Running on Nothing
By
Chae Sun-Hee
Prologue
She cried. How could he do something like that to her? She was younger than him by quite a few years and yet – how dare he! She was furious, scared and mentally wounded. She ran from the building with her tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn't care if she was up next; she needed to get out of there and quickly. She found her uncle and grabbed him as she ran.
"Erzsébet," he said quite out of breath as she continued to run. They were now at least four miles from their previous location and his niece had not stopped running. For an eight-year-old she was incredibly fit. She only slowed down when she came to the bus stop. She collapsed on the bench in a depressed silence. She couldn't believe him! Why? They were friends! He was in high school and she was in secondary school! All she wanted to do was have a good fight and win trophies; he knew that too so then… why? Was he really just like all the other men that she had encountered? They saw a strong girl who could stand up for herself and wanted to take her as their prize.
Without thinking, she kicked her uncle in the shin. She hung her head and continued to stay in silence.
"Erzsébet," her uncle repeated. "The bus is here. Tell me what happened and I will take care of whomever it was that caused my nephew to sob so uncontrollably." She gave her uncle a grave look and nodded.
The next day, her offender found himself in the hospital with countless fractures and broken limbs. She smiled a terrifyingly sad smile as she sent a silent prayer out into the night.
God, hear my words. Please, never let him cross my path in the world of the living again. If I see him once and he gets in my way, I swear, I will kill my self.
()()()
She sat on the balcony onside her bedroom and gazed up at the stars overhead. The summer's breeze brought the sweet smell of flowers to her nose and the chirping of birds to her ears. What a difference three years had made, she was beginning to get back on her feet after that incident. She was still hesitant to trust but she was beginning to smile again.
Vetya, his voice wafted into her mind. Vetya, I love you. Come to me. She shook her head. Why was she hearing his voice now: of all the times to hear it, why now? She stood up and walked over to the railing of her balcony and leaned against it.
"Vetya, I see you." She jumped back. No way. She looked down. How on earth had he gotten into the garden? "Vetya, climb down to me. Climb down, or I will climb up." He could very well climb up. There was an ivy vine that scaled the wall next to her balcony. She backed away into her bedroom and closed the door to the balcony as she did so. How did he find her? They had moved to a completely different country after all!
She saw him standing on her balcony. Oh! Why hadn't she locked the door? She noticed that he walked with limp. She grinned through her fear. At least her uncle had kept his word.
He entered her room and her vision went black.
()()()
She stood in the window with her arms held out to her sides, palms facing up. Without looking behind her to see the distance that greeted her, she closed her eyes and leaned back and fell. The only witnesses to her actions were the moon, the stars and a stranger who watched her fall. He stood only a few feet away from where he thought she would hit the ground but, as he looked up, she was falling right above him.
()()()
She opened her eyes. Was she dead? That had been her intent: to kill herself. Had she succeeded? The world didn't look any different. It was still the same starry sky that she had viewed before falling from the window. She sat up. The ground underneath her was nice and comfortable. She ran a hand up and down the thing that she was sitting on.
"Mnn," She looked down to see why the ground was so comfortable. She had landed on top of a stranger. It was a man, to be exact: a man who looked to be in his early to mid twenties. He had a nice face: handsome-but not rugged, and beautiful-but not a pretty boy. So he was the reason why her suicide attempt failed. Dang! She got off the man and helped him to his feet after he regained consciousness. Standing up, she realized that the man was a good ten inches taller than her. The two of them spent a good long while just staring at each other. Sapphire eyes bore into hazel ones. Then, the girl bowed her head and ran back home. She would have to kill herself another day.