Alex's POV
My cell phone keeps ringing. "Ya gonna get that?" Marty asks me. I shake my head. "Na. It'll stop eventually." We continue with our game of chess. "BAM! Checkmate!" Marty brags. "For crying out loud, Marty." I say. My cell is still ringing. "Fine!" I get up from my seat and pick up my phone. "Yeah?" I say. It only takes four words to make me drop my phone and just stand there in shock for what feels like hours until I walk out of the cart and into my own cart. I hear Marty knock at my door. "Alex? Are you ok?" "My mom is dead" I say darkly. I can hear Marty gasp. "What? How?" He says. "She and dad were being chased by illegal hunters. Mom jumped off a cliff so she could swim away in the water below. As soon as she jumped, she was shot. No one found a body" I explain. "D-do you wanna talk about it?" Marty asks me. "Just leave me alone, Marty." I say. I hear hooves slowly walk away. The same four words keep going through my head. My mom is dead.
I get up the next day feeling the same way I did yesterday. It's been a week since the phone call and every day is the same. A day of sorrow, darkness, and depression. That afternoon, I leave my cart. I get some fish out of the mini-fridge and go back to my cart. I sit on my bed thinking. So many sad things swish through my mind, but I can't cry. Not a single tear. I hear a knock at the door. "Alex? It's Gia" I hear a sweet voice. I say something that I instantly regret. "I don't care who you are, now go away" Gia comes in my cart anyway. "What?" I say rudely. Gia sits by me, despite the way I just treated her.
"Alex, you've been acting like this for far too long. Treating everyone like dirt isn't going to make you feel any better." She tells me. "Then what will?" I ask her. Gia sighs. "I want to show you something." She takes me to my mirror. "What do you see?" She asks me. I look in the mirror. "My reflection?" I ask, not understanding her point. She shakes her head. "What else?" She asks. What is she trying to say? "What do you mean?" I ask. "Look in your eyes. Do you see anything?" She asks. I do as I'm told and look at my eyes. "No" I respond. "I see nothing." "Exactly." Gia says. "They are empty. I may have not known her but I'm sure that your mom may have not wanted this." She tells me. Darn it! Marty told her! I told him not to tell anyone! "You need to fill them up. If not with joy, than with sadness or hatred. Either one is better than emptiness." She pulls my head so I have to look at her. "You're letting yourself die inside, Alex. Even if your body is alive." I look back in the mirror. For a second, I can see my mom put her paw on my shoulder. I put my paw on hers, even if she's not really there.
"I didn't even get to know her that well." I murmur. I feel a knot in my throat. Tears are beginning to come. "My mom is dead." I say quietly. Then I turn to Gia. "My mother is dead!" I shout. I have no control, and I throw myself onto Gia. At this point I'm bawling. Geez, this is embarrassing. Usually it's the girl crying on the boy. "I'm sorry G" I say, trying to stop crying. "No, Alex. You don't need to apologize. You need this. Just cry as long as you want. I don't mind." She tells me softly. I've never heard a better idea. So I cry. I cry as Gia strokes my mane. I cry until its dark. The sadness turns to exhaustion. I'm still crying softly, but my grip loosens on Gia and I slide to the floor. Gia slides a pillow under my head, and I fall into a deep sleep.
Gia's POV
Alex has been acting strange. He's not talking to me, or anyone. Not even Marty. Marty! His best friend. Finally, I walk up to Marty. "What's wrong with Alex?" I say. "Um...he told me not to tell anyone" he mutters. "You can tell me, Marty" I say. "Ok, but don't tell Alex I told you" Marty says. "Cross my heart" I promise him. "Alex got a phone call telling him that his mom...his mom..." "His mom, what?" I ask. Marty gulps. "His mom is dead." He finally says. My eyes widen. Alex's mom? I remember he told me about how cool he thought his parents were. Sure, it made me sad that my parents were gone, but I still liked hearing about them. I wanted to meet them so bad, and I promised him we would go to Africa at some point. But now his mom is dead? "How?" I ask him. "She was shot by hunters" he tells me. Now I understand what's happening. He's depressed. Alex is trying to hide his feelings. But that's not like him! Why would he do that? "I'm gonna talk to him" I say, standing up. I feel a hoof on my shoulder. "I wouldn't recommend it. If you try to talk to him, he'll just snap at you."he tells me. I shake his hoof away. "I'm going anyway. I want to help him." And I head for Alex's cart.
I knock on Alex's door. "Alex? It's Gia" I say. "I don't care who you are, now go away." He says. Wow. Marty was right. But he doesn't sound like himself at all. Alex needs help. I come inside anyway. He's sitting on his bed, refusing to make eye contact. "What?" He snaps. I ignore the comment and sit beside him on the bed. "Alex, you've been acting like this for far too long. Treating everyone like dirt isn't going to make you feel any better." I say. He glares at me. "Then what will?" Alex asks. I sigh. How does he not know this? "I want to show you something." I practically drag him off his bed and take him to the mirror. I turn him so he's facing it. "What do you see?" I ask. "My reflection?" He responds. I shake my head. "Look in your eyes. Do you see anything?" He looks back in the mirror. "No. I see nothing." He says. Still looking at his reflection. "Exactly. They are empty. I may have not known her but I'm sure that your mom may have not wanted this. You need to fill them up. If not with joy, than with sadness or hatred. Either one is better than emptiness." I explain as I force him to give eye contact. "You're letting yourself die inside, Alex. Even if your body is alive." I tell him. Alex turns his head back to the mirror. Come on, Just let it out, Alex.
He puts his paw on his shoulder. "I didn't even get to know her that well." He says. His voice is cracking. Here it comes. "My mom is dead" he says quietly. Then he turns to me. I see tears rolling down his face. "My mother is dead!" Alex repeats louder. I smile as he throws himself onto me and sobs on my chest. "I'm sorry G." He mutters. I shake my head. "No, Alex. You don't need to apologize. You need this. Just cry as long as you want. I don't mind." I say. He continues to cry for a couple hours. Eventually, he calms down and falls asleep on the floor. I stay with him for a while. "Alex, how about you sleep on your bed?" I shake him a bit. "What?" He asks drowsily. "Let's set you on your bed." "Ok" he mutters, still half asleep. I help him up and lay him on his bed. I cover him up, and he falls back asleep. Then I leave him alone.
Alex's POV
I wake up in my bed. How'd I get in my bed? Maybe Gia put me here. I remember what happened the night before, and I cry. I put my paws on my paws on my face, and silently cry. A few minutes later, I walk outside to see Gia talking to Gloria. "Alex!" She runs up to me. "Are you ok?" I nod and smile. "I am thanks to you." Gia smiles. I miss my mom, but I still got my dad and my friends, and that's all I need. The slightest thought of my mom set me off, but I know eventually I'll accept my moms death and leave it at that. I've got good friends to support me.
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Zuba sighs. He misses Florrie more than anything. His thoughts are interrupted when a beautiful lioness walks up to him with bandages on. "Hi Zuba." She says. Zubas eyes widen. "Florrie?" The lioness nods.