Could you imagine what life would be like if it were an anime? Inhuman people running about, not being able to die…despite the odds stacked against you. It doesn't seem like that could ever happen. But it has and is still ongoing. How do I know? I'm living in the anime myself. However, this story isn't really about me. I am only a supporting character to the others involved in the plot. This story is about my friends and what they have experienced; both the living and the dead.

Maximus

It began with death. A young girl ran into the street to retrieve her runaway ball. The truck didn't have enough time to stop and the father didn't have enough time to grab her. Her premature death caused her parents to find out the gender of their second unborn baby and their hope formed from having whatever to having a girl. They wanted to replace the girl they had lost. But their second child was a boy. Abortion was too late and adoption would result in the parents no longer getting money from their parents. Neither one of them could live without their money. Instead, his mother attempted to have a miscarriage through alcohol and drug use. Their son was born prematurely at thirty-two weeks. He was born with a hole in his heart and was very weak. His parents named him Maximus Peter White. They were sure that he would die, especially when he had to undergo a surgery that ended in just a patch job. Maximus did survive and grew with a heart condition and neglectful parents. He developed anxiety and was prescribed medication to keep his anxiety at bay to keep his heart from being damaged even more. Unfortunately, Maximus's mother using drugs during her pregnancy caused him to be born with a better chance at becoming dependent on drugs.

As Maximus aged, his dependency grew worse. He was underweight and fearful of his parents. At school, he was an outcast. People thought he was just a stuck of rich kid whom thought himself better than the others. Teachers didn't seem concerned about his somewhat bony exterior and never asked any questions.

Not only was Maximus an outcast due to his heart defect, anxiety and parents, but also because Maximus had a gift or curse, depending on whom perceives it, of seeing the dead. There are many names for this and Maximus thought of himself as a freak, even though many others, including me, disagree with his thinking.

Maximus saw the dead wherever he traveled. There were dead outside the school, inside the school, in his neighborhood and in his house. His sister was always roaming around the house, but unlike the other spirits; Maximus's sister wouldn't talk or even acknowledge that he could see her.

Maximus didn't mind, though. He welcomed his sister's silence. The other spirits were not as kind and would pester Maximus for his help. The only escape he had were his medications. He would take large doses of his medication before he would sleep. The doses were never enough to kill him, but let him sleep through the screaming spirits.

It was somewhat difficult for Maximus to recognize the difference between the dead, living and the things his drugged mind created. He was sometimes unsure whether people were there that he was seeing or if the voices he heard were just in his head.

Either way, he felt better when he was high. He was invincible, in his mind. It was that kind of thinking that caused him to overstep.

Maximus's father was drunk and Maximus was high. They'd met like this numerous times. His father would normally mouth off and Maximus would just accept it. He was too high to ever really care. But the comments would sit on his mind and bubble. They became food for the fire in his heart. Compassion, love…happiness; those emotions didn't exist for him. In a way, that's what made him just like his parents and he hated it.

Maximus's wanted love. He wanted someone to make him feel more than angry. He was ten now. He knew his life wasn't going to change unless he changed it himself. So, the night that Maximus came home and saw his father sitting on the couch with Vodka and a plate of Spaghetti, that Maximus couldn't have; Maximus got angrier than he'd been his whole life.

"Heh, you still living? Must not be starving you enough." His father snarled.

Maximus shook his head and stopped at the base of the stairs. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Why can't you just shut the fuck up?!" He snapped. "You're always shitting on me and why?! Because you can't just hate yourself for killing your own daughter! You use me to hate on so that you don't hate yourself! You were the one that had her on the yard that day! You should've stopped her! You know that! So why didn't you?! And why don't you just do your daughter a favor and end your pathetic excuse of a life?! Maybe then she won't mope around the God damn house!"

By this time, Maximus's sister wasn't pretending anymore. She was right next to him, trying to cover his mouth. She knew that he was in danger. But the damage was done. Maximus's father was over his edge.

"Little shit!" His father leaped off the couch and headed toward the kitchen. "You've overstayed your welcome!" His father was banging around.

"Drunk ass can't even walk straight." Maximus muttered under his breath.

His sister tried to push him away, but she didn't have the energy. All she could do was plead with her eyes and attempt to save him. When their father's shadow appeared in the doorway, she looked like she was about to cry.

"Daddy is going to kill you!" She screamed.

His father emerged from the kitchen with a red, sweaty face. "You pissed 'cause you can't eat our food?! Is that the problem?! Well, here, eat some fucking lead!"

Maximus felt his heart jump into his throat when he saw the gun in his father's hands and watched as he pulled the trigger.