My Former Owner

  photo courtesy of New York Times

The Ten Plush Cat Dolls

          Sasha hums as she picked up a box of old toys with ease. Dust danced in the warm rays of the morning sun shining through the glass windows in the dusty attic. Sasha and her mother are cleaning out the attic in their house to make room for other storage. As Sasha enter back into the attic, she sees her mother sitting on the floor, legs crossed as she stares at something in her hands that Sasha couldn’t see. Sasha peeks over her mother’s shoulder. “What’re you looking at Mama?”

          Her mother’s train of thought is broken by the sound of her daughter’s voice and her head snaps up to face Sasha. “Oh, it’s nothing my dear. It’s just a set of plush cat dolls your grandmother gave me when I was a child.” Sasha’s eyes brightens up like the stars. “Can I see?” She asks sweetly. Her mother laugh and hands the a doll to Sasha. It is a beautiful cat wearing a long dainty dress and a pearl necklace that glints in the morning light, attached at the end is a sunflower. Hanging from the cat’s small pointy ears are long earrings. The cat is also carrying a flower basket. “ Oh my! This is so lovely Mama! May I have it? May I have it? Please??” Sasha gives her mother her infamous puppy-dog eyes. Her mother smiles and gives her the box, and she squeals in obvious delight.

           Ten cat dolls all line up neatly in a row on her shelf. Some cats wear a fancy black suit as if they are going to a wedding. Only one fancy black suit cat wore a white brooch on it, as if he is the groom. Some wear long dresses with pearl necklaces hanging around their little, fluffy cat necks. One cat, though, wear a beautiful bride’s dress with the white veil hanging over its face. It is as if all of the cat had attended a cat wedding. Sasha giggles at the thought of it. Oh I wish I could attend a cat wedding! It would be so much fun! Seeing as it is getting late, she climbs in bed and falls asleep before her head hits the pillow.

          Sasha hears scuffling, like something is moving. Her first thought is to scream for her parents, thinking that it is a burglar! But, she has been too deep in her slumber and is trapped in sticky web of unconsciousness. She could not open her heavy eyelids. Eventually, she drowns in her deep slumber.

          The moment Sasha sense sunlight, she immediately snap her eyes open and sit up faster than lightning. She looks around and realize everything is normal. Nothing changed. She jumps off her bed and inspects her cat dolls. Everything seems as usual. Till she realizes something. The Bride Cat is next to The Groom Cat! Her eyes widen and she rushes to get her parents and inform them about the discovery. Sasha’s mother once again laugh and say, “Oh don’t panic. I went to your room and shifted them! They looked so cute together!” Sasha heaves a sigh of relief, nothing happened that night. But where had she heard that scuffling sound? That question etch in her mind for a few seconds before she is called to have pancakes for breakfast.

          Sasha stands in front of her cat dolls, inspecting them one by one. She climbs in bed and pulls the covers over her head, eyes still glued at the dolls. “Okay!” She turns off the lamp and sleep.

          Scuffling sounds. Again. Sasha is able to force her tired eyes open and saw a small blurred object moving into the wall. Wait what, the wall!? Her eyes immediately snap open and the blurred object came into focus.

          I-it is a cat! No wait, not any cat. Her cat doll! The cat doll turns around and catches Sasha staring. It smiles at her, and scurries into a tiny hole in the wall Sasha never notice. Sasha timidly step out of bed and tip-toes toward the hole. She wiggles a finger in there. Suddenly, she begins to shrink and shrink, till she is smaller than the hole. Sasha runs inside, terrified but eager to find out what is going on.

          She sees cats! The Groom Cat and The Bride Cat stands a few feet from the entrance of the hole and smile simultaneously when they make eye contact with Sasha. “Come in my child.” The Bride Cat says in a honey-suckle voice. She moves cautiously towards the pair and murmured, “Am I dreaming?” A little cat peeks behind them and rush up to Sasha and pinch her. Sasha yelps and pulls her hand away. “Nope. You’re not!” The trio laugh and led me to a paradise. Cat paradise. It’s the best night Sasha ever has and make new cat friends. She is so tired by the time the party end. The Bride Cat takes Sasha’s hand in her soft hand(or paw), and led Sasha to the hole. She slips something on Sasha’s wrist but by the time The Bride Cat carries Sasha to the hole, Sasha has fell asleep.

          Sasha wakes up in the morning rays as she slowly sit up and rub her eyes. Had last night been a dream? She shrugs to herself and feel something on her right wrist. She lift up her wrist and saw......

A sparkly bracelet with the words: The Ten Plush Cat Dolls

________________________________________________________________

 One sentence summary: Sasha had a set of plush cat dolls that came alive at night and one night, brought Sasha to their world.

One paragraph summary: Sasha’s mother and Sasha were cleaning up the attic when they found a beautiful set of plush cat dolls. Sasha took the dolls to her room. What she did not know, that these cute plush cat dolls come alive at night as Sasha is in her slumber. One night however, Sasha is brought to a whole new world. By who? Well of course, the plush cat dolls!

#8

Shake my Hand

He strolled up to me and shook my hand, gave me a small, toothless grin and walked away. Okay, maybe not strolled instead he limped rather heavily and used his cane to support him. Very queer. He looked like an 80 year old, his skin was all wrinkly, he had dark eye bags around the bottom of his eyes. I think he had insomnia. Poor old man. He lost most of his hair, only left a few strands barely even surviving on his rash covered head. Judging by his appearance, he must have lived all alone, with no one to take care of him. I shook my head, I pitied him. The old man probably lost all human connection, maybe this was his first handshake in years. I smiled to myself, I hope he’s happy. I love making people happy.

“Stop with that stupid grin! Go back to work!” I rolled my eyes and grumbled, obeying reluctantly.

“Poof!” I collapsed onto my soft, welcoming bed. Finally home! What an exhausting day. I slid off my bed and sat on the floor, appreciating the peacefulness of my room at last. I opened my eyes and saw something on my skin. On the palm of my hand, there was a black, circle-like shape mark. It had black hook-like things around the circumference of the circle.

“What the hell is this?” I rubbed the strange mark with the heel of my hand, not even a smudge. I ran to the bathroom and washed it with soap and water till my skin turned raw. It was still there. Nothing changed! How the heck did it get there anyway? It’s like someone drew on my palm with a really strong permanent marker. Dammit! I must’ve spent at least half an hour trying to get rid of the stubborn mark. But nothing got it off my palm, it was still there, just like how I found it.

In the end, well I just gave up. I was starting to get really dizzy and my head was throbbing. It was already really late, so I decided to just go to sleep, praying that the mark will disappear by morning.

“I’m sure it will.” I said to myself drowsily before falling asleep.

It’s. Still. There. It seemed bigger but I dismissed it as my imagination.

Besides, I had a rough sleep as my headache prevented me from sleeping. I tried getting rid of the mark but all efforts were in vain. It was still the same as before. I scratched my neck. What the hell is this? Is someone trying to pull a prank on me?

On the way to work it was still there.

During work it didn’t even fade.

Even at the end of the day, once I got back home, not only did it not fade, it seemed to have gotten bigger, it was about 3cm wide! I kept staring at it, trying to catch it growing larger, but I never got to see it. What if it spreads to my whole palm? What if it spreads to my whole arm? What if… I scratched my itchy neck, the skin of my neck had gone red, something must have bitten my neck. Suddenly, it felt like a thousand hammers were hitting my head. It was throbbing madly, it was so painful and I could feel it right behind my eyes. “I...I need to go to sleep” I coughed, scratched my arm and got ready for a restless sleep.

I didn’t sleep at all. I kept coughing and sneezing. My throat felt so dry, water only helped for a little while. Luckily it was the weekends, no work. I took some pills to help with the headache and lay down in bed, exhausted. I looked at my palm, the mark seemed to grow a bit bigger. Despite this, and everything else, I drifted off to sleep.

“Wow… I am really tired.” It was already nighttime. I was still, so damned exhausted, I could barely move, my limbs were like jelly. I just slid off the bed like a slime. I coughed, sneezed and scratched madly for a few minutes, before I got my wobbly feet underneath me and stumbled to the bathroom, using the walls as support. Glancing at my palm, I saw that it had almost taken over half of my palm, but I could barely react to that, I was still, so, so weary. I looked into the bathroom mirror and saw dark eye bags around the bottom of my eyes. My neck was red with all the scratching, and so was my arms and legs. I touched my face. It seemed dry? And rough. I looked at my arms, they were a little wrinkled.

I collapsed onto my bed and opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I let my head tilt to the left and saw that my pillow had a lot of hair… my hair. Weakly, I lifted my hand and gently pulled at my hair, there came out a concerning number of strands. I let my hand fall limply onto the bed, as tears trickled down.

What’s wrong with me?

I bit into an apple and ripped out two teeth. More hair dropped from my head and everywhere felt itchy and uncomfortable. I was so sick and tired that it came to the point when I stopped going to work and lay in bed for the entire day. The mark on my palm had covered my entire palm by the time I started hallucinating things. Everything scared me from them on. I isolated myself in my room.

I was dizzy, with unbearable headaches, exhausted beyond belief, so ill, my skin was rough and dry and wrinkled and red, I had lost most of my hair, my teeth were starting to drop out, and I was seriously on edge.

I felt like I was on the brink of death.

~~~~~

I woke up without realising I had rolled off too near the edge of my bed, and before I could react, I fell off. I landed hard on my arm, and let out a small gasp. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak. Electric-like pain was coursing through my broken arm. It was unbearable. Unable to scream for help, I caught a glimpse of my phone on the desk.

I had to try. I rolled onto my back, wincing at the pain. Luckily the pain was slowly numbing. With my good but weak arm, I grabbed the edge of my bed and held onto the fabric. Slowly but surely, I pulled myself up bit by bit. I used the same arm to grab my phone and call a hospital. After all that effort, I dropped my phone and fainted.

I woke up to the strong but pleasant smell of the hospital. Everywhere was white, so white it might have hurt my now-sensitive eyes. An amiable young nurse smiled at me as she checked my arm, which was now in a cast. I did my best to hide the black mark. I did not want to show it. They would never believe me.

“Good afternoon Mr Leon. I hope you’re doing fine now. The paramedics found you passed out on the floor. About your arm, it’ll heal in about 2 months time, nothing to worry about!” I smiled weakly and my head went limp on the soft pillow.

Then, all at once, it started again.

It was as if they left my body for a while only to come back stronger than ever. The pain in my head was unbearable, the itching got worse, and I cough so loudly and harshly that nurse looked concerned.

“I’ll get you some medicine, old age can make you more prone to sickness.” Old age? I’m only 33!

“Ma’am?” My voice was so hoarse. Somehow the nurse was able to hear me. “I think I have a virus..” She smiled and asked what symptomes I have. “Well you see, I have had a lot of headaches lately, it itches everywhere, I have been coughing and sneezing a lot, I was too weak to move so I couldn't go to a clinic and I lost a lot of hair, also I have been hallucinating but I don’t know why… I’m sorry this is a lot to take in..”

“It’s okay, is there anything else? I looked at my palm and considered my decision for a moment.

“Also… I have this on my palm ever since the headaches began, It’s been growing bigger and bigger.” She stared at my palm, and raised her eyebrows.

“I don’t see anything sir.”

“No, it’s there. It’s a large black mark covering my palm. It’s there!” I looked at my palm to be sure, and turned it towards the nurse. She just smiled sadly.

“It might just be a part of your hallucination. I’m very sure I don’t see any black marks there. It’s alright, elderly people often hallucinate.” And before I could even utter a word, she turned and walked away.

No. It’s there! Why can’t she see it? I did the exact same thing to the patient on my left. He had the same reaction, he couldn’t see anything on my palm. Is..is it invisible? But it’s there!

I suddenly thought of the old man I saw so many weeks ago. How he shook my hand, I didn’t see any black mark either! A wild thought appeared in my head. Is this some kind of sickness? Could I pass it on and be free of all the symptoms? This wasn’t any normal illness, it couldn't be. Could I just pass it on...by shaking hands with another person? The nurse came back with some bottles.

It was now or never.

End~

Deception

The blaring emergency alarm broke Praxis’s train of thought. It rang throughout the ship loudly, and Praxis covered their ears, panicked. They ran out of the sleeping chambers into the hallway. The once white walls were now painted red by the emergency lights, giving Praxis a headache. They suddenly felt a hand on their shoulder.

It was Rosaline, coming out of the changing room. Her red hair seemed to blend in with the red lights, her necklace which was a heart with a heart-shaped hole in the middle sparkled blood red as well. Rosaline’s face was more confused than scared, which made Praxis feel a bit of relief.

“Relax, I think something got tampered with,” Rosaline’s voice soothed Praxis’s mind. “The crew knows how to deal with this. Come.” Praxis closed their eyes and grabbed Rosaline’s arm to balance themself

The duo went down to the main area, where five crew members were rushing towards the oxygen chambers. Suddenly, the alarm stopped, and Praxis’s headache slowly faded away, and they slowly opened their eyes, healed by the white walls of the ship. A tall man with black curly hair came out of the oxygen chambers, holding a wrench. He emitted a very intimidating aura, one that could make Praxis shiver in fear.

“Something just came loose, it’s all fixed now so everything’s alright.”

Praxis raised an eyebrow, surprised. His voice sounded much sweeter and softer than his looks.

“That’s Gregory Finn, don’t worry about him. He’s sweet.” Rosaline chuckled. “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”

“Let’s go find Elijah, then I can introduce you to Coraline, she’s nice too.”

“I asked Coraline to go check on the food in the pantry, so she should still be there.”

Elijah was the definition of fascinating. Praxis had never seen two different eye colours. Elijah’s left eye was black, while his right eye was a hazel brown, and his shoulder-length black hair suited him. Elijah caught Praxis staring and grinned. “Nice hair newbie.” Praxis patted her neon green hair shyly.

The trio walked into the huge cafeteria. It had a dozen long benches and tables spread out evenly throughout the cafeteria. The pantry door just on the opposite wall. Rosaline and Praxis stood beside the door while Elijah twisted the door handle and it creaked open. It was dark.

“Coraline?” The only response was the eerie silence. Praxis cowered a little behind Rosaline, sensing that something was amiss.

Elijah felt around for the light switch and flicked it.

“Oh my god-”

He suddenly stumbled back, a hand over his mouth. Rosaline lunged out and grabbed his arm to prevent him from falling. Elijah’s eyes were as wide as saucers, face as white as a blank paper. Rosaline looked into the pantry and fell to her knees, screaming.

Praxis peeked in from the side, and they wished they hadn’t.

Blood was everywhere. A headless girl sat at the far wall of the pantry. The girl’s clothes were completely drenched in blood, but that wasn’t the worst part. Just a few centimetres away from the body, her head lay on the ground in a puddle of blood. The blood was dark red, with black marks in it. Her long, dark auburn hair was stained with the unusual blood, plastered all over the floor. Her eyes were rolled back, crying the same peculiar blood, which streaked all over the poor girl’s abnormally sunken cheeks. Black veins snaked across her face, connected by the neck.

“Coraline…”

The silence hung in the air, tension so thick it could be sliced with a knife. The six crew members sat around the table in the main area, not one saying a thing. Elijah was comforting Rosaline, who was still crying silently, and Praxis sat next to them, still in shock and horror from earlier, looked down at her clenched hands. The other three crew mates, Elyza, Gregory and Bianca sat on the other side of the table.

Cameron came back and leaned against the wall.

“Body’s taken care of. Now what?”

Rosaline suddenly shot up, angry. Her cheeks were streaked with tears, and her eyes were red.

“You moved on like it was nothing!” She shouted at Cameron. “Do you not care that someone just died? Or maybe you really are just a cold, heartless jerk! You’re not even taking a single minute to grieve for Coraline.” Elijah grabbed Rosaline’s quivering hand and squeezed it, in an attempt to calm her down.

Cameron just ran a hand through his brown hair, Praxis peeked up and noticed his hair had a red streak in the middle. “Right now what matters is not that Coraline got killed, it’s what had killed her.”

“What do you mean?”

Cameron sighed, “The blood, and the black veins, isn’t it obvious by now?” He looked up and stared hard into Rosaline’s eyes, making her flinch.

“W-what do you mean-”

“The virus is on this ship.”

Rosaline stiffened, and so did everyone else, Praxis bit her tongue to prevent herself from crying. Rosaline sat back down quietly, a devastated look on her face.

Bianca stood up, “The virus could be controlling one of us now. We have to run tests to check.” She scanned the room with her cold black eyes, “Now.” Bianca marched off to stand next to Cameron. Praxis looked at Elijah and Rosaline, unsure of what to do.

“I don’t understand why any of us would kill someone.” Elyza’s blue eyes were devoid with emotion. “It’s against–”

“Oh shut up about that already.” Bianca scoffed. “The virus doesn’t care about whatever god you believe in, it’ll kill anyone it sees. Plus, the person it's controlling is nothing more than a puppet by now.”

Bianca marched out of the main area towards the laboratory, with Cameron in tow. Elijah got up.

“Come on, let’s get this over with, it’ll be fine.” He helped Rosaline up and gestured the rest to follow. They walked out and caught up with Bianca and Cameron.

It felt like years had passed when they finally reached the laboratory. Praxis felt uncomfortable, and chose to follow at the back of the group, behind Elijah. Bianca stopped in front of the keypad to the laboratory. As soon as she took out her card everything went dark. Rosaline squeaked out of surprise and everyone jumped. The emergency lights came on and gave a red glow similar when the oxygen chambers were tampered with, but this time Praxis was too nervous to have a headache.

“Ugh, that means we can’t get in.” Bianca huffed.

“You all stay here, I’m going to go fix it.” Cameron said, and without waiting for a response he set off towards the electrical room.

Bianca folded her arms and leaned against the laboratory doors, looking at the wall. Gregory and Elyza talked to each other in hushed whispers. Rosaline and Elijah sat on the ground, back against the wall. Praxis joined them on the ground.

“Do you really think the virus is on the ship Praxis?” Rosaline whispered.

Praxis looked down, “Black veins and unusual blood are usually the main symptoms of when the virus attacks someone. So unfortunately, it’s highly possible it’s on this ship.”

Rosaline rested her head on Elijah’s shoulder and he ruffled her hair. She chuckled sadly, “I was hoping you said no just to make me feel better.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“I’m just kidding.”

Elijah held out his pinky and said, “No matter what happens, we will always stick together. Promise?”

Rosaline took his pinky with her own. “Promise.”

Praxis held up her pink and connected it with his, smiling.

“I promise.”

“What’s taking him so long!”

Even though Praxis hated to admit, they had to agree with Bianca. Cameron was taking way too long to fix the electrical, it’s been at least 45 minutes. Maybe it’s just very complicated wiring.

“I’m going to go check on him.”

Elyza stood up, “I’ll go with you.”

“No!” Bianca snapped. Elyza was taken aback by her sudden hostility, and so was everyone else. “You all are staying here, I’m handling this myself.” Then she stormed off.

“Wow, rude.” Elijah said.

“She has always been like that, Bianca would rather be working alone. It’s like she literally hates everyone.” Rosaline said.

“Maybe she just likes being independent?” Praxis spoke up.

Rosaline shook her head, “Been working with her for a few years, not the kindest person.”

“I hope nothing happens between Cameron and Bianca.”

“You’re doing it all wrong!”

The electrical room was quite small, probably could fit a maximum of three people in it. Some of the wire box’s doors were open by Cameron, as he tried to fix the wires.

“None of these are labelled clearly on what they do. Oh, you can probably access the laboratory now, but you can use any of the equipment. Power still out, I’ve connected everything together so I don’t really know what’s wrong, maybe this is the wrong-”

“Shut up! Can’t you see?” Bianca shoved Cameron aside and pointed at the connected wires. “You did it all wrong! They’re not the same colour!”

“Oh, I’ll fix it then. Move aside.”

“No!” Bianca snatched the pliers from his hands. “You’ve messed up enough. I’m doing this myself you dimwit.” She angrily used the pliers to cut the wires, Cameron noticed her teeth clenched, hands white and she’s sweating.

“You’re oddly stressed right now. You’re usually quite calm in these kinds of situations.”

Bianca snatched the soldering iron and applied it on the wires, put it on the top of the box, and cut another wire using the pliers.

“And?” She said without looking at him or stopping.

“The virus changes people.”

Bianca stopped. “What are you implying, Cameron.”

“Are you really Bianca?”

Bianca slammed down the pliers and glared at him. If looks could kill Cameron would probably be dead by now. “Stop this nonsense.”

“Calm down, I’m just sayin’. You’ve never been nervous about anything, and now you’re all sweaty like you’re the one who killed Coraline-”

“I didn’t kill her!” Out of blind rage, Bianca shoved Cameron hard. He couldn’t catch his balance fast enough and fell backward, hitting the back of his head against a sharp corner of a wire box door. Bianca gasped, dropping the pliers.

“Cameron?”

He didn't respond.

No, no, no. Bianca fumbled for the pliers and cut the remaining wire. She threw the pliers on the ground and grabbed the soldering iron with her quivering hands. As soon as the wire connected completely, the lights immediately switched back on.

Bianca didn’t want to turn around, she didn’t want to see what she had done. Yet, an invisible hand forced her to turn her head to the right.

She fell to her knees.

White fluorescent lights flooded the halls, yet Bianca and Cameron still haven’t returned. The five crew mates decided to go to the electrical room to find them.

“I have a very bad feeling about this.” Rosaline whispered to Elijah.

“I’ll admit, me too.” Elijah whispered back.

Praxis, once again, hung around at the back of the group. This time where Elyza and Gregory were. Praxis walked with their head down, dragging her fingers along the white walls lightly. The whispers of exchanged conversations sounded so far away.

Praxis tried to think about the different planets that they would be, the amazing and otherworldly beauty that was out there. But their mind kept going back to the things they wished they could shut out of their mind. Coraline’s death only made it worse. Praxis thought they could hear the gravel crunch under their feet, which each step they took, taking them back to when their parents died. Praxis miraculously managed to survive that day, but they could never forget the horrified faces of their parents. Praxis could almost smell the blood.

Praxis stopped. They sniffed the air.

“Y’all, do you smell that?”

Everyone stopped, and Gregory spoke up, “Smells like…” he widened his eyes before he could finish his sentence. The group looked at each other before sprinting towards the electrical room. The smell getting stronger the closer they got to the room.

But nothing could prepare them for what they saw.

“Oh god…”

Cameron’s head rested on a sharp corner like a pillow, his blood trickling on the sides of the wire box’s door, dripping on the grey floor. Just in front of Cameron was Bianca, kneeling like she was praying, eyes fixed on Cameron.

Bianca suddenly snapped out of her stupor and raised her head. She got up to her feet and everyone outside flinched, Elijah made everyone stand behind him. He has a fierce look on his face, glaring at Bianca.

“No, wait. Please, hear me out.”

“Listen to a virus? Hilarious.” Elijah sneered

Bianca took a step forward, and everyone else stepped back.

“It was an accident, I accidentally pushed him. I swear. I swear!”

Elijah took a step forward and punched Bianca’s face. She fell, unmoving.

“We need to send her out the airlock, she’s clearly sick.”

Elyza knelt in front of Cameron’s body, “I want to clean this up first, I can’t stand the blood staining the door and floor.”

“We found it.” Elyza looked out of the telescope in the flight deck. Gregory nodded.

“It’s Drion MX, the planet and I and a few others discovered back in 3108. Let’s go land and check it out right away.” Elyza announced.

“Wow, that’s great!” Rosaline exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly.

“Can’t wait to land.” Elijah smiled. Praxis nodded in agreement.

“Now hold on.” Gregory said. “We will land, but we should get some shut eye before roaming around. It’s been a long day, I’m sure.”

Elijah, Rosaline and Praxis all mumbled in agreement, but Elyza disagreed.

“We need to get this done fast, we have no time to rest. There are people dying on earth every second, and we’re here taking ou-”

“Three people just died, Elyza.” Gregory sighed. “We’re all tired here. Give us a break.”

Elyza looked conflicted, glaring at Gregory. She huffed and left, towards the flight deck. “Whatever.”

Elijah got up and lightly punched his shoulder, “Thanks man, now let’s go land.”

Praxis woke up, standing up. Dressed in a thick green jacket that’s soft on the inside, like being surrounded by dozens of cats, a pair of blue jeans, white boots with sparkly green laces, and a rainbow coloured, wooly hat that covered their red ears. It wasn’t snowing, but it sure was cold. Praxis looked up and realised where they were.

They were back home. Lush evergreens surrounded the wooden house that Praxis’s father so lovingly built. Mist floated into the air as they breathe out, reminiscing the beautiful memories of when Praxis would play hide and seek among the trees with their parents. Which brings Praxis back to the house in front of her. They walked forward towards the front door, the gravel crunching under their feet with each step.

Praxis turned the doorknob, and the door creaked open. It was even colder inside the house, and they couldn’t see anything in front of them.

“Mum? Dad?”

Praxis remembered that there was a fireplace at the very end of the room. Just as they took a step forward the fire started all by itself and illuminated the room with its orange glow, showing the horror around Praxis.

Praxis’s mother and father were nailed on the left and right wall respectively. Nails were pinned through their ankles and wrists. Their head was split open in the middle, dark red blood with black spots in it were trickling down all sides of their head.

Praxis fell to their knees, painful crying, their tears staining the wooden floor. When Praxis looked back up, their parents had disappeared, replaced by human-shaped black mists. Praxis stumbled to their feet and twisted the doorknob.

But the door wouldn’t open. Praxis screamed and banged on the door, “Let me out! Help!” The black mists surrounded Praxis and squeezed their neck. Praxis clawed at it, coughing and choking, their vision getting darker and darker.

“Praxis… come join us…” Praxis parents’ whispers echoed in the darkness.

“Praxis… come…”

“Praxis…”

“Praxis!”

Praxis’s eyes snapped open, face dripping with cold sweat, their eyes meeting with Rosaline’s, Elijah’s and Elyza’s.

They were back in the spaceship, in their sleeping pod. Claustrophobia set in and Praxis couldn’t breathe. They quickly pressed the button and the pod opened, letting them fall forward onto the ground, gasping for air.

“Are you okay? You were sweating, mumbling and choking yourself.” Rosaline helped Praxis up.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just a nightmare, that’s all. Everything’s fine.” Elyza had left the room. Elijah and Rosaline looked at each other, they didn’t say anything, but their faces said everything.

“Did something happen?” Praxis asked.

“Gregory’s missing.” Rosaline said.

“Maybe he just woke up early to explore the planet?” Praxis didn’t see anything wrong with it.

“That would be impossible.” The three of them walked out of the sleeping chambers into the changing room. Rosaline pointed at one of the space suits lined up on the wall, specifically Gregory’s. Praxis then realised what was wrong.

“If he were to be exploring, he would be wearing his spacesuit.” Praxis said.

“That’s right.” Elijah sighed, “We checked the whole ship while you were sleeping, he’s nowhere to be found.”

“Well that can’t be. Let’s go search again.” Praxis ran off to the first place they thought of, the oxygen chambers.

Gregory wasn’t there.

Praxis ran and searched every nook and cranny of the cafeteria, and reluctantly the pantry. Gregory wasn’t there.

On the way back to the sleeping chambers Praxis passed by the entrance of the spaceship. They looked out the window, there wasn’t any grass, but the ground was green, and so were the rocks. Everything was green, with a mixture of shiny white pebbles scattered here and there. Praxis turned away from the window and left. Her hand was dragging against the wall, so it accidentally hit a button that opened the door.

Praxis panicked and tried to close it but it still kept opening. They then realised that nothing was happening to them, so they released the button.

Gregory lay only a metre away from the ship, back against the ground. Someone had stabbed his heart, and dragged whatever weapon they used straight down to his stomach. His grey t-shirt was stained dark red with black blotches, and so was the ground around him, but there was less blood than Praxis expected there to be. A jagged and sharp green rock and a clean pair of gloves lay next to Gregory.

Praxis couldn’t move, they weren’t terrified, but Praxis wished that all this could end. They closed their eyes, and wished for it to be a dream. But there was no time for wishing, so Praxis screamed the first word that came to mind.

“Rosaline!”

The silence was much more deafening this time, and longer too. Praxis knew what everyone was thinking though.

They were all wrong about Bianca, and the virus is still here.

Everyone sat at least a foot away from each other. Elijah had his face in his hands, his hair disheveled. Rosaline’s eyes were red from crying, now she sat with her head limp to the side. Elyza sat straight, she and a cup in her hand, taking sips every now and then. Praxis watched her legs swing under the table.

“What now.” Rosaline said it more as a statement than a question. “There’s only four of us now.”

Elyza took a long sip from her cup, her face showing not much emotion, but her eyes had an authority look in it. It was as if they were saying, “It’s no time to grieve, get up and deal with it.”

Elyza got up and set her cup aside, “We need to continue forward. Get your suits, we have important work to do.”

Rosaline grabbed Elyza’s arm when she passed her. “Wait,” She sounded desperate. “The cameras. There’s a camera right at the door, it should’ve seen something. You’re the only one who knows how to operate the cameras.”

Elyza shook her hand off with a serious look. “We have no time. The longer we wait the more people will suffer and die.”

“Yeah but the virus here is gonna kill us all before we even completed the mission.” Elijah spoke up. “You see how smart it is at hiding itself. If we don’t do anything about it, it’ll bring more danger to us and the people we are about to bring here.”

Elyza pondered about it for a moment, then turned around and walked to the direction of the cameras. “Let’s go.”

All the monitors showed only a black screen. Elyza switched back on while the rest waited outside the room. Elyza tried to rewind back to yesterday, but no matter how hard she tried to search for the footage, it was all gone. Deleted, Elyza reasoned. But who? No one knew how to operate the cameras except herself.

“What’s taking so long there?” Elijah called out from outside.

“The footage is deleted.”

All three of them instantly came in. “What!” Elijah stared at the monitor, as if the footage would suddenly appear by glaring at it.

“Someone must’ve switched off the cameras yesterday, can’t find it.”

“B-but you’re the only one who knows how to–”

“Operate the cameras I know!” Elyza snapped at Rosaline, suddenly irritated. “I’m the only one who knows things around here.”

“Hey back off.” Elijah said. “Why so angry all of a sudden, huh? If anything we should be suspicious of you.” Praxis wished Elijah would stop talking, but they didn’t say anything.

“What in the world are you talking about.” Elyza was hunched over the computer, clicking the mouse in hopes of finding the footage.

“Just saying that you could’ve just deleted it and pretended like–” A black blur that headed for Elijah’s head interrupted him, and he dodged it fast enough that it didn’t hit him. Rosaline jumped. It was the mouse, and it landed at Praxis’s feet. The three look at Elyza who just realised what she had done.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

Elijah gave Elyza the death stare, his suspicions deepening.

“We’re discussing this is the main area.”

Rosaline and Praxis sat side by side. Elijah and Elyza positioned on opposite sides of the table, like they were about to debate

“Do you think it’s actually Elyza?” Praxis whispered the Rosaline.

Rosaline thought for a while, “I do believe that this kill happened yesterday night when we were all sleeping. I trust you and Elijah a lot, since you two probably had more than one chance to kill me, hypothetically.” She added. “So, yeah I’m not entirely sure it’s Elyza but I’m heavily suspicious of her.”

Rosaline said it so wisely that Praxis couldn’t help but admire her.

“First of all.” Elijah started, bringing Rosaline’s and Praxis’s attention to him. “When I saw what had happened to Cameron, I noticed that the sharp rock and gloved were very clean, and placed very neatly next to his body. That’s a very big red flag to me, because I know that you are very particular about things being neat and tidy. To the point that it was very peculiar.”

Praxis couldn’t deny that. Elyza was obsessed with things being in order, and even the slightest bit of mess could drive her crazy. But Praxis didn’t want to judge her too badly for that.

“Secondly, you are the only one with access to the camera room, and know how to use the cameras. Literally no one here would’ve tampered with the footage, no possible way. You must’ve turned off the cameras yourself.”

Elyza didn’t try to defend herself as Elijah talked on and on. She instead looked deep in thought, not paying much attention at all.

“What do you have to say for yourself?”

Elyza looked up and stared at Elijah, so much so that it made Elijah slightly uncomfortable.

“Mind you, the camera itself has a button that when pressed, the cameras will switch off, so it’s not my fault that the cameras are not on.” Elyza folded her arms. “As for the placement of the gloves and rock, you have no right to accuse me of that.” Elijah scoffed in response.

“And why are you so sure it’s me? Why aren’t you accusing these two?” She pointed to Rosaline and Praxis.

Elijah looked at them and smiled. “I trust them both. They never show any signs of hostility and have been nothing but nice to me.” He then glared at Elyza. “Whereas you always seem so cold towards us, and you literally tried to hurt me.”

“That was an accide–”

“Nevertheless you are clearly a threat here. But I want to hear you two’s response.” Elijah and Elyza looked at Rosaline and Praxis.

The three finally stepped outside, onto the grounds of Drion MX. The atmosphere of Drion MX was similar to Earth’s atmosphere, so they didn’t need their space suits.

Praxis took a deep breath and exhaled. Felt just like home.

“It’s quite interesting isn’t it?” Rosaline said.

Elijah bent down and picked up a white pebble. It was like any white pebble you would find on Earth. Shiny, glistening, standing out against the green ground.

Praxis didn’t seem to see any signs of plantation around. So they went to hunt for a flat ground that didn’t have many rocks around.

Praxis suddenly heard a soft crack, not far behind them. Praxis turned around and ran back to their friends.

Just a few feet away from the ship, Elijah was lying on the ground, head resting on big green rock, with Rosaline kneeling over him. Praxis caught some blood, nearly blending in with the green rock.

“Oh god! Are you okay Elijah!”

Rosaline didn’t seem to move to help, or to respond to Praxis. It was the first time that Praxis realised that Rosaline had what seemed like a gash on the back of her head. Rosaline shifted her long red hair to hide it.

“Rosaline?”

Elijah stirred, and then got up to his feet, like nothing happened. He looked dazed, his eyes seemed to stare into nothing. Rosaline turned to face Praxis, a smile on her face. Praxis had an uneasy feeling in their stomach, sensing something amiss. There was so much blood on the green rock it might as well be red.

“Are y’all okay?”

Rosaline rested her arm on Elijah’s shoulder, who didn’t budge at all. “Of course, why’d you ask?” She kept grinning.

In the corner of their eye, Praxis caught some black smoke, seeping out of the cracks in the ground, into the air.

Coraline twisted the blue pen in her hand absentmindedly, scanning her clipboard held in her other hand. She frowned, and looked up at the shelves of food in the ship’s pantry again.

“Something’s missing…” she said to herself.

“Is it this?” Coraline jumped and twisted around to find Rosaline, standing at the door of the pantry, holding a piece of bread.

“Ah yes! Please give it to me if you don’t need it.”

Coraline stepped forward to take it for Rosaline’s hand. In a flash Rosaline lunged forward and sunk her teeth into Coraline’s neck.

Coraline had no time to scream and only managed to gurgle, the life already draining out of her. Black smoke started to feed onto the blood of Coraline, black spots marking the red stream of blood.

Rosaline, no longer a human, used her sharp teeth to tear Coraline’s head off, making a wet crack, the head dropping onto the cold floor. Coraline’s body went limp, and slumped over Rosaline. Rosaline pushed her off and wiped her mouth. The black smoke seeped back into the gash on the back of Rosaline’s head. She shifted her red hair to hide it.

Rosaline spotted an air vent, hidden behind the shelves at the back of the pantry. She opened it with ease, climbed down and headed for the changing room to clean up.

Photo courtesy of New York Times

A Cold Autumn Night

          “ I sat at my favorite blue, wooden table, arms folded, a small red teacup filled with warm milk tea sat in front of my folded arms. Though I was at home, it was still surprisingly cold, and I liked it.

          It was a cold autumn night, 11.34 p.m. Soon it would strike 12 midnight, and I would had to dive under the warm covers in bed. I looked up at the bright crescent hanging in the night sky. It was shining especially bright that night, beaming at me. Outside, a bare tree stood lonely at the sidewalk. Around it were leaves that were once green and lush, growing on the strongest branches of the tree were now falling and dead. Soon winter would come and snow would cover them.

          Then, I spotted a lone star shining in the ink-black sky. I smiled at the star, and shifted my long, red hair, out of my eyes. To watch the star. Outside was silent. Everyone had went to bed. ‘Misty neighborhood’ was silent, and I immersed myself in it. I sipped my milk tea but felt nothing. My house was dark and quiet, the only light that shone was the moonlight. 

          I looked at my watch. 11.55 p.m. 5 more minutes. Might as well finish the tea. I picked up my red teacup and drank the rest of the tea and set it down on the cold table. Tomorrow at 8.30 a.m, the kids would be coming to listen stories. Again. I smiled at the thought. I glimpsed at my watch, 11,59 p.m. Time to sleep. I put my cup in the sink and went up the green staircase.

          As I heard the clock strike 12 midnight, I heard the bark of the three legged dog, leading my neighbor for his usual walk.”

          Jewel closed the book with a thud and looked down at 20 curious faces staring back at her. “But Miss Jewel? I did not see anyone next door.” Jewel smiled at Thomas. “You just didn’t look harder enough. He’s always at home in the mornings.” Thomas beamed at Jewel. Then someone knocked on the door. And soon, all the kids were sent back home.

          Jewel sat at her blue table, arms folded, a red teacup set in front of her. She sighed. If only the kids knew the truth. A newspaper clipping was being carried by the wind. And on the newspaper clipping read the headlines:

Poisonous Gas Released in ‘Misty Neighborhood’ At 12 Midnight. Residents Died In Their Sleep!

#3

Headphones

Ah! Such sweet music, flowing through my ears! Nothing was more amazing than such beautiful music. Free from the dreadful city noises that gave me horrible anxiety. Music is awesome.

I recently got a shiny new headphones, which was great. The headphones help me avoid daily gossip, news from strangers I don’t care about. If I didn’t get headphones anytime soon, I might’d lost my mind! Once I put them on, I was immediately in heaven, any noise around me would be muted, and the only noise I would hear is my own.

I brought it everywhere. The train, on the streets, in school. Everywhere. Especially in places that were always crowded.

My headphones saved my life. No one could take it away from me. No one.

I was a loner in school, which immediately made me a target by bullies. Music always made me happy though. During recess and breaks, I would go up to the school roof with my headphones and listen to music. No one goes up there for some reason. It may be dusty, but the view was breathtaking. No people, no bullies, means sweet silence except for my own music.

I was always up there, alone. No one went to the school roof. Yet.

It was like any other day. During the lunch break, I sneaked up to the school roof to listen to music and enjoy the fabulous view. Like usual. Except...

They found me.

“Hey twig!” I heard a far off voice which could be covered up by my music if I turned up the volume a bit higher. I froze. I recognised that voice, and it was the last thing I wanted to hear. I didn’t know what to do! I continued standing still, pretending not to hear him. Maybe they’d think I’m another person, maybe they’d walk away-

Suddenly, my beloved headphones were yanked off my head. All the sweet sound was gone. I was hysterical. In an instant, I turned towards Randy and kicked him, screaming over and over again, “GIVE IT BACK. GIVE IT BACK!” My headphones were in his grubby hands, they were screaming for help! I have to save them, I needed them. Randy smirked evilly, he shoved me aside and walked forward to the edge of the roof. I screeched and tried to run after him, but his friends held me back.

Randy stood at the edge of the roof. He turned towards me, laughing at my struggle. He had the nerve to laugh. I screamed at him again to return my headphones.

And then, he did the worst thing that broke me.

Randy stretched his hand over school roof fence... AND DROPPED MY HEADPHONES!

“NOOOOO!!!” I kicked and punched Randy’s friends, and I was finally free. I rushed forward, screaming like a maniac. I pushed Randy aside and without thinking. I jumped off the roof after my headphones.

Everything was in slow-motion. Everything around me blurred. I grabbed my headphone. I felt the leather of my precious headphone. I put them on. I smiled.

No one can take my headphones away anymore.

End~

#10

Stupid

ALYSSA smiles sadly with downcast eyes.

Alyssa: Stupid. You’re so stupid

Points to head.

Alyssa: You think bandages can fix this wound? No. Of course not. Are you that naive? Or do you think I’m just that dumb?

ALYSSA throws her head back and starts laughing.

Alyssa: (Mocking sweet voice) Omg yesss let’s be besties, I soooo forgive you ahahaha. (Returns to normal voice) (frowns) Seriously? Stop wasting your time on me, idiot. Haven’t you learnt that?! Stop leeching off me. Go away.

ALYSSA turns away and sits on the floor, clutching her knees to her chest.

Alyssa: What do you want? Could you just leave me alone. You’ve done enough damage… (sniffs)

After a while of tense silence, ALYSSA gets up and turns around. Her expression has changed to anger.

Alyssa: (sneers) WHAT DO YOU WANT SO BAD, HUH?! YOU’RE JUST GONNA COME BACK, TRY TO MAKE ME YOUR LITTLE TOY AGAIN! WATCH ME SUFFER AND CRY. I HAVE KNOWN BETTER, DON’T EXPECT ME TO FORGIVE YOU WHEN YOU COME PATHETICALLY CRAWLING BACK TO ME.

ALYSSA is out of breath. She calms down, and turns around. After a while, she turns her head to the side and looks down.

Alyssa: I can never forgive you. I’m not going to sympathise with you ever. I’m better now, but I shouldn’t have been friends with you ever. Find someone else to give you a second chance. But...

ALYSSA looks back in front of her.

Alyssa: You don’t deserve one.

ALYSSA walks away.

End~

#2

My Friends

I have friends in my head. I’m sure everybody has them.

They can be good, they can be bad, or maybe even both. It also depends on how you handle them.

I have many friends in my head, but I can only introduce a few of them. I’ll be very glad to introduce them to whoever is reading this!

Joyce is one of my best friends. She was always there to make me smile, and remind me of the wonderful things that happened to me. She always tell me things like, “You can do it!” Or “Good job!”. She allows me to look at the positive side of things.

But sometimes, when I don’t handle Joyce well, sometimes people will call me selfish. When people play tricks on me that I don’t like, she will tell me to go along and smile, to not be mad at them. I don’t like that, so I will have to handle Joyce well.

Sam is another friend I have who lives in my head. I don’t quite like him, since he is quite the opposite of Joyce. He reminds me of the bad memories I had, like the time I was in a competition and lost, and I cry. He makes me cry. And I don’t like it. People will call me a ‘crybaby’.

But Sam can also be nice. Sometimes Sam will motivate me to do better, and because of that, I will be happy with the result.

Joyce and Sam work together from time to time. Sometimes they remind me of a memory which both sad and happy. Remember the memory I told you about that competition I lost? Well even though I was sad, Joyce told me that at least I had fun! Which looking back, I did have fun. Which makes me happy. Even though I was sad that I lost, I was happy that I had fun preparing for the competition.

I want to introduce one last friend: Fran

Fran is helpful sometimes. Sometimes my friends urge me to go on a scary roller coaster ride. But Fran tells me not to, as it is scary. I listen to her no matter what my friends say. In the end, my friends might come out crying or sick. Fran helps me avoid these situations from getting me into trouble.

Somethings though, when I listen to Fran, people will make fun of me, taunting me and calling me a ‘scaredy-cat’. I don’t like that. So I will tell Fran that I can do it. Though she might urge me to stop, I won’t listen to her and will face my fears. There may be good and bad outcomes, but at least I have the experience.

Well that’s all the friends I’m able to introduce you to. I would love to introduce the rest of my friends, but their not ready yet. For now, you will now know Sam, Joyce and Fran. Thanks for reading!

#14

The Cliff

“Goodbye.”

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“Finally done!”

I put down my pencil and sighed in relief. I finished a fan-art of one of my favourite shows and was really excited to post it on social media.

“Maybe, they’d notice my artwork!”

“They’ll never.”

Wait what? “Who was that?” I leaped out of my chair, startled.

“Over here!”

I twisted around, no one was there. I had no idea what was going on. Is it just in my head-

“No stupid, I’m here.”

I twisted back in front and was face to face with…

What the hell?! “Who are you?!”

She looked like… me? But she was all black, like the night sky. But instead of being calming, she radiated… evil. Her eyes were the only things that weren’t black, they were white. Just white, which only made her more scarier.

“I’m you, of course.”

And then with a wave of her hand, my bedroom disappeared, and darkness surrounded me.

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“What are you doing!?” I panicked and stumbled backward, keeping watch of the dark creature.

“I’m trying to make you realise something.” Suddenly, black tendrils came out of nowhere and grabbed my wrists and legs, lifting me up. My heart was beating so fast, it hurts. I kicked and pulled, but I couldn’t even get the tendrils to move.

“What do you want from me?!” Tears blurred my vision.

“Don’t you realise? You’re useless here in this world.”

I was suddenly hovered over the edge of a cliff, I couldn’t see the bottom, it looked endless! My heart picked up speed. No! I must get out! I kicked and did everything I could to get out.

“It’s no use struggling. What good do you contribute to this society? This artwork?” The black creature floated up to me, face to face, holding up the fan-art I did earlier.

“Don’t do anything to it!”

Rip!

The shreds of paper floated down into the abyss.

I couldn’t hold in the tears anymore.

“What do you want from me! Let me go… I did nothing…”

“That’s the problem, you do nothing. You’re useless. Nothing you do is good. You couldn’t even win the art competition last week. Can’t even dress well, look at you!” We were lowered to the ground, she grabbed my collar, lifted me up, and the tendrils disappeared. I couldn’t fight back.

So… so tired…

“Please…”

She smiled.

“Goodbye.”

She released me, and I fell into the abyss.

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“Hey, this looks amazing.”

I snapped out of my daze and looked up. Connor, my boyfriend, was looking at me fan-art drawing.

“You’re so good at drawing.” Connor gave me back my drawing, and ruffled my hair. Then, he walked out of my room.

I looked at my drawing, and smiled.

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Connor caught my hand, and pulled my back up from the cliff.

End~

#6

My Imaginary Friend

I always had a wild imagination. And it was no surprise that I had a imaginary friend. Her name is Natalie. She’s great. My father left and my mother didn’t care too much bout’ me, and she worked lots of shifts, so Natalie kept me company. She was cold to me at first, but after talking to her, playing with her, and entertaining her, she warmed up to me. She. Was. Great.

Let me describe Natalie. She had long, and messy (the cute kind of messy) black hair. Dark-skinned. Cute blue eyes. (Like me!) The outfit she always wore was black and white striped t-shirt, blue pleated skirt with black leggings, red sandals. Lovely outfit.

She was always with me for 8 years, since I was six years old. I forgot about her after that since, well you know, school. It was very lonely after that, I had no friends at school. But I occupied myself with homework and music. I liked my school. However, two years later when I was 15, my mother decided to move houses, moving houses means moving to another school. Ugh. What’s wrong with our own house.

My new school was much, much worse. People were constantly picking on me. I try to ignore them.(Easier said than done) But I have other stuff to think about than my haters, so whatever. (Again, easier said than done.) My mother is still working a lot, thus not paying much attention to me. Thus I’m lonely again. But, at least I have food to eat and a house to live in, so hey, ain’t that bad.

I’ve been having the same weird dream every time I go to sleep, eversince I moved. I just see this silhouette of a person in front of me, as I stand in water, unable to move. And that’s practically it, I would wake up again, calm but confused.

Pretty weird if you ask me. (Even if you don’t.)

My mother had been distant lately. I mean, she was always distant, but she has this look in her eye that I can’t decipher. But who am I to care! (Just kidding I did care. I just didn’t wanna she her.)

Even the kids at school had been shooting me weird looks lately! Everytime I passed by, they would always shift further away from me, as if I had some sort of deadly virus. Ridiculous. I ignored it. (Okay, I lied again.)

My mother hadn’t returned from work. I don’t care. I fell asleep eventually.

I woke up...not in my bedroom. Instead I was strapped to a table in the basement. Huh, this was a different dream. This time though, I was able to move. Good sign. This dream though, felt uncomfortably real. I looked around and realised that the shelves were cleared, replaced by lit candles. Their glow was too real. Suddenly I heard someone coming. It was my mother. I giggled, (I don’t understand how I could be so calm) and said, “Hi mom. Quite a weird dream eh?” She looked at me and said, “This is no dream Elisa. Nor is this a nightmare. I’m killing you tonight.”

I froze. No way. My fear turned into anger. I shook violently, trying to free myself! My mother just looked on, with no emotion in her eyes. “LET ME GO TRAITOR. WHATEVER DID I DO TO YOU TO DESERVE THIS!?” My mother smiled, (She had the gall to smile) and explained calmly, “Oh dear Elisa, though you’re gonna die, I’ll tell you anyway. You had a sister, Natalie.”

Natalie. That name sounded familiar. But I had a sister? “Where is she then?” My mother, no I can’t even call her mother anymore, the traitor’s mouth contorted into a frown.

“She’s dead Elisa. I killed her. If she wasn’t disgustingly black, maybe I would change my mind.”

What the hell! “What kind of woman are you!? Killing her just because of her skin colour. What does this all have to do with me anyway!?” The traitor’s from deepened. “You...remind me too damn much about her. I can’t afford to have a guilty conscience. You have to go.”

My anger turned into panic. “NO NO. Why can’t you just take me to an orphanage?! You won’t have to see my anymore!!!” She just silently narrowed her eyes. I tried all I could to free myself, yet all my efforts were in vain. Then, she revealed the knife that had been behind her back the whole time, and slowly advanced up to me.

My panic meter broke.

She lifted the knife above my heart.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

And I heard the knife clatter on the floor.

My eyes flew open. And there standing in place of the traitor, was a messy haired girl, dark skinned, wearing black and white striped shirt with blue pleated skirt and black leggings. Natalie, my imaginary friend, my dead sister.

“N-Natalie! Please untie me!” She looked at me sadly. “I’m sorry Elisa. No one would find you here. Even if they eventually do, you would be dead by then. I can’t untie you, but we will play together again, soon!” Tears rolled down my cheeks. Natalie stares down at me sadly. “I’m sorry.” She whispered. She took my hand, and my vision went black.

End~

#4

My Happy Balloon

Throughout my childhood, I always held my Happy Balloon. Sometimes it deflated just a bit, but it always expanded after a day or so. It floated with me the whole way.

When I was a teenager, things got a little bit rough with my Happy Balloon. They were people who would try to pop it by stepping on it. It was a bit dirty, and sometimes it would deflate for a long, long time due to some holes in it. But Cassie would come. She would pick up my Happy Balloon, and put plasters on the holes, my Happy Balloon would then return to normal again, smiling. It was all thanks to my dear friend Cassie.

Then I went to college. Cassie and I went to the same school. One day we saw some people messing up someone else’s Happy Balloon. Cassie and I quickly ran to get help. When the people went away, Cassie and I went and fixed up the person’s Happy Balloon. It was as good as new. The person thanked us and introduced herself as “Lessie”. Lessie, Cassie and I became very good friends! Or so I thought.

Cassie, Lessie and I helped each other, we were best of friends, ready to protect one another. But soon, I noticed Cassie and Lessie started to drift away from me. I felt my Happy Balloon start to deflate little by little, day by day. Then finally, they popped it. Without my Happy Balloon by my side, I felt sad. I had no more friends, and no Happy Balloon.

I was now working at a convenience store as a job. One day, the new guy came up to me. He had a Happy Balloon by his side, it reminded me of when I had my own Happy Balloon. He came up to me and told me his name: Jonathan. Jonathan asked if we could be friends. I was skeptical about it, but I accepted it.

I expected Jonathan to be like Cassie and Lessie. Drift away from me after a while. It’s been 3 months. He hadn’t drift off yet. He had been so kind to me, he had protected me. He even gave me a Happy Balloon. It’s been forever since I had my Happy Balloon! We were best of friends.

It’s been 2 years. Jonathan still hadn’t drift off yet. Neither did I. We had ups and downs, but nothing deflated our Happy Balloons. Nothing at all. Not even when Jonathan finally told me about his medical condition.

He had cancer. Something that cannot be cured. He had this for 3 years. He didn’t want to tell me as he thought it would deflate my Happy Balloon. I cried of course, I was a little bit mad at him for not telling me about it, but not for very long. It didn’t deflate my Happy Balloon one bit. I wanted to make his last few months with me the best months in in entire life. We went everywhere, to the places we always wanted to go, took pictures, memories.

Before he died, we went to our hangout. The swing under the apple tree on Silent hill. We looked at the beautiful scenery. It was so peaceful. Then Jonathan told me, “Promise me, that even if I am gone, you would hold on to your Happy Balloon. Remember that I’ll be up there, looking after you.” I cried and hugged him for a very long time.

I kept my promise. I visited his grave, holding onto my Happy Balloon that Jonathan gave me. When I saw Jonathan’s Happy Balloon floating next to his headstone, I cried, I knew he was at peace now. His death didn’t pop my Happy Balloon. And it will float by my side even after death.

End~