The Stray Souls ["The Diary Keeper" Sequel; "The Dark Legacies" Series]

Chapter 17: Show me what you hide

The air outside was like a warm hug from the sun, making me feel like I was wrapped in a cozy blanket of heat. It was that sweet spot right before summer officially kicked in, where the air carried a promise of lazy afternoons and ice cream melting a bit too quickly.

The sunlight was playing hide-and-seek with the leaves of the trees, casting dappled patterns on the ground. You could hear the distant hum of lawnmowers and kids playing, adding a soundtrack to the sun-drenched scene. The sky, a vast canvas of blue, stretched out endlessly, not a cloud in sight, as if even they took a break to soak up the warmth.

The heat hit me like a friendly punch. It wasn't the scorching kind that makes you run for shade, but the comforting warmth that makes you appreciate the simple joy of feeling the sun on your skin.

It seemed like all the girls from the dormitory were outside, enjoying the approaching summer and holidays. Everyone, except for me. I had other matters to attend to.

I picked up my diary. No, not the school one, but the personal one that seemed to have started living its own separate life. When things hit a dead-end, I try to use every tool to solve the problem.

L: Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Liandra Amelia di Flores.

D: Hello, I'm your diary, your second "self." And I already know your name from the cover.

L: Are you keeping tabs on me?

D: It's your doing. You breathed a part of your life into me, and since then, I've become an integral part of you.

L: But I didn't intend to do that. You were just supposed to be my diary.

D: Well, people often don't think seriously about their actions and then wonder about the consequences.

Over time, I got used to occasionally communicating with a piece of paper. Any sane person would call it a symptom of schizophrenia or some other dreadful mental disorder, but it's hard for me to consider myself a sane person, so things like that stopped surprising me long ago. I just don't care.

L: Show me important things. Give me a clue.

D: I won't show or tell you anything.

L: But Mia's journal used to help me!

D: I'm not part of Mia; I'm part of you. So, I behave the way you do. Therefore, I'm too lazy to waste energy showing you anything.