through the broken glass and noticed the person was a woman. Her head was slumped to one side she couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. Worst case scenario she was already too late the help them, but she had to try. She swung the branch like a bat, but it fell from her grasp barely making contact with the glass. She picked up the branch again and swung a bit harder this time shattering the glass. She cleaned as much glass away from the driver and tucked her hair back to see her face better. Then she saw a tattoo on her neck – a phoenix.

“Oh my God,” she said as she looked knelt down beside the woman. She was breathing, but just barely. Her body was battered and bruised. Everything was crashing down on her as she stared in disbelief.

“To get to the end you must go back to the start,” said the girl as she appeared next to her.

“This is the end,” spat Regina as she looked at her helpless body, “If this is what you wanted me to see then you should have just let me die!”

Regina was angry and confused. She didn't want to believe what was happening. All of this had to be some stupid joke of Jimmy's to try and get her to loosen up since she had been so wound up from writing her album. There was no way that she could be looking at barely conscious self trapped inside her car. This couldn't be possible, but yet there she was.

“This doesn't have to be your end,” said the girl as she placed her hand on her body a light emanating from it. Her breathing wasn't as shallow, but she remained unconscious. Whatever the girl did helped her and for that Regina was eternally grateful.

“How do I fix this?” Regina sniffled as she looked at the girl.

The girl brushed her hair out of her face her dark brown eyes locking with Reggie's as she smiled, “To get to the end you must go back to the start.”