𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗗• 𝗦. 𝗞𝗔𝗡𝗚

𝑡 𝑤 𝑒 𝑙 𝑣 𝑒

-the man with the umbrella

[K a n g  S a e - b y e o k]

The silence, the quite is all to familiar. A  familiarity that I wish I hadn't exprienced. Because every time the darkness overtakes me and each inch of my body starts to ingest each and every limb of me I feel the voices in my head get louder. And each memory I wish to forget comes back and the ones I wish to remember fade.

I hated the silence, but yet somehow it was the only thing that kept me sane. Or maybe I was to used to their malice ways.

66 sits next to me. Her head leant up against the window sill. Her body slumped further against the seat of the van. Her eyes her shut but I know she's still awake. I go up to tap her, maybe tell her we are nearly there when I don't even know myself. I don't. Instead I just watch her. I watch how her face seems a little more like silk underneath the fragile beam of the moon. It casts over her soft features all at once it seems sparse and gentle at the same time and it fits so well.

Her chest falls and lifts with the comforting sound of her breaths. Her hair nuzzled on the right of her neck. The waved strands tickles the side of her face as she pushes it behind her ear. Her lips look almost angelic from where I'm sitting, but then again they always somehow look good. The light tint of pink on the inner corners of her lips. And the darkened skin on the outer skin of her flesh. The small bite marks along the bottom of her lip— due to her habit of catching it with her teeth when she gets anxious. I've noticed she tends to do that a lot, not that she notices.

She seems so fragile I'm scared that if I touch her she'll break, or worse... awake her. So instead I just do the same. Leaning my head up against the window sill.

I shut my eyes for a moment and I feel her right beside me. I feel her breath aerate on my cheeks and her figure perched moderatley over my own.

She pokes the side of my face. Her voice reaching the core of my eardrums. "Are you awake." She barely mumbles between her sighs. I just nod in response, making sure the drivers eyes are still on the road rather then the back seat of the van where 66 and I laid.

I could never tell her this. But at one point I wanted to tell her my name. I'm so sick of knowing her by a number and calling her by 66. It seems as though she couldn't give two shits though. Because all she can do is continue this little game as she knows as fun.

So throughout the drive I guess her name. She looks like someone who would have a name that would sound like a boys name and probably is a boys name but she'd always answer with 'it's a unisex name'. But then again she seems like the type to have a name after one of those dodgy flowers or maybe some type of tea?

The guards are going around scanning shit like it's a supermarket. The lid of my eyes open not even an inch and I already know 66 is fighting the urge not to scream as he tilts her head back and draws a line along her freshly cut scar along her cheek. My fingernail itch the side of my jeans. Waiting for him to leave. Just before I could check, 66 pushes me down by the shoulders.

"Stay down."

::::::::::::::

"I know you're awake you idiot." She brushes her hair out of her eyes, giving me a knowing smirk as she jumps out of her bunk. Her head nearly hitting the one above her if it wasn't for my hand that replaced it. "How did the plan go for you?" 66 asks, swinging her arms against the bars as we move along to each bunk aisle. "Good." I say blankly. The switchblade on my forearm slides down to my wrist as I struggle to pull it back up. "I nearly dropped mine, but that's beside the fact. Is it weird to say I'm not suprised  most amount of people came back? Hell, even the woman who hadn't named her baby yet is." She directs her head towards the woman who sat— legs hanging from her bed, scolding people as they walk by her.