(il gatto) ghost, phantom
He stood on the wrong edge of bridges, casually leaning one way or the other as the wind blew just soft enough so it won't topple the boy made of bones and paper over into the murky river so very far below. An awkward tangle of limbs with bruises coloring inches of his skin even if someone would only see white - luminous in the headlights passing by - spans of flesh if they looked. He didn't have to jump to feel the sensation of being crushed in hot-cold water, stabbed by thousands of sharp pricks as he was pulled under slowly.
The game was over and as he remembered the sensation of coarse hands tracking their way up his body, he let go of the railing. . . Then crossed over the guard rail bonelessly. So, the cat went on to wander the dark night, stubbing his toes on cracks in the pavement. He wondered where he could steal some shoes.
Sometimes, when he woke up - before the pit of his stomach fell out, because he couldn't remember how he ended up sleeping on a bench in a park or was riding a train to Yokohama - Riya would just watch the swirls of color trace around his vision. The world would slowly but surely shift to fit his eyes. It was like he had to take off a pair of glasses a hundred times stronger than what he needed and the dizzying sensation seemed to match it perfectly. It was then as the world flickered from white to black to colors he'd never seen in his life that he would slowly look up to see a mirror.
Rather, he couldn't see anything, but it had to be a mirror as he saw himself standing unassuming in front of himself. Riya couldn't focus through the lens that hazed his eyes over, but could feel - like he was doing it himself - the slight quirk at the corner of his mouth or his eyebrows knitting with a scowl. The world turned dark and as everything around him had blinked, the mirror had disappeared. He looked to and from, but it was surely gone.
Then a pair of hands ghosted along his arm and he jumped to see who had snuck up behind him. A mirror couldn't touch him like this - Not like it knew him and the way touching the base of his wrist would make him shiver. But no one was there. He blinked and the world was right all of a sudden. He was lounging in a hotel lobby in a loose shirt and pants two sizes too big that smelled like someone stranger's cologne. He shook his head and got up to leave. Riya passed by a mirror near the entrance and gave it a smug glance before leaving.
The game was over and as he remembered the sensation of coarse hands tracking their way up his body, he let go of the railing. . . Then crossed over the guard rail bonelessly. So, the cat went on to wander the dark night, stubbing his toes on cracks in the pavement. He wondered where he could steal some shoes.
Sometimes, when he woke up - before the pit of his stomach fell out, because he couldn't remember how he ended up sleeping on a bench in a park or was riding a train to Yokohama - Riya would just watch the swirls of color trace around his vision. The world would slowly but surely shift to fit his eyes. It was like he had to take off a pair of glasses a hundred times stronger than what he needed and the dizzying sensation seemed to match it perfectly. It was then as the world flickered from white to black to colors he'd never seen in his life that he would slowly look up to see a mirror.
Rather, he couldn't see anything, but it had to be a mirror as he saw himself standing unassuming in front of himself. Riya couldn't focus through the lens that hazed his eyes over, but could feel - like he was doing it himself - the slight quirk at the corner of his mouth or his eyebrows knitting with a scowl. The world turned dark and as everything around him had blinked, the mirror had disappeared. He looked to and from, but it was surely gone.
Then a pair of hands ghosted along his arm and he jumped to see who had snuck up behind him. A mirror couldn't touch him like this - Not like it knew him and the way touching the base of his wrist would make him shiver. But no one was there. He blinked and the world was right all of a sudden. He was lounging in a hotel lobby in a loose shirt and pants two sizes too big that smelled like someone stranger's cologne. He shook his head and got up to leave. Riya passed by a mirror near the entrance and gave it a smug glance before leaving.