Crystal Heart

Crystal Heart part 1

"She ran that way!" One of the people who intends to harm me shouts. I run fast to an abandoned building and hide behind a tattered cement post as they run past me. I control my ragged and harsh breathing so as to not reveal myself.

Safe. I think to myself when minutes passed by and they haven't returned to where I am. I crouch low and curl like a ball with my hands around my knees and my head securely protected by my arms.

I release a sigh of relief. Thank God, they didn't catch me.

-

A long long time ago, there were humans who carry crystal hearts in their chests. They knew how precious their hearts were so they hid from the world. Just as someone had said, 'No secret can be kept buried and hidden forever'. They were eventually found out by the very world they feared would know of their secret- their crystal hearts and the power they hold.

For thousands of years, the people with crystal hearts were being hunted like animals. If one of them was captured, his/her heart would be gouged out from his chest by his/her captors. One could say the crystal hearts were like the spoils of war. The greedy humans were very delighted when their wishes came true through the use of the crystal hearts. Slowly, the bearers of the crystal hearts dwindled.

Ah, how cruel the world is to have humans murder one another for what- money, power, fame? How bleak the world has become. How tragic. Humans and beasts. Aren't they just the same?

This is the story of the last surviving being with a CRYSTAL HEART.

-

I step out of the salon and breathe deeply. I touch my hair and twirl a lock around my finger. I never thought being a brunette would suit me this much. My former black hair was now dyed chestnut brown.

"Finally." He prolongs the last syllable, his tone filled with exasperation. "Took you long enough." Leo says dramatically with a click of his tongue as he closed the distance between us. I notice that he was holding something in his hand.

"I didn't take long." I say indignantly. "It only lasted for 5 minutes. The same amount of time you need to jerk off." And then I proceed to laugh my head off. Although it wasn't exactly 5 minutes but I couldn't miss the chance to tease him.

He rolls his eyes. "Don't be such a smart-ass, Saph."

"Then don't be such a girl, Leo." I copy the tone of his voice to annoy him.

He rolls his eyes again. "Come on, slow poke, or else we'd be late for mother's birthday party." He holds out his hand for me to take. He has had this habit since... since that time ten years ago.

-

I disentangle my arms and raise my head. I notice that the sun was nowhere to be seen. How long have I-

"You've been sleeping for three or so hours now." A little boy looking probably older than me by a year or two says. He too is in a crouching position while staring at me.

Who is this boy? I think myself.

Is he one of them? When this question suddenly appeared in my mind, I immediately went on alert. I take my hidden knife, about the size of a butter knife, from behind me and point it at him.

He quickly raises his hands up in the air. "No. No. I'm not one of them."

He says that but how does he know who them is? "Who are you?" I narrow my eyes at him.

"My name's Leonard Cellis. Leo for short. I'm not one of them, okay? So stop looking at me like that!" He justifies himself and then accuses me for looking at him like that. Like what?