I've learned a lot from my past. From doing terrible things to being a goody two shoes. I had a lot of transitions and stages in my life that I always question but in the end realize that those choices I made, they made me who I am today. A girl who knows too much for her own good. I've gained many friends due to my intelligence but some of them, I know they were just using me so I could help them with their homework and final exams. I let them do it anyway because I couldn't face myself enough to not let them do it. It was too hard.
Growing up, knowing more than one language was normal for my group of friends and I, but when I moved far away, I lost some of my native tongue- Lao. Now now, I am not Laotion, I just grew up with the culture and language due to family, not actually being born there.
My friend Anong is really beautiful. She always says she isn't, but her beauty says otherwise. Her dyed blonde hair framed her face and neck, fitting like a fallen piece of a puzzle, upon her slender shoulders. She had fair skin that glowed whenever she walked into the sun, giving her an angelic aura. The cow-like hazel eyes she hated so much that I've come to adore throughout the years; shining a golden hue whenever light hit them. Her lips were thin and pink; her smile had the ability to light up anyones day, like a rainbow after a rain storm; showing her true natural beauty. Her height stood around 5'7 making me feel like a dwarf whenever we stood next to each other. She wore clothes that were loose and fitting, complimenting her hourglass figure.
Anong's personality is quite unique, to say the least. Whenever she finds something she likes or gets interested in, she obsesses over it. It's as if she becomes a different person in other people's eyes, but deep inside she is the same person I have always known. She doesn't have any favourite colours. I ask her all the time and she always says the same thing "It depends on the shade." Of course it does. Her and I share the same interests but she gets more into the deep end of the pool while I stay in the middle, not ready to drown myself in a situation I'm not prepared for. "Nobody is prepared, Hatai. You just gotta go for it," she would always say, her voice ringing in my head. We have been best friends since we were little, her being eight and I being six.
I remember the first time we ever met. My real dad had gotten a new girlfriend that he told us all about every time we were visiting, telling neverending stories of how they met and how much he loved her. One weekend we were visiting him, he told us he wanted us to meet her and her daughter, who was Anong, my best friend. Comparing the two of us, she was the shy kid that never really talked till she got comfortable, and I was that one kid who would speak their mind to everything and everyone at anytime and anyplace. We were complete opposites in the beginning but as time went on, we grew close and now we have been friends for over 10 years. She is 21 and I am only 19 years of age, but we both graduated high school earlier than our classmates, making our elders think we are the smartest kids ever.
I on the other hand am completely different. I had natural brown, wavy hair that hung down to my waist, with natural blonde highlights tugging at the ends. I had fair skin that glowed brightly in the moonlight, shining in the sun. My blue eyes were almond shaped and had streaks of silver and green surrounding the pupil giving off a look as though I had green eyes rather than blue. I had small plump lips where my bottom was bigger than my top giving me a puppy look, having people always ask 'Why are you so sad?' 'That look wouldn't work on me missy.' My height was 5'4 making my height average but still short. My legs took up most if my figure, giving me the nickname 'Legs For Days'. I had an hourglass figure but I was more fit than I was curvy. I still had curves but they weren't as prominent. I always wore a different variety of clothes but stuck close to a more comfortable look rather than a flashy look that would say 'Look at my boobs and butt' or even 'My favourite colours are neon' kind of vibe.
A lot of people, growing up, had always told me I was the definition of a mean girl or a goody two shoes before they met me and got to know me. Maybe it was the way I held my head up high or the way I carried myself, making me seem more confident than I really was, or even just the way I spoke my mind or said nothing at all. I couldn't figure it out till I asked or was told randomly out of the blue.
My opinions on people do vary, but I treat everyone the same, with kindness. It sounds cheesy, right? I know, it does. I guess you can describe me as a fake person, I get that a lot, due to my happy-go-to attitude. I'm really not fake, I just like being happy, even when I'm not, I still act like it cause I don't want anybody's pity or pep talks.
I always try my hardest when it comes to doing something I am passionate for. Such as school or even everyday things such as cleaning, cooking, and even doing homework. Most importantly during dance or singing practice, I give it my all. Whenever I have free time I practice, day and night. My family and friends started saying that I wasn't looking too good, or I was losing weight too fast. I ended up taking it so far to the point I would pass out at random times, even during interviews for jobs or schools. It was awful.
I end up ranting a lot when I get nervous, really nervous. My voice shakes and it looks like I'm going to cry. Blood rushes up to my cheeks and envelopes my body in a warm frenzy, making me even more nervous. Sitting on this flight makes me really nervous. I'm leaving my home country, I mean, I am going to be homesick at first but I will get used to it as time goes on. Anong is sitting next to me listening to Yiruma with her headphones in, while reading a book she's currently on. It's in Japanese so I had no clue exactly what she was reading, I only got few words here and there such as crane, feathers, elderly, one, and some phrases like 'That night while the snow fell violently' or 'keeping the promise at first... plucked its own feathers'. It was obviously about a bird but it had a meaning to it, and that I had no clue of. I got a look at the cover of the book, questioning what the title of this profound story was. On the cover was a woman with black hair and pale skin, wearing a pink and red traditional dress with the words 'Crane's Return of a Favour' in bolded black Kanji characters.
I looked forward getting tired as each minute passed, the burden of my eyelids were becoming a pain to keep open. Slowly my vision started to become more blurred by the second and soon found myself being consumed by darkness, not a speck of light in my vision.
There was a tunnel as dark as Raven feathers. I kept running for some unknown reason, not even knowing what or who from but it didn't feel good. My lungs were on fire and my legs felt as if they were gonna fall off and leave the other part of me behind. You know how usually there's that little light at the end of the tunnel? Yeah, well, this was not in my case. There wasn't even a speck of light, not even an ounce of shimmering walls or even glittering water on the ground.
The air was chilly and the cold nipped at my face, arms, and neck, telling me it wasn't going to get warm anytime soon. I kept on going no matter how much I hurt, no matter how tired I was. I had to keep going or else something would happen. I was on the brink of collapse when I heard a voice. It sounded vague although familiar. I ran towards the voice on the verge of tears, my breath hitching in my throat when I came to a halt and involuntarily fell to my knees. What was infront of me? I couldn't breathe, nor tear my eyes away from the scene. It was a mirror image of myself, blood spilling out of my mouth and a gaping hole in my chest where my heart should be. Kneeling by my right side was a monster like creature. It was a black mass, it's body contoured like a beast's, and had a red and yellow eye. It was breathing heavily and started smelling the air before looking straight into my soul.
What did it want from me? I had no clue. I tried getting up but fell back and landed on my tailbone, making me gasp in pain. Tears started rolling down my cheeks uncontrollably, as the monster started walking forward, towards me. It began getting closer with every inch I moved back. My vision began to blur until I saw a glowing light as the monster began to change into what looked like a boy. A boy? What? How? A million thoughts very similar started running through my mind. Suddenly I heard a voice "It's fine, now Hatai," wait, how did he know my name? Who is this guy? He continued through clenched teeth, venom clearly in his once angelic voice, "Everything. Is. Going. To. Be. Alright." I started trembling till he pushed my back to the ground and straddled me, holding my arms above my head with only one of his hands. His other hand had something gleaming and seemed to catch light on the metal part. Oh no. He raised his arm above his head and screamed as it came down on me, an inch away before light flooded my eyes.
"Oh my god, Hatai!? Are you okay!? What happened!?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Anong was hugging me from my right side, comforting me. She was a really caring person, just like a mother. She'd make a great mother one day, I found myself thinking at her soothing touch.
I had no idea how to explain the dream I had to her, so instead I said, "Just a dream of my past." Yes Hatai, nice work! I high fived myself in my head while shaking from the tight grasp she had on me. I looked around and noticed we were the last ones on the plane, the emptiness making me feel sorry for keeping others waiting. She didn't even bother to wake me up when the flight landed, how rude.
Anong slowly nodded her head in knowing of what had happened, and let the subject go. She got up, grabbing both of our bags out of the compartment above our heads before smiling at me, handing me my bag as she helped me stand up. I wiped my face only to feel it was wet. Stupid dream. I gave her my best smile back, in hopes she would buy my fake at being fine. We walked towards the exit and before we stepped out of the plane I stopped and thought for a moment before walking forward. There's no one to stop me now.
A/N: Hey everybody! I hope you enjoyed! This is my first story that I have ever published and will continue working on the story. Let me know what you thought of it, bye!