This was for an assignment for Creative Writing, pretty much. I had no idea of what to do, asked What and Cookie for ideas and received the following: Spoiler Overall, I will be finishing this today, but since it uses a few KHV people and all, I thought I'd post it here for teh lulz Spoiler: Part I The darkness was a grave. It held the land within its lonely confines. Time was a blind guide; it kept moving without direction. Past, present, and future were meaningless here. All that one could see was a small orb of light hanging above the land. It was nothing more than some fraction of the sun, dipping over the valley as if a spoon into ice cream. Light was pulled into the curvatures of the land, moving with each motion like worms digging into the ground. Clouds billowed in the sky after the light. They traced the light’s trail, almost as if footprints in the snow. All she could do was watch as it flew past her. Whenever she put her hand out, it would never be relative to her; the very tips of her fingers would feel nothing more than the coming anticipation or the residual trail that laid lost and forgotten. With the final snap of the light out of sight, she curled into herself. The room was cold, an igloo in a tundra. She felt frigid, barren beneath the single layer sheet lying over her body, eyes frozen on the window. Outside, she could hear the clangs of the machinery. In the distance, she could see the outline of one of the metallic beasts. A small red ring circled around the edges, the glow dim, soft. Ashes lay strewn about; patches of soot covered the broken fragments of earth, like a tarp a child over a mess; simply pretend that nothing happened, that the awful secret beneath the sheets wasn’t there waiting to be uncovered. She wanted to rip the tarp from its place, to embrace what lied beneath and feel the consequences, to feel closure light a fire over the frozen wasteland within. She sighed, rolling back onto her bed. She felt the bed sink a bit beneath her, dipping into the ground like plant roots. She couldn’t tell if the bed was broken or not; it had always done this ever since her youth. It was commonplace to her, indisputable fact even: this bed was always designed this way, resigned to a fate of falling into itself ever so often. She almost likened it to a kindred spirit, if not for the fact she already identified with a great deal of objects already. Withered plants in the dirt, once great creeks lessened to a mere sliver, the smallest of machines -- all of them confided in her solitude, working to keep her company on the high wire of life. She could almost touch them, feel their loneliness rip through her insides. She wanted to bring them into herself, the creeks, the plants, and the dirt and bring life to the empty bodies, and to herself. The cry of the machine snapped her from her thoughts, returning her to the mechanical reality. She extended a hand out into the dark. Her fingers brushed along a polished wooden dresser. She brushed her fingers along the surface, blindly tracing out the dresser until she came upon the metal handle of the drawer. She leaned over slightly to plunge her hand deeper into the unknown. A flare of pain in the tip of her index finger let her know she found what she was looking for. She pulled her hand back, quickly pressing the fingertip to her lips. The beads of blood left a sour taste in her mouth as she sucked, pulling the paper up to her face with her free hand. Her eyes, long adjusted to the dark, quickly skimmed down the lines, reading the words inbetween intakes of blood. “You still haven’t gotten rid of it, after all this time?” Kelly turned to her right, her eyes staring into another, darker pair. It was a young girl, her skin more full in color, her black hair falling down her back. Even if her eyes had never grown accustomed to the dark, Kelly knew the girl near immediately. Removing the finger from her mouth, Kelly began to speak, her gaze locked onto the girl. “What do you want, Judy?” “Same as always, Kelly. I just want to be your friend.” Kelly began to laugh. She could feel her lungs contract as the air flowed between them. Her finger, moist with drool and blood, began to stain the sheet a pinkish hue. “You and me? Friends? What a joke.” “You know I am quite serious, Kelly.” Judy lifted her hand towards the girl. Kelly jumped backward, knocking against the dresser and sending it down with a crash. Kelly grimaced as she hit the floor. She could feel warm liquid drip down the back of her leg. Judy jumped up, her eyes flashing with concern. “Kelly are you—” “Don’t touch me!” Kelly shimmied backwards, small pools of blood lining the floorboard. “I don’t need you, I don’t want you! Why are you here, what do you want from me?” “I just want to be your friend...” “Bullshit! You did this to me! You made me move to this wretched town, you made me hide away! You’re the reason...the reason why he died, why I’ll die...why everyone I love will just die!” Kelly could feel tears stream down her face. Judy sat on the bed, eyes shaking. “But Kelly, I just...” “You just what? Wanted to ruin my life? You sure did a bang up job of that.” “But Kelly, it’s been years since—” “Days, years, lifetimes -- it’s all the same in the end. They’ll never come back to me.” Kelly rose to her feet, staggering to the dresser. Digging her hand in once more, she pulled out a roll of medical tape and began to apply it to her leg. Judy got off the bed, slowly approaching Kelly. “Do you need any help, Kelly?” “Yes, Judy. I would appreciate it if you did me a favor and left my life.” Kelly could hear Judy begin to sob. She rolled her eyes, wrapping the last strip of bandage over her calf. “You know what you did, Judy” Kelly began as she smoothed the bandage against her leg. A blotch of red rested at the center, slowly diffusing through the other areas of the fabric. “You know what you did to me ten years ago. You made me lose something I can never get back. Hope.” Spoiler: Part 2 The flurry of her feet against the stairs reminded her of butterflies. There was no audible sound that pierced the ears, no pieces of filth laid to waste on the ground: all she could feel was the air sifting between the shapes of her body. She was light, weightless, unbound by gravity and all other earthly forces. She reached the top of the stairs as a woman emerged from a doorway. She wore a yellow halter top with gray sweatpants. A scarf rested atop her head, as amber as the hair beneath it. “Hey, Kitty.” The woman turned around, eyes widening at the sight of the butterfly child. “Aye, hullo Kelly. I take it school went well today?” Kelly smiled, twirling her hair between her fingers. “You can say that.” “Dohoho! Don’t tell me my wee lassie has found a fair lad to accompany her at long last!” Kelly glared, sticking out her tongue at the laughing woman. “Don’t be silly, Kitty. You know I despise everyone at that school. Well, except for Machi and Phineas. But they are just friends.” “Likely story, lassie! But ah well, in due time it will happen.” Kitty cackled, causing Kelly to grunt in anger. “But if it’s not a lad, then pray tell what is it that made today that good?” Kelly pointed to the door Kitty just exited, her eyes wide and shimmering. “Is he awake?” “Knowing him, I reckon he is. He is probably just drawing a few pictures here and there. Aye, I swear that boy will be the death of me one day...” Kitty moved aside, allowing Kelly to pass through the door. Papers dotted the floor like a colony of ants. Broken pencils lay strewn next to the bed, which held a small boy hunched over a piece of paper. His black goatee ruffled against the paper, his brow twitching as his hands flew over the paper. “Ashwin!” The boy looked up, his pencil snapping in half. Groaning, he threw it to the ground, meeting Kelly’s gaze with a smile. “Why hello my dear sibling! I was wondering when you would return home from school!” Kelly smiled at him, his frail body almost transparent amongst the bedding. Shortly after he was born, Ashwin developed a case of acute respiratory distress syndrome as a result of trauma from birth. Although he was soon treated, Ashwin’s lungs were crippled by the aftermath, now only functioning near forty percent of the normal level. Ever since then, he’s been confined to his room, locked in solitude deeper than even air would venture into. All he had to keep him company were the scraps of paper his mind vomited on, trying to make a hobby out of his loneliness. “How was your day, Ash?” “Very good, sister dear! I managed to finish a fair number of illustrations today!” Ashwin said, holding the papers out to Kelly. She took them into her hands and fumbled through them; she could see images of trees rise and fall over hill tops, people congregating amongst themselves, and even an image of herself staring off into the distance with a sly smile on her face. “These are excellent, Ash!” “Thank you, good madam. They have taken me almost all day to finish, but I must admit I am quite proud of them.” “As you should! They truly are a masterpiece. Maybe we can see if Kitty would begin commissions for them.” Ashwin began to laugh, his throat making a scratchy sound almost reminiscent to choking. “You flatter me so, sister. But alas, I am afraid I do not think anyone would be willing to purchase such work. They should find a professional, someone who can create truly marvelous pieces of beauty, not a boy confined to his bedroom. Besides, it is only a hobby I dabble in. It is nothing I could charge people for. Just seeing the smiles on the faces of those I care about, that is the true payment.” “Ashwin, you are so strange sometimes. In either case, I best go tackle my homework now, lest Kitty decides to whip me a new one.” “Very well, Kelly. I shall see you soon. May you find the eventual completion a wonderful relief!” Kelly turned to leave before gasping. She plunged her hand into the pocket of her jeans before pulling out a folded piece of paper. “I almost forgot, I made this for you during class.” Kelly handed Ashwin the paper, a sheepish grin spreading across her face. Ashwin began to unfold the paper as Kelly continued to stammer. “I know it’s not good or anything and its okay if you think it’s bad…” “Good madam, surely you jest! This is absolutely exquisite!” The unfolded paper lay in Ashwin’s palms. On it rested a poorly drawn stick figure drawing of Ashwin, Kelly and Kitty, all holding hands beneath a giant laurel wreath. “And you stated that Kitty should commission my art. This is truly stunning, a prized gem which I shall never depart with!” Kelly felt her brow scrunch up. She was glad Ashwin appreciated the gift, but she couldn’t help but to feel something hot stir within her. “Thanks. I’m going to go do my homework now. See you later.” Kelly walked out of the door, closing it as Ashwin continued to gawk over the picture. She pushed open the door to her room, closing it behind her as she stopped in the middle of the floor. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Why…why am I so jealous?” The words left a bitter taste in her mouth. She always felt Ashwin was better than her, surpassing her at every stop. His vocabulary was rich, his art was beautiful, even the way he carried himself…and she hated him for it. She hated every ounce of Ashwin that she loved. She wanted him to go and wanted to hold him tight so he would never leave. Kelly was confused and angry; she wanted to be better than Ashwin at any cost, but didn’t want to lose her younger brother either. “Jealous about what, if I may ask?” Kelly jumped at the sound of the voice. She looked back at the door, for fear of Kitty having listened to her dark secret. She felt a tap on her shoulder. Kelly turned, horrified, to a girl roughly her age. She had long black hair that contrasted Kelly’s own short blonde hair. “Wh-who are you?!” “My name is Judy.” “How did you get in here?” “The same way as you.” Judy pointed to the door. Kelly’s gaze shifted between the door and the girl in front of her. “Kitty!” Kelly heard the sound of feet rush up the stairs mere seconds after she let out her scream. Kitty burst through the door, nearly knocking Kelly to the floor in her rush. “What’s wrong, Kelly?!” Kelly pointed at Judy, her eyes full of hate. “This girl snuck into my room and I have no idea who she is!” Kitty looked to Judy, then back to Kelly. Kelly could see the confusion wrinkled in Kitty’s face. “Kelly, is this an imaginary lassie of yours?” Kelly shook her head, grabbing Judy by the arm. She pulled her in front of her, holding her stomach in a vice grip. “Kitty, she’s right here! She’s not made up!” “Aye, you children will be children I suppose. Just be sure to wash up before dinner. And tell this Judy lassie I said the same.” Kitty petted Kelly on the head, walking out of the room. Kelly released Judy, the latter merely brushing off the sides of her shirt. “Why can’t Kitty see you?” Kelly’s fists were shaking. Judy looked over to the girl and smiled. “Kitty did see me, silly Kelly!” Judy moved closer to Kelly and wrapped her arms around the shaking girl. “Who are you?” Kelly’s face writhed in horror as Judy pressed her lips close to Kelly’s ear. “I am you, and you are me.”
That was marvelous Plums! Still taken back at the fact I was one of the main characters/ifeelloved.The ending to Chapter two had me going "wat" but I enjoyed it nonetheless, Ashwin's death made me a little sad too >:c without him who would me and Daxa pair Cookiie with?! Is there a hinting of KellyxCookiie yuri in this story?! If so, I'm totally cool with it. Very well done. c':
Last two parts. Ending kind of rushed since I have to hand it in today oop. Will maybe revise later. Spoiler: Part 3 It had been three years since Kelly discovered Judy. In that timeframe, Kelly quickly came to realize that Kitty was not the only one who was unable to see the mysterious girl; Ashwin, Phineas, Machi – Judy was invisible to all except Kelly, and it drove her insane. Judy was always with her, regardless of the time or place. “Whatever you do is what I do. We’re one in the same, Kelly.†At this point, Kelly had likened the girl to a shadow. She tried to ignore her altogether, to block her out as if she were nothing but an illusion. It had started to work well into the second year, until their family was brought into turmoil once more. Ashwin’s health deteriorated even further. He was at first administered to daily doses from an oxygen tank. Then the days were reduced to hours, and hours to every second, every tick of the clock. It was his crutch, the only thing that kept him up in life. And yet, he didn’t mind it. He didn’t feel any different. He kept drawing, kept improving. Kitty was astounded at his progress. “If he keeps this up, I reckon he’ll be the first Nobel Prize winner from his bedroom!†Kelly was proud of him, and yet the green eyed beast within her kept clawing at her insides. It kept whispering into her ear, trying to seduce her into a wild fit of envy. Kelly hated it. She hated envying her younger sibling, she hated his progress and above all, she hated Judy, and by extension, herself. “Kelly?†Kelly was walking to her room when she heard Ashwin call her. She didn’t look back, standing in place. Judy was beside her, poking her in the ribs. “Come on, Kelly. Go see what he wants to say.†“You don’t tell me what to do.†Kelly entered the door to Ashwin’s room. She had been avoiding approaching him recently, if not out of both the fear of seeing him and the fear of hating him. “Kelly, my dear sister, I wanted to show you one of my latest illustrations!†Ashwin coughed as he motioned her over. The oxygen mask hung over his face like death. Kelly felt her insides churn as she was forced to approach him, saddened but what remained of him. Ashwin handed her a piece of paper, the sound of each breath amplified by the oxygen machine. Kelly opened it up and gasped; before her, colors swirled into beautiful patterns. She could see a young boy look over a green, lush village below, the sun rays beating down onto his skin, like doves in descent. The oil paint mixed together to weave an ocean of color before her. It was the most beautiful thing Ashwin had ever made. “I hate it.†Kelly ripped the drawing in two. She could only stare as she watched the happiness in Ashwin’s eyes wash out of the cornea. She could feel Judy against her back, nudging her with her frail arms. “Why did you do that?†Kelly could hear both of their voices in tandem. Kelly turned to Judy, the girl stepping back in surprise. “You know what I’m talking about.†Kelly pointed a finger at the girl. “You’ve known I was always jealous of Ash, and here you are asking me why I did what I did.†“Kelly, you were jealous of me? Who are you talking to?†Ashwin pleaded for his sister’s attention, but she only had eyes for Judy. “Kelly, you didn’t have to do that. If you just explained to Ash how you felt, he’d understand.†“No, you’re the one that doesn’t understand. I care about Ashwin, he’s my younger brother for god’s sake. And yet I cannot help but to feel this way. This envy that’s been eating away at my insides. This…this feeling of inadequacy, it hurts. It hurts like hell and there’s nothing I can do about it except stand there, pretend to smile and hate him from the inside. I hate him, and it makes me hate myself.†“You…hate me?†Kelly turned to Ashwin. The inside of the mask was almost as fogged over as his eyes. Kelly could see the scarlet veins spread over his eyes like lightning. “No Ash, I mean – yes, but, Ash, please…please don’t cry†Kelly moved her hand to touch Ashwin, but twitched as she got closer. She could feel Judy walk up behind her, staring at her twitching hand. “Go on, Kelly.†“I can’t do it.†“Kelly, he’s your brother!†“I know that!†Kelly turned once more to Judy, her nostrils flaring. “You think I don’t know that I made my brother feel like absolute ****? You think I don’t know that he’s crying his heart out because of things I said?†Kelly started to cry, her tears burning her skin. “Just tell him how you really feel, Kelly.†“I said I can’t!†Kelly could feel Judy’s palm on her arm. Without a second thought, Kelly gave Judy a shove. Judy sidestepped the girl, causing her to tumble into the floor below. Kelly could feel wires dig into her skin upon descent. Kelly looked up to Judy, her eyes burning with hatred. She saw Judy was pale, staring in Ashwin’s direction. When Kelly looked over, she gasped. Ashwin was flailing about in his bed, his mouth beginning to froth over. Tears were running down his eyes with each small gasp for air. Kelly could hear footsteps run up the stairs as she stared in horror. “Kelly, what the hell have you done!†Kitty ran over to the girl, throwing her off of the broken oxygen tank plugs. She carried a smaller oxygen mask in her left hand, replacing the now froth soaked mask on Ashwin’s face. Tears and snot cascaded down her face at each second. “Nononono, this can’t be…I can’t have…please…†Kelly turned to run out of the door. Behind her, she could hear Kitty scream her name, her sister crying for her to remain, crying for Ashwin to remain. Kelly cold only run: out from the house, into the woods, somewhere, anywhere. She had no home now. She was a monster, an envious beast that did not deserve to live. She almost murdered her younger brother. And, beneath the concern and worry, she felt proud: that is when she began to truly hate Judy, and by extension, herself. Spoiler: Part 4 “He never recovered from that day. I’ve been hearing it in passing in this new town, this story of a family whose parents were long gone. A lonely sister took it upon herself to care for her younger siblings. One was bed ridden, the other a jealous wench that nearly killed her brother. Ever since, he stopped drawing. He stopped having the will to live. He stopped living his life. I killed him that day, and I killed him again. I’m nothing but a murderer, a monster, a beast – and that’s all I ever was.†Kelly could feel Judy put her hand on her shoulder, but she didn’t resist this time. “Listen Kelly. I know you are afraid to talk to Kitty, and afraid to deal with Ashwin’s death. It was not your fault. You never intended for any of this to happen. You’ve exiled yourself away from the people you love, and always exiled your feelings off in an effort to escape them. But you can’t escape them, Kelly. You have to live up to them. You are what you feel, and much more than that. Ashwin may be gone now, but it was not your fault. The only way in which you can fault him now is to keep living like this. Living as if you were dead. Ash would want you to enjoy your life. He always loved you, even in those last moments you saw him struggling to live.†Kelly was crying, placing her head atop Judy’s shoulder. Judy cooed her, rubbing her back with her free hand. “How do I make my life right?†“Call your sister. It will be a long road, one you will struggle to see the end of, but if it means fulfilling Ash’s wish for you to live, it is better than sitting here and continuing to hate yourself.†Judy reached over to the dresser, pulling a phone before Kelly’s face. Kelly looked into her eyes and nodded. Her fingers flew over the number pad. She heard the phone ring twice before she heard a woman speak. She sounded elderly, as if she had aged fifty years instead of ten. Kelly almost began to cry again, but choked down her emotions and spoke: “Kitty…its Kelly. I…I’m coming home.†Kelly could hear the sound of delight come from the receiver, as if she could taste the tears of relief and love from her sister’s home. Kelly looked over to Judy with a smile as she hung up the phone. “I’m going home right away, but…†Kelly could feel Judy’s hand lace into hers, the girl flashing a smile at her. Kelly was sometimes jealous of the girl, how she had never aged even after all these years. “We’ll go together.†Kelly nodded, a single tear falling out of her eye as she and Judy exited the house. Kelly had always been wary of Judy, afraid of this being that plagued her existence. But now, she understood; Judy was her innocence, her youth, her joy. Judy was always there, encouraging her forward to do the right thing, even if Kelly didn’t believe in it herself. Judy was her, and now, finally is her. Judy was the life she was going to get back. Judy was, and will be, her hope.
Wow. Plums, this piece of writing was cracking! You're really an amazing writer (Y u no rite more?) I really loved the images and descriptions you used in this, and the characters were perfect! I always find it difficult to imitate What but you nailed him on the head! I can't see any fault with this. It's short and sweet and I loved it. Great job!
This story was absolutely beautiful and you are an amazing writer, Plums. You captured the character personalities and even more so the emotions extremely well - the inner turmoil of Kelly especially. The descriptions were fantastic and the pacing was magnificent, and the conclusion had me smiling like a rather estranged goose. I applaud this immensely - bravo, and I do sincerely hope you receive very high marks for this particular work!
