Mai

"So you're dead?" "Yup." "You're joking." _________________________________________________________

She expected the day to go about dully, as usual, like clockwork. She did not expect to meet a dead person.

Some say that would be a ghost.

Ghosts don't appear in front of bored people. Do they?

All was well(or as well as it could be) that morning when she bumped into someone in the empty abandoned storeroom.

"What the-"

"Hi."

She stares at the guy for a full minute. "Sorry who-"

"Are you dead too?"

"No, why would I be?"

"I assumed this was the afterlife."

"It's not. It's a storeroom in a school."

"Oh."

And he just decides to follow her around for the rest of the day. She lets him, because she can think of nothing more. It wasn't all that different from a normal day, yet it felt somewhat.... Nice.

When he follows her home too, however, she stops to ask him questions, because it was about time.

"So you're dead?" "Yup." "You're joking" "Nope" "How can I see you if you're dead?"

He shrugs, and she pokes his arm. Solid. He's not a ghost then.

Diu adored putting labels on everything. Her books, her pens, her bags and even on some of her clothes. It was an obsession, or as she liked to think of it, a necessity.  It wasn't too long before she started putting a label on her life and the events surrounding them.

To Diu, her life was a play, and she was the playwright, the main character. In her play, everyone wore masks, masks that had different labels. In her play, there were strict rules. Her characters, including herself, must always wear their masks. And they must never, never forget their lines.

Not all goes according to plan. The characters broke the rules. One by one they all went tumbling down until it was only Diu who was left behind.

The girl looked across to the class president, craning her neck to get a better view of such a popular 'role model', hidden amongst her large group of friends, all vying for her attention, praising her, entertaining her.

She sighs.

She is writing her sloppy looking notes when she sees her walk towards the desk.

"Hey" She says sweetly. "Care to spare some time?" She looked up, eyes wide. The class president? "Um.. Sure" she mutters, unsure of what to feel.

The class president lead the way, as she always did, and the second best fool followed her, like she always did.  " So,I saw your work in the school magazine. "

That monstrosity? She saw that? Red flooded her cheeks. "I just wanted to say…. It was brilliant. I adored it." A warm smile.

"What?" her voice was barely above a whisper.

The president raised a well poised eyebrow. "I said, your work was brilliant. I was thinking if we could publish it on one of the school boards."

The school board? Only the best work was accepted for such an honour. An honour she didn't deserve. "I- I couldn't possibly! It's only a feeble article I wrote on whim and-"

"Is it so difficult to believe that your article was good?" It was a rather innocent question, one without any malicious intent, but it set her on the edge anyway.

"Well…" Her voice shook, slightly "Not everyone has talent like yours or-"

"What does my talent have to do with anything? You have yours. Embrace it. You don't need anything else if you have your talent and passion. Clearly, you've done this a lot, and clearly, you're good at it."

"That may be so, but it's nothing special. Nothing that will get me very far. This… this kind of 'intelligence' you claim I have is just something every human being possesses. I'm nothing unique, or different."

"Why do you think that way?" she has the guts to ask.

Every year there's a whole lot more,

I don’t think I can take it any longer

I just want to kick them out the door.

Oh but how can I?

They are my children after all,

I cannot find the heart to leave them to die.

So let them live their dangerous ways,

Let them trample me, choke me, destroy me,

"I should've never signed that paper.

I thought I was serving my country, protecting my 'brothers and sisters'. Huh, what a joke.

I still wake at the crack of dawn, expecting to be rallied out to the grounds.

I still feel the weight of the gun in my cold, empty hands.

I still hear the cries of agony of my comrades.

I still see the light fade from my enemies eyes.

Enemy? What a cruel word. Because in the end, weren't we all humans?

No. No.... we were puppets. Lifeless, pawn like puppets designed to dance to the tune of our cruel puppeteers, thrown away like rag dolls when we were no longer needed.

When will this stop? When will they wake up? The worst is done for now... but it will repeat again and again in a wretched cycle.

Four little ducks in a little blue pond,

Mama duck ran away

Papa duck is nowhere to be found.

Four little ducks waddle too far,

Oh! There's something speeding by

I hear a splat and the screech of a car.

Four little ducks now ducks no more,

Papa duck, Mama duck, where are you?

I see a man in black open the door.

Four little ducks disappear behind that door,

Leaving four little red puddles behind

I watch as the guilty driver is shook to the core.

Four little ducks now ducks again,

No longer yellow but pure snow white,

I want all the things I cannot have

Feel things I cannot feel

See things I cannot see

Do all I'm forbidden to do

But what can I do really?

I know I do not deserve all that I wish for

And I cannot get all I yearn for

And still, like a selfish brat, I keep wanting more and more

I want to be like that boy, that girl

Forever shining in their well deserved glory

Flaunting the gifts bestowed upon them

Easily ready to conquer the world

But what can I do really?

All I do is ask and ask

All I do is take and take

Smile behind this pretty little mask

I closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to come.

I was greeted by a dream.

''A sharp exhale. Teeth boring into her lips. Stifled tears and torn pages. A broken-''

The ruffling of pages tore through the momentary silence as the girl dangled her legs in the air, kicking the soft surface of the bed occasionally as her short dark hair barely touched the wooden flooring. Her eyes skimmed over the pages and words in an almost bored manner, Soft tunes of the Moonlight Sonata pulsed through her headphones. She let out a huff as she twirled her pencil between her fingers and picked up another book, skimming through the pages, searching for something to pique her interest.

''The sound of footsteps bounded heavily across the hallway. Loud cheerful voices. Even louder sneezing behind her, which felt like it was loud enough to rupture her eardrums and enough to make her heart stop.''

Eyes narrowing, she skimmed her eyes over the words once more. Surely....

Realization hit me and her like a bullet to the chest. Oh.

It was her own handwriting, my very own handwriting that seemingly yelled back from the pages, mocking the two of us for our foolishness.

Objects clattered across the ground as a pale black haired girl hurried to pick them up. This part of the city was abandoned, for now at least. It wasn't long before someone would find the place. And she hadn't encountered a single human in the past 6 months (she chose not to) and was glad she hadn't.

She just had to think about it because an hour later, she was on the hunt for another abandoned building, but this time with an obnoxious tufted titmouse (In her defence, her companion did look like one), who wouldn't stop talking. ''Listen. I am not thinking about attracting attention or meeting up with someone or looking for another crack headed idiot to deal with so will you please shut it?''

''Alright alright. As you say your majesty. Say doesn't that look good? We're miles away from the other city and it doesn't seem like anyone will come here for a while.'' She hummed, slowly opening the door to the empty shop. It wasn't in a particularly bad condition except for toppled over chairs and broken shelves. Compared to the others, not a huge amount of damage. Her train of thoughts were interrupted with a ''Hey it's a candy store!  Just our luck!'' ''Is there any food left?'' ''Loads. No one's been here yet! We should totally crash here for a few days.'' ''We'll see. For now, we should focus on storing as much as we can. You have a bag or something?'' ''Of course I have one. And it has loads of free space.'' ''Get collecting then.''

As it got darker, she decided that she'd take the first watch. ''You sure?'' ''Yeah. Sleep doesn't come all that easy to me anyway.'' And now, she realized how much she missed being able to rest completely, without a care in the world. It was strange how her companion trusted her so much. She was either a complete idiot, oblivious to the current situation, or that she had a plan in mind and seems to be playing dumb.  Either way, she had to be careful.

But still, she hated to admit that it was somewhat of a relief that she had company, even if it was someone annoying and loud. Sighing, she stared out the glass panes of the once colourful candy shop, looking at the peaceful night sky. She'd always found peace in looking at the dull navy colour, sometimes sprinkled with a sparkling dot of white. White reminded her of what she left behind, so she avoided looking at it. But now, she couldn't look away. The stars were enticing, pulling her gaze towards them, and she didn't dare resist or avert her gaze, even as warm tears streamed down her face. She'd felt something. Something she never felt before. It burned, and bristled in her, and her throat was constricted, making breathing difficult. Her eyes burned. This, she realized, was guilt. Funnily enough, it took her 8 entire months and human interaction to realize what she'd done. She abandoned her family, left them to rot, and had runaway without a care. Just as she was about to wipe her eyes with her sleeve, she felt a hand brush against hers. ''It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. You tried to save yourself, and that's not selfish at all. So come on, wipe those tears away, and run away with me. We can get through this hell together.''

''To the end of the line?''

''Right to the very end.''

Painting was her hobby. Colours were everything to her and the world, her canvas. Her parents, however, forbade her to paint on herself. They claimed it wasn't good for her. Just that much, nothing less. But she never payed heed to all they said.

The breeze flows slightly, ruffling my hair.

''You seem fatigued.'' The voice is soft and melodic. ''I am.'' I answer, not bothering to glance back. ''Pray tell, why are you here, of all places, at such an odd hour?''

''To rest.''

''And why would you want to rest in such a place?''

''A rather ignorant question, dear acquaintance. Do you not see the beauty of this place?''

''I am afraid I cannot. Do tell, fair maiden, why you find this place beautiful?'' ''The lush green trees and pretty peonies shine in the moonlight that smiles down at us. The river, which roars in all it's fury during the day, is flowing peacefully, nestling the dew decorated lotus petals. It's silent, it's peaceful.''

''I see. I can picture it in my minds eye now''

Naturally, I was curious. Someone who couldn't see?

''Well, what do you see?''

''Would you like me to show you?''

Now I contemplate. It seems like something only she can see and I suppose curiosity got the best of me.

And I'm glad it did.

''Show me.''

Soft, gentle, tinkling laughter filled the air as she did just that, as warm liquid flowed down my cheeks, showing me a sight I would never forget, making me feel at absolute peace at last.

Many years later

A tall, slender girl watches from a distance as a boy settles down on the grass, the wind ruffling his hair slightly.

She approaches him, asking the same questions she was once asked. The answers were the same. Smiling, she asked him ''Would you like me to show you?''

''Show me.''

An exasperated cry rang out through the lush green fields. He was with her just this morning. How far could someone go within a span of three hours? A lot, in her twin's case. Feeling that she'd rested enough, the young girl set off yet again, searching desperately for her beloved twin.

She tried asking the neighbours, who were confused as to why she was asking. They all knew she had a twin, so why was this any different? Twins aren't always together are they? They did fight, and get separated from time to time, but he always came back to her and she was never to far. They promised each other that. And yet, he doesn't come back to her. So she tries to reach out to him. It's not part of the promise, and she's not very happy about that, but she can get back at him all she wants once she finds him.

He was the older twin after all.

Confused, frustrated and worried, she ran aimlessly, paying no heed to where she was going, until her foot collided with a huge shell. A pretty one, she hated to admit, pure white with violet edged shining in the dim twilight sun. She froze. Violet was her favourite colour. Only he knew that. Bingo. ''I found you! So stop hiding!"

Minutes passed by in silence. Black dots obscured her vision. When she could see clearly again, it hit her like a truck and a brick wall combined together. Her twin went far away from the fields a year ago. She didn't know if he would come back and she was just too far this time.