Fi was a twelve year old human child. She lived in the centre of a city, much to her own dislike. She had always dreamt to live somewhere in the woods, as she loved nature.
She lived together with her grandmother. Her mother had died when she gave birth to her and her father died in battle when she was only six. As a result, Fi had learned to deal with pain and sorrow.
Due to her extreme intelligence, Fi had skipped five grades in school and now was doing her last year in which she would finish her studies.
She was always friendly and wanted to help those who had difficulties, though she had no real friends. Her best friend had moved away to another town only two years ago, and people of her class didn't care about her, as they didn't want to talk to a twelve year old child. They sure had better things to do than to be occupied with a little kid.
But Fi didn't care about it that much and she still felt happy, even though she only had her grandmother to talk to.
She often ran away from the city to wander around in the woods. She used to go and play there back in the time when her father was still alive. It brought back memories of a happy past.
But today, she couldn't go, as she had to go to school to get her proof of having finished her studies. There was no doubt she would have passed, and to Fi it didn't mean much, as she always had good grades, but her grandmother absolutely wanted to celebrate it. They were going to go to the best restaurant in the city. Fi looked forward to it. It would be the first time they would go out having dinner.
Fi happily crossed the market place to arrive at the gates of her school. She already saw her mentor waiting to hand out the documents of proof. When he noticed her, he came walking up to her and handed her a document.
"As expected, Fi, you have passed with great distinction," he said with a smile. Fi smiled back as she held the proof in her hands. Her grandmother would be so proud!
"Thank you," she said to her mentor as she turned around to return to her house.
She crossed the many crowded streets in the centre, and finally, she arrived in the street where their house was located. They weren't very rich, and thus lived in a small and old house that was in dire need of rebuilding.
Fi walked over to her house, but soon she noticed there was something going on. In front of her house, there was a circle of people, blocking the entrance. Fi walked over there and tried to break through the crowd.
"Please, let me pass, I live here," she said and people began to move out of her way.
When she had finally reached the door and wanted to open it, it was already opened from the inside. Two men came walking out, holding some kind of brancard. On the brancard lay someone, covered underneath a white cloth.
Fi stared at it. She knew what was happening, though she hadn't seen it coming. It was her grandmother... She was dead...
The crowd surrounding her started slinking away. Fi stared with a blank expression as the two men carried her grandmother away, not even telling her what had happened. She felt tears. Inside. She didn't cry outwardly, but she felt the huge aching in her heart. This was the third time already she lost someone close. And not only that, her grandmother had been the last person to care about her.
She slowly left and walked away from the house. It felt so familiar, this pain, almost as if she was meant to feel only pain. The document of proof slowly slid away from between her fingers to fall on the street. Fi didn't notice, neither did she care.
Her head down to the ground, she left the city, heading towards the woods. She was used to this feeling. She didn't show it anymore. She knew crying didn't help and sometimes even made the pain worse.
However, she could not help but let one single tear roll down her face as she saw the forest coming closer. She had been here with her grandmother too. Not very long ago. They had been searching mushrooms.
Another tear left Fi's eyes as she remembered how her grandmother had taught her about the different types of mushrooms, about which ones were edible and which weren't. She remembered having picked a wrong one that had almost ended up in the soup. Her grandmother hadn't been angry, no, she never was, she had just laughed. Fi had also laughed and the mushroom ended up in a vase, replacing withered flowers. It was a funny sight, a mushroom in a vase.
Fi entered the woods. Soon she spotted one single mushroom. She recognized it as one that was not edible. She felt sorry for the lonely plant and she felt she could relate to it. It was alone, not one of its own kind caring to accompany it.
She knelt down and picked the mushroom. She would take it home and give it a place in the vase. That way, they both weren't alone any longer.
Fi caressed the little green mushroom and closed it in her two hands. She missed her grandmother. She missed her being by her side, making her smile when she was sad. She knew this would happen sooner or later, but she had hoped it to be later. She had hoped to at least be able to say farewell.
She rose again and walked deeper into the woods. Other times, there always had been someone to comfort her when she had lost someone precious. Mostly it had been her grandmother, but also her best friend, her father... But Fi realized there wouldn't be anyone this time. She was alone.
She held back more tears and tried to be strong. She remembered her grandmother telling her to remain strong, even in hard times. "I will be strong," she whispered, "I promise." These words she had spoken many times in the past when she felt sad. And now she said them again, for no one to listen but the mushroom, her new little friend.
...
Fi silently walked through the woods. She just wanted to stay here. Forever.
Suddenly, she heard something. It sounded like cries, cries of sorrow and pain. She followed he sound and soon spotted a little boy, sitting on a fallen tree. He himself looked to have fallen too, mentally.
Fi slowly neared him, hiding behind trees so he didn't spot her. It was a demon boy, no doubt. He had his head buried in his hands, soft cries alternating louder ones. Physically he was badly injured, but mentally he was completely torn apart.
Fi felt pity for the little boy, and even though he was demon, she revealed herself from her hiding place and walked upon him.
It could be dangerous, she knew, but still, her empathy was too big to watch him suffer. She remembered hearing stories telling of demons who relentlessly murdered people, showing no mercy. But Fi wasn't stupid, and she knew humans would do the same thing to demons. It weren't the demons who were evil, it was the constant fight going on between both races that was.
The little demon didn't look up as Fi sat down next to him. He probably didn't even notice she was even there, as his crying blocked out every other sound and his eyes were hidden behind his hands.
Carefully, Fi placed one hand on his shoulder. He didn't move, but his cries suddenly stopped, and with an expression full of fear and sorrow, he looked at Fi. She smiled slightly at him. He just stared at her, eyes empty.
Fi's smile soon disappeared, and she could feel her own sorrow reflected in his eyes. Hers must've been just as empty. Somehow it felt comforting, seeing someone suffer more than she did, but still, she wanted to take away his pain, even if it made her own only grow bigger.
She looked at his damaged face. He had bruises all over his face, scars and scratches, but what terrified her the most, were the two lines underneath his eyes where his skin seemingly had been peeled off. She stared at him in horror. Who would such a thing? Who could be so mean to hurt an innocent child like this?
Fi let her hand slide away from his shoulder to caress his back. The empty look in the boy's eyes didn't fade. Then Fi remembered she was still holding the green mushroom. She stretched out her arm and held the little plant in front of him. "For you," she whispered. The sudden spark in his eyes proved that it meant a lot to him to receive a little gift and that it helped to take away his pain.
He slowly accepted the mushroom and looked at it, tears no longer leaving his reddened eyes. "Thank... you..." he whispered.
Fi smiled slightly, but she already felt her own sorrow returning. One single tear rolled down her face. The boy looked at her, not knowing what to do. Carefully, he took her hand and squeezed in it. Fi recognized this as something her father used to do when she was sad, and it had always helped to comfort her.
She looked the demon boy in the eye and hugged him, immediately after, she burst out into tears. She held him tightly as she needed someone to be with her, to care about her. She never wanted to let go of him again, even though she didn't know who he was, even though he was a demon, the worst enemy of her race. But she remembered the mushroom, abandoned by his own species, but surrounded by others. If humans abandoned her, she would rather be surrounded by demons than be alone.
...
The hug lasted for what seemed like hours when Fi finally let go of him. She felt calmed, sorrow sent away, but also very attached to this particular demon.
"Stay with me..." she whispered softly. The boy gave her a surprised look. His worst pain seemed to have faded as well.
"I don't want to be alone," Fi said, trying to convince him.
"Are you alone?" he asked. Fi nodded. "Is that what makes you sad?"
She nodded again.
"I am alone too..." he said.
The girl looked at him, she hadn't expected him to say that. "What happened?" she asked.
He hesitated for a moment. "I... I didn't have any friends. I just wanted to be part of the other demons... I wanted to be normal, just like them. They said I had to pass a test and then they would accept me as one of them. I had to steal money from one of the high-class demons. I didn't want to do that, but I just wanted to be one of them..."
Fi could see the tears filling his eyes again.
"But I got caught. I was punished, marked as a thief, as a low-class demon without rights. The gang punished me too, threw me in the basin where the content of toilets was dumped... And when the supervisor of the basin noticed the marks under my eyes, he hit me too, throwing me down the stairs... Then I fled. I... I can't return to my parents like this... They'll hate me..."
He started crying again.
"But you don't have to return," Fi said, "Stay with me! Please, I have nowhere to go to..."
He nodded, rubbing away his tears, "What happened to you?" he asked.
"My grandmother passed away..." Fi whispered, her voice full of pain, "And my parents had already died before. I have nowhere to go. I have no friends, no one..."
"You have me..."
Fi looked up, a smile forming on her lips. The demon smiled as well.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"Fi," she said, "And yours?"
"Ghirahim."
Fi smiled, "Do you want to come with me?"
"Where?"
"My house." But as soon as she had spoken those words, she knew that was impossible. If she took Ghirahim to the city, the guards would most likely kill him. He was a demon after all.
"No," she said, "We have to stay here, in the woods. The people of my city would kill you if they saw you. They hate demons..."
"I hate demons too," Ghirahim said, "I despise them. I despise demon society. They hate me just because my mum and dad are still together while that is against tradition. I never did anything wrong, and still... I've always been bullied, no matter how hard I try to be like them, to be friendly, they keep pestering me, keep hating me, just because I'm different. But now, I've given up. I now realize they will always hate me, that there is no place for me in demon society. I won't return. Never."
Fi stared at him. She couldn't believe a boy as young as him could feel so much hate already. But she understood. She didn't think of it being weird, of him being weird. Anyone treated like that would think the same.
"I don't want to return either," she said, "I don't want to live in a world full of war, of hating. I don't want to be friends with humans who tell me demons are evil. I want to be with you. With you and you only. If humans don't want me, it is only normal I want to be with a demon. To me race doesn't matter. You understand me, that's what matters the most to me."
Ghirahim smiled, "I've always wished to have a friend. A friend like you. I didn't even like the demon boys I wanted to become part of, I just didn't want to be looked down on anymore, I just wanted to not always have to stand alone, to not always be laughed at, be bullied... But I now realize life with you is better, far better. You're the kind of friend I've always dreamt of."
Fi's smile only grew bigger. For the first time since long, she felt like she actually liked someone. She felt like she had found someone she wanted to stay with for the rest of her life. Someone who cared about her and someone she cared for. Someone who wouldn't pass away long before her. Someone who would stay with her until the end.
She arose, "We will have to build ourselves a house," she said, as she reached out to Ghirahim.
He took her hand, "Okay. But can we first go a bit further away from the demon town? I don't want them to find me when they start searching..."
"You don't want to be found? And your parents?"
Ghirahim let his head hang down. His parents sure would miss him. They would be worried sick. But he just couldn't stay any longer in town. He wanted to stay with Fi. She was nice. She cared about him. And he couldn't take her home.
"I can't go without leaving you," he said, "And I'd rather stay with you than return."
Fi smiled, "That makes me happy, Ghirahim. And we will walk away further. I don't mind if we're going to live closer to the city of humans. There will be no one to look for me. We're safe there."
...
After quite a long time of walking, the two had found a little open place in the woods. They had agreed this would serve as the perfect place to build their house. Together they set off to gather wood for the construction.
Night fell. They hadn't gathered enough wood yet to build a house of, and thus they decided to use some of the branches for making a campfire.
"But how are we going to make fire?" Ghirahim asked.
Fi thought about it for a moment.
"I used to carry flints in my pocket. Maybe I still have them," she said. She searched in the pockets of her skirt, and soon found the stones she was looking for. "Here they are," she said, handing the stones over to Ghirahim, "All you have to do is smash them against each other."
Ghirahim accepted the stones and did as Fi told him. In the meantime, Fi threw some branches together on a pile, and after some time, the pile caught fire. The two children backed away as they watched the fire flare up.
When it had calmed and remained the same seize, the two sat down in front of it.
"It's beautiful," Ghirahim whispered as he watched the fire.
Fi lay down on her side, still watching the fire. She wanted to sleep. One last time she looked up to Ghirahim and took his hand in her own.
The demon also lay down, his head close to hers and still holding her hand. He kept watching the fire, until his eyelids slid shut and he fell asleep.
For Fi it took a little longer before sleep came to take her, as her mind was haunted by memories of the past. Memories of her grandmother, and even of her father. But she didn't have to grieve, as she wasn't alone. She had Ghirahim now. And as long as his hand enclosed hers, she knew she was safe, safe for loneliness. She closed her eyes, to fall asleep shortly after.