#bendablelight

Color flashing

Images appearing

Bright lights

Strange sounds

Echos fill my ears

Dark shadows fill my eyes

Spiders creep on my hands

Mites are digging into my skin

I'm falling quickly

I'm being skinned

Repeatedly shot

Something lurking beneath my bed

Paranoia is setting in

My thoughts are troubling

Dreams are constantly in my mind

I can't distinguish reality

Monsters are attacking

The dead are rising up

The air is intoxicated

My worst nightmares are now coming to life

Paranoia is setting in

My thoughts are troubling

A soccer playing continually kicking the ball

Never making it into the goal

A person jumping over a fence

But never making it over

Dreams are constantly in my mind

I can't distinguish reality

I'm falling off a cliff

Rocks are beneath me

The only way out is down

And the only way down is up

Paranoia is setting in

My thoughts are troubling

I can't remember if I'm dreaming

Or if I'm awake

If I'm dreaming

I can't wake up

If I'm awake

Eliza conked her head on the concrete steps, her forehead slamming against the rigid edge. She rolled over, pain bellowing through her body and out through her mouth. People came down to see what had happened, but she was already out.

Ambulances came to take her to the hospital, placing her tense body on a stretcher and carefully wheeled the girl into the car, driving off with the siren blaring, calling all of the attention to it.

While everyone was panicking, screaming and crying, Eliza was nowhere. Her body was motionless, but not empty. Her mind was blank, but not dead. She was nothing.

Darkness flooded still her eyes as her consciousness was slowly returning, whispers of confiding hopes calming her tense body.

Suddenly, the beeps and boops of the hospital equipment registered in her ears. She wanted to jump at the startling sounds, but her limbs were still unresponsive.

People flooded in, crowding around her, touching her, caressing her. Eliza couldn't feel them, but she heard them. They whispered sweet things in her ears, told her that she would be alright. Eliza recognized their voices, but she couldn't respond.

She heard doctor's give the bad news to her parents, telling them that Eliza wouldn't make it. Apparently, the damage that was caused by the contusion shattered a fraction of her skull, piercing part of her brain that controlled the heart beat. It was speeding up.

Eliza was suddenly aware of her heart, which was beating rapidly. Panic set in as she struggled to wake up, imagining her limbs moving and crawling out, wanting her mouth to open with screams. But she was motionless.

To everyone in the room, Eliza was a dead girl. A nothing girl. A girl who was nowhere.

To Eliza, however, she was completely alive.

Her mind raced as the sounds from the heart rate machine slowed down, reducing to only a beep every few seconds or so. Eliza started freaking out, her head starting to hurt unfelt pain as she worried about what would happen. Would she die? Or would she be conscious forever?

The machine stopped beeping.

Eliza wanted to scream, but suddenly her body felt even emptier as she started squinting at a bright light.

No.

She did not want to go through the tunnel. No. The tunnel lead to nowhere. A place where nothing happens.

She splashed her colours They washed the room Paint stained the carpets and walls Splattered figures surrounding her

The girl fetched her markers Scribbling all over the painted walls She squiggled and dotted and lined  By now the walls were no longer bland But she wanted to keep going

She snatched her crayons Melting them with hot red fire She rubbed them against the wall The scalding wax clinging to it

She stood back Looking at her masterpiece There was colour But not enough

She grabbed a bucket of paint She spilled it on the floor Although there was lots She wanted more

She took off her shoes Her clothes and her socks She rolled in the paint Till she was covered in all spots

She spun around the room Touching the walls Leaving marks Spelling names She wanted the room to be her She wanted her room to be colour

I'm jumping for joy

I'm dancing with glee

I'm smiling jubilantly

I'm enthusiastic

I laugh obnoxiously

I giggle cutely

I chuckle quietly

I'm enthusiastic

My smile is large

My teeth are blatantly showing

My grin is wider than everyone else's

I'm enthusiastic

I look around the room

Everyone is staring at me

Because I'm something to see

I'm enthusiastic

So what if they're scared by my large goofy smile?

Maybe it's jealousy and not fear

Maybe they're sad that their smile disappeared

I'm no longer enthusiastic

How do I make other people joyful?

Make funny jokes and do silly dances?

If I make a ridiculous face will you smile?

Please be enthusiastic

There you are

A dashing big grin

Teeth finally showing instead of hiding within

You are enthusiastic

We're skipping together

We're laughing up a storm

Let's never loose our smiles

If I put one foot in front of another

I will fall

If I even utter a word

I will fall

My dignity is standing on the edge of a cliff

If I make one wrong move

I will fall

Falling isn't so bad

The wind

The thrill

The racing heart beat

It's dangerous bliss

Hitting the ground is the ending result

It shakes everything

Destroying foundations

Creating tears

And endless frustrations

By taking one step

Or even stumbling forward

I could destroy whole worlds

Corrupt all minds

Even the ones of my oppressors

If I fall

Others will fall with me

Falling begs a question

Is there an end?

What if I don't hit the ground?

What if the rules bend?

If I think like this

Then my decision is harder

Do I fall

And shatter situations

Or do I step back

And continue with creation?

Endless questions

With no answer

My feet at leering over the edge

My dignity is plunging

What will happen

If I fall

Will I survive

If I fall

If I fall,

Meadow crouched by a pile of rubble, slowly sifting through it as she looked for things to salvage. The pile was right by the library. I honestly don't know what Meadow was looking for, but I saw her eyes widen and her jaw drop when she brushed aside some debris. Meadow gulped, calling me over quickly. "Seth, hurry, quickly!" She yelped as I knelt down beside her.

"What?" I asked, worry filling my eyes.

She simply stared at me, her cheeks pale and her eyes slowly filling up with tears. As her head turned, I let mine drift along, settling my gaze on a small, quivering hand that was coming out from beneath the lump of destroyed building. I held my breath, swallowing the only remaining air in my mouth as I tried to contemplated what to do. Without thinking, I plunged my hands inside the pile, quickly uncovering the body that lay beneath the cold, black coals.

I pulled out a motionless body, one that was hardly three feet tall and less than a foot wide. It was a child. The kid was covered in scars and cuts, his original clothing burned off, leaving him completely naked. Meadow gasped at the sickening sight of the injured child, covering her eyes as I cradled the dying child in my arms.

"Can you hear me?" I whispered in the child's ear, setting him on the ground carefully. I took off my coat, laying it on top of the boy to warm him.

He rustled the wilted grass beneath him as the boy shivered. Thankfully, he was still alive. "Hello?" Opening his droopy eyes, the boy blinked, heaving a breath of air into his lungs. He nodded, hazily blinking a few times before closing his eyes. The boy moaned quietly, rolling his head slightly to the left before opening his mouth again.

"Hi," he said, gasping for breath as soon as the word left his lips.

I didn't know what to do. What was I supposed to do? Let him die in silence or talk to him? I decided on the latter.

"Hi," I responded, running my hand across the boy's forehead, wiping off more of the ash, "I'm Seth. And you are?" His eyes fluttered open, staring at me curiously. "B-b-b-bernard."

I smiled weakly, attempting to keep my lips from not shaking. "Nice to meet you. How are you?"

I decided to keep the conversation casual, not bringing up any solemn subects.

The boy sighed, groaning in pain. I shook my head. "Understood."

Suddenly tearing up, the kid muttered a few words, "Will you tell my mommy?"

I took in a deep breath, about to ask what I should tell her when I realized what he was asking of me. What a curious thing for a young child to ask for when they're dying.

"Yes."

The boy waved to the girl, smiling gayly. She stared him down, rolling her eyes and parading away. Her footsteps fell into sync with her music, blaring though plastic headphones, her mind sweeping away the memory of the boy. The girl walked until she reached her home's porch. Catching up with her once more, the boy ran and blocked the door, a grin still spread across his face. He attempted to speak, he wanted talk. He wanted to smile and laugh with her. She ignored him again, placing her body within a rocking chair and rocking back and forth, back and forth. The boy's eyes slowly became entranced by the simple movement, his head wavering back and forth. Smirking, the girl watched the boy out of the corner of her eye.  

Within minutes, the boy came out of his trance, his smile even wider than before. He uttered his words, and the girl turned, suddenly interested in what he would say. The boy introduced himself, shaking the girl's hand sheepishly. Repeating her name back to him, the girl smiled, standing up and addressing him properly. They began laughing, giggling and playing, skipping around the porch as though they had been friends for years. It was morning when they met each other, and now it was nearly supper time, the smells of cooking meat seeping though the open window.

The girl turned to her new friend, frowning slightly. She told him she had to go, that her stomach was hungry and that she wanted to eat. Hugging him tightly, the girl whispered something to him and he nodded. She told him to come back the next day.

The rest of the day passed.

The next morning, bright and early, the boy stammered out of bed and out the door, not even bothering to pamper himself before leaving. He dashed over to the girl's house, about to knock on the door when he saw her sitting in her rocking chair. She rocked back and forth, back and forth. He giggled, tapping her on the shoulder. She stared into his eyes, furrowing her eyebrows as she did the day before. Asking him what was wrong, the boy answered. He blushed, embarrassed by his predicament. The boy had forgotten his new friend's name.

The girl giggled, laughing at the boy not with him. She introduced herself again, reminding him to remember this time. He simply smiled, not listening but instead repeating the girl's name in his head over and over again, time after time, trying to get it ingrained into his mind. Once he got it down, they began to play, the boy slyly repeating her name every now and then, confirming that he knew it well.

The sun began to set, and their stomachs began to grumble.

The rest of the day passed.