ㅤㅤ"Darkness. It envelops the body and mind, reaching into the most secret corners of consciousness, revealing pictures of different events and times. But why is there nothing now? Unbridled darkness, unexplored by a single soul, consumes with the very nature. Is this the emptiness of which everyone speaks? There is nothing here, and yet absolutely everything. What is it really? Wait...if nothing is visible here, then who is it? Whose silhouette is that there in the distance? Isn't that..."
ㅤㅤThe sun's rays sneak through the barely covered silk curtains, glowing softly on girl's closed eyelids, her eyelashes fluttering open a second later. The light hits her eyes, forcing her to cover them and rub her palms together. Girl's body assumes a sitting position on its own, bending over the bed and covering her face with her hands. Another inexplicable nightmare. The emptiness. She dreams about it almost every night, and it doesn't give her the desired night's rest, terrifying her every time. Each new dream is filled with something unknown, strange, disturbing and prophetic, but this time something is different. There is only emptiness. Boundless and vast. And someone's image in the distance — seeing it is far more terrifying than beholding it from afar. A shiver runs through her body, and a convulsive sigh escapes from her lungs. A few more deep breaths help calm things down a bit. This has been going on for quite some time, but there's nothing she can do about it — none of the many tips don't help, even going to a psychologist doesn't work, so the only thing left is to continue to her eyes again with her palms, she picked up her phone and turned on the screen. A notification from the class teacher and the time — seven hours and seven minutes. "What a coincidence," — the girl's mind drifts to the message from the teacher. "Good morning everyone, class! You won't have your last three lessons today, instead you're going on a little field trip to the Research Institute for an invention exhibit! See you at school!" — a look of slight surprise on her face, — "A field trip? Sounds good, any better than being stuck in class and writing lectures." Putting the smartphone aside and leaving the warm bed, the girl sleepily headed towards the bathroom. On her way there, she noticed a plate of breakfast and a note on the table. Deciding she would read it a little later, she found herself in the bathroom. Lifting her head over the sink, she faced her reflection — red shoulder-length mullet mussed in every direction and bottomless gray eyes that sometimes cast a bluish tint in the daylight. Nothing remarkable. She sighed and continued her water bath, her gaze drifting back to the shelf next to her. There, a plush toy lay among the towels. "I think it's dry by now," — and indeed, once in her hands, it was indeed dry.
ㅤㅤ— Great, I'll take you on a tour, — the black devil in her hands shook his head, as if agreeing with the proposal, and the girl put him aside, finishing to tidy up.
ㅤㅤWhen she was done with the water procedures, she took the devil under her arm again and went to the kitchen, where the note she had seen earlier was waiting for her. Setting the plush toy down on a chair at the table, the girl picked up a piece of paper, starting to read aloud.
ㅤㅤ— Enjoy your meal, Celina! Don't be late for school and stop by the store as soon as you're free! The money is on the table, buy yourself something, we'll be gone until the next morning. Kisses, mom! — having finished reading to herself and her little companion the message left behind, Lina smiled and looked at the table, where there was indeed a sufficient amount of money lying on the table, — Mom, as usual.
ㅤㅤPutting the money note aside, the girl sat down at the table, looking at the delicious looking oatmeal porridge and a few apple slices on a separate plate. "This looks really appetizing," — she took the spoon next to the plate and scooped the porridge into it, regretting having to ruin such a beautiful looking dish in her opinion, and put it into her mouth. A satisfied mooing sounded. "How delicious!" — she childishly wiggled her feet, smiling, then continued eating, — "Mom's cooking is top notch as always. Thanks, Mom." After a while, breakfast was finished, and Celina headed back to her room, satisfied, remembering to grab the plush toy that had been sitting obediently at the dining table next to her all this time, and the money. In her room, she checked the time again. It was about twenty minutes until she had to go out, which couldn't be good. There was time to pick out clothes for school and do some light makeup. She was at the age where she was allowed to wear makeup, her parents said, so they didn't restrict her from doing so, for which Lina was grateful. It didn't take her long to find clothes, the first thing she looked at was a short-sleeved white oversize shirt and gray knee-high shorts. The weather was warm today, so it was the best option. Looking in the mirror and fixing her red strands to assess the outfit, the girl thought."Something's obviously missing," — she opened her closet again, looking for something and a second later a flip-up plaid tie in a gray shade was in her hands. Without a moment's hesitation, she slipped it under her collar, assessing the outfit again. "Perfect," — she summarized and turned back around, taking a couple steps and sitting down at the dressing table, — "Now for the face." The makeup came out neat and super light — Celina didn't like bright and flashy makeup, always favoring nudes. Light brownish shadows emphasized the color of her eyes, and a small neat arrow gave expressiveness to the look, tucked and slightly tinted eyebrows along with a nude shade of pinkish-sandy lipstick — her ideal. To top it all off, she couldn't help but stare at her short nails, painted a deep navy blue color with fine shimmer. Finishing narcissizing her appearance, the girl picked up her cell phone, looking at the time, — "Time to go out." Picking up a small backpack, in which a few school notebooks, a pencil case, previously taken money and other important personal items were already pre-packed, she pocketed the cell phone and walked towards the exit. Pausing for a second, she turned back, picking up the soft toy devil and then walking down the hallway. The last final part of her current look was the tall white socks and gray loafers. She ran out of the house, remembering to lock it. A neighbor met her on the landing.
ㅤㅤ— Good morning, — she said, and pressed the elevator button.
ㅤㅤ— Good morning, — Celina said quietly and uncertainly, shifting from foot to foot for a few moments, as if wondering whether to wait for the elevator or to run down the sixth floor, — Oh, I'm late.
ㅤㅤBefore she could even hear anything in response, she was off, running up the stairwell and down the stairs on her own two feet. Quickly finding herself at the exit of the entranceway, she rushed away along the route she already knew to the subway. Of course, she wasn't late for anything. It was necessary only to avoid the usual questions of the neighbors about her parents, studies and everything else that only curious people could be interested in. While the endless stream of thoughts was spinning in her head, the girl did not notice how she reached the desired station. The underground structure had long been swarming with an incessant flow of people - the center of New York did not subside for a moment. Bumping accidentally into someone in the crowd, Lina only quietly apologized, almost flying into the train car and grabbing the free handrail. Standing had become a habit, though at first it had been difficult for her because of her seasickness. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled convulsively, just as she had in the morning. Anxiety often came over her at the most inopportune moments, and while now it was commonplace, other times she had to get away from people to calm herself. Holding on as tightly as possible to the bar, the girl continued to wait obediently for her stop.
ㅤㅤThe school building was located in a busy part of town, though it was fenced and guarded, but every time she came to the place, she was hit with another wave of anxiety. Whether it had to do with the security of the facility or school bullies, she always came to the conclusion that it was all at once. Once again calming her breathing, the girl opened her eyes, already noticing herself at her personal desk surrounded by her belongings. There were classmates snooping around. It seemed as if her sense of well-being was slipping downward, making her condition pre-fainting. Shaking her head to the side, Celina got up from her seat and headed for the restroom. There were even more people in the corridor, some just chatting, some running here and there and doing some inappropriate things, obviously pissing off the head teachers and the principal. In a light delirium reaching the restroom, the girl stood over the sink, turning on the faucet. The humming of water sounded pleasantly in her ears, giving a small sense of calm, and her hands reached for the water stream, her fingers barely touched it, wetting the pads with coolness, and then reached for her temples and forehead, gently touching them and giving the desired cold, which made her shiver. After repeating the same action several times, Lina looked in the mirror: fortunately, her makeup was intact, as was her hair, which she had simply styled with a comb the day before. Sighing again, she closed the faucet, washing her hands and wiping them with paper towels. As she headed back, her side vision caught something in the mirror, causing her head to reflexively turn back, looking around. No one. "I'm already starting to hallucinate..." — the girl thought disappointed in her well-being, finally leaving the place and returning to the classroom.
ㅤㅤThe entire class period passed quietly and without incident. The classmates didn't break discipline much, only occasionally interrupting the silence during class with whispers. The last lesson had come to an end, and now Сelina's class was standing by the yellow bus.
ㅤㅤ— Attention! Get on the bus one by one, now we will go on a tour, — heard the voice of the class teacher, and all as if by order got into the vehicle.
Girl didn't want to get on too far away, but it happened that Celina was the last one to get on, and she was left standing in the aisle. It was frustrating, of course, but there was nothing to be done, so she accepted her fate, grasping the seats and the handle with one hand, clutching the plush toy she'd been carrying with the other.
ㅤㅤ— Little girl, aren't you tired of walking around with that weirdo? — she heard a young man laughing behind her, — What's a kid doing in our class? Take her back to kindergarten, I think she's retarded!
An even louder rumble came from behind.
ㅤㅤ— Quiet! Stop it now before I call your parents! — the teacher's threatening voice sounded like a thunderclap, and the kids immediately quieted down. Even though their class teacher was the kindest woman in the world, making her angry could cost a lot, up to serious circumstances. So everyone obediently shut up when she started to get angry.
ㅤㅤCelina mentally thanked the teacher, clutching the toy to her chest - it had a special value to her. And it wasn't because she thought she was a kid. Her parents had once given her a Christmas present in the form of this toy. She had never seen it before, but she had been in love with this little plush black devil with a smile up to his ears from the very first moment she saw it. She named him Ren. Since then, they became inseparable, no matter how childish it sounds. And after all these years, the girl still carries him with her everywhere. Smiling at the warm memories, Lina stared out the window, where city streets, cars, pedestrians flew by, praying that she wouldn't feel bad about the trip.
ㅤㅤFortunately, the trip was uneventful. The stop was right in front of the institute, where quite a large number of people had already gathered, most of them students and schoolchildren from all educational institutions. The building of the Research Institute looked magnificent. The antique decoration intersected with modern elements, creating harmony and elegance. Celina didn't want to take her eyes away from such beauty, but the possibility of tripping and falling right in the crowd brought her attention back to the road in front of her. Inside, everything looked even more attractive: a huge corridor, and then a hall with a lot of inventions that came into motion while one of the students was talking about one of them. It was breathtaking all around.
ㅤㅤ— There's so much to see, — Lina whispered, heading toward some very strange equipment to her left, — Let's go see it, Ren.
ㅤㅤIt was a mechanism that repeated cyclic movements with a bowl in the middle. It looked unusual and resembled a scale. Walking a little farther, the girl saw another device that supplied current at regular intervals, igniting an internal mechanism that set in motion the blades at the ends, which rotated and made the whole structure move in the air. It was even more unusual than the previous invention. Walking a little farther away, where there were the most people, she saw another mechanism, about which a young guy with glasses and blond hair was talking excitedly. He stuttered a lot, but he spoke matter-of-factly and methodically. Squeezing past the crowd, Celina found herself a little further away from the main crowd of people and moved closer to one of the side doors. Looking back, she didn't notice when she bumped into someone ahead of her, stumbling and nearly falling. It was hard to keep her balance, but it was a relief from the thought of falling. Turning back to the person the girl had bumped into and meeting her gaze with the back of a tall snow-white hair man in a medical coat, she quietly didn't even pay her any attention, continuing on his way toward the crowd. Confused by this reaction, she raised a hand to fix the scarlet strands that had fallen over her face and caught herself, not seeing her devil in her hands. "Ren?" — searching the floor near and far with her eyes for her plush friend, she froze, feeling her eyes begin to sting slightly, — "He can't have flown too far away. Where is he?"
ㅤㅤLina looked around at the floor around her again, but she had given up all hope of finding it, so she looked around, noticing that the crowd of people was still around the invention. It seemed that the student was not even planning to shut up, continuing to tell about the mechanism. People were coming and going, but there was no one with her toy among them. Only periodically did her gaze return to the man she had crashed into the day before. "He couldn't have taken it from my hands," — the question itself arose in her mind, — "This is stupid." Taking a deep breath in through her nose and exhaling through her mouth, she headed off in search of the teacher, convincing herself that someone would be sure to report the find later. As expected, the teacher was in that very crowd. Approaching her would be akin to suicide, so with a shake of her head, the girl only flashed her red head and walked off towards the exit of the hall. People weren't planning on leaving, which made it very the anxiety beginning to set in, Lina stood in the hallway by the window, looking out onto the New York City street. Realizing that it was only beginning to make her eyes water, she shook her head, looking out the window one last time and noticing something behind her in the reflection. Something black. Lifting her head up, she felt a chill run down her spine. Two black eyes were staring back at her from behind, silhouetted darkly over the small figure.
ㅤㅤ— There she is! - the girl jerked as if she had been electrocuted and flapped her gray eyes, and turned pale as death to the shouting behind her. No one but her stupid bully classmates, — You dropped your friend, but don't worry, we gave him a little makeover!
ㅤㅤOne of the boys reached forward with a plush toy in his hand. Tears came to her eyes. What was left of the smiling little devil could no longer be called "Ren." His fingers let go of the teddy, and it fell to the tile floor with a thud, scattering the synthetic around her. The red strands fell down, covering the crimson cheeks of her cheeks, where tears were already rolling down her cheeks.
ㅤㅤ— I hate...you.
ㅤㅤ— What? — the cocky voice came out too loudly and gustily, making girl shudder, — I can't hear you, autistic girl! Go cry to your mommy and daddy, maybe they'll buy you another moron like you.
ㅤㅤ— Why... — a lump rose in her throat. Celina didn't understand why she had been treated this way all her high school years. She wanted to know the reason, even though it wouldn't change the way they treated her. And even now, she wouldn't know the answer.
ㅤㅤ— Why? — the same guy raised his voice again, laughing afterwards, — Because you're a retarded brat who was transferred to us by pure chance! You belong at home with your stupid migrant parents who only know how to profit from ordinary citizens like us! Daddy's little girl who thinks she's entitled to everything in life. No! As long as we're here, you're nothing. Go back to your shitty country and never come back, you brainless idiot.
ㅤㅤHer knuckles creaked and her teeth clenched tighter as hot tears landed on the icy floor. Pressing her lips together, the girl picked up the toy from the floor, scrambling out of her seat and rushing back towards the main hall. But before she got there, she turned into a side hallway, noticing the restroom sign there. It wasn't hard to find it, people were here too. And so, when there was no one left inside, Celina walked over to the sink, looking at her reflection. Black smudges of smeared mascara had formed under her eyes. And her hair stuck to her cheeks. Tossing those aside and uncovering her face, the girl reached into her backpack, looking for tissues. Pulling out a pack and taking one, she wiped the spots under her eyes. Lina looked about the same as before, the only thing that caught her eye were the reddened whites. Reaching into her backpack again, she pulled out a folding comb, going through her scarlet curls with it. She looked a little better now. Tucking all of her things back into her backpack, the girl exhaled. "It's happening again," — ever since her parents moved to America and she was transferred to a new American school, this kind of bullying had started to happen quite often. But with the new school year, it's only gotten worse. Before they only allowed themselves insults and taunts, now it has come to actions.
ㅤㅤ— If only I could defend myself... — the trembling whisper vanished into the restroom, only to be interrupted by a brief sob, — Ren...I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention. When I get home, I'll try to make you look like your old self again...
ㅤㅤHer fingers slid over the toy's temple, as if comforting it, and then Lina reached into her pocket for her phone. The screen showed the time — it had been about an hour and a half since arriving at this place. Soon the tour was going to come to an end. "It's worth coming back," — the girl decided and headed back to the hall to find her teacher and the rest of her classmates.
ㅤㅤAs expected, they were all still in the main hall, still listening to the guy who really didn't stop talking for a second. Marveling at his knowledge and his ability to talk non-stop, Celina involuntarily began to look around for the man she had bumped into in the crowd the day before. Already frustrated that he was nowhere to be seen — though she didn't understand why it bothered her — she turned around, noticing someone in another part of the hall. Unfortunately, it was only some unfamiliar person. This really upset her. "Okay, I guess he's gone," — she was just thinking about it when out of nowhere a white-haired head appeared right behind the very equipment the kid had been tirelessly telling her about. "So there he is!" — for some reason she felt calmer, as if something had eased on her soul, — "Should I apologize again? Maybe he didn't hear because I said it quietly?"
ㅤㅤTime flew by and the crowd began to disperse for the so-called "break". In fact, the exhibition opened and closed at certain hours, giving people a chance to visit at their convenience and for the staff to rest between shifts. When the spot next to the fence was empty, Celina moved closer, noticing both the guy with glasses and the snow-white hair man about to leave. After walking the distance to the so-called podium, the girl stopped not far from it.
ㅤㅤ— Excuse me! - she said loudly enough for herself, drawing the attention of the two people in front of her, — If you remember, I accidentally bumped into you hours earlier. I apologize for that.
ㅤㅤThe red-haired guy turned to the speaker, adjusting his glasses that had slipped down the bridge of his nose, and looked her over from head to toe.
ㅤㅤ— Have we met before? - he waited a few moments and then continued, — Ah, I saw you crash into Dr. Wingdings. I assume the apology is addressed to him.
ㅤㅤGray eyes flicked to the man behind him, then back to the guy in front of her.
ㅤㅤ— Y-yes, — Lina stammered half-heartedly, coughing and taking a step closer to the man in question, — I'm sorry, please. It was an accident.
ㅤㅤThe tall figure was inspecting the equipment, holding a clipboard and a pen, completely oblivious to what was happening next to him. Celina, shuffling awkwardly from foot to foot, took a step to the side.
ㅤㅤ— Well, my classmates must be looking for me by now. Goodbye, — she quickly stepped down, casting one last glance in the direction of the white-haired man. Their gazes met for only a moment, but it was enough to send a familiar chill down her spine and an icy sweat to her temple. Not wanting to stay in this place any longer, the girl ran for the exit.
ㅤㅤThere the excited class teacher was already waiting for her. Coming to her class, Сelina, not yet fully recovered from what had happened, clutched the toy to her chest, finding herself next to the bus.
ㅤㅤ— Сelina! Where have you been? We've been waiting for you, — the woman hurriedly approached her student, placing her hands on her shoulders, — Are you alright? You look pale. How are you feeling?
ㅤㅤ— It's okay, — the girl swallowed, trying to calm her inner turmoil, — I still had some questions, so I decided to ask that student when everyone was gone. I'm sorry.
ㅤㅤ— Next time, please warn me, — woman fixed the girl's red bangs, — Get on the bus.
ㅤㅤLina obediently walked inside the bus, looking at her classmates who were throwing not the friendliest of glances at her. This was partly to do with the bullies who had torn apart the plush devil. She clutched him to her chest, as if to say that he was protected, and grabbed the handrail with her free hand. The bus moved off, and Lina went back into her thoughts, occasionally remembering the look in the white eyes.
ㅤㅤIt was nearing seven o'clock when Celina was almost home. All she had to do on the way was stop at the store and buy something to eat, but as luck would have it, she had no appetite at all. Stopping at the nearest supermarket near her house, she only sighed, throwing a pack of waffles and a yogurt into the basket. She didn't want anything else. Once she was home and done shopping, she collapsed exhaustedly into bed, not even taking off her clothes. The hard day was behind her, though she was still stupefied from the trip back. Unfortunately, her body was still failing, forcing her to hold herself back, so she didn't want to eat. Closing her eyelids for a second, she saw a void in front of her. No, she didn't just close her eyes, she merged back into the darkness of her dreams. There is nothing here but herself, but so is everything. There is only darkness, and someone's silhouette, slowly approaching, growing larger and clearer. A white face with black eyes is all that is imprinted on her mind before she leaps out of bed in terror, clutching at her chest.