Reunion

The tall brick building loomed overhead, the top floor barely visible through the dense smog. It seemed every other window was either boarded up or covered in graffiti. At 15 stories high, the decrepit structure cast a gloomy shadow over the rest of the neighborhood. A steady slush began to fall from the colorless, overcast sky and seeped into the cracked sidewalk. Eliza picked up her pace and she headed toward the building. She practically jogged the rest of the way to the door.
        A pathetic bell rang as the glass door creaked open. Despite the bell, the man at the front desk remained asleep. Eliza’s feet dragged against the shaggy carpet as she reluctantly made her way through the dimly lit hallway towards the elevator. Everything was exactly how she remembered it all those years ago.
        Eliza pressed the flickering elevator button and stood back, legs shaking from the anxiety of being back home. Or at least, that’s what she used to call it. The heavy elevator doors slid open, scraping against the floor as a teenage girl rushed out, clearly in a hurry to leave. Eliza instantly recognized the girl but she couldn’t remember how. Her figure was so familiar, yet her features were unlike anyone Eliza used to know. She gasped when she realized who it was.
        “It’s nice to finally see you again sister,” the girl said through gritted teeth, “I didn’t think I’d ever have to see you again.” Eliza couldn’t hide her shock. Her sister had changed immensely in the years since they had last spoken, and it terrified her.
The innocent young girl Eliza had loved was nowhere to be seen. Her once golden and luxurious locks had been cut short and dyed so many different colors they all merged into a muddy brown. Beneath her drawn on eyebrows sat a pair of bloodshot eyes that glared at Eliza with an intensity she had never seen. Her face was caked with a week's worth of makeup, but even that couldn’t hide the bruises. The warm smile her sister used to display proudly wherever she went had been replaced by a permanent frown.
“I’m sorry,” Eliza tried to say as she moved towards the elevator. Her sister put up a resistance as if there was a terrible secret hidden in the elevator. Her attempt was futile as Eliza was five years older and much stronger.
“Stop it!” Her sister cried in vain as Eliza pressed the button and the elevator began to move. Accepting defeat, Eliza’s sister backed off and together they stood on opposite sides of the cramped elevator as an intense silence set in. Eliza couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to her sister in the past few years.
“You’ve changed your hair” Eliza muttered in an attempt to break the silence.
“But I see you haven't changed a bit,” her sister snapped. “Still Ms. Perfect” her sister continued “Or maybe Mrs. Perfect by now if you’re still with that sad excuse of a man. Last I remembered he was the reason you ran off in the first place. I guess you were right in the end; this is no place to raise a child. Or maybe you were just too embarrassed to admit the truth” The cruel words hit Eliza like bullets. A look of panic spread across Eliza’s face. Before she could speak her sister cut her off.
“Yes, Dad also knows. At least… he used to know, so you might as well turn back and disappear again.”
“That’s not why I’m here,” Eliza replied, collecting herself. “I’m here to tell him that…”
DING! The elevator stopped as it reached the 11th floor. “C’mon let's go,” She said to her little sister, motioning for her to follow.
“I’m not going”
“Why not?”
“I’m sorry Eliza, but they’ll be looking for me,” her sister said in a tone that resembled her old self.
“Wait!” Eliza cried desperately but the elevator had already closed, and in an instant her sister was gone.
She turned her head down the hallway and noticed a small group of people gathered around her father’s apartment, the door wide open. Eliza pushed through the crowd and peered into the apartment. She had so much to say, so much to explain to the man she had run away from so many years ago. Eliza suddenly realized why everyone was gathered around her father; it was a gruesome sight. She gasped as he took his last breath.