Title: Where I Must Be
Author: Casshirek
Summary: Chisa takes the plunge. Casshirek finishes the fanfic. o.o Whew.
Come on baby, don't fear the Reaper
Baby take my hand, don't fear the Reaper
We'll be able to fly, don't fear the Reaper
Baby I'm your man
-- "Don't fear the Reaper", Blue Oyster Cult
"What will happen to them when I go?"
* * *
"She has been in there for hours."
The door swung open on noiseless hinges, revealing a withered husk of an adolescent. Dark circles ringed enormous brown eyes, starvation made sharp cheek bones all the more prominent. Gaunt would have been a poor word to use in describing the girl. Her hair was in a state of disarray, loose tendrils hanging in a ghostly halo around her face. What surprised her mother most were her eyes. Bright with laughter, feverish with life - they glowed as they never had.
"Hi, mother." Chisa whispered shyly, brushing her lips against her startled parent's cheek as she walked out and down the stairs.
Her room was spotless. The bed was made, sheets folded and creased in approved fashion. Pillows that had never seen the light of day had been discovered and piled in a tidy stack atop the mattress. A single, weathered teddy bear sat propped up against the pillows. Her shelves held books arranged in alphabetical order. The desk was polished till it gleamed. However, it was to be noted that the Navi was conspiciously missing.
* * *
"They're going to notice."
Pause.
"But I have to reassure them."
She stared into the rain.
"I have to prepare them for the Wired."
* * *
"An A+, Chisa. Well done!"
Chisa smiled with humility, her eyes downcast and lips sculpted into a timid smile. Slender fingers tangled within her hair, curled around one of the white scrunchies there. Those who watched her might have noted the confidence in her stance, the way she seemed to accept her every success.
Chisa had changed.
* * *
"Are you okay, Chisa?"
"I'm fine! Why do you think I wouldn't be?"
"You -- "
"Samantha, I *am* fine. Trust me. I have a secret that helped me."
A gasp. "Is it drugs?"
"No, nothing like that. I will tell you one day."
Soon.
* * *
Smoking did not agree with Chisa.
A cough broke the tense silence. The smouldering cigarette was twirled between her fingers, embers cascading onto the ground far below. None of them, she knew, would reach the earth in their full glory - they would be mere pinpoints of charcoal then, forgetable. This was the story of her life. The breeze promised new hope as it whispered in her ear, reminding her of why she was here. A bird sang out in the distance, urging her forward.
Chisa looked down.
How many storeys were there? Twelve, thirteen?
A slender hand, the one containing the cigarette, pulled from the railings and reached out towards the fleecy clouds above. It wasn't raining. For the first time, it wasn't raining. Sunlight peered through the grey clouds, symbolizing the end of misery. Chisa studied the emptiness below her. No one would be here just yet. Funny how they went on with life when she was up here and so alone.
"Who cares?" She queried amusedly.
Cigarette was dropped. Only when it became a mere speck did she look up once more, ignoring the ground in favour of the heavens. They were so close. If she reached out, she could them. All she had to do was stretch out a little further. Her small feet had little purchase on the narrow strip of concrete on which she stood. Her position was precaurious, she knew but it no longer mattered.
The clouds opened directly above her. Sunshine washed down from the heavens in a cleansing flow of warmth. Chisa tiptoed. Her arm wove forward. Fingers seemed to brush against the very clouds.
And then she let go.
No one heard the impact. The paramedics would only arrive latter to take the broken doll to the morgue. There would be tears, questions but all would come later. For now, there was no one save the silence to mourn her departure.
The skies darkened.
It began to rain once more.
* * *
[Everywhere, on every Navi, in the middle of the night]
The screen flickers alive. Words, printed in a delicate ornate script, curl along the molten blackness in lines of incandescent silver. They read:
I am finally free.
~Fin
Author: Casshirek
Summary: Chisa takes the plunge. Casshirek finishes the fanfic. o.o Whew.
Come on baby, don't fear the Reaper
Baby take my hand, don't fear the Reaper
We'll be able to fly, don't fear the Reaper
Baby I'm your man
-- "Don't fear the Reaper", Blue Oyster Cult
"What will happen to them when I go?"
* * *
"She has been in there for hours."
The door swung open on noiseless hinges, revealing a withered husk of an adolescent. Dark circles ringed enormous brown eyes, starvation made sharp cheek bones all the more prominent. Gaunt would have been a poor word to use in describing the girl. Her hair was in a state of disarray, loose tendrils hanging in a ghostly halo around her face. What surprised her mother most were her eyes. Bright with laughter, feverish with life - they glowed as they never had.
"Hi, mother." Chisa whispered shyly, brushing her lips against her startled parent's cheek as she walked out and down the stairs.
Her room was spotless. The bed was made, sheets folded and creased in approved fashion. Pillows that had never seen the light of day had been discovered and piled in a tidy stack atop the mattress. A single, weathered teddy bear sat propped up against the pillows. Her shelves held books arranged in alphabetical order. The desk was polished till it gleamed. However, it was to be noted that the Navi was conspiciously missing.
* * *
"They're going to notice."
Pause.
"But I have to reassure them."
She stared into the rain.
"I have to prepare them for the Wired."
* * *
"An A+, Chisa. Well done!"
Chisa smiled with humility, her eyes downcast and lips sculpted into a timid smile. Slender fingers tangled within her hair, curled around one of the white scrunchies there. Those who watched her might have noted the confidence in her stance, the way she seemed to accept her every success.
Chisa had changed.
* * *
"Are you okay, Chisa?"
"I'm fine! Why do you think I wouldn't be?"
"You -- "
"Samantha, I *am* fine. Trust me. I have a secret that helped me."
A gasp. "Is it drugs?"
"No, nothing like that. I will tell you one day."
Soon.
* * *
Smoking did not agree with Chisa.
A cough broke the tense silence. The smouldering cigarette was twirled between her fingers, embers cascading onto the ground far below. None of them, she knew, would reach the earth in their full glory - they would be mere pinpoints of charcoal then, forgetable. This was the story of her life. The breeze promised new hope as it whispered in her ear, reminding her of why she was here. A bird sang out in the distance, urging her forward.
Chisa looked down.
How many storeys were there? Twelve, thirteen?
A slender hand, the one containing the cigarette, pulled from the railings and reached out towards the fleecy clouds above. It wasn't raining. For the first time, it wasn't raining. Sunlight peered through the grey clouds, symbolizing the end of misery. Chisa studied the emptiness below her. No one would be here just yet. Funny how they went on with life when she was up here and so alone.
"Who cares?" She queried amusedly.
Cigarette was dropped. Only when it became a mere speck did she look up once more, ignoring the ground in favour of the heavens. They were so close. If she reached out, she could them. All she had to do was stretch out a little further. Her small feet had little purchase on the narrow strip of concrete on which she stood. Her position was precaurious, she knew but it no longer mattered.
The clouds opened directly above her. Sunshine washed down from the heavens in a cleansing flow of warmth. Chisa tiptoed. Her arm wove forward. Fingers seemed to brush against the very clouds.
And then she let go.
No one heard the impact. The paramedics would only arrive latter to take the broken doll to the morgue. There would be tears, questions but all would come later. For now, there was no one save the silence to mourn her departure.
The skies darkened.
It began to rain once more.
* * *
[Everywhere, on every Navi, in the middle of the night]
The screen flickers alive. Words, printed in a delicate ornate script, curl along the molten blackness in lines of incandescent silver. They read:
I am finally free.
~Fin