Finding Something To Live For

“It’s about time you woke up,” A lazy voice drawled. Krista’s eyes flickered to the lips that were below the freckles and trailed back up the face of the stranger she was facing. “For a moment there I actually thought you were dead. If you were, I’d just throw you back in that creek I found you in.”

Her eyes widened and she scrambled around in panic. Where was she? What happened? She was supposed to be de- She fell off the bed she was on, only to glance down to see that she was wearing a large white shirt that was not her own, and was very naked underneath. She squealed.

“Oi! What do you think you’re doing you freaking idiot? Aren’t you going to show some gratitude to someone who just saved your life?” Krista flushed and crossed her legs as the stranger she had glanced at came into better view.

It was a woman.

A mix between exasperation, amusement, and annoyance showed on her tanned and very freckled face. She had eyes the color of the wood that made up the forest with a glint of amber and dark brown hair that was parted in the middle and tied in a low ponytail. The other girl found her quite subtlety enticing to say the least. She was yanked to her feet by the woman and was face to chest with her. Krista shuffled backwards on her feet until she was at a respectable distance from the other woman to which said woman raised an eyebrow.

“What’s with trying to put up a mile of distance? Just before you woke up, you were clinging to me like a frightened child.” Her cheeks grew warmer at the words that the woman had just said and a rush of embarrassment coursed through her.

“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t expect anyone to be there, I was expecting to . . .” Krista trailed off as the rest of her sentence hung in the air unsaid. I was expecting to die. This woman didn’t seem fazed at all and narrowed her eyes at the tiny blond with arms crossed.

“So you’re here to tell me that you meant to die?” Krista flinched with her hands curling into little fists and eyes shutting tight in shame. But nonetheless she nodded. As she opened her eyes she saw one of the woman’s hands moving towards her and Krista closed her eyes again and tensed, waiting for the hit to land. It never did.

She opened her eyes and blinked. She looked up to see the woman sporting a teasing grin as she ruffled the drying hair on Krista’s head fondly.

“You look so young. Why think of dying already when you haven’t even lived? I can guess that you’ve most likely lived here your entire life without even trying to go see the world. Find something to live for before you try to kill yourself. What are you, 13?” The woman asked making a ‘tch’ noise.

“I’m 18,” Krista retorted with eyes narrowed at the taller girl. “My name is Krista Lenz.”

“Hm, that explains it.” The other girl murmured as her eyes drifted towards the walls.

“Explains what?”

“Nothing.” She quipped quickly before looking back at Krista with those dark glittering eyes. “I’m Ymir.”

Ymir. So that was her name. An awkward silence fell upon them and Krista was starting to feel a bit colder and goose bumps rose on her exposed legs and her hair stood up. Ymir (somehow) noticed this and scooped Krista easily in her arms and dumped her back on the warm bed, ignoring the blonde’s shouts of protest. Krista was burrowed under layers of blankets that reached up to her neck and she stared back up at Ymir with a frown as the tanned girl just rolled her eyes.

“I’ll go make us something to eat. You’re so skinny I wonder how you hadn’t been blown away by the wind earlier. We’ll talk about your next plan of action after we eat.” Then she left the room just like that, leaving Krista to contemplate her words. Find something to live for before you try to kill yourself. Did she still want to die? Honestly, she never even saw moving away from her mother on her own as an option. She never really thought about living for herself. Her entire life, she just wanted to gain her mother’s approval. What could she live for?