Insanity

Chapter 2- Playful Antics

Days passed by within the blink of an eye, they always managed to. Warmth was fleeting, even in sleep as Scarlet awoke with the cold, stiff stone underneath her. Her body still and aching as she looked towards the sky with hollowed out eyes. Circles of exhaustion flanked her blood red hues as she stared up at the dark, moldy walls of the alley that soared high above, swirling with pipes and ladders before eventually ending at the cloudy ceiling. A swift breeze passed through the small alcove, ruffling her grease-streaked hair and scraps for clothes, but she hardly felt it. Her mind was constantly filled with the old man's red and gold dancer, it even haunted her in her dreams, it was a different warmth from the one she'd known since birth, resentment and anger. This one was... comforting, fulfilling to some extent. Child by only age, she felt the change, hungered for it, desperate to feel something other than the fiery rage she felt towards the world. She'd lived with the foolish mindset that their was nothing of worth in the place she called home. It led to hatred and loathing, but she was simply that, the embodiment of chaos; a pessimist who thought she knew it all, apparently, she'd been wrong. The fact that she was wrong, sent her spiraling for the last few weeks; it was a terrible feeling, worse than hunger. For she only saw others as incorrect, they were the only wrongdoers.

  The foggy sky brimming with clouds swirled by, just like her thoughts, constant moments of mundane silence, only broken by the single stray droplet of water atop her forehead. Most times were filled with the continuous, loud cacophony of the city, and the rumble of hunger deep inside her. The good feelings were brief, like the ones with her sister, the games they played, and the laughs they exchanged. They were blurry, those small memories, they didn't take up much space, not as much as the red and gold dancer, a significant moment, meant for the future she guaranteed. Before she could sink back into her rapid thought process, she was awoken by a nudge.

  Peeling apart her eyelids, she gazed outwards, finally feeling the fall air along her skin, the breath in her lungs, and the crust around her dry, sunken eyes. "Scarlet!" There it was, that nudge. That disappointing urge to live, to go on.

  She groaned, lifting herself up to face the constant place of noise and ruckus, her sister. Stringy pieces of white hair fell into her face, highlighting her porcelain skin and eyes of bright gold. "Mom just left- do you want to play a game?" She sounded hopeful, almost knowing, because it was the small fact that her every whim was answered with a yes by either her sister, or her mother, spoiled even as a poor, scrap covered rat from the undercity.

  Scarlet played the card she always did, giving a gentle smile, "Of course." She cooed, trying to sound more energetic than she actually was as she slid onto her knees and up onto her feet, swaying as she stood. She was heavily malnourished, although she didn't know that, she just thought it normal to rock back and forth and let your vision blur as you rose.

  She seemed to grow thinner by the day, always struggling to keep her contents down, barely able to form muscle, or grow taller, just a small bug amongst the system. She ruffled her sister; Domino's hair, causing the small child to giggle, color making its way into her face. "What would you like to play?" She batted her long black lashes, a playful glint appearing at the edge of her gaze.

 "How about we play hide and seek!" The smaller of the two's voice was scratchy, and Scarlet winced slightly at how rough she sounded, nodding nonetheless.

 "That sounds lovely." Scarlet offered up a kind smile, clearing her throat as her normal voice tried to crawl its way up her throat; a flutter of warmth entering her eyes as Domino grinned, bright and bold.

 "I'll be the seeker first, and you have to find the best hiding spot ever! Ready or not, here I come!" With a mischievous giggle, her sister hardly waited for her to leave the area before she started counting, hands clasped over her eyes as she spun on her heel and faced the wall.