Daylight's Melancholy
by Autumn Win-Dow
Daylights were the same almost every day – despite the rain, hail, snow, shine, or gales, they were bright enough for you to see your surroundings, your observants, and yourself in your shattered mirror.
No matter what, you could see the innocent world the way it wasn't – filled with the naïve, the ignorant, and the ones who were able to push all of their problems aside to live their lives wild and free.
You wondered how it felt like to be free – truly free.
But you were not ignorant enough to believe that you would, one day, locate that freedom that you wished for. Even upon taking a step out of the academy, you would continue to be watched – you just weren't brought up with the ability to communicate. You were taught to fight and kill, and even after learning to act like a normal person, you would never be free from the blood which stained your once soft, young hands.
You were born with two things you never wanted – a killer Alice, and the natural image of someone who needed to be watched.
Because of all this, you hated daylight.
During the day, you were forced to somewhat keep 'appearances'.
You could clearly remember his words.
'Don't create any trouble. I'm only going to say that once.'
But he spoke those words every morning, before you merged into the rest of Alice Academy's innocent, carefree students.
Each day, many pairs of eyes were firmly set on you – you could easily read their stares, as if they were expecting something from you.
A stare, a glare, a growl, a cynical remark, or even – in the worst case scenario – an enraged unleashing of your Alice. You could read their eyes – your ability to do so had since become second nature to you, as you went on the same routine every day.
Even though it was a sea of eyes making judgements, you could tell what they individually felt – disgust, condemnation, admiration, indifference, annoyance.
But among all, you could see the fear.
They stared even though they were afraid of the possibility of you looking back at them. They murmured behind your back despite not wanting you to know of their existence in the first place.
They insulted you even when they were fully aware that you could destroy them with one simple use of your Alice.
But of course, you knew that you wouldn't.
Despite all of this, you remained silent for the majority of the time. You would always sit in the back seat of the small classroom, in your mind the things which other people your age – even the Alices, of whom had been taken away from their own respective families when they were young – wouldn't have to consider.
You didn't want to give them what they wanted – you weren't going to be the Truman to their audience. You decided, every time you woke up from your bed, that you wouldn't do anything for the sake of your audience's entertainment.
But no matter what you thought, you felt bittersweet by your own decision. As a youth, you wanted to do what you wanted in life – you wanted to break away from the imaginary cuffs around your wrists, prove wrong the people who judged you, and be a normal person.
Of course, that was impossible.
The broken mirror in your room, the Alice restraints on your ears and face, and the fresh scars and wounds on your body were painful reminders that you were different from anyone else.
A monster to some, a devil to others.
But no matter what, you weren't on the side of good.
However, what no one understood was that you were vulnerable.
You all stood together as you watched the factory in front of you burn. The warmth on your faces was not soothing – it was a familiar experience which you felt every time you left the Academy for purposes other than your own.
It was no longer daylight, but still your faces were illuminated by the brightness of the growing flames. However, you didn't mind it at all – only the people around you saw your face in the night.
In the night, you didn't have to keep up appearances anymore. Your kind expression would vanish from your face, only to be replaced with one showing your utter discontentment at the harsh reality the world was.
You were bloody, angry, and dangerous.
This was your true personality as soon as the sun hid behind the visible horizon.
It was rare for all of you to leave the Academy grounds together. You were all different in regards to your Alice and your ability – your team was composed of the wind wielder, the ghost manipulator, the shadow controller, the bugs' leader, the curse inflictor, the ice princess, and the Black Cat arsonist.
You were different from everyone else.
You were – and still are – a student from the Dangerous Ability Class.