Chapter One – The Day After
What the hell? Where am I? But I answer my own question; a pitch black, dark space which encapsulates my being. The air is stiff and cold, but somehow melancholy to my lungs. My body is heavy, like led on a page, reaching out to be heard, but is silently forgotten until a reader turns the page. To my surprise, my reader had come. They come in the form of a soft, sweet voice; one which fills the space to full capacity; reliving any madness caused by the blank abyss.
"Hello?" the voice rang. The abyss suddenly feel less lonesome, frightening, and even weary. Such a soft voice I have never before heard; sweet sensations creep over my skin, inviting me to calm down and rest.
"Hi? Who are you? Where am I?" My palms cannot help but contract when the voice becomes sentient. Before my eyes, a girl walks out of the abyss of nowhere, as if her body is not affected by the crushing weight of this room. Where the hell did she come from? Her ebony skin somehow glistens in the darkness; even her freckles shine like diamonds in this room which is absent of light; it should be impossible, but there she is, glistening as if she had spotlights on her. Her curly, chocolate hair, falling not to her shoulders, bounces as she walks towards me. Her bangs graze her forehead and bounce elegantly with every protruding step. Her green eyes –sharp, like a cat's– pierced my body with their gaze; studying me, up and down, as if she was questioning my identity, much like mine with hers.
"You don't know me." she says; her voice rings in the space. "I don't really know you either. Yet."
Her arms swaying steadily by her side, but her hands are shaking; strangely enough, so are mine. She reaches a complete stop; directly in front of me. She flashes me with her sweet, sweet smile. Her smile rids me of all remaining fear; such a smile could cure cancer and end wars. Such a sweet smile should be kept in a museum. Her lips changes form once again to boggle my mind once more.
"So, this is really you. Hi, Rue." she says.
I wake, shaken, but in my bed. My covers are all over me; Folded between my legs, covering some small parts of my exposed stomach and are draped softly onto my arms which are on either side of me. My messy hair falls all over my face as I swiftly sit up. It felt so… so… real; like I was really there; in that dark, abandoned room. It was like she was really there with me. Who… who was she?
"Rue! Get up dummy!"
My train of thought has been derailed by Auntie Liz, screaming my name, right outside my door. She rips my door open, having no regard for knocking to actually see if I am awake or not. I immediately see something in her right hand. Something with a white foundation, golden exterior, little smidge of something slightly off-white on top; and glazed with an amber molasses; pancakes.
Fresh pancakes she has made me for breakfast; famous, Auntie Liz pancakes. Oh, what a wonderful smell comes from those golden, soft pancakes. Sweet buttermilk pancakes with a smidge of butter and a shit-ton of syrup; perfection on a plate.
A small drizzle of syrup slowly descends from the plate and makes its way towards the floor; an absolute tragedy in the making. I forcefully remove the comforter from my body and leap from my bed to salvage the syrup. The syrup lands on my finger, and I lick the sweet sap from off of my appendage; crisis averted.
"Good save kiddo." She smiles at me.
"Thanks Liz." Her giggle is genuinely contagious; my face brightens with every sound she makes.
"Hurry up kiddo! They're gonna get cold!" She races out of the room, sloshing the pancakes every which was as she sprints to the lounge.
"Hey! Careful with that masterpiece!" I squeal as I run after her. I veer down the hall; drifting like a drag racer. I come to a halt as I reach the dining room table. Auntie Liz is sitting down with her own pancakes; eating away. She has placed my breakfast in the placement across from her. I take a seat. I somehow sink into the hard, wooden chair as I take my first bite of delicious goodness. It did not last long. I basically devour the whole thing; not a speck of pancake, butter or syrup left.
"Hungry much?" Auntie Liz starts, "Well, that makes sense after yesterday's hassle."
"What now?" I ask.
"Huh, you've forgotten, have you?"
I shake my head as if to say, 'what do you think I meant'. She lets out a little laugh and proceeds with a story:
"Well, you were quite confused yesterday. You forgot that you had school. I mean – it was like you had no idea you had school. You were such a mess!"
"What's new." I add. She once again, giggles. Her giggles are always the cutest. It's a blessing they are so frequent.
"Anyway, I drove you to school because you had no idea where it was. You even forgot your own name! It was quite silly, if you ask me. You said that your name was
–I don't know– Nadia or something. You kept saying such odd things; muttering to yourself constantly. You looked as if you were solving a 1000-piece puzzle."
"Ha! Nice fanfic you got there, Liz."
"Ha…" She trails off. She looks me in the eye; concern crosses her face. She's serious; she means it; she really did see me like that.
"Oh, well…" I mutter. "Sorry, but I don't recall that."
"Really? I think it'd be hard to forget."
I shrug, unaware if I had ever experienced anything like that before. She gives me one last look of concern, then stands and removes my empty plate from in front of me.
"I'll make you more pancakes. Looks like you need the energy. Maybe that'll help your brain function today." She releases one last adorable giggle, then walks into the kitchen to prepare more goodness.
"That'd be epic, Liz. Thanks."