Alive in a Dead World
by Kit Lupin and Endriel Scarburst
inspired by "Ringo-Uri no Utakata Shoujo", by Yukkedoluce
Long ago, in a town known as Eden, there was something called immortality. Everyone in the town had it... except one boy. He was born under an apple tree outside of town, and the first thing he ever tasted was an apple. The apples, you see, were the fruit of Death, and anyone who ate one would never be able to know immortality.
Due to his mortality, he was considered some kind of freak, ignored by almost all the people in the town. When not ignored, he was bullied by other people. However, the boy did not mind, and he continued living his ordinary, happy life away from the town. In fact, he became a baker.
This is his tale.
Leon Anderson, eleven years old, hummed to himself, taking a fresh apple pie out of the oven. He breathed its scent in deeply, his green eyes sparkling with pride. "I did a great job with this one!" he said to himself.
He put the apple pie on a table that was covered with other pies that he made. "Sadly, nobody wants to even taste it..." Leon sighed. He perked up, however, when he heard the distant chime of the town's clocktower. It was noon, time for lunch. Surely, someone's hungry stomach would crave one of his pies. The little blond boy grabbed a little wooden basket and put it on the table as well, before starting to prepare the pies for sale. Soon, Leon was done. He put his confections into the basket, picked it up, and skipped out the door, humming again.
It was a wonderful day. The clear, pure lake outside Leon's house reflected the vivid blue of the sky above him, and the emerald green grass under his feet swished in a light breeze.
However, though the day was really wonderful, Leon had awful luck. He wasn't even able to sell one pie. Some people almost bought one, but upon knowing it was an apple pie, they stopped themselves. As time passed, Leon began to lose hope. He sighed sadly. Suddenly, just as he was about to leave the cobblestone streets of the town for his cabin, he tripped over a rock, making him drop the basket.
"Oh, no!" he cried, seeing his sweets fall out of the basket. Nobody paid any attention to him, and kept walking, not helping him pick them up. Some people even trampled the pies, to Leon's horror. His eyes began to well up with tears.
"B-but... I made them myself..." He started to cry. "They're delicious... why doesn't anyone want them? I worked so hard..."
But after a few seconds, Leon noticed someone picking up one of his crushed pies. It was a young girl, her hair black as coal, her dark blue eyes looking into Leon's. "Do you mind if I taste it?" she asked Leon.
Leon gasped. He hurriedly wiped his tears with the sleeve of his blue coat. "R-really? You want to eat it?" he asked.
"Yeah. Why are you asking?" the girl replied, a bit confused.
"It's... these are apple pies..." Leon explained. "You really want to eat one? G-go ahead... if you really want to..."
"Apple pie... I always wanted to taste one! Well, have anything to slice it? I can't eat the whole pie," the girl said, giggling. Leon blushed at the sight of her laughing face. Hurriedly, he got a cake knife out of his backpack and sliced the trampled pie. The girl took her slice and ate it all up. She smiled. "It tastes great! I don't know why nobody wants to eat it," she said.
"You like it?" Leon asked. He smiled weakly, starting to cry again. "Thank you..." Suddenly, he screamed in pain- one of the passers-by had kicked him in the head.
"Hey, why'd you do that?!" the girl asked the person that kicked Leon, angered. The kicker glared at Leon.
"He's a freak!" was the bully's retort. "He cursed you, Miriam! Don't you know that apples are the fruit of Death? He made you a MORTAL!"
"Yeah, I know that. And I don't care! It's better to have a happy mortal life than a sad endless life! What's so great about immortality, anyway?" Miriam glared at the bully. Leon's eyes widened at what she said.
"Are you kidding me, Miriam?! I think that apple pie affected your brain!" the bully said.
Miriam slapped him, grabbed Leon's hand, and stormed off, dragging the young baker behind her.
After a while, Miriam stopped, finally giving Leon some time to breathe a little. "Are you alright?" she asked. Leon nodded shakily, knees knocking, still carrying his basket. "Do you mind if I eat another slice of your pie?" Miriam blushed a little.
"Y-y-y-yeah..." stuttered Leon. "Here, take some." He cut another slice of pie and gave it to her.
"So, does everyone treat you like that bully from before?" Miriam asked once she was finished eating. Again, Leon nodded, casting his jade-colored eyes to the ground. He sighed. "Well, don't you know anybody that cares for you, like your parents?"
"No... my parents died when I was about seven. I've lived alone in my cabin ever since," admitted Leon. "Uhm... You can visit me sometimes, if you want..."
"Well, it would be nice to visit you!" Miriam said, smiling. Leon giggled a little, a blush coming onto his pale face. He gave Miriam a little hug.
"Say... want to be my friend, Miriam?" the baker boy offered.
"Of course I want to!" she replied, hugging Leon and almost tackling him to the ground. Leon's blush grew redder, and he giggled again, hugging back. He knew, in that instant, that the two of them were friends.
Some time passed, and Leon was soon preparing things for a picnic that Miriam had suggested. He was very happy about the chance to go on a picnic with his first friend ever. He sang a little song to himself as he baked.
"La la lu la, lucky," he hummed softly, taking an apple pie out of the oven.
Eventually, he heard someone knocking at his door. It was Miriam, who was holding a little basket. Leon smiled at his pal.
"Hello, Miriam! You're ready for the picnic?" he asked.
"Of course I am!" she replied. The two of them laughed and went outside, ready to enjoy another fun day together.
"So, Leon... were you born as a mortal or did you become a mortal after eating an apple?" Miriam asked eventually. The two of them were sitting in the shade of a tall oak tree, sharing apple pie.
Leon shrugged, picking at his slice of pie with a fork. "My mama told me that I was born mortal because I was born under an apple tree, but my papa told me I became mortal after eating an apple. I still don't know, and I don't really care."
"Hm. Well, changing the subject, did you ever see one of the special schools in Eden? The schools for people who are sick?"
"No. One person tried to get me to attend one, because they thought that being mortal is a sickness, but I didn't. My Mama and Papa taught me everything I know. They were smart." Leon smiled fondly at the memory of his parents.
"Oh. Uh... talking about parents... I still didn't tell my parents about you, or that I ate one of your apple pies, so... I was thinking... would you go with me, to help me... tell them?" Miriam looked uncomfortable. Leon blinked. Then, he hugged her tightly and lovingly.
"Does that answer your question?" he asked, a playful tone in his voice.
"T-thanks, Leon..." Miriam said. She finished her pie and got up, putting the picnic things away in her basket. Leon got up as well, having finished his own meal. The two of them walked towards Eden, hand in hand. Neither knew how Miriam's parents would react, but one thing thing was certain: They'd react.
An hour later...
Leon and Miriam were in front of her house. Leon noticed that Miriam was shivering a bit in fear. Trying to reassure her, he put a hand on her back.
"It'll be okay... don't worry, Miriam," he soothed. His words calmed Miriam, and she nodded. She took a deep breath and entered her house, holding Leon's hand tightly. Her parents were waiting for her in the living room.
"Miriam?" her mother asked. "Who's this boy you're with? Is something wrong?"
"Well... He's Leon. I met him some time ago, and..." She wasn't able to complete her sentence. She was too scared. Suddenly, her father saw something in Leon's basket- the leftovers of the apple pie the two had been sharing.
"What sort of pie is that in there?" he asked suspiciously.
"It's... It's an apple pie..." Leon answered. He hung his head, ashamed. "I'm so, so sorry..."
But to his surprise, Miriam's parents weren't mad at all. They hugged their daughter gently, sighing in a resigned manner.
"It's fine, young lad," Miriam's mother said. "We knew that this day would come..."
"Wh-what!?" Miriam gasped. She wasn't expecting that reaction from them.
"From the start, you were a curious child, Miriam," her father explained. "You almost ate an apple one day, but we stopped you, not wanting you to die. But we knew the day would come when you'd eat an apple and become mortal, from then on."
"So... you're not mad at me?" she asked. Her parents shook their heads. "Well... it's good to know it's okay... but... I still have to tell Willen, and I don't think he will like to know about that..."
Leon gulped. "...who's Willen?" he asked.
"Willen is my little brother. He's very kind, but over-emotional, so..." Miriam gulped as well. "I'm going to tell him." She sighed, going to Willen's room.
Just a minute after she entered her brother's room, everyone heard a loud scream. Without warning, a brown-haired boy stormed into the room, grabbed Leon by the neck, and began throttling the poor baker boy.
"Why?! Tell me why you did that to my sister?!" Willen shouted, enraged. Leon couldn't tell why, though- he was choking.
"Le-let me g-g-go..." Leon gasped. He began crying in pain.
"Stop, Willen! It wasn't his fault!" Miriam said, trying to stop Willen. She shook her brother, forcing Willen to drop Leon, who fell to the floor gasping for breath.
"How is it not his fault? He made you eat those cursed fruit!"
"It wasn't him! I ate it because I wanted to!" Miriam replied.
That stopped Willen dead in his tracks. His jaw and arms went slack. "...what?" he asked quietly.
"You heard it right, Willen... but don't worry. There's still a lot of time before I pass away," Miriam said. She hugged Willen gently, trying to reassure him that it would be okay.
"But I don't want you to go away... even though there's still a long time before that, it won't be enough. I want you to stay alive forever. I don't want you to die!" Willen replied, starting to cry.
"...I'm sorry..." Leon said softly. He began to cry as well. "...I'll j-just leave." He picked up his basket and left Miriam's house.
The next day...
Miriam was going to visit Leon. She wanted to talk a little with him- after the other people discovered that she ate one of Leon's apple pies, she was completely ignored by everyone but her own family. However, when she opened the door of Leon's house... she found that he wasn't there.
"Leon... are you there?" she asked, getting no answer. The silence in his house was scaring Miriam a little. But at last, she heard a sound. Someone was crying.
"Leon, is that you?" Miriam asked again. A sob was her only answer this time.
She walked inside the house, going to Leon's room. In there, she found Leon lying face-down on his bed, sobbing.
Miriam ran closer to him. "Leon! Is everything alright? Why are you crying?"
"...I'm sorry, M-Miriam..." Leon said sadly. "I'm sorry for everything..."
"What are you talking about, Leon? You didn't do anything to me," Miriam replied.
"N-no... I made your brother sad because you're mortal now... I should never have made my apple pie, so you wouldn't eat it and become mortal and oh, it's all my fault..." The blond boy broke down into incoherent wailing and buried his face in his pillow.
"Please, Leon, stop crying. It was my choice to eat your pie. And again, I don't see anything good in immortality." Miriam put a hand on her sensitive friend's back softly. Leon looked up, eyes red from crying.
"I'm sorry, Miriam, I just f-feel guilty..." Leon apologized.
"It's alright, Leon. You don't need to ask for forgiveness," Miriam replied. She leaned down... and planted a gentle kiss on her best friend's cheek. Leon's eyes widened, and he blushed.
"Di-did you just..." he stammered.
"Yup. I did this to cheer you up a little, I just can't stand see you sad." Miriam blushed a little as well. "Please, Leon. Promise to me that you will never blame yourself about that."
Leon sat up, silent. After a moment... he nodded.
"Well... could I... Ask you something?"
"Go ahead..." Leon said.
"Could you teach me... how to bake an apple pie?" Miriam asked sheepishly. For a second, Leon was taken aback. But he smiled and nodded, before hugging Miriam tightly.
"Thanks, Leon," she said, hugging him back.
Miriam and Leon would bond even more in the coming years. Miriam became as skilled a baker as Leon himself, and eventually, the two fell in love. Their wedding was a wonderful event. Yet their love would not last. The fruit of Death had ensured that.
It happened one cold January night, just before midnight.
Both were sitting in front of a fireplace, next to each other. They had grown old- Miriam's dark hair had turned white, and Leon's hands were bony and anemic, but they both had aged gracefully.
"Do you remember the first time we met?" Miriam asked. Leon nodded.
"I'm glad we met, Miriam. I love you," he said.
"I love you too, Leon," she replied. She sighed softly and closed her eyes, as if she was about to sleep. Leon did the same, putting his hand on hers just before he did. And as the clock struck midnight, their hearts slowed down and stopped. They were dead, never to awake again.
And yet, both of them had smiles on their faces. They had lived happily and died happily.
Miriam and Leon had truly been the only two people alive in a dead world.