Marry had been alone for so long. Alone, forgotten, invisible.
Ever since her mother died, her dying words begging for Marry to stay unseen forever, to be safe.
She never dared to go outside the house. Not when the men came knocking at the door. Not when they threatened to burn the "monster" down. Not when she accidentally murdered them with just her mind, their screams still echoing her inside her head.
She lived in fear. Fear of what lay outside the stone mansion that she called home. Fear of what lay inside her, the power that was writhing and crawling, and longing to escape.
So she stayed in the pretty mansion, explored the corners and discovered the mysteries. Opening a book every so often to keep her company, even though she couldn't understand the lines on the pages. But she pored over them anyway, because the pictures told the tales of a thousand words. Tales of lands she will never see and skies she will never reach.
That was how she survived —no, how she lived. By shutting herself in. And letting nobody past.
Until she heard a gentle knock on the door, different from the banging that usually came.
Once, twice, three times.
She ignored it, despite a little voice inside her telling her to open the door, just this once.
The next day, the same gentle knock came.
Once, twice, three times.
This time, she climbed the stairs and looked from the window, high above on the uppermost floor of the stone mansion, and peeked below. She saw a boy in a small, green sweater staring at the door.
And she saw him leave.
But for some, unfathomable reason, Marry's young heart twisted, and ached for a change.
Again, she heard the knocks on the door.
Once, twice, three times.
Four times.
This time, Marry listened to her heart.
She opened the door, but still the fears overcame her, swirling in her heart. Engulfing her. And she felt the same terror as when her mother was killed.
Would it happen to me? She wondered.
She looked up and gazed into the boy's eyes, expecting hatred and disgust. But instead she found something else. Something only those gentle knocks could mean.
Joy, warmth, kindness.
The eyes of someone who knew pain and grief, but survived it.
Just like her.
No, maybe a little different.
Because, the boy was smiling. Even though there were sorrows in his eyes, his face was still smiling.
The boy offered her something, and wrapped them around her ears. He called it a "headset." She listened, and the most beautiful sounds she had ever heard filled her ears. Melodious echoes flowed through her heart and touched her soul. And for the first time in a long while,
She smiled.
And the boy smiled back.
He offered her a hand.
She knew what that meant. Friendship, someone to trust and to love.
And even though she would be defying her mother's final words, she knew, she knew, that she would be watching with a proud smile on her face.
So she took the smiling boy's hand.
That day, she left the stone mansion and never looked back.
They would face the world and whatever pain was thrown their way.
Together.
Author's Notes: Thank you so much for reading this fanfic! I hope you enjoyed. Any reviews are always appreciated and constructive criticism is welcome! There will most likely be more chapter to come, but no promises on when they will be updated, though hopefully soon!