Teacup Rebel

Chapter 1

Coal black eyes gazed out of the window onto the city lights gleaming. As the breeze gusted against his pale icy flesh, his lips parted in a supple smile. Looking from the summit onto the small buildings far beneath; he felt gigantic for the first time in his life.

Suddenly, huge hands pulled the curtains shut, stripping away his freedom. He backed away from the closed window, and could only see steal. Rods of cold metal caged him inside. Realization set on him. 

He turned around and glared in resentment at the aloof interior of the pet shop he had spent his life trapped inside. Dozens of his kind enslaved and stacked over the shelves. They were smaller than a child’s Barbie; tiny in size and frail.

Like them, he had a petite body and an ‘insignificant’ soul. Why would he matter? He was a forlorn Chibi fated.

The real giants were the ones in command of his life. He would starve if the Chibi store's owner didn’t feed him. He would die if he ever tried to break out; Escaping was out of the question if he didn’t want to face the same end his mother had suffered.

He shivered as a cat peeked at him from outside the cage. The feline bared its fangs, forcing him to crawl into one corner. His heart hitched; face tainting in a hue of red. He was vulnerable and exposed.

That was when something snapped inside of him. He had had enough. Unfaltering, he decided that someday he would take the world by a storm.

He might have been small in size, but he swore he would never be helpless again. If his life would be the cost for bringing change upon, so be it.  ‘One day’, he swore, ‘Chibis will get their revenge.’

Chapter 1

This was where she felt the safest. With every out breath, the knots in her body got undone a little more, and with every chilly lungful, her lips curved upwards. Frozen food, tins, cereal boxes, fruits, and bags everywhere. She wished her home felt as safe as a hypermarket.

“Nouri,” her friend repeated for the second time.

“Yeah?” Nouri let out another yoga breath.  

The friend whined, “Are you done yet?”

“A few more things,” she steered her cart left, and headed towards the last aisle.

Nouri stood at one of the touchable screens, and began selecting her meal set. Sara, the friend, picked up the headphone that Nouri had ignored, and positioned one end against her ear. “Don’t skip the nutrition questionnaire. You eat too much fat.”

“I don’t need their recommendation. I already know what I like.”

“Even if it’s healthier?”

Nouri turned around and smiled at her friend oddly as she pressed to skip the warning video. She had watched it before countless times; The heaviest man on Earth, 160 kilos, complaining about his medical issues and how his life had fallen apart, and then doctors would come in with the gruesome description of how everything you eat rots you inside and out. The government had mandated that supermarkets to show warning signs, videos, or labels on food high in carbohydrates, fats, or sugar. It used to be shocking when it was first implemented, but somehow she had grown anesthetized. In fact half of the items in her cart had warning labels in red plastered all over them. She wouldn’t have the energy to care about every government warning even if she wanted to. In attempts to care after the public, the council had made it its mission to warn, so much that she believed she was starting to become allergic to red and all its shades.

She headed towards the check out desk, Sara following after and fuddling with her mobile.

“Is he going to be there?” Sara asked as she bit her lip.