"When all the dreams are all your own, turn to nightmares all alone. It hits you right between the eyes... this is the life." -Hinder, the life
Special message: [When words are in brackets like these are, that means it's a text message]
-Garry- Age 25-
"Hey Garry," Michelle said, and I smiled warmly. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a green plaid shirt with a ball cap on her head.
"What brings you here?"
"You think we can go to the cafe?"
"Course," I said, "One second,"
I left the door open as I went back to my closet to grab my jacket, when I eyed my torn jacket. Looking back at my normal coat, I decided to take my torn jacket, as it really didn't matter what I wore. I slipped that on, and went back to the door.
"Nice jacket," Michelle said, and I stepped out and shut the door behind me.
"I remember when you wore that every day back in college," she commented, but I didn't reply. We walked slowly down the sidewalk, the small cafe only being a few blocks away.
"So, how's it been going?" I asked, finally.
"Fine. I've already written the next two songs we'll be performing,"
"That's great,"
"Yeah," There really wasn't much to talk about. She was a nice person, but there was nothing else I could say to start up conversation. I just sounded kind of... boring, I guess. She looked at me every now and then to see if I was still walking beside her, but she mainly stared blankly ahead.
I turned and opened the door for her, and she went in without a word. I followed, and we stood in line in silence. Wow... I guess I have a whole lot to catch up with. After we ordered, we sat down in the booth we normally sit in, and that's when she finally spoke.
"Garry,"
"Yeah?"
The waitress placed a plate of macarons in front of me, and I picked one up. Michelle just ordered some tea, and she stirred that with her stirring stick.
"It's incredible," she said, and I looked up from my three remaining macarons.
"What is?"
"How everything is fitting into place," she said.
"Heh, I'm happy for you," I said, and she tugged on one of the sleeves of her green plaid shirt. I popped another macaron into my mouth, and chewed slowly. The long pauses in between was getting a little awkward.
"Well, you've been the one that's been supporting me... the whole way through," she said, staring at her reflection in the tea, which she then kept stirring. She took the cap she was wearing off her head, and placed it on the table.
"I'm your friend," I said, and smiled warmly. She smiled too, and met my glance. Her sea blue eyes were shining in the light, and they were dark, as it was dark out the window to the right.
"Garry?"
"Yeah?"
"Remember when we were dating in college?" she asked, and I was surprised with the question. Why would I forget when she was so annoying? But she's changed so much since then.
"Haha, yeah... so long ago, it seems," I said, looking at my reflection in the darkness of the window.
"Well... I've changed a whole lot since then... and back then, you didn't know me at all," she said, avoiding my glance.
"Yeah... I guess you have," I said.
"Uhm, now that you know me... and I actually know you... I've learned who you really are. I know your taste, your style, and your personality," my eyes looked back down at the remaining macarons on my plate.
"Same here. Back then I didn't know anything about you,"
"Yeah... and after this long course of time... I've figured something out," I looked back up, and found her eyes staring directly into mine.
"What would that be?" I asked. There was a moment of silence, and it was hard to avoid her glance.
"My feelings for you haven't changed since then; they've only increased..." My heart felt as if it was sinking, and my eyes stared into hers.
"Back then I based it all on your looks... but now, I know your strong, and not afraid to express your opinion. I wish I could be that strong. I wish I could do what you can do. I've noticed there's been something missing when I'm hanging out with the band..."
I was speechless, and no words escaped my mouth. I've been on Michelle's side for this whole time, and she's really the only friend I've had for a long time now. I was a person who really didn't have a life, who snacked on macarons and loved to write. I really didn't go out much, and Michelle is who made me more open. She's changed, and I've changed so much since then.
"...And that's you," she said quietly.
"Michelle,"I said, my mind in a daze. Her eyes looked up to meet mine to show she was listening.
"I'm kind of a loner. An insider. You've changed that... a lot,"
"Let's get outta here," Michelle said, putting her ball cap back on her head and getting up. I nodded, as my appetite had slowly faded. We exited the cafe in silence, and we walked back to my apartment without a word. The silence was welcoming though, as much as I wanted to talk with her, I wanted to think about the grand scheme of things.
When we got back to my apartment, she followed me as I got to my doorstep, and before I turned around to say goodbye I felt her arms around my waist. She buried her face into my shoulder, as the jacket was torn, but still soft. Her lips then gently brushed my neck, and she let go of my wast. I turned around, and saw her smiling, but her mouth wasn't curved. It was kind of like her face was smiling, but her mouth wasn't.
"Later, Michelle," I said, opening the door.
"Later," she said, the corners of her mouth rising slightly.
-Ib- Age 14-
I walked into the large food court, but I wasn't hungry at all. The smell of food filled the air, and conversation was going on in every direction. I looked around for Kudoh, but I didn't have much luck. I looked back over at Sakura with her friends, and sighed. Maybe Kudoh was in the library...
I turned the corner, and walked down the hall, and found myself back in the exact same place in the library. But Kudoh wasn't anywhere to be found. I shrugged it off, and grabbed a library book from the shelves and laid it open on my lap.
Last night I had laid awake in bed and tried to make out how I felt about Sakura, Satoru, and Kudoh. I didn't think that Sakura wanted to hang around me if I didn't like Satoru, or maybe it was because I didn't except who she liked. Either way, she doesn't want to hang around me now. Satoru is a jerk who has a load of girls on his back. I couldn't figure out why he was so popular, but maybe it was because they liked his looks. I didn't get that. Kudoh was a nice person, but kind of a loner, I guess. The only times I'd see him was when he was alone. He's been bullied by Satoru a lot I've been guessing, and kind of knew him well.
I felt part of me reading the book, but the rest of my mind wandered elsewhere. Somewhere far away from the finely printed ink on the pages. I wondered where Kudoh was, for he had a way of just finding me, but part of me just wondered about life. I turned the page, half of my mind still concentrated on the large book in my lap, but no words on the pages were comprehended.
Ib wandered around in the vast room full of paintings and sculptures. There were portraits of elegant women in fancy dresses, a panting of a man hanging by one foot, and a painting of a heart frozen over in ice. There were vast sculptures of elegant things, and not so elegant things. Ib inspected every detail of the paintings around her. She approached a large mural of a many fish in a dark blue ocean, and she stared into it, as if it was the real ocean and she could see so deep. She then noticed that there was nothing stopping her from falling in...
The calm, dark blue of the ocean.
Dozing off, Ib's eyes shut and she fell head first into the painting. She was sinking deeper and deeper, but wasn't drowning. She awoke to find herself resting on a blue staircase. She got up, and inspected the long hallway ahead of her. She walked forward one way, and approached a small table with a bright red rose in it. She took it from the vase and examined its beauty, and heard a mischievous giggle from no direction in particular. She looked down the hallway, but there was nothing else there. She pushed the small table over to the wall, and there was a door behind it.
"Hehehe... Ahahaha..."
The giggling came from whatever was behind the door. Curious, Ib turned the doorknob, and pulled the door open quietly.
"Ahohohoho... hahaha..."
There was a girl in a dark green dress with yellow hair spilling down her shoulders that hadn't noticed Ib had come in. She was tying a rope around a mans neck... A man with hair a shade of lavender and a torn coat. He was sitting on a stool, and having a pleasant slumber, leaning against the wall. The girl was standing on a stool, and finished tying the rope tightly around his neck, but the man didn't stir. She then tied it to a hook on the ceiling, and pulled. The rope tightened, and the man was sitting strait up with the support of the rope.
Ib wanted to move, to help the man she didn't know, but it was different. There was a resemblance of familiarity with the man, whether it was his torn jacket, or his purple hair. Her feet felt as they were super glued to the floor, and she was forced to just stand and watch her giggle as she made it tighter. She wanted to call out to him, to wake him up or stop the girl, but her lips refused to move.
"There we go!" The girl said contently, and tied the rope tightly to the hook on the ceiling. The man didn't move, he was still sleeping while almost his whole torso was raised just a bit on the tall stool. Before she knew it, the girl gave the stool he was sitting on a hard kick, and it toppled over. Right at that moment, the man's eyes snapped open, and widened in agony. A mix of screaming and choking filled the air, and the girl just stood there, staring at him.
Ib felt as if her insides were crumpling up at the sight, and tried to move her legs to help him, but she was paralyzed.
It wasn't until the man's bloodshot eyes stared right at her. His screams and chokes didn't stop, and he lifted a hand reaching out to her. His hair suddenly became messy, and he was swaying slightly in different directions.
Ib, surprised she could move, she lifted her arm and reached for his hand, but it was so far away. She tried to move her feet, but they wouldn't go. Her arm stayed there, reaching out to him, but there was too much space in between them for their hands to touch. His blue eyes were turning red now, and his pupils looked small. The choking sounds got quieter, but his arm didn't fall.
"I...b..." he said, and it sounded more like a croak than a word. But Ib heard it clearly. He had said her name.
"I...b..." he repeated, then his arm fell and his whole body went limp. His one bloodshot eye was still visible, full of agonizing pain. The girl with the green dress turned around, and Ib was shocked by the strangely large smile on her face, and how big her eyes were, but how small her pupils were. She hopped off the stool, her expression not changing.
"Ahahahahaha..." she laughed, and Ib was paralyzed in agony. She wanted to run away, run anywhere, be anywhere but here... but her legs refused to move.
"Let's have some fun, Ib!" she said.
"Let's live in a world where there's no one to tell us what to do!" Ib's glance went to the man's hung body, and the saliva and blood dripping from his face. Ib blinked, finding she could move, and the girl took a step towards her.
"Come on! Let's have fun!"
Ib took a step back, not taking her eyes off of the hung corpse.
"Come on Ib!" The girl said through her teeth, lifting a piece of rope. Tears streamed down Ib's face, realizing what just happened. He was dead. His body was lifeless and gone. It was all over. Ib collapsed onto her knees, and the tears dripped off her face, one by one.
My eyes snapped open, and I was about to shout when I saw I was still in the library. My face was wet, I couldn't tell if it was snot, tears, or both, but it was wet. I wiped my face off. The image of the lifeless corpse was still fresh in my brain, and the whole library was eerily quiet. I looked around for someone, but I didn't see anyone from where I was sitting. I got up, and stepped on an open book on the ground, and closed it and put it into place. I was too scared to turn the corner, so I looked around, and took a breath of relief when I saw the librarian. I looked for a clock, and when I saw it I began to relax.
I had only slept for about twenty minutes. There was still about ten minutes left of lunch.
But the dream felt so long and real... My mind refused to stop thinking about the girl's smile, and I tried to force myself to think of other things. Homework. School. Get to class. I shook my head and exited the library.
-Garry- Age 25-
Her bony jaw slowly moved up and down,
as her gaze wasn't taken off of the blank wall in front of her.
She sat in the same place every day.
With the same seats around her.
No one ever sat in these seats.
I typed quickly, and I thought I was getting onto something. There was a writing prompt open aside in a browser, and it had motivated to start a short story. Which might become a longer story, if I was up to it. I hummed along to the song playing, and my phone buzzed. I looked down at it, and there was a text message from a random number.
[Is this Garry?]
Yeah. Who is this?
[I just got a new phone. This is Michelle] It said, and I quickly added a new contact and put Michelle's name on it.
Oh, cool. What's up?
[Cafe at 3ish?]
Anytime
There wasn't a reply after that, and I reclined in my wheelie chair. I looked around the small apartment, eager to do something, but nothing crossed my mind. My desk was messy, and I cleaned up some old books and dust at the back. I picked up my laptop, and the bits of junk were aligned in a square around my laptop.
I put it back down, not up to cleaning, and noticed the handkerchief laying flat on the table I had missed earlier. What am I to do with this? I thought about just throwing it away, but it was some fine quality lace. I also wasn't too sure if I should just let it get lost in a bunch of junk. I didn't even know if it was mine, or if someone gave it to me. It didn't matter, did it? For some reason I just couldn't throw it away, and it felt as if it had a greater purpose. I slid it in my pocket, and I continued typing.
I glanced at the clock, and almost jumped when I saw it was a bit past three. I shut my laptop, put on the torn jacket, popped on my shoes and ran out the door. I didn't run, but I sped walked down the street and started jogging when the cafe came in sight. I flung open the door, and some of the people looked up at me, than quickly glanced back down at their food or laptops. I looked around, but I didn't see Michelle anywhere. Maybe she was running late? I stood in line and ordered, and before I sat in an empty booth a girl with fluffy hair waved at me.
"Garry!" she said, and I stood up and went over to her.
"Do I know you?" I asked.
"I'm a friend of Michelle's. She wanted me to tell you she actually couldn't come," I looked at her, and felt a bit disapointed.
"Oh," was all I said, and turned to leave when she stopped me.
"You can sit with me if you'd like some company," I looked back at her, and remembered I hadn't gotten my frappuccino yet. Why not? I went over and sat down on the other side of the table.
"Michelle says she's sorry," she said, "I heard you two are dating,"
"She told you?" I asked.
"Yeah. Only me though. I think she's too embarrassed to tell the rest,"
"Embarassed?"
"Uh-huh," The waiter came and put down a nice cup of frappuccino in front of me, and I took a sip while she left. I was kind of relieved by the fact that Michelle didn't tell the whole world.
"Michelle didn't want them to know,"
"I see," I said, starting to think about her in a different way. She's kind of shy, honestly. She wouldn't be the one to tell the whole world about every one.
"That's all. She's told me about you. You sound very lonely, like one of those kings without crowns,"
"Heh, thanks. What's your name?"
"Phoebe,"
"I've heard some about you. Michelle is one of those girls who have total confidence, but she can't really be so assured unless everyone tells her so," I said.
"Haha, that describes her perfectly," Even though my frappuccino was only half empty, I didn't feel like making conversation with Phoebe. I turned, but my arm accidentally bumped it and spilled it to the extent it dripped off the table.
"Oh, I'm sorry," I said, and reached for the napkins, when I noticed the handkerchief sticking out of my pocket. I grabbed it, and wiped the table off. Every single drop was gone after just a few swipes, and I was surprised by how well the handkerchief worked.
"You're fine," Pheobe said, and smiled warmly. She helped clean up what was on the floor, and I held the wet handkerchief in my hand.
"I'll be leaving now," I said, and shoved the handkerchief in the pocket in the jacket. I left the cafe with a heavy feeling in my chest.
-Ib- Age 14-
I watched the clock and was relieved school was over in a matter of seconds.
2:44
Tick, Tick, Tick.
One more minute. I watched as the second hand slowly ticked around, and when it hit the 12, there was the bell. I packed up my bags and left for my locker, looking around for Kudoh. I hadn't seen him at all today, and it was right when I thought there was someone for me to talk to. I loaded my backpack and slung it over my shoulder.
I started to wonder if he would go to the cafe after school, so I quickly called my mom and told her I'd be walking home. I left school, thankful that I didn't bump into Satoru or anything. It actually seemed like a long way when there wasn't someone to really talk to. I walked as fast as I could, and I really just wanted to talk to Kudoh, or say something to Sakura. But Sakura was long gone.
I crossed over the cross walk and entered the small cafe. I ordered a small cookie and sat down at a booth. The booth on the opposite side was empty, and in the middle there was a table. I stared out the window and saw leaves dance this way and that, when the waiter placed the small cookie on the table. I took that and bit into it, and a pleasant taste filled my mouth. I looked around once more for Kudoh, and I just gave up. Maybe he really didn't care. I stared down at my math textbook, kind of reading it, when my attention was diverted my the door swinging open harshly. I looked up because of the sound, and there was a man with a tattered coat and light lavender hair at the door.
"I...b..."
I blinked, and stared. That man looked exactly like the corpse in my dream. I shook my head of the thought, and laughed at myself. He couldn't be the same person. No way. However, my eyes wouldn't leave his, and images of bloodshot eyes flashed in my mind. I looked back to my math textbook and tried not to stare. I looked back up, and he was sitting with a girl. I tried to laugh it off, of course it wouldn't be anything significant. But part of me kept pushing and saying it was the man from my dream. I don't know how long I watched, but he spilled a drink and cleaned it up. He then shook his head, and turned to leave.
I wanted to say something. I wanted to call out and ask him some questions, but my voice was buried. What would he think of a little girl questioning him?
"Ib, that's not true. Your friends and family want to hear you,"
But he wouldn't. He'd just think I'm some weird little girl. I watched as he turned and opened the door, and something fell out of his coat pocket. It kind of just fell, and it was white. It just sat there, and I was frozen in place. Was I supposed to go pick it up? When the girl soon left after him, I looked around the busy cafe and got out of my seat and slowly walked over. I picked up a soggy fabric material, and I guessed it belonged to the man. I opened it up, and it was soft material, material of a handkerchief. I walked back over to my table and straightened it out, when I noticed it.
There were two letters in the corner, I and B.
This handkerchief was mine.
Sorry for the late chapter, but the plot is getting better! I'm trying my best to keep up, as I'm really busy. Hopefully updates are at least once a week, but this one took about two weeks. '-.- Sorry. Make sure you favorite and follow if you'd like to see more, and leave lots of reviews for the next chapter quicker! Tell me how you feel and where you want this to go!
