Forever: Light At The End of The Tunnel
PREVIOUS:
||[ A Meaningful Beginning]
[ All There Is To Wish]||
This week's update of the Forever series. This time I think it's kind of sweet. But well, i don't really remember LOL.
Enjoy! ;)
P.S: is it just me or the song matches?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~III~
I have seen this light before. I remember how blinding it can be. I remember the hollowness of this room. There might just be me and that woman I have not learned the name of. But…why am I here again? Why did they catch me then just to let me go and capture me again? I don’t understand. I should ask someone.
There is a fuss outside, all around her. There seems to be a lot of people, talking all at once. They seem not to pay attention to her at the moment. The girl reaches out her hand, hoping she will catch someone’s arm or shirt or anything.
‘Um…hel-hello,’ she says, with all her might since her throat feels drier than the Sahara desert.
The crowd seems to grow even louder, talking to each other as if she weren’t there, as if her own presence there was by her own choice. She tries opening her eyes, catching a glimpse of the blinding light, closes them again. She tries turning her head to one side-as not to open her eyes to the blinding light once again.
‘Hello…’
Nobody seems to hear her.
‘I need to ask…any of you something.’
Somebody laughs and a group of people join in.
‘Please tell me…where…I am.’
When the girl almost loses all her hopes, a voice so soft shouts. ‘Ah! Look, she is conscious now. We should all greet her.’
‘Where…am I?’ the girl repeats.
‘Don’t you remember this place, darling? I sure do, though.’
‘I thought…so.’
‘Oh, you sound like a frog in a dry season. Someone, get her a glass of water. Non-poisoned.’
The girl grimaces at this statement. ‘You never…cease to…amaze me.’
The woman laughs. ‘Neither do you, my child.’
A young man approaches the girl with a glass filled with sparkling water. The girl tries to get up. The young man helps her drink the water. When the whole glass has gone empty, the girl clears her throat. She feels rather fresh. Fresher than ever before, perhaps even.
‘Thank you,’ she says to the young man and the woman. ‘I feel better now.’
‘Of course you do, sweetheart. That is the best water yet.’
The girl nods. She doesn’t really know what to say-or rather, what is safe to say. Even though the woman seems as safe as loving mother might be to her child, she holds so many mysteries with her words and actions, causing the girl to have no choice but to be cautious around her.
The woman, who has been holding a cup of tea all this time, puts down her tea on a small glass-marbled table. ‘I believe you have a few questions in your head, dear.’
The girl looks up in astonishment. ‘Yes, I do, actually.'
‘The last time you’re here, I told you that there will be a time when all your questions will be answered. Maybe not just about what is going on here but also any other parts of your life.’ The woman smiles. ‘That time has not arrived yet. Although, we can still give you answers as best we can.’
‘So can I ask a question now?’
‘Of course, honey. Go ahead.’
‘Why did you bring me here? Why once again? Why would you have let me go when you’re just going to bring me back here anyway?’
The woman raises her cup. ‘What a question. That is indeed remarkable.’ The woman puts it down again after she sips the tea. ‘My dear, you see, when we first brought you here, we planted something inside of you. We decided to give you back to the world, for you to live as you were again, and see how it develops in the outside. After a while, we decided to bring you back again to check on the device, to make sure it has not been lost and see if there is any damage.’
‘So, in short, I was just a lab rat you cannot wait but to succeed the experiment?’
‘That might just be correct.’
‘How many have there been? The lab rats.’
The woman waves her finger. ‘Oh, you are our only one. Don’t worry, honey, nothing is there to compete against you.’
‘I suppose not.’ The girl looks at the woman. ‘So are you going to let me go too now? Have you fixed whatever device you have within me?’
The woman smiles. ‘Patience, my child. There is no hurry, really.’
‘There is, as a matter of fact. My mother is waiting for me at home. She must be worried sick that I have not returned yet.’
‘Oh, is she now? What did you tell her the last time?’
The girl freezes. She doesn’t remember. The last time, all she remembers is she was already in her house, on her bed, and suddenly her dear friend told her all this story about him being a full agent and everything. Before she can say anything, the woman smiles. ‘Exactly.’
‘Any other questions?’ the woman asks.
‘Yes. How come you picked me? How come it has to be me?’
The woman drinks her tea then sets down her cup again. ‘How do I say this,’ she begins. ‘I believe I have told you the last time that we don’t know, although that is not fairly true.’
‘She is right,’ says another woman, shorter than the first woman, suddenly piping in. She was just holding her tea and chattering away with her friends five seconds ago. Now, she suddenly seems all excited. ‘It is not that we don’t know, it is more like we simply cannot understand how to break the news to you, honey.’
‘Yes,’ says a man, who is actually a bit far away from the table. ‘There is something about you that’s just perfect for our little experiment. We believe you are the strongest candidate for it yet. We couldn’t afford losing you.’
‘That reminds me,’ the girl says. ‘What is the experiment about anyway?’
At this, nobody seems to be too eager to answer. The room falls silent. The woman begins to chuckle. It slowly grows into laughter. Everyone joins in the laughter and seems to enjoy themselves.
‘That, my dear,’ says the woman, ‘is one of the things you cannot know just yet, not until the experiment is completed anyway.’
‘Oh, all right then,’ says the girl. ‘Umm…do you, by any chance, know where my friend is?’
‘Which one?’ asks the shorter woman.
‘Is it the one with long black hair and glasses?’ asks a bulky man, next to her.
‘Is it the one with short hair and braces?’ asks a skeletal woman, at the back.
‘I believe she is referring to her dearest friend, the young boy who carries gun everywhere,’ says the leading woman, smiling. ‘Am I correct?’
The girl nods. The crowd all cooed in astonishment.
‘I think he is currently on a mission. Assassinate a government somewhere.’
The girl’s eyes widen. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Oh, yes, I’m positive. I hope there’s a good reason behind it, though.’
‘Yeah,’ the girl whispers. ‘Me too.’
A group of men in black suits tiptoe on the roof of a tall and European-style building. They walk with guns in their hands, ready to fire, in case anything bad happens before they can accomplish their mission. They are approaching the building nearby. It is also European-styled but mostly consists of glass. The men’s eyes are looking-or more likely aiming-at two figures in a room, the same level as the roof they are all standing on.
‘Are you sure it’s safe to do this with-I don’t know-more or less 20 people?’ asks a boy in black suit, also involved in the mission.
‘Yes, young master,’ says one of the men.
‘Why do we need to have so many men here anyway?’
‘The governor is known to be very good with his martial arts, not to mention his shooting skill. He might be a tough fish to catch. We need to be prepared for anything. Besides, we are all here also to protect our young master.’
The boy groans. ‘How many times have I told you? During mission, I am no different from any of you.’
‘Be that as it may, young master,’ says the man in black suit. ‘We believe that you are to be protected in this particular mission. Your father has assigned for us to do so, so we must do it. He is only thinking of your own safety.’
‘Why? I’ve been doing this for, like,-what? Four, five years? And he hasn’t been worried then. Why get all worked up now?’
The man looks at the boy’s face, his eyebrow raised. ‘Don’t you know how dangerous this mission is?’
The boy rolls his eyes. ‘Well, all of those missions were dangerous too.’
‘Well, they’re different. It is your turn to do the big thing now.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Have you not known that you are to kill the governor tonight?’
The boy freezes. ‘I what?’
‘It is finally your turn for your first kill, like a lion cub in his first hunt. It is natural to be nervous, young master. However, you must forget all that once you are to do exactly what you need to do. You will succeed no problem.’
The boy gulps. Now he starts to feel nervous. ‘What if I fail?’
The man shrugs. ‘It depends on how you fail. But you needn’t worry about that now. You should just concentrate on the whole mission for now.’
‘Why do I even have to kill him anyway?’
The man looks sternly at him. ‘Listen, I know you’re my master-to-be and everything but…you need to know that you should never know the reason for your assassination. You should kill, thinking your victim had done something wrong. No matter how much you know or not know about the truth, whether or not you are right, it doesn’t matter. Got it?’
The boy nods. He gets the whole thing. That doesn’t mean he accepts them as something he should do. He knows that it might just be his father’s policy. It also reserve for something good. But now, it makes him wonder. How come he wanted this position for so long? What has he gotten himself into?
‘Come on, it’s time!’ the man shouts.
The boy tiptoes, looking at the man from the window. He aims his eyes on him and keeps them there. The building isn’t too far apart from where he’s standing. Although, there is still a much shorter building just between them. He should be able to shoot the governor while he jumps from the roof and lands on the roof of the shorter building. From there, he will jump to the ground-shouldn’t be too much work since the building is not too far apart from the ground. The boy plays this plan in his mind then he nods to make sure he got all that.
‘Okay, here we go! Come on, don’t stall!’
The boy moves forward quickly, his legs seem to move in a way that nobody can even see them moving. He runs to the edge of the roof, ready to jump. He aims his gun toward the governor, one of his eyes closing in concentration. He jumps.
BANG!
It hurts. It just hurts so much.
‘Are you okay?’
A voice. A voice is calling me.
‘I think you should see the nurse.’
A hand reaches for my hand, putting it over the head, not my head. I am hauled to the nurse room. And before I know it, I faint.
When I open my eyes, the world seems a lot more cheerful. All I see is white, though. I thought I was still in dreamland, where white seems to dominate the world. But I realize that I’m in the nurse room. Somebody brought me in here. I try to get up but my head hurts. The nurse turns, responding to my groan.
‘Oh, you shouldn’t get up yet, sweety,’ she says. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘My head hurts, but that’s all,’ I say. ‘How did I get here?’
‘Someone brought you here, honey. Your friend, a boy.’
I nod in comprehension. ‘I think I know who he is.’
‘Well, you better thank him when you’re feeling better. He brought you in here by the arm. He looked so panicked and worried; I swear he could’ve exploded. I told him to go back to the classroom and he can go back here to check up on you later on.’
I blink. I cannot believe what the nurse is telling me. My friend who has been ignoring me forever was worried sick about me. I shake my head, waving the thoughts away. ‘What time is it?’
‘Almost time for lunch,’ the nurse says after looking at her watch. ‘Want me to buy you anything?’
‘Actually, I packed my own lunch but it’s in the classroom.’
‘All right then, I’ll get it for you then we can eat together.’
I nod, sitting on the bed. I look around. The nurse room sure is quiet. I bet this place is usually filled with kids who don’t want to go to class and pretend they’re sick to be able to stay here. I chuckle at the thought. I just hope the nurse knows I’m not faking it. Something seriously hurt.
‘Hey,’ a voice calls.
I see my dear friend at the door, holding a lunch box-my lunch box. ‘Hey.’
‘How are you feeling?’
‘I’ve been better.’
He walks to my bed, putting the lunch box just within reach. ‘What happened? You suddenly fell down on the ground. When we put you on the bed, you fainted.’
I shrug. ‘I have no idea. Something hurt real bad though.’
He gets up quickly. ‘What? What is it?’
I, caught off guard, shake my head. ‘I don’t know.’
He sits back down again, calmly.
‘What gets you all worked up anyway?’
‘Wha-I’m not worked up!’
I laugh. ‘You don’t have to shout about it.’
He looks away in embarrassment. His cheeks color a little. ‘Well, whatever makes you feel better.’
I stop laughing and look at the ceiling. ‘I guess so. I have been feeling rather down lately. It feels…like something hurts, only worse. Different from diseases, it feels like you can never recover. I don’t know how to stop it. I don’t know who to ask.’
He looks at me. ‘What happened?’
I wanted to tell him. I wanted to yell at him and point my finger at him. I wanted to strangle him and slap him and kick him until he says ‘uncle’. I wanted to let him know how hurt I felt. But…I just smile.
‘It’s nothing,’ I say. ‘You shouldn’t worry about it.’
‘Are you sure? Maybe I can help.’
I pretend to ponder about it. There is one wish that doesn’t involve him being badly hurt. Then I turn to him and grin. ‘Let’s walk home together again today. Have ice cream, laugh, joke around. It’ll be a lot of fun.’
He seems to ponder about it as well. Before five seconds have even passed, he turns to me and smiles. ‘All right, why not?’
All of a sudden, my head doesn’t ache anymore.
...To be continued...
NEXT: ||[ The Day That Ends It All]
[ A Smile So Wide]
[ When You Thought It Was Over]
[ Maybe It's Not Worth It]
[ Where You Are, There I Will Be]
[ Backstabbed Friend and Bruised Saviour]
[Beating As One]
[ What Nobody Knows]||
[ art section]
||[ A Meaningful Beginning]
[ All There Is To Wish]||
This week's update of the Forever series. This time I think it's kind of sweet. But well, i don't really remember LOL.
Enjoy! ;)
P.S: is it just me or the song matches?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~III~
I have seen this light before. I remember how blinding it can be. I remember the hollowness of this room. There might just be me and that woman I have not learned the name of. But…why am I here again? Why did they catch me then just to let me go and capture me again? I don’t understand. I should ask someone.
There is a fuss outside, all around her. There seems to be a lot of people, talking all at once. They seem not to pay attention to her at the moment. The girl reaches out her hand, hoping she will catch someone’s arm or shirt or anything.
‘Um…hel-hello,’ she says, with all her might since her throat feels drier than the Sahara desert.
The crowd seems to grow even louder, talking to each other as if she weren’t there, as if her own presence there was by her own choice. She tries opening her eyes, catching a glimpse of the blinding light, closes them again. She tries turning her head to one side-as not to open her eyes to the blinding light once again.
‘Hello…’
Nobody seems to hear her.
‘I need to ask…any of you something.’
Somebody laughs and a group of people join in.
‘Please tell me…where…I am.’
When the girl almost loses all her hopes, a voice so soft shouts. ‘Ah! Look, she is conscious now. We should all greet her.’
‘Where…am I?’ the girl repeats.
‘Don’t you remember this place, darling? I sure do, though.’
‘I thought…so.’
‘Oh, you sound like a frog in a dry season. Someone, get her a glass of water. Non-poisoned.’
The girl grimaces at this statement. ‘You never…cease to…amaze me.’
The woman laughs. ‘Neither do you, my child.’
A young man approaches the girl with a glass filled with sparkling water. The girl tries to get up. The young man helps her drink the water. When the whole glass has gone empty, the girl clears her throat. She feels rather fresh. Fresher than ever before, perhaps even.
‘Thank you,’ she says to the young man and the woman. ‘I feel better now.’
‘Of course you do, sweetheart. That is the best water yet.’
The girl nods. She doesn’t really know what to say-or rather, what is safe to say. Even though the woman seems as safe as loving mother might be to her child, she holds so many mysteries with her words and actions, causing the girl to have no choice but to be cautious around her.
The woman, who has been holding a cup of tea all this time, puts down her tea on a small glass-marbled table. ‘I believe you have a few questions in your head, dear.’
The girl looks up in astonishment. ‘Yes, I do, actually.'
‘The last time you’re here, I told you that there will be a time when all your questions will be answered. Maybe not just about what is going on here but also any other parts of your life.’ The woman smiles. ‘That time has not arrived yet. Although, we can still give you answers as best we can.’
‘So can I ask a question now?’
‘Of course, honey. Go ahead.’
‘Why did you bring me here? Why once again? Why would you have let me go when you’re just going to bring me back here anyway?’
The woman raises her cup. ‘What a question. That is indeed remarkable.’ The woman puts it down again after she sips the tea. ‘My dear, you see, when we first brought you here, we planted something inside of you. We decided to give you back to the world, for you to live as you were again, and see how it develops in the outside. After a while, we decided to bring you back again to check on the device, to make sure it has not been lost and see if there is any damage.’
‘So, in short, I was just a lab rat you cannot wait but to succeed the experiment?’
‘That might just be correct.’
‘How many have there been? The lab rats.’
The woman waves her finger. ‘Oh, you are our only one. Don’t worry, honey, nothing is there to compete against you.’
‘I suppose not.’ The girl looks at the woman. ‘So are you going to let me go too now? Have you fixed whatever device you have within me?’
The woman smiles. ‘Patience, my child. There is no hurry, really.’
‘There is, as a matter of fact. My mother is waiting for me at home. She must be worried sick that I have not returned yet.’
‘Oh, is she now? What did you tell her the last time?’
The girl freezes. She doesn’t remember. The last time, all she remembers is she was already in her house, on her bed, and suddenly her dear friend told her all this story about him being a full agent and everything. Before she can say anything, the woman smiles. ‘Exactly.’
‘Any other questions?’ the woman asks.
‘Yes. How come you picked me? How come it has to be me?’
The woman drinks her tea then sets down her cup again. ‘How do I say this,’ she begins. ‘I believe I have told you the last time that we don’t know, although that is not fairly true.’
‘She is right,’ says another woman, shorter than the first woman, suddenly piping in. She was just holding her tea and chattering away with her friends five seconds ago. Now, she suddenly seems all excited. ‘It is not that we don’t know, it is more like we simply cannot understand how to break the news to you, honey.’
‘Yes,’ says a man, who is actually a bit far away from the table. ‘There is something about you that’s just perfect for our little experiment. We believe you are the strongest candidate for it yet. We couldn’t afford losing you.’
‘That reminds me,’ the girl says. ‘What is the experiment about anyway?’
At this, nobody seems to be too eager to answer. The room falls silent. The woman begins to chuckle. It slowly grows into laughter. Everyone joins in the laughter and seems to enjoy themselves.
‘That, my dear,’ says the woman, ‘is one of the things you cannot know just yet, not until the experiment is completed anyway.’
‘Oh, all right then,’ says the girl. ‘Umm…do you, by any chance, know where my friend is?’
‘Which one?’ asks the shorter woman.
‘Is it the one with long black hair and glasses?’ asks a bulky man, next to her.
‘Is it the one with short hair and braces?’ asks a skeletal woman, at the back.
‘I believe she is referring to her dearest friend, the young boy who carries gun everywhere,’ says the leading woman, smiling. ‘Am I correct?’
The girl nods. The crowd all cooed in astonishment.
‘I think he is currently on a mission. Assassinate a government somewhere.’
The girl’s eyes widen. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Oh, yes, I’m positive. I hope there’s a good reason behind it, though.’
‘Yeah,’ the girl whispers. ‘Me too.’
A group of men in black suits tiptoe on the roof of a tall and European-style building. They walk with guns in their hands, ready to fire, in case anything bad happens before they can accomplish their mission. They are approaching the building nearby. It is also European-styled but mostly consists of glass. The men’s eyes are looking-or more likely aiming-at two figures in a room, the same level as the roof they are all standing on.
‘Are you sure it’s safe to do this with-I don’t know-more or less 20 people?’ asks a boy in black suit, also involved in the mission.
‘Yes, young master,’ says one of the men.
‘Why do we need to have so many men here anyway?’
‘The governor is known to be very good with his martial arts, not to mention his shooting skill. He might be a tough fish to catch. We need to be prepared for anything. Besides, we are all here also to protect our young master.’
The boy groans. ‘How many times have I told you? During mission, I am no different from any of you.’
‘Be that as it may, young master,’ says the man in black suit. ‘We believe that you are to be protected in this particular mission. Your father has assigned for us to do so, so we must do it. He is only thinking of your own safety.’
‘Why? I’ve been doing this for, like,-what? Four, five years? And he hasn’t been worried then. Why get all worked up now?’
The man looks at the boy’s face, his eyebrow raised. ‘Don’t you know how dangerous this mission is?’
The boy rolls his eyes. ‘Well, all of those missions were dangerous too.’
‘Well, they’re different. It is your turn to do the big thing now.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Have you not known that you are to kill the governor tonight?’
The boy freezes. ‘I what?’
‘It is finally your turn for your first kill, like a lion cub in his first hunt. It is natural to be nervous, young master. However, you must forget all that once you are to do exactly what you need to do. You will succeed no problem.’
The boy gulps. Now he starts to feel nervous. ‘What if I fail?’
The man shrugs. ‘It depends on how you fail. But you needn’t worry about that now. You should just concentrate on the whole mission for now.’
‘Why do I even have to kill him anyway?’
The man looks sternly at him. ‘Listen, I know you’re my master-to-be and everything but…you need to know that you should never know the reason for your assassination. You should kill, thinking your victim had done something wrong. No matter how much you know or not know about the truth, whether or not you are right, it doesn’t matter. Got it?’
The boy nods. He gets the whole thing. That doesn’t mean he accepts them as something he should do. He knows that it might just be his father’s policy. It also reserve for something good. But now, it makes him wonder. How come he wanted this position for so long? What has he gotten himself into?
‘Come on, it’s time!’ the man shouts.
The boy tiptoes, looking at the man from the window. He aims his eyes on him and keeps them there. The building isn’t too far apart from where he’s standing. Although, there is still a much shorter building just between them. He should be able to shoot the governor while he jumps from the roof and lands on the roof of the shorter building. From there, he will jump to the ground-shouldn’t be too much work since the building is not too far apart from the ground. The boy plays this plan in his mind then he nods to make sure he got all that.
‘Okay, here we go! Come on, don’t stall!’
The boy moves forward quickly, his legs seem to move in a way that nobody can even see them moving. He runs to the edge of the roof, ready to jump. He aims his gun toward the governor, one of his eyes closing in concentration. He jumps.
BANG!
It hurts. It just hurts so much.
‘Are you okay?’
A voice. A voice is calling me.
‘I think you should see the nurse.’
A hand reaches for my hand, putting it over the head, not my head. I am hauled to the nurse room. And before I know it, I faint.
When I open my eyes, the world seems a lot more cheerful. All I see is white, though. I thought I was still in dreamland, where white seems to dominate the world. But I realize that I’m in the nurse room. Somebody brought me in here. I try to get up but my head hurts. The nurse turns, responding to my groan.
‘Oh, you shouldn’t get up yet, sweety,’ she says. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘My head hurts, but that’s all,’ I say. ‘How did I get here?’
‘Someone brought you here, honey. Your friend, a boy.’
I nod in comprehension. ‘I think I know who he is.’
‘Well, you better thank him when you’re feeling better. He brought you in here by the arm. He looked so panicked and worried; I swear he could’ve exploded. I told him to go back to the classroom and he can go back here to check up on you later on.’
I blink. I cannot believe what the nurse is telling me. My friend who has been ignoring me forever was worried sick about me. I shake my head, waving the thoughts away. ‘What time is it?’
‘Almost time for lunch,’ the nurse says after looking at her watch. ‘Want me to buy you anything?’
‘Actually, I packed my own lunch but it’s in the classroom.’
‘All right then, I’ll get it for you then we can eat together.’
I nod, sitting on the bed. I look around. The nurse room sure is quiet. I bet this place is usually filled with kids who don’t want to go to class and pretend they’re sick to be able to stay here. I chuckle at the thought. I just hope the nurse knows I’m not faking it. Something seriously hurt.
‘Hey,’ a voice calls.
I see my dear friend at the door, holding a lunch box-my lunch box. ‘Hey.’
‘How are you feeling?’
‘I’ve been better.’
He walks to my bed, putting the lunch box just within reach. ‘What happened? You suddenly fell down on the ground. When we put you on the bed, you fainted.’
I shrug. ‘I have no idea. Something hurt real bad though.’
He gets up quickly. ‘What? What is it?’
I, caught off guard, shake my head. ‘I don’t know.’
He sits back down again, calmly.
‘What gets you all worked up anyway?’
‘Wha-I’m not worked up!’
I laugh. ‘You don’t have to shout about it.’
He looks away in embarrassment. His cheeks color a little. ‘Well, whatever makes you feel better.’
I stop laughing and look at the ceiling. ‘I guess so. I have been feeling rather down lately. It feels…like something hurts, only worse. Different from diseases, it feels like you can never recover. I don’t know how to stop it. I don’t know who to ask.’
He looks at me. ‘What happened?’
I wanted to tell him. I wanted to yell at him and point my finger at him. I wanted to strangle him and slap him and kick him until he says ‘uncle’. I wanted to let him know how hurt I felt. But…I just smile.
‘It’s nothing,’ I say. ‘You shouldn’t worry about it.’
‘Are you sure? Maybe I can help.’
I pretend to ponder about it. There is one wish that doesn’t involve him being badly hurt. Then I turn to him and grin. ‘Let’s walk home together again today. Have ice cream, laugh, joke around. It’ll be a lot of fun.’
He seems to ponder about it as well. Before five seconds have even passed, he turns to me and smiles. ‘All right, why not?’
All of a sudden, my head doesn’t ache anymore.
...To be continued...
NEXT: ||[ The Day That Ends It All]
[ A Smile So Wide]
[ When You Thought It Was Over]
[ Maybe It's Not Worth It]
[ Where You Are, There I Will Be]
[ Backstabbed Friend and Bruised Saviour]
[Beating As One]
[ What Nobody Knows]||
[ art section]