●●● Cherry Life ●●●

"Some kind of wonderful"

Welcome

Here, you will find all stories I ever placed online. At first I organised them all in series, but then I decided it was not much use and that I could as well all place them on the same page to organise my header a little more, as it was looking quite crowded and chaotic.

I hope you will enjoy them, and thank you for reading.

For now, Sayonara,

{Queen Elise}



whatever this may be
Growing up

Favourite worst nightmare
A certain romance
Angels

NaNoWriMo
Day one
Day two
Day eleven

whatever this may be

Hello to you

I hope your day was just as interesting as mine. I found this story on my computer and decided to place it online. I had forgotten about it, but it's quite interesting, actually. See, I wrote this during a period in which I was completely into poetry by Baudelaire, Verlaine, and most of all, poetry by the french poet Arthur Rimbaud. Because of his writings, of course, but also because of his fascinating life. You see, he was extremely gifted, but only published poetry for a few years. At the age of 24, he turned his back on poetry and writing, never to look back again... He is the true enigma, if you'd ask me.

I'm sorry for what I wrote above; I just couldn't help but explaining my fascination for this poet. Please read some of his poems, they are quite marvelous. Of course, you'll need some knowledge of the french language, and it will take some time to understand what he's trying to say, but in the end, it's really worth it. But that's just my opinion.
Anyway, if you are interested, I suggest reading some of his early poems, since they are easilier to understand than his later day works.

Of course, my writing isn't even half as good as Rimbaud's; none of my writings, if I am honest. But, I'd still like your opinion on this... Because, everyone sees something different in it. An ex-friend of mine told me - back when we were still friends - that it reminded her of Hitler. I don't understand that, so I'd be really grateful if you could explain it to me... Another friend told me that it reminded him of himself, and of me, of course, it isn't really logical, but in some ways, it does make sense.

Well, let me know what you think...

For now, oyasumi nasai,

{The Queen}

Two creatures of the dark we were - both saint and sinner at once - born between day and night, light and dark, crying crimson-red tears when we saw the puppetmaster's stage; Earth. We illustrated the human comedy, the tragedy. We saw those who were really worth something die young, and the others suffer.

Then we saved young children from a misery - damned to by the love others felt - and loved whores, giving them the pardon they longed for, freeing them from the endless sin; living... life. Then we touched each other, kissed, tasting the warm, poisonous blood on each other's lips.

We slaughtered fathers and mothers for creating sweetest lies about safe haven, and giving their children hell.

We created seas of blood that never was innocent, it turned the seas of madness crimson-red. I bathed in it, brought it to my companion's lips - he was my eternal lover - on our voyage through insanity.

We destroyed fakeness, mankind's dreams, empty illusions. Gave back reality to those who were too blinded to see. Answered to the prayers of those who were damned, who saw through the veil of fake happiness - into reality - we took them away.

We made love to young men and women - teaching them the beauty of the beast - we destroyed abandoned churches, for they came to us. We gave them the truth.

Growing up

I'm not quite sure how to describe this. It is sort of a cross between just a piece of creative writing and something that is about my memories and fears. It is quite weird, and I seem to be switching points somewhere along the way, which is absolutely not good. So, I might rewrite it, if I feel like it one day. Feel free to comment – constructive comments only please.

 

Thank you for reading, and for now,

 

Sayonara

 

{The Queen} 

 

reading

 

        When she was younger, she spend many hours hiding behind books, loving nothing more than reading, never looking up before the story was finished. Every story absorbed her, carried her off to a realm where anything was possible. She looked down upon the story, without being part of the story and yet she was there... These worlds made it possible for her to deal with pain, sadness. It simply disappeared. She dealt with happiness, with anything through the things she read.

There was a certain magic in books, that got hold of her, forcing her to read and re-read and re-read a specific story.

 Nowadays, when she reads, she never gets caught by the story. This ability she had as a child, it’s lost. She is no longer able to be taken into a story, no longer able to escape.

 

Escaping is an ability only children have. As one grows up, she will realize that her world is slowly changing. She finds herself unable to disappear to the world she spent so many happy hours of her childhood, The real world is locking her in, and no matter how hard she tries to escape, she can’t. The world is no longer the place of make believe that it used to be. Now she is caught, not by a story but by a world. There is no chance of fleeing anymore...

Naturally, she will turn to other ways of escaping. Writing, drawing, but it isn’t like it used to be. Nothing is like it used to be. Writing yourself, creating things, is great but it isn’t like it was to escape through a story, through a book

In her writing, you will find a certain melancholy, a certain longing. It’s not because she dislikes this very world, but she longs back to her childish world, to the time she was able to create a whole world with a word, with a couple of sentences. She knows it. It’s the process of growing up. Demain, je serai un enfant d’hier. Or perhaps it will be today. But she knows she can’t escape it. Today she wants to run, but tomorrow it will be alright. Tomorrow it will be her reality. She’ll adapt and get used to it.

In her heart she doesn’t want to but there is no way of running, of leaving. So, she’ll accept it. Once, she dreamt she would do it different but now she knows differently. It doesn’t matter much. No matter what she wants, one day she will be like the generation of her parents, the generation she despised, laughed at. She’ll take off her dark clothes, settle in, get a decent job and lives a decent life. And one day, her child will laugh at her, as she did at her parents. That’s her future, she knows that.

And if she ever will return to her storybook world, she will be old. And it will be due to an error of her mind that she will returrn. That is the only way.

But before then, she will not be able to return. It’s not a problem as big as it seemed to be. Because, in this fairly new world for her, there is no time, no place for escaping. It doesn’t matter much to her anymore. The more her new life absorbs her, the more she forgets about her childish life and her dreams and freedom, only remembering it with a sigh, looking at it through adult eyes.

 

There is no need anymore for her to escape. She is an adult now, this world is hers.

Favourite worst nightmare

Favourite worst nightmare

This is where you can find the stories around the theme 'idiots'. Now I do realize that idiots is a very strange theme, but I promise you that you will find out what I mean by it, while you are reading.

Maybe I should say before you start reading - that I no longer have the same way of viewing life and - more importantly - the people in it.



I hope you will enjoy reading

{Queen Elise}

A certain romance

I wrote this story last schoolyear (2005-2006), when - for the first time - I found out other people's idiocy annoyed me like hell. Before, I used to laugh about it, and just not care, but since then. Something triggered it... I just don't know what.

Anyway, this story isn't very good, please also read 'Vampires' (or, as it is actually called, 'Vampires will never hurt you'). Please be so kind to leave a review.

Thank you, and for now, sayonara,

{The Queen}

The other students - without one exception - dislike you. You are different, and therefore, weird. You don't paw and struggle to climb their ranks, nor do you want to. You have transcended beyond the need for their pity acceptance. They dispite you for that and made you a loner. Then they were even more disgusted to find that actually enjoyed your forced solityde.

However, they flock to you like dumb hens whenever there was fun to be had. And though you will never admit it, you had found yourself amused quite a lot of late because of their idiocy and naivity. You drew immense amounts of fun from their petty mob mentalities.

-----------------------------------------------------

You smile. But while unaware of it, it shows your true feelings; sadness, bitterness, and an unhuman dose of strength.

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People tell you, "you are so smart", "you are so creative", and even call you "the tortured artist".

You are sick of being a brilliant student. Where was it getting you?

"You are so talented", "Oh, you're so gifted", "you are going to places".

Bull.Shit.

You realize that in every single thought that is going through your mind. You didn't believe a single word of the stupid praises. People may be praising you when you face them, but as soon as you turn your back at them, they'll try to put a knife in.

So that's why you'll face them, always. Silently judging them with your cold green eyes in which they can't see any shadow of an emotion.

Some people consider you as evil, which might be true. You yourself do not view the world in such extremes, but you consider it possible for people who are not gifted with an extraordinary mind as have you, cannot see the shades of grey that exist between the black and the white; between good and evil.

You are beyond good and evil, as Nietzsche wrote. And - as you yourself once wrote in a vague poetic mood - both angelic and demonic, saint and sinner at the same time.

But if you were really so talented, so gifted.... why are you still here? Why are you still waiting for your destiny to begin?

The world still hasn't answered you that....

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You are pale, paler than you can remember to be, and your eyes are ringed with shadows of the lack of sleep. Your eyes are filled with an emotion not many get to see in you; despair, and something deeper even you yourself can't recognize.

"This is what I am," you whisper. "A mere ghost."

-----------------------------------------------------

You'll never be a prisoner of society and it's pitious morals and idiotic rules. Because, if you'd do as 'they' say, you'd become one of 'them'. An idiot, blinded by selfishness 24/7.

You can walk among them but you'll always feel distanced. A stranger. An alien.

But that's okay to you; being different. After all, you don't really know better. You were a brilliant kid, a child-genius, her level far above that of peers. Even in a VWO-4 class, you did not find people who were the same as you; and you remained an outsider as you took up your own education because you had had enough of having to adapt yourself to the level of the weaker.


You had had more than enough.

You were too good for that, and you knew it. At this moment you decided to do the one thing that you're best at: being number 1!

People hate you for it. They think it's great to be smart, to know all the answers without studying, but it's not. They don't know anything. They don't know what it's like to have questions about the coursework the teacher cannot answer. They don't see how annoying it is to know the answer at any question and then see the not-understanding faces around you when you answer it.

It's not that you consider your school as bad, you just barely learn anything at all there.

And then your classteacher.... a woman near fourty who thinks she's still fifteen, sixteen, one of your peers. She even has the pathetic courage to call you 'guppy'. Like you're three.....

You don't need someone who acts like she's your age; you need someone who considers you an adult, someone who will treat you as an equal. Not this pathetic woman who doesn't understand you when you say something about the law, or politics, or literature. Hell, you even speak better English than she does.

She once came to you during class because you weren't paying attention - as you never do - and told you, "that's not nice of you". All you answered was, "well, I am not nice".

You really dislike this woman, but you don't hate her though. She's not worth wasting your time on her. So instead of destroying her you just ignore her, silently thinking that some people just don't have enough brain to know that someone is not paying attention.


This woman even dared to tell you that you "perhaps did not care about what she or anyone else said about you". It annoyed you; you thought you had made that plain obvious, so that even a fool like she could get it.

-----------------------------------------------------

It always are the same questions. You have explained it hundreds of times already, and they still don't get it.

Sometimes it makes you wonder if 'Good God' has accidentally forgotten to give these people brains, and covered this mistake up by filling their heads with sawdust.

-----------------------------------------------------

You know you're arrogant, although you'd never admit it. But you know you are better than these people around you, with their talking about the other sexe and popmusic and movies.

People dislike you for being "too" smart. and they start to moan to you not to think so much of yourself, but you realize there's a hidden message beneath the surface, saying that you should adapt yourself to their level, cuz they find you a freak at the moment.

You react by prefering to be a freak over becoming like them, because you'll never to pretend to be less intelligent than you are, cuz - after all - you're too arrogant for that anyway.

You have always known uncounciously that you have a superiour mind and that you can get very far with it. But one day something made this uncouncious knowledge wake up in you, and the drive to act like you're one of them just wasn't there anymore.

Some people say you're weird, which - you must admit - might be true to some degree; but you have your reasons to do as you do.

-----------------------------------------------------

They judge, but you couldn't care less. Their reprimanding and complains are not going to change anything, and you will be the last one to care about that.

Because, you have stopped to care a long time ago - about what people say, think, or feel about you. It's the only way you can be true to yourself. And that's the only person you owe something to: you. It's the only way you can stay sane; the only way you can do what you must.

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You have confided yourself in your own made prison, because freedom is a luxery you cannot afford yourself.

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In general people can't see beyong what their eyes can conceive. If they could, they'd see that the brilliant loner they've come to know is nothing but a shell of the person you once were.

Cuz, that automatic drive to always create, to become someone who matters, you no longer posses. Your strong will is gone.

-----------------------------------------------------

A genius of twelve is a good start, but when this kid grows up, the praising turns 180 degrees around and changes into reprimandes; because this child is different, to mature for it's age, ...........creepy.

When such a child was younger, it could be seen as a promise for the future, but as it became older, it always became a lot more different, as it developed in a way many people could not understand, or just did not like.

And it scared them....

Therefor they avoid such a child, and it'd stay a loner, an outsider no one really knew, but still feared; for somehow - unconciously - they could sense the danger it could become.

-----------------------------------------------------

You are the only person who knows what happens behind those cold green eyes; the only one to know the answers. You just leave them think whatever they wish about it, because you know that any conclusion they can draw - will draw - is based on their own imagination; their truth consists nothing but lies. They don't deserve any answers.

They may not speak their minds, but they don't trust you. But it doesn't matter, cuz they don't know, they can't see who you are, who you'll be....

And in the end, you will rise, won't stop, never will give up.

Because it's all about you.

All about you.

-----------------------------------------------------

It doesn't matter. You don't need friends. At all. You don't need anyone. And you especially don't need anyone you can trust. Such a person does not exist; everyone talks behind your back. You are not even sure if you can trust yourself. You are human, after all. Just like them.

And you're strong, stronger than the others - you fully realize that, but you don't know if you can be trusted with 'such' information. You won't admit it to others, but you have your weaknessess too. And you can't risk to let wrong words slip off your tongue. Not in this case.

You have full control over yourself - at least you used to. You used to be able to do ten things at the same time and still be able to do it all right; you used to be able to control everything around you soley by the power of you will.

Control, that's what it's all, what everything is about.

Total control.

-----------------------------------------------------

You had to struggle to escape the mudane society, to get where you are now. At the top.

You are known to be cruel, and sometimes even heartless. You don't mind. If anyone stands in your way, you'll throw them aside as if they are nothing. You are not one to fool around with, and will even kill to get where you want.

You do not care about destroying people's lives. If those naive fools who are so stupid to get in your way are too innocent to see how cruel life can be, they are not worth it to care about. It's not your duty to care about it, nor to make them see.

You learned it the hard way. Only the weak show emotions and will get crushed for that, and you definately are not one of them.

Life - or faith - has changed the innocent child you once were, ripped away your childish believe that there was always something good in everything and everyone. Life created a perfect soldier, not being able to feel emotions, an heiress to the past and the dark. It changed your destiny, and made you become perfect. Perfect in everything.

Most of all, perfectly alone.

Your change wasn't just mentally, it was also visible psychically. Your once kind and genuine smile, full of joy, has been replaced by a sinister sneer, a dark feature always visible on your angelic face. Your once so sparkling eyes have lost their life, and have become cold and no one could read any emotions on your face anymore.

You became cold, calculated, cruel, and most of all: superior

-----------------------------------------------------

You picked up your own education in which you specialized your knowledge of language; French, Dutch, German, English, Japanese; in philosophy: you read Nietzsche, Darwin, Sartre, Schoppenhauer; in history, in poetry: you knew Rimbaud, Verlaine, Baudelaire, Villon. You also became an expert in polictics, psychology and laws, both national as international.
You were only fifteen.

It has made you become distanced from the world around you. Adults still see you as a fifteen - soon to be sixteen - year old brat, too young to be taken seriously, so they smile to you - as they would smile to a clever five year old - and say something polite so they won't be rude, and then talk on, ignoring you.

Idiots.

You are not at all like those ignorant creatures you share nothing with except for age, and the planet you live on. You are superiour to them in everything.

Looking at several adults around you, you might be - actually, are - superiour to them too.

It has nothing to do with being arrogant, only with self-conciousness. You don't lie for all the qualities you state to have mastered, you really have. Alone, since others did not give you what you needed from them. After all, you were the one who has learned this stuff to yourself.

You know that you will become someone worth knowing. You also do realize you will lose many of your carefully improved skills over the years, as you will finally make the decision what you want to drop to become the worldmaster in the thing you want to improve further.

-----------------------------------------------------

If there's one thing you try to ignore than it is the opinion of others. You don't need them. Ever.

You don't need anyone. You used to outrule all the others around you just because you knew how they would react, and you could stop them before they had even started. They were predictable.

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You don't show your anger anymore. You don't scream, and you don't let your anger take over you, but any time you get angry, the temperature drops quickly to far below zero.

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.....the story never changes, just the names and faces.

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You had promised this to yourself a long time back. If only it hadn't come at such great costs. The loss of humanity, the loss of any connection to those who you live among.

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You have your weaknesses, your downfalls: fear. The demons of your past, and some of the present haunt you. You fear it. It's a primitive fear, something you can't control.

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Ever since you were young, you have been to smart for others. It already started in infants' class, but the event which is engraved in your soul took place in fifth grade.

In fifth grade, you were considered old enough to chose the speed at which you wanted to work, and in which order you wanted to do the assigments. You were delighted. You finally didn't have to work at the speed of others anymore, which meant you wouldn't have to wait hours because of how slow your classmates were. So you started to work and did the coursework for the whole week in just one single day, without answering one question wrong.

That was probably the moment that something changed which made you accept this, even made you be proud of it. Unfortunately, the teacher wasn't so happy with it, and she got angry at you, shouting that it was not possible to do as you did - although you just had proven the opposite - and she even went as far as accusing you of crib.

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You are not some dumb fifteen - soon to be sixteen - year old.

You are the town's dirty little secret, the vampiric, brilliant loner that no one ever spoke to in school, because 'wouldn't that ruin your reputation'?

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Those around you do not see the intentions behind your actions. They don't know why you do what you do.

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Naive fools, they are. Appearance can be deceiving.

They'll never be able to understand you. They are afraid of what they can't understand. So does that mean that they fear you? Are they afraid of who you are, afraid of who you will become?

Good.

Angels

A little word on forehand

This story is based on what happened during the summer after fourth grade. However, it is a mixture of a lot of things, and what happened only is a side story. I never actually finished this story. Let me know whether you think it's worth finishing.

And of course, I will have to credit the person who came up with the last sentence. Thank you very much, Tom! I really like your addition.

Arigatou Gonzaimasu,

Kurai-hime

It was nice, having someone you trusted, someone to walk around with, and have fun. Sometimes, she made you feel like you really belonged among humans. Like you could just be one of them anyway… without having to change.

But in the end, it just turned out to be entirely different. Your friend, she betrayed you. You were alone again. And you were hurt. Really hurt. It surprised you. You hadn’t expected that you were able to feel any pain anymore after all this time. You thought you had gotten used to being betrayed; thought that it wasn’t possible anymore to hurt you with such an act. You were proved wrong.

She changed oh so suddenly. You hadn’t noticed anything… you blame yourself for that. Now you think back, you can see some signs… but they didn’t mean anything. Not then, at least.

The girl you used to know is lost forever. After all, what died in the past, is forever lost. She had become someone entirely else. An enemy.

She had started to wear different clothes. Clothes that exposed a lot of skin… more than clothes should, according to you. You know very well that the rest of the world didn’t seem to think that way, but it seemed that the only fabric of the whole thing was used to put the price-label on, in the shop where she bought it. Dear god, can she possibly wear something what exists of even less fabric?! You don’t think so.

She started to just flirt with random boys. Call it old-fashioned, but it disgusted you. You couldn’t see the point of just trying to impress someone with your body. ‘Cause that was what it was all about; doing as everyone else did: getting a boyfriend. A boyfriend who doesn’t want you for the person you are, but because of your looks. Everyone does it, so she follows them.

It made you wonder what happened to the nice girl you knew. A little whore, that’s what she has become, you think when you see her walking down the street trying to gain attention from another guy.

Suddenly you are ‘the know-it-all’, ‘the goody-goody’. Apparently she never knew you. 

She used to be a really kind, sweet person. Used to be.
Now, her attitude makes you feel sick. What happened? What did you ever do wrong?

Now she hasn’t got any idea about the world. The real world, that is. Because, her world exists in between the H&M and the corner of the street, where they sell more make-up than anyone can ever possibly need. But that’s your opinion…

She heads the call from the others… In some way she has picked up some subliminal message that made her become an idiot, a… Barbie-doll.

Her ignorancy has become frustrating, and hearing her angelic voice but irritating. And the friendship you felt for her has turned into hate.

She and the others keep moaning that you are different. That you aren't nice towards them anymore. They created a monster… and they’ll just have to learn to live with that. If they can’t, too bad for them. You don’t give a shit.

They keep telling you how disgusting people like you are. What should you do with that message? You know they hate you, for being different, for wearing black, for being too smart, for not being a member of the pink pony club. Your own, personal fan club.
You can’t remember that you ever were invited for the official opening, but apparently some of the girls around you took it up themselves to start it.

I
t was pathetic. Not to say terribly annoying. You were disgusted when you found out that wherever you went you were greeted by screaming and whispers.

Great, exactly what you needed. More fools who pay attention at your business. Exactly what you always wished for… wished for never to happen, to be exactly.


People are always saying things about you. Did it ever occur to one of them that you can hear them?

“Did you see her?” “Yeah, oh my god, she’s such a poser.” “Yeah, she only wears that stuff to get attention. I bet she cuts herself every night.” “What the fuck makes her think she’s so special? I bet she just does it so that people will feel sorry for her. As if…”

Did it ever come up in that brainless heads of them that you don’t want attention? Especially not theirs.

Oh dear, looks like their mothers didn’t teach them manners. Whispering about someone is so rude. Why don’t they just say it to your face?

You truly wish they would, but on the other hand you know very well that this is something that is bound to remain a wish forever. They will never tell you what they think of you to your face. They’re too afraid of you to do so.

Funny.

Perhaps you can use that against them, one day?

They sure as hell ain't gonna tell you what they think about you. Not that this really matters. There are other ways to find out what people are whispering about you. One just need to know where to find these ways and how to use them. And that’s something you do know… Not that the outcome is of much use. Mostly it are just some gossips about cutting or other absurd things.


x


But don't worry,
dear. I’ll write such a story about you, and I’ll let you read it.”


You kept your promise, and wrote it. It, being a letter addressed to her. A letter, full of anger, hate, and annoyance,


Kim,

So pathetic. That’s the only way I can think of you now.

You seriously didn’t expect me to find out, did you? You seemed to think I didn’t notice anything. I may ignore idiots’ gossips usual, but I’m not blind and deaf, though. What did you take me for, a complete imbecile?
I now know that the answer is, most likely, yes.

Well, I’ve got news for you, I’m not. I thought you would know that, but you’ve proven to be too ignorant to realize this. After all, it isn’t about you.

But I may have been naïve, I’m not that stupid.

I’m not you.

I know everyone has the right to be stupid, but you have broken the rules. It’s such a shame stupidity isn’t painful, really. If it was, I’d be saved from having to see your face for another year, and hearing your really ‘angelic’ voice…

You wouldn’t be such a big loss to the world anyway.

Can you shut up for once? You said to others I was boring you so much and that I wouldn’t shut up, but in face, Kim, you are the one who can’t shut up. You keep on telling everyone your opinion, but you never have anything to say. You never say anything sense. Still you want everyone to have the same opinion as you do, or was it that you want to have the same opinion as the group of people you want to belong to so badly, but never will be? It doesn’t really matter. All that matters to you is that everyone adores you, and bows down for you. Well, I’m sorry, but I won’t kneel for you, princess airhead. Find yourself something to talk about first. You always think you’re so right, but in the end you’re nothing but completely wrong. Always. You’re a failure, Kim. Nothing but a failure.

You think you know what everyone needs. You have no idea. Get a life! Oh, wait… I’m sorry, you have a life. A pathetic dull and empty existence that doesn’t deserve it to be called a life. I should have said; get rid of that pathetic existence of yours. Get rid of you.  

I wouldn’t shed a tear if you did. Not anymore.

 

You truly are an idiot. The hair dye must have affected your brains. Pink hairdye. Sometimes when you asked me to explain something to you, and I explained it to you in a way a four-year old would understand, you’d just stare at me with those big cow eyes of you.

They match the rest of you perfectly.

I can’t believe you’ve been doing this to me. You’re cold, ruthless, senseless, cruel, controlling, fake, ignorant and selfish; just like the women in those terrible soap shows you like to watch. ‘Congratulations, you’re on the to next round of Idiots’.
Actually, that'd work for me too. Because, how can't I have seen what you were up to? You liked me. And I think I know why. It's very easy to have a friend who is smart, who does your schoolwork for you, and who'd pretty much do everything for her friends.

This is all about you. You and your games. You and your idea that you can have whatever you want. You got rid of me in the most cruel way you could come up with, as soon as you had found someone more useful. Someone less strange. Well, obviously, you don't have to listen to anything I say now. And I doubt you'll care that I'm forever silenced, I'll never let you close to me again, I'll never utter a word to you again. Don't try me, you'd only end up getting paid for all you did.
Don't tell me you didn't mean it this way. Your little stories and alternate versions only make you seem more sick and twisted than you already are. You are fucked up, Kim, and I want you to know - lies get you nowhere now.

Me,

¤¤¤

But no matter what she did to you, you won’t go as low as she went. You won’t be so pathetic.

Try me, you think – almost amused, and you’ll regret it.

¤¤¤

God, you’d love to kill her. You have to control yourself. You have to, otherwise there might be very unpleasant consequences. And prison rape is not an experience you want to have lived.

How dare you to tell such lies. You know I didn’t write such a story. It doesn’t exist, and even if it did, I wouldn’t let you read it, you think, shaking because of anger.

Her ideas were disturbing. She claimed that you had written stories about other people. You had not. She claimed that you wrote the most terrible things about her and those around you. You had not. She was your friend, you’d never do such a thing to a friend. Never.
She claimed that you had let her read it, and a few of her new friends claimed that they had read it to. How could you ever let someone read something you have never written? Besides, if you really had written such a thing, you wouldn’t let the person it was about read it, would you? How stupid do they think you are?

It was all just a lie.

Sparkling angel, you couldn’t see her dark intentions, her true feelings for you.

It took your heart to see what she did. Her broken promise made you realize that it was all just a lie. And in the end, your heart turned to ice.

You are not sure what annoys you more: the fact that you considered her your friend, or the fact that you didn’t see it coming. “In the end,” you whisper bitterly, “is the only person you can trust yourself.”


You thirst for revenge. They have been messing with the wrong person… Such a stupid girl, approaching you after what she did to you. How dares she!

¤¤¤

There won’t be an escape for her anymore. She was running out of places to hide from you. Foolish girl, next time you should kill me before burying me, you think cynically.

Congratulations dear,” you hiss. “You’re on to the next round of Idiots.”

You grin coldly. “If I were you, Kim, I’d shut my arrogant mouth. You have absolutely no right to speak. But…” you paused for a little while, “…if you really need my answer that badly, I will answer you. I will answer by laughing. At you, at your ideas, and most of all, at your pathetic desire to be part of the in-crowd. You are pathetic.

Try to threaten me again, and I’ll kill you. And that’s a promise…” You then turned your back at her, and walked away, making sure there wasn’t even the slightest hint of emotion visible. That’s a promise, Kim. And I will do it with a smile on my face.

¤¤¤

You’re in pain. It hurts. It hurts so much. It’s a beautifully excruciating. You close your eyes and pray for the pain to come. Words flow from your lips as a prayer in a long-forgotten language. Pain is good, you think.

¤¤¤

“Hello,” he says, “How are you?”

He… is your true vulnerability. And the only person you trust. Because, he is like you. Because he’s your only friend. No, he’s not just a friend. He’s everything.

You didn’t let him close for a very long time. He didn’t seem to mind, he even understood. But even though you didn’t fully want to, you started to care for him. It happened very slowly, but in the end, you realized that you loved him. You loved him…

You always used to think that things like love and friendship don’t exist. Only such things as a desire to get paid or to get laid; mankind’s basic instincts. But he made you realize that love did exist. To you, he was the living proof of that.

He never forces you to something, and he doesn’t judge you.

When you met him, you were so depressed
, and when you look back to the past now, you can’t help but thinking that you appeared to be close to breaking down; close to ending it permanently. You guess that ‘they’ were right after all. ‘They’, being the human beings around you who you despise. Back then, you kept telling everyone that you weren’t suicidal, not even depressed. You kept repeating that to everyone, whether they wanted to listen or not; as some sort of absurd mantra.

When you were eight, you told everyone that you weren’t afraid of the dark, because you figured that if you told enough people, you’d eventually convince yourself. In some sort of way, this situation wasn’t any different.

B
ut it worked. You convinced them, and far more important; you convinced yourself. You got over the depression. Got out a lot stronger.

He certainly saved you. Because no matter how down you felt, and no matter how terrible life was, when you got home, he was waiting for you. Always. He asked you “how are you?” and it always seemed as if he really cared.

You won’t let the depression take you down again. You have embraced the darkness in your heart long ago, but you won’t let yourself be tricked into that dark black hole again. Not ever again. As long as he’s there, you can deal with everything. It doesn’t matter if it are the fools around you, or your family, or whoever else, you won’t let anyone get you. They will never be able to change you. Never.

And every day, when you put the dog collar around your neck, and put the black lipstick on your lips, you look in the mirror, and you can smile. Genuine. Because, they will never get you. Ever. As long as you have him, you can take whatever shit will happen to you.

¤¤¤

To quote Nietzsche – a German philosopher of whose work you are very fond; “To those human beings who are of any concern to me I wish suffering, desolation, sickness, ill-treatment, indignities – I wish that they should not remain unfamiliar with profound self-contempt, the torture of self-mistrust, the wretchedness of the vanquished: I have no pity for them, because I wish them the only thing that can proe today whether one is worth anything or not – that one endures.”

¤¤¤

There’s one thing no one would expect of you: You like to play snake on your cellphone. You discovered this one night when you were unable to sleep. You don’t know why, but you got sort of addicted to it. You loved it.

It taught you a important lesson: ‘Get what you can, don’t give in to pressure, don’t run into your past, don’t go down dead ends, and don’t cross the boundary lines.’

x

Welcome to the world of the remotely rich but  (thank god!) not so famous. The so-called upperclass; better known as ‘snobs’. The world your parents belong to.

People might envy you because of the wealth and privilege you were born into, but there is nothing to envy. What are an expensive house, and vacations everywhere worth when you can’t be free, when you aren’t give the freedom to be yourself?

It’s your private silver cage.

It was just captivity.

You created two masks. One for the world around you, and one for at home…

¤¤¤

People expect you to drink. They expect you to get completely wasted. But then again, you were never one to live up to expectations.

You hate alcohol. There’s a simple reason for that: Alcohol makes people relax; makes them let go control. And that’s what you fear: losing control… losing control over yourself to be exactly. You may not be in control over anything else, but you are in control over your mind, your consciousness.

People keep bothering you about this, your wariness of alcohol. Not just the fools around you, but also your parents. Oh, well, they can be considered to belong to the idiots too. Sometimes. Because, you have to be fair. Your parents are not exactly what you’d call brainless. You have to admit that they truly are intelligent people. Just don’t tell them you said that. The problem with your parents is that they just don’t know how to understand you.

Not that they appear to really want that…

The amount of pills they’re taking counteracts the booze they’re drinking. ‘Cause they don’t just drink alcohol… but many of them also experiment with pills. Drugs, to be exact. And not the prescribed ones.

Perhaps you’re worrying about nothing. Perhaps you should just be glad they’re not using Heroin or Cocaine. Still…

¤¤¤

You find it hard to stay with the words they say. The only thing that makes you remain where you are, acting like you don’t care, is the fact that they don’t deserve to win.

You don’t look down, as if you are hurt, you look up, careful not to make eye-contact with one of ‘them’. Because, for you, looking at them would be reckoning they were right in doing what they did. They were not.

Well, you choose the life you’ve taken, never mind the friends you’re making.

And the beauty that you’re faking, lets you live your life like this. You are faking everything, like that wasn’t obvious by now… You’ve been faking all along. You wear a mask. Always.

You were never one for happiness, and you rarely smile. Most of the time, you just fake a smile. Your happiness is a lie, and everyone buys it. No one ever realizes that there is always something behind that laugh of yours; a second emotion, something they don’t see. And a smile that doesn’t meet your eyes.

Except for him.

He always seems able to make you smile. And it’s a genuine smile. Not one of those fake ones you flash at ‘them’.

Even loners have someone who cares about them, no matter how hated they are by the world. Even they have someone who understands them. You know that no one will ever be able to fully understand. You don’t really mind. They don’t give a shit about you, so why bother them with such a thing? They won’t be able to see what he means to you. They only know their childish crushes, based on looks and popularity. This is something so entirely different. You could of course explain it to them, but you’re afraid their poor brains wouldn’t be able to deal with such information. Just imagine that they might explode…

¤¤¤

You don’t care how much they invest in you. It won’t work out anyway. They’re from a different race. To them you’re alien. You don’t really belong among them. Never did.

So you’ll just hang in there, until the day that you finally will be free. The day you turn eighteen, will be the first day of a new life, of a new existence. An idiot-free existence.

The day that no one will be allowed anymore to try to mess with your life, with you. And the day that no one is able to tell you what’s allowed and what not; and who you’re allowed to talk to and who not. No one. That day is the end of an era; but also the birth of a new one. The beginning of life itself. (?)

¤¤¤

He’s always there for you. He cares, no matter what. You’re grateful for, because you feel you’re not in this alone.

And if the world needs something better, let them give one more reason now.

You’re in this to the end.

And what’s the worst you take from every heart you break? Probably the bad memories. The hate. The hate you cause. Another person who can’t stand you. Another person who tries to bring you down.

Well, you’ve been holding on tonight.

¤¤¤

What’s the worst thing you could say? Are things truly better if you stay?

You were so hurt she sold. She sold her soul to the ‘devil’, and there was nothing you could do. She is lost. Forever. Goodbye, Kim. Or is it Kimberly now? It doesn’t matter. Farewell.

Can she even hear me? Probably not. It doesn't matter, actually. Because, I have him. He is near me. Always. He’s by my side when everyone else leaves me. Love me or leave me… oh, everybody’s gone… that’s my life. Leave me…

As long as he cares, you will never have a fear, except losing him.

¤¤¤

"I’m sorry."

Yeah right. You’re sorry. And about what will that be, exactly?

Do you even know what you are sorry about...?

NaNoWriMo

This story was started as a project for NaNoWriMo, also known as 'National Novel Writing Month'. The goal of this project is to write a story of 50.000 words in exactly 30 days. Of course, this is a huge project, but if you write 2000 words a day, you will even have a spare day left .

I was planning to finish and make it to 50.000 words, but unfortunately some things happened and I did not write for a whole month. However, I will finish this story at one point. Just not within the month. And, I will try again, next year.

If you are interested in NaNoWriMo, make sure you check out their website:
NaNoWriMo

for now, sayonara,

{The Queen}

Day one

Day one

I do not know why I escape to Neverland all the time, if I am completely honest. Maybe because I do feel safe there. Neverland… in Dutch it is called ‘Nooit-Gedacht-land’ which means as much as ‘Never though of land’. In the most superficial description of my little world, I’d say that it is a place one has not to think but can simply hide, can simply disappear from the world. For a little while, for longer, it is a place where one can feel safe.

That is something I do not feel very often. It is not because of actual fear that I hide but because of something I do not really understand myself either

 

“The world is truly like Wonderland, like Alice’s wonderland. Don’t you see that?”  Amen said. Seth shook her head. “Not at all,” she said.

 

“But why do you mind so much about life? DO not go and tell me that you are so attached to life. If you would be, you would not escape to this dark world ever so often.” Amen grinned. “Or is it so that you simply want to be in my company?” “Darling, if I wanted to be near someone with the attitude of Captain Hook, I would go to his pirate ship, don’t you think?” She grinned. “Maybe it is that I prefer living near someone who admits to be what he is, instead of being surrounded by blinded superficial sheep.” Amen smirked sarcastically. “Of course you do, Tink.” Referring to the little fairy that always accompanied Peter Pan, Tinkerbell. “But why do you give up on life so easily? You still did not answer my question? You can better make sure this will not keep going on this way. Answer me.
“No,” she said. “I will not.”

“Answer me. You know what I can do.” “And what will that be? Chopping me in small pieces, or dropping me in the sea as food for the crocodiles?” Seth smiled coldy. “I will not wait till Peter will come and save me. I’m not Tigerlily. I will not wait for anyone. I don’t need to be rescued. I rather get eaten by the crocodiles. I tell you again, I will not answer you.”

“And why will you not give me any answer? Tell me that,” he demanded. “No.” She said. “Simply because I don’t want to.” “Don’t be so strongheaded.” “Why not? You know that this is what I am. I may be a gril but that does not mean that I will do as I am commanded. If you think differently, that is your business. I have been treated like a piece of junk before, do not think that I will care if you act the same way.”

“No…?” He asked. “I think you will. After all, you can choose between being stuck here with me and going back to the real world.” “pft…” she reacted. “The real world. As if it is much different from this.”

“I never said so,” Amen answered. “The one difference is that you know I can’t do anything to you here, while in real life, I may have killed you.”

 

“Yes,” She said. “I wanted to ask you about that. How on earth did I end up here with you.” The man looked amused. “Don’t you know? It is a very easy explanation, though. I killed you.”

Seth did not react. Even Amen could not see what she was thinking. He was not entirely sure whether it was possible, but if it was, she could also have died because of shock. But then she laughed. She laughed out loud. That was it, she had gotten insane.

He was wrong. She hadn’t gotten insane in the slightest way. In a certain way, she appreciated his actions.

“Well, what did you do?” She asked him eventually, not really caring about it. “I killed,” the man answered. “Und?” She asked, not event he slightest impressed. “What und?” “Do you expect me to be impressed or something? I cannot say I am very grateful, you see. Now, the least thing you could do is explain to me where I am?”

“where you are?” Now the man was laughing. “Stop laughing, you idiot,” she commanded. “Answer my question.” He saluted. “Yes Madam. Well, you are in Neverland.” She raised an eyebrow. “You got to be kidding me,” she said. “Neverland… tss. Now you are going too far.” “Oh, but it is, you are in Neverland. Haven’t you read Barrie’s Peter Pan?”
“It is a fairytale,” she burst out. “ What would that matter?” Amen asked. “It does not mean it has not got any meaning! In all the old tales there is some sort of truth.” “Of course,” Seth answered, not believing a word of it. If one would ask her, the man in from of her was talking complete nonsense.

 

“Oh alright, I will tell you,” Seth exclaimed. She simply couldn’t bear the silence any longer. It made her think about things she did not want to think about. “I… err…. Quite enjoy my life, to be honest. It is just… I’m not used to this kind of thing.

 

“Tut tut, Don’t behave so arrogantly, girl.” He warned her. “And why not?!” She questioned. “Because – and you know this very well – I might run out of you. And if I do so, what would you do then. You would simply be lost.” Seth rolled her eyes. “And you dare to call me arrogant? You clearly never heard yourself speak. And to get back to what you tried to tell me. I would be perfectly fine if you would leave. Come on, go. Go if you are so desperate to get rid of me. I can save myself. And that is something even you know. Yes, I do know that it bores you. I know that I bore you. If that is such a burden to you, why don’t you go on and find yourself some other company? Maybe because you know that you will find no one here who is able to understand your strange words, maybe because you came to care about me. What would they say if anyone in real life found out? Your murder friends, for instance? The cold-hearted killer cares about a girl. The assassin fell in love with the same girl who was his target. It’s absolutely pathetic and you know it!” “Women! They are so blind. Even when things are obvious, they do not see it,” he retorted. “Women? Hah! And what about men… they don’t even understand any hint which a woman would describe as so damn obvious that even an idiot would understand it. But I see… you are not an idiot, are you? No… you are much worse. Shall I repeat it, just once, for you? Yes, I think I will. I was saying: if you are not happy with the way things are now, go find some other place to spend time, find some other company which does suit your taste. Anything is fine, as long as it is far away from me. I’d rather sit here with Captain Hook! At least he knew how to be polite to a woman.”

 

“Do not do that…” she whispered. Amen looked at her, questioning. “Why not?” She remained silent, simply staring at him. “Don’t look at me that way... just tell me why not…” She still did not say anything. “Okay, if you do not want to talk to me, we will just wait.” And with those words he turned his back at her, looking to the sea, away from her. She hated it. But she wouldn’t tell. She simply would not. She did not want to. And even if she would have wanted she would have been unable to say the words which were playing through her head.

 

Sometimes she would love to hit him. To make ultimately clear to him that she was not some idiot girl, a Barbie doll. But she knew it wouldn’t do any good. After all, she was just


“You are not dead. There, I have said it. You are here because you still have a choice.” “A choice… huh! Do not come up with some lame story about me taking the right path from now on, and changing my life. But please go on, you are quite amusing me.” “Oh shut up, I am being serious. You can stay here, and live your life happily ever after. Never growing up, spending time with the fairies. In other words, you would become one of the lost children.” “The Lost Boys, you mean.” “No, I did not. If I meant that, I would have said it. Besides, you are not exactly a boy, are you?” “How funny,” Seth reacted annoyed. “And what exactly does going back mean?” “Simply this: you will grow up further, and once you are twenty-five this will all seem like some childish world, a dream. Just like Neverland lost it’s meaning to Wendy, it will become quite meaningless to you. It will become a story you will tell your children if you ever have them, and otherwise you will tell it to your nephews and nieces when they are little. But it will not seem like it ever really happened to you. The choice is yours.” “But, by going back, I can study, and write and live.” “This is living too!”

“No it is not… You may be like Peter, but… I am not. It is a childish dream never to grow up but I am beyond that stage. I actually want to grow up. Being a child is not fun at all, you see. People treat you like you are too young to talk about anything to them. And if you are like me, your peers will treat you like you don’t exist. In other words, they will ignore you. Except if they can use you. If you have to explain tests to them, they suddenly are all around you, like chickens flock together when they are going to be fed. I don’t want to be like that forever. I want to be an adult with a nice job and a place for my own, even if that means I will have to do exactly that what I always pushed off against. Be a good girl, graduate with nice notes and go to university. Going to law school, finding someone and settling down. Maybe you fear growing old but I do not think that it is fun to see people pass by; being born, growing up, getting old and dying, while you yourself are always the same. However that does not mean that I do want to get old and wrinkled, being old does not necessarily mean that you lose your lust for life. Believe me, Amen, no one wants to die.” She shook her head. “And yes, I do realize that this is a very, very odd thing to say to an assassin.”
Amen grinned. “But, don’t you think it is very tempting to stay young forever?” “Of course it is not,” she reacted. “Only a man can say such a thing. But of course, to you age does not matter much. You will always be a child. Because, most men never grow up. In their hearts, they will always be little boys. You know the saying: ‘Boys will be boys’. Some things never change. Even when you are going to get old, you will still have something of a child in you.”

“If that is true, then how come that it are men who are attracted so much to the idea of never growing old?” she got told.

“Because men are, in the end, all the same, they always like something that is much younger than they are themselves. Especially when we are talking about the subject ‘women’. Men are always lusting after some young blonde with big breasts, or so. Maybe they want to stay young because when they are young, it is a lot easier to get a girl then when they are old and wrinkled and ugly. I do not know. How should I? I am not a man, as you pointed out yourself, only a few minutes ago,” she answered.
“Is that so,” Amen said, not believing a single word of what she had said. “If it are just men who want want to stay young forever, why then are there so many women who visit plastic surgeons? Filling up their lips, injecting botox to get rid of their wrinkles for a while. Do not tell such lies, dear. I do not believe a word of what you said. Do not go and tell me that you want to get old, with a bad skin, and grey hair, shrinking and finally dying? Maybe you will die a quick dead, maybe you will die because of cancer, or maybe your mind will get bad and turn against you, leaving you behind no better than a child; in a state which could be even worse. You do not want that and you know it yourself too.  You have got to be kidding me if you are going to say that you want to end like that. Besides, the former pope, John the twenty-third once said about men: "Men are like wine. Some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age."

 

“I do not want to get old like that. I do not want to.” She turned her back on him, making sure he could not see her face. When he finally forced her to look back, he seemed not to know what to do with the situation. Seth shook off his hand and looked away again.
Amen sighted. “You are going to tell me what is bothering you,” he said to her. “No. I am not going to do that. It is my business.” “Well, since we are stuck here together, and we will have something to do, you can talk me in, meanwhile. And do not think I will let it go off simply because you do not want to talk about it. I do not care about the fact that you absolutely do not want to talk about it with me.”

            Seth remained silent. She simply could not express what was bothering her. All sorts of thoughts were going through her head, making her feel as if she was caught in a hurricane.

 

“Don’t you dare to command me in such a way. Just because you do not have enough self control, it does not mean that I have to listen to your constant moaning. Stop pointing out at me what I should be doing, I know it perfectly well myself. It would be a lot better if you would worry about your own business, instead of mine.” She suddenly felt really empty. Damn, she had gotten angry without wanting to. “I am not some possession of you, if that is what you think! I am a human, with my own values and my own way of co-operating, and I refuse to let myself be treated as a weird robot which you can command to act exactly the way you want it to act.

 

“Why do you always behave so perfectly?” Amen asked amused referring to earlier, when he saw how she folded up her clothes, before diving into the water. She looked at him, puzzled. “Please explain your question, I do not think that I completely understand it.” “What you did with your clothes, folding them up. The way you talk, the way you move… it is all so controlled, as if you were raised by some soldier who trained you instead of learning to enjoy life.” “But I do enjoy life,” she replied honest, but without showing much enthusiasm.

 

“What about you?” “What about me?” “Why do you always behave so cold, so distanced and still so interested. To me, it seems as if those three things do not go together very well. It could be just me, but still… would you please explain it to me, if you do not mind about it?” she asked. “Because, you have been asking me questions all the time, making me understand things about myself that I did not know before. But what about you? I do not know a thing about you so far…


She hung a few of the wild cherries on her ears, making her look like a little girl. And in fact, that was how she felt. As a little girl. She used to do this when she was really little, too. When she went with her grandfather to the market place and he had bought cherries, she would pick a few who were still connected to another cherry by their small stems. Then, she would hang them at her ears and pretend she was wearing beautiful jewelry. That was what they were to her; beautiful jewelry.


It might seem so silly, but it was a memory that she cherished, because she it reminded her of her grandfather, and of the time she could still enjoy everything without being afraid of what  the consequences of anything she would do, would be. The time she was still innocent enough to believe that everyone was good and that all was bright. Or maybe that wasn’t even true, maybe in her heart, she knew that life wasn’t like that. It just had not become as clear to her as that it would be when she grew up. However, it reminded her of her childhood.


What she missed most was the writing. She used to do that all of the time.


“But you can fly! See, Seth, you are just like Wendy!” he exclaimed, enthusiastically. She shook her head. She did not want to fly. She did not really mind if Amen would call her a coward, but she was afraid. Afraid to fly to high, and then to fall, crashing and drowning in the sea like Icarus did. Of course she knew she was afraid of something which was completely irrelevant as this way of flying was totally different from Icarus’ flying. Fairy’s dust did not melt if it came to close to the sun, opposite of Icarus’ wings, which were made of the feathers of an eagle and wax. And further, well, she definitely was not as careless as Icarus, who ignored his father’s warning to not to fly too high, not to fly too

Day two

Day two


“I came so close to the edge, and no one every noticed. It is silly, wouldn’t you agree, to worry about this.”

 

“I may be a girl, that does not mean that I am very easy. Maybe that scares away people.”

 

“Feelings of lust confuse me, I will confess that,” Seth said softly. “I do not know how to interpret them. I do not know what to do with them. I guess that I just do not know how to accept them into a relationship. It is silly, don’t you think? The thing is, I may not look like it, but I am unbelievable insecure of my body. You may not believe me, I know for sure that you will not, that is the reason I never told anyone before. I simply could not. Because, I was sure that no one would understand. Still am sure of that.

 

When did your heart go missing.

 

People may think that my family is completely dysfunctional, I myself know that this is not true. People always keep on comparing it with their own family. Of course, then it is an easy game. My family could never win that. However, in their own way, my family is great. Yes, they may not support me all the time, only when they think that I am right


That kind of hurt her. Apparently she was not even interesting enough to stay awake for.

 

“However, it is absolutely not right to consider it as your right to just say things without really thinking about it and then hurting people without even knowing that you did so.” “And why would I not know that I hurt anyone?” he asked. “Simply because of this. Not everyone shows his or her feelings so easily. Some people simply can not act in such a way. They are not so open as you may be. However, that does not mean that they can not be hurt by your words.

 

“In the end, all girls do the same. They find a boy, settle down, and they marry. They do not think, they are happy with the way that it is. They do not worry about tomorrow, and if they do, they do not worry about it in the way that they should. Not in the way that I do. After all. They may be here tomorrow and they may be happy, but their dreams will not be here. Their dreams will be gone.” She was silent for a moment, then continued. “Well, I do know that I am just a child, I am even a child by law. INot an adult in any way. Not considered as one by you and by the law, not treated as one. Not by you and not by anyone else. It does not matter how grown up I may be, I will always be treated as the little girl I once was. You do know. And you do know that I hate it. But that does not change anything. Maybe I am a dreamer… Yes, I think that is what I am. Because, I do not want to give up my dreams, I cherish them like treasures because they represent everything that I want to achieve once in my life. They may not all be quite realistic but that does not mean I want to give up on them. If doing so means that I am finally becoming an adult, then I rather stay a child, even though I then will always get the treatment I am getting now…”

Amen laughed. “Are you saying that you are actually considering staying here?”

“Well… No… yes,” she said, reluctantly. “In a strange way I do. In the back of my head, I am considering staying and that, I do not even understand myself. I did not particularly enjoy being a child. Do not enjoy it now. And yet, growing up frightens me in the same way that remaining a child does frighten me. I judged you, for wanting to stay here, for wanting to stay a child. If I insulted you, I apologize. I guess I just did not know what to think of it. See, I want to grow older, but I do not want to become desillusionated. Even more disillusoinated than I am now already. I do not want to lose my dreams, the joy that I have in living my life. Maybe staying a child forever will preserve such things as dreams and illusions. Because, in the real world, in the adult’s world, those things are as fragile as bubbles blown from soap suds on a summer day’s afternoon. So easily destroyed, even the slightest blow of the wind can make it burst.”

“Fragile beauty is so easily destroyed, and that is what makes it so pretty. The idea that it can be gone so soon, that it will not be for so long, that is what gives it, it’s beauty. It is the same thing that makes butterflies so beautiful. Because their beauty, their dancing in the sky can be gone in a second. A butterfly can not fight the wind, when winter comes, it dies. That is only natural. But, a human being can fight it. Can walk into the wind and struggle and get through. It is not so very difficult as you may think it is. And believe me on my word, maybe many of those careful, nicely settled adults felt the same way as you do now. That they do seem settled down does not mean that they have given up their dreams. Who told you that you should give up your dreams? Because, honestly, you do not have to.”

“But what if people expect it of me, what if people will hate me because I do still dream, because I do not behave like them, like I have grown up? What if the boy I like will dislike me for being whom I really am?”

“Why are you worrying about that? Who on earth made you think people work like that. Do not stay here if you are just wishing to hide. Only stay if you really want to. Because, even Wendy, who was happy here went back to her own world, grew up and got older, married. There is no need to be afraid not to be loved, really. Everyone is loved by someone. And you ought to know that. But, if you really want to stay, you are free to. Of course you are. You do not need to grow up. Here you will always be treated as the person you are, without having to hide. Without pretending to be someone else, even to you parents and your friends, your classmates and everyone you know. Here, it is just you and me and the fairies. There is no need to hide here. You do not need to protect yourself by hiding behind high walls, behind a security that is tighter than the one that is designed for the Pentagon. You do not need to protect your heart of glass, do not need to continue that masquerade that you have always have continued up till now, even to me. I can see through it, and you know it. That mask of yours is fading away and we both know. Do not go back if you do not really want to. Do not place this mask of yours back onto your face, returning to playing a role you do not feel happy in. You are too good for that.”

 

“There is no one here who will force you to listen. To behave in a way that you do not want to follow. Simply being you is enough. In a certain way, staying here is like Rousseau’s idea of going back to the Nature.”

“Oh, Rousseau’s paradise on Earth.” She said with a cynical laugh. “Just do know that I refuse to play for a second Eve. This Eve would be too much of a feminist to fall for someone like Adam. In fact, I reckon that she would be a lot more like Lilith.”

Amen looked surprised. “Please explain what you just said, Wendy. I think I do not completely understand what you mean.” Since a little while, he called her wendy ty whiles.

“Do not tell me that you have never heard this joke! Well, then I will explain it to you. First God created Adam and Lilith. They were alike to each other, created from the same matter. But Lilith was way too unconventional for our dearest Adam, so he went to God and complained about his wife. So, to please Adam, God cast Lilith out of the paradise and she became the queen of ghosts and demons. I do not think she got the worst job, but anyway… God then took a rib from Adam and created another female. Her name was Eve and she had long blonde hairs and was really beautiful and everything. Adam took his wife and for a little while he was very happy with her. But it was not before long that he came back to God and complained again. “Well, explain to me what is wrong this time,” God said. “I do have two questions for you,” Adam said. “The first one is this: Why did you make her so beautiful?” “Well,” said God. “that is something I did to make sure you will love her.” “But then tell me,” Adam said, “Why did you make her so stupid?” That,” God replied, “is to make sure that she can love you too!” Seth said, then adding: “I do not think that God really liked Adam. See, that is why woman may be the deuxieme sexe, as Simone de Beauvoir called them, they are also the sexe that is done best. Every good artist needs to make a sketch before starting at the real work. Guess what God used as a sketch.”

Amen laughed. “Of course you would say that, since you are a girl. However, I say that God does not exist.”

Seth looked up. “Did I say I believed in God?! I do not think I did. I just told you a joke concerning some biblical context. I can not help it if you draw a conclusion too quickly.”

 

“Home is behind. The whole world lies ahead of you and there are so many paths you can choose between. It may be misty around you and you cannot see where you are going. Still, this does not mean you can simply stand still or return. There is no return, you can not go back to what once was for it is no longer. Wat was is gone and things are forgotten, many things are forgotten. Even if you did not want to forget them, even if they meant quite a lot to you, they may be forgotten on your way. Not because you wanted to but because new things showed up on your path, drawing your attention, filling your mind up with things which are important to you at that very moment. Do you understand that? That is not bad, really it is not. Even if you forget something, they do never really leave you. They are still somewhere, hiding in a dusty corner off your brain, hiding until something calls up that memory. It can be anything that triggers it. It may be a word, a photo, a voice or a sound, or even a smell. It could be like Marcel Proust described in his A la recherché du temps perdu, which means as much as ‘in or to the search of the time that is lost’. In his book, he tries to capture as many of his memories as he can and at one point he describes that he smelled a certain sort of small cakes, the so-called Madeleines. This reminded him of when of his childhood, of times that he visited his aunt who would give him one of those cakes. Anything can trigger a memory to come up out of apparent nothingness.”

 

“Beauty is not simply looks. If that was true, then you could simply lie there, like a porcelain doll, waiting for someone to take you up and play with you. It is the way you move, the words that you speak that make you beautiful. It is the way that you move, as graceful as no fairy can do better. Moving as if you are dancing, as if you are Anna Pavlova dancing her most beloved solo in a ballet.”

“But that beauty does not last for long. As soon as the music stops, as soon as one stops with dancing, the enchantment that was cast over all those who had been watching her, is gone. Once the music stops, the prima ballerina dies.”

“But now you are referring to Anna Pavlova, are you not? Yes, she died. However, she died doing that what she loved most. Dancing. She was touring with her company, when she was dancing the role that fit her perfectly. She died in her most magnificent role, the role of the Swan princess Odette. Dying while you are doing what you love most, that cannot be so hard. In a way, we would all want to be immortal, being able to live on forever, doing for ever and ever what we like most, keeping those close to us who we love. But it is not possible. If the price for living life with such a beauty and doing what you love so much is dying rather young, I guess I would be willing to pay that price. Would you not? Tell me, would you not?”

The girl did not give an answer; she looked at the sea, at the ship she saw far away, near the horizon.

“Listen to me. It is easy to understand even though it is hard to have peace with it. We humans do have limited time on earth, we only live for sixty, seventy, eighty, maybe ninety if we are very lucky. But then, our time is simply over. We are old and we have lived for very long. Of course, that does not mean we want to go, but sometimes it is better. After all, in the end, our bodies do no longer co-operate, no longer do our minds do what we want them to. They leave us behind, bound like little children to their mothers. In that way we depend on the nurses, on the members of our families, on our children and grandchildren if we are fortunate enough to have them. Maybe then it is better to decide ourselves that it is time to leave. We know that our lives were full, and even though there is so much more we want to do; we cannot do it, because the physical or the mental interferes. So, why can we not draw the line ourselves? It may hurt those whom we leave behind, for they may not understand our decision, but it is clear to us and they will learn to live with it. They will get over it, and soon they will forget the bitterness they feel because of what we have done. They only the good memories will remain, and it will leave them with a faint smile on their face. In the end, they will admit that it was better the way it went. They will be able to let go of it, continue to go on with their life. And that is the way it should be.”

He looked at Seth, seeing that he finally was getting through.

“So, why can you not have a little peace with it? It is the way it goes. It is life. Simply hope that it will not take to long, that when it happens she will not suffer too much. Why can’t you do so?”

She looked at him now, tears glittering in her eyes, while she was trying to hold them back.

“Come here, you silly girl,” he said, putting an arm around her. “Now tell me, what is bothering you so much?”

“I do not want it to happen… and that makes me feel so unbelievable egoistical… you have no idea.”

“But it is not egoism. It really is not. It is simply caring about someone. That is what called love.”

 

“Just try to be patient, just for once,” she said to him.

Amen shook his head. “As an American journalist named Ambrose Bierce once said: patience is a minor form of despair, which is disguised by people by calling it a virtue.”

Seth did not react. She had long learned that if there was one thing that would absolutely not help, it was reacting at the many philosophical quotes of Amen. She could not win from him in any way, so there was not exactly much fun to try and go along in the game.

 

“Like our former pope once said- yes another quotation,” he reacted when he saw the look on Seth’s face, “he said: the family is the first essential cell of the human society. You may disagree with me, but if you ask me, the old man said a lot of true things. You see, before anything, your family influences you. Without your family, you would not have been you. So even if you would hate them, they are still very important for you. Even if you think differently. You do not hate your family, do you?”

Seth shook her head.

“No, I do not,” she answered.

 

“When I was a child I thought that I would have to have success to find some happiness. By being the best, I thought people would care for me more, they would give me some attention. I really thought that this would bring me happiness. I was wrong. Happiness is like a butterfly which appears and delights us for one brief moment, but soon flits away, leaving us behind, wishing to see more of it’s beauty, but being unable to do so.”

 

“Believing is not enough, I know that. In the end, it is the right thing to do. Not listening to what I say in this matter. Because, fear is a strange thing, stopping me from doing something that is perfectly normal, from the most idiotic things. Until short, I was afraid to put in my own earrings, and had my mother do that for me. Why I did so, I have no idea, if I am completely honest. However, I just do not know how to get over this fear. In that way, you are really great to me because you help me over it. Please do not feel bad because of it. There really is no need to. You see, sometimes you really have to go a little further than that I want.”

“But that is exactly what is bothering me. I am seeing this girl and I am getting to know her a little. And it seems as if this is all there is…”

Day eleven

Day eleven

Well, I have to tell you that I did not write a letter for this story until now, and this is the only good part of what I wrote todayl. So, I decided that atleast these few paragraphs should be joined with the rest of the story



Day eleven.

“You are like a butterfly,” Amen said to her. Seth looked up, a surprised look in her eyes. “Explain that,” she said but Amen smiled enigmatic and remained silent. She shrugged and continued writing.

 
 

“I see now why you compared me to a butterfly. Butterflies are so free, dancing around in the sky for forever and a minute. They do not commit to someone, under any circumstance. They mate and then fly off again. No commitment, no love, no worries and no every consuming doubts. Being a butterfly is safe. A butterfly picks a flower and when it gets bored of it, it flutters on. No risk to get hurt, safe. The safest way to protect ones heart. No one gets hurt, no one gets to worry. No need to learn to accept what is difficult to accept for you. Nothing that leaves your heart an open wound. No need for time to heal it because there will be nothing that has to heal. No need to get yourself over anything you do not want to get over, because a butterflies life is light, because a butterfly can go through life, floating on a summer afternoon’s breeze. It is easy, and one can live solitary. And at the same time, it is life.”

“But is it possible for any human being not to commit to something, to someone, in some way or another?” Amen asked.

 
 

She sighed, knowing very well that Amen had all the right in the world to get angry with her. She knew that she was difficult. That she acted like a princess in a certain way. Hard to like, arrogant and selfish. Behaving like a Princess. Not very easy to get along with, and even harder to really understand. She knew that she was always hiding, sometimes without even noticing she did so until someone would point it out to her. Not that that many people noticed this in her. One had to get really close to her, even closer than her family and many of her friends got to her. As close as only two people had been before. But was she really hiding behind walls, she did not even know it anymore herself. Hiding… it did not mean much to her anymore. It had cost her a great deal. It had cost her too much. And yet, she had always kept fooling herself. She was always telling herself that it had been the fault of something, an outside factor, something that really did not have anything to do with her. Maybe the walls that she tried to keep in tact, tried to keep up, were not even there. Maybe that was just whom she was. Maybe it was, maybe it was not. It was no so easy to find out now.

 

She could have made a wish upon a star, but she doubted that it would be of any use. It did not mean much to her. She did not believe in fairytales anymore. She did not believe anymore since she was five, learning that life was not so easy as that it seemed in books. And yet, she always returned to her books, seeking refuge in the stories, even though they were unreal. A girl can dream, can she not? Maybe she should try to believe again, maybe she should make a wish upon a shooting star.

I wish….
 


If she really was a butterfly, then maybe this butterfly would forever be an enigma. Not just to the world, but also to those around her, to those who tried to get close to her. Sometimes, she even was an enigma to herself. The tears she had never been able to cry, they would gather in her heart, would restore the gap that had appeared in the walls around her heart. Trying to return her to the state she was in before. She sighed. How long had it been since she had been really happy? She did not know. Yes, she had been remotely happy with her boyfriend, and with her friends, but it was a sad sort of happiness, for she knew it could never last, it was too fragile to last. True happiness, she found in a book, which used to kidnap her to another world. But maybe now she could return. The walls around her, they would be rebuild, made of a material that was harder than diamond. Keeping the butterfly caged inside, inside a prison of a material that was just as costly as the butterfly was fragile. But no matter how costly her prison was, it would always remain a prison. And in the end, a prison would still hold it’s old function; keeping something or someone locked up, no matter whether the prison was made of silver, diamond or of iron. The meaning of it would never change.

But she felt safe inside her cage. She locked up herself, so to speak. She tried to protect a heart of glass. But, there would always remain scratches. She could not get rid of them.


She was realistic enough to know that there was no way of returning to the state that she had been in. on the path of life, every step you take, cut off a piece of the path behind her, leaving just the ghosts of the past, the memories of good and worse times behind. She could not turn back time. Time… she could not turn back the clock. Could not even make the clock stop ticking for just five minutes.