Warhol (Fanfiction For The Royal Council)

Chapter 5: Cementaries No. 01 (Running)

There were a million thoughts running through my mind as I rode Martha out of the city that felt like a prison, and into the woods that I never saw a single person enter or return from all my life. The only clarity I was able to find was looking at the X on my hand. Maybe it meant something special about me. Maybe it meant that I was different from anyone else that I was able to do this myself. It probably explains why I never seemed to fit in anywhere in my hometown, even outside of my home.

*Flashback to 10 years ago...
Back to school was the worst time of the year for me. It wasn't enough I felt like a stranger at home, the kids and teachers here treat me like a creature. Like there's something wrong with me, and if they get close to me, they'll get infected or something.

Most of the time, I didn't care because they weren't worthy of being nice to anyway. The kids at this school would grow up to be just like their parents so it wouldn't make a difference if they wanted to be friends with me. And the teachers were worse because they would punish me or send me to detention, because I didn't completely agree with what they said or did, or probably because they just didn't like me.

The only person who probably ever treated me like a human being was this smart, reserved girl named Alex. One time I was eating alone in the cafeteria, and out of nowhere, she sit across from me and offers me special snacks that my parents would never let me even taste. It took me a while to warm up to her because no one ever wanted to even sit a few feet from me, but she seemed like she knew what it was like to be an outcast.

Since no one cared about where I might be, I spent my breaks and classes with Alex and we were close like sisters I never believed I had. I  would talk about things that made me laugh about the town we grew up in and the people around us, and she would tell me about the things and places she read about because she loved to read. Since I never got to learn anything interesting because my parents didn't believe me and my sisters needed to be educated to be successful, I learned more from Alex than I ever did at home and in classes.

The only thing that I found strange about Alex was that she would always wear gloves for no apparent reason. Even when it wasn't cold, she would wear them. I believed she was afraid of germs or something, but I never questioned it because I didn't want to lose the only friend I ever had by driving her away for being like everyone else. Our friendship didn't last long, though, for the most unexpected reason.

When the school year was finally over, we promised to keep each other in touch. I thought, maybe I wouldn't be completely lonely in my own home for the first time. For a month, we wrote to each other because I wasn't allowed to leave the house without my parents. There wasn't much for me to tell since I was practically a ghost in my own home. She told me some interesting things, too. Mostly from what she read. I was excited anyway for whatever she had to say because she was the only one who noticed me.

Then, the letters stopped coming. I didn't even see her or her family whenever we went out together for social gatherings with classy people. I started to get worried if she was okay. Then I started to feel lonely yet again. Where could she be and why didn't she tell where she could have gone? It was probably the first and only time I actually looked forward to going back to school, just so I could see her again or know what happened to her.

The first day of classes, I looked around in all my classes and she was nowhere to be found. Even during lunch, I waited at our usual spot to eat and talk, and I never felt so lonely. It was during my last class of the day that I finally spoke up and ask my teacher, "Excuse me, but do you know if Alex Whales is coming back to school soon?" Everyone was agape because I never talked, or I was just invisible to them. But after 10 seconds, my teacher looked at me and clarified, "I'm sorry, Lieseil, but last I heard, her and her family moved somewhere away from here, but no one knows where."

I must have had tears in my eyes, because my teacher looked at me funny and asked if I was okay. I asked if I could use the restroom, and was permitted. The second I exited the class, I ran as fast as I could to the girls' restroom and got into the first empty stall and closed it. My face felt hot as tears streamed down my face and the lump in my throat got bigger. I almost couldn't breathe as the news started to sink in like a needle in my arm. My only friend was gone and didn't even tell me where she went or why. I guess I'm never meant to have any happiness in my life...

I snapped back to reality when Martha stopped in her tracks, and started resisting. I fell off after I lost control of the reigns. I guess she got scared because I wasn't able to calm her down. I decided to let her go because I loved her too much to let anything bad happen to her. So she ran to where she truly belonged. In the wild. Where she might find her own kind who will make her happy.

I just hope the same fate happens for me, wherever I'm going...

OMG!!! 😱 These chapters seem to get longer and longer as we get closer the best part of the story. Your votes mean a lot to me and I'm glad I was able to give some of you some happiness in the form of words. Keep up the #PalayePositivity in 2019!!! 👏👍💗