A Change: The Arrival of the Newcomer
It seemed a harsh eternity as I sat down, back hunched, under a leafless tree. The moonless night swathed me in a huge blanket of darkness. The pure white snow seemed to drift slowly down from the sky like angels sent to me from heaven. Then, I cast these childish thoughts away. I was fifteen already. How could I still believe in guardian angels?
Suddenly, the snow seemed to congregate and form a translucent sheet over my eyes, but blinking twice, I found out that it was simply salty tears misting my eyes.
I shivered. The cold had begun to set in.
Friendless like the tree I was. Alone, in the snowy wilderness. But it wasn't supposed to be like this, as I had a friend.
Once.
But the newcomer to El Nath seemed to draw a line between me and her through which I could never cross.
Misty vapour tumbled out of my mouth as I sighed, staring at the locked door in front of me, an angel to keep me out from the house of the harsh friend- no, stranger who once actually cared about me. I laughed, a scornful laugh, as I was reminded forcefully of Adam and Eve in the Bible. After all, wasn't my predicament similar to theirs?
I etched out a few words in the snow. Suddenly, I gasped, and a jolt passed through my body. The cold had seeped into my bones.
My two eyelids closed, and liquid fell onto my exposed tongue as I mouthed out the words I wrote. Probably just melting snow, I thought.
But I couldn't explain why some of them tasted of salt.
-
'Harsh moments pass, sitting down, under a leafless tree.
Yet another moonless night of ominous sounds, owl hoots, cricket calls.
Silence drapes over me, a blanket, banishing my glee.
Tiny snowflakes, white angels in the darkness, slowly, gradually, fall.
Friendless, like the tree I was, alone, without company.
It was not supposed to be, as I had a friend. Before it all.
Lance Yidzken, the newcomer, he cast me into misery.
Yidzken, between me and my friend, he built an invisible wall.'
-
Etched into the snow were these words. I recognized my friend's style; Hope always wrote poetry, sometimes with hidden messages. I smiled.
Then, I saw my friend, who I abandoned, a shapeless wreck under a tree. Waves of nostalgia went up my throat as I fought back tears. I had to save face in front of my other friends. Then, guilt replaced it. I realized that my friend was waiting here, in the stark and cold outdoors, for me to befriend her once more.
Hate for the newcomer gradually grew. Clenching my fists, I turned back and punched him in the nose, with strength I never realized I had. It was the nastiest punch I ever delivered to someone. His nose bled, seemingly never-ending torrents of blood gushed out. I turned a cold and indifferent shoulder towards him, and knelt down by my friend's side.
Tears slid down my face, landing on my friend's outstretched hands. Then, her hand was suddenly clenched. I stared at her opening eyes, shocked, and glad to see her back. Then, her mouth opened weakly, and she motioned for me to listen to her with a slow hand gesture.
"Will you remember me?" she whispered softly by my ear. Then, she shivered. The bright spark in her eyes went out, and no more movement came from her. I tried to shake her awake. Her now limp and lifeless body did not do anything. I wailed, for my lost friend. I effectively killed her. I was the hand which released the arrow of coldness on her, which was too much for her weak and frail body. After all, we were both Fire Poisons; weak against ice. Then, I realized that I would have to face the inevitable. My friend was dead.
"Yes, I will," I spoke clearly into the mist. I wasn't sure who; or what, for that matter, to speak to, since her spirit had departed.
Then, I used Inferno, cremating my friend's body. The resulting flames were so huge it seemed to blanket the whole dark sky. Then, I ended the spell once my friend's body was gone. It was a glorious send-off; one that she would have liked. The winter wind blew her ashes away, and I waved sadly towards the drifting ashes.
Suddenly, snow fell on my friend's poem, outlining the first letters of each sentence. It seemed like a sign.
"H Y S T F I L Y," I read out loud. It was a classic of hers. Hope You See This. She always used those letters. I wondered why I didn't see those letters right from the start. Then, F had to be my name. Faith. Then, I saw the hidden message. It was so obvious, yet I was shocked when I saw it so clearly.
Hope you see this. Faith, I love you.
-
Author's Note: Lol, really short story. Idk why I wrote it. Pretty lame. For Crappishh's fanfic challenge, A Change, Category: Friendship. I wonder if January New Year e.g (now) still got snow or not, lol, being in Singapore with no snow .