In the secluded town of Zantalia, nestled amidst mountains of unparalleled natural beauty, there lurked a grim irony: the inhabitants were dark-hearted and malignant. The weather grew increasingly perilous, and a pervasive virus had ensnared the town in its deadly grip.
Alex awoke one morning in a state of utter despair, her sleep tormented by visions of death. As she stepped outside her humble hut, her worst fears were realized—the nightmare she had envisioned had come to life. Few townsfolk remained, and an eerie silence pervaded the once-vibrant streets. Alex, her heart heavy with dread, coldly questioned herself, "Who will be next?" Her eyes, half-bright with hope and half-clouded with sorrow, sought her only solace in the world—her mother.
Her heart sank as she saw her mother, stricken with the virus. Initially dismissing it as a cruel illusion, her worst fears were confirmed at noon when the devastating news reached her: her mother had passed away. Consumed by grief, Alex wept bitterly. Her mind, clouded by sorrow, struggled to recall the last precious moments with her beloved mother. She remembered the night before her mother’s death, when her mother had lovingly trimmed her nails. In her mourning, she realized she had no keepsake to remember her by, no tangible reminder of her mother's presence.
In her sorrow, Alex was seized by a haunting idea: she vowed never to cut her nails again, a poignant symbol of her undying connection to her mother. Unaware of the passage of time, her nails grew to such an extent that she was often shunned by the townspeople. Eventually, she left Zantalia altogether, never to return. The townsfolk, baffled by her disappearance, dubbed her "Insane Long-Nailed Alex," but no one searched for her.
As her exceptional nails grew even longer, scraping the earth as she walked, Alex found comfort in the physical reminder of her mother's touch. She wandered into a desolate, uninhabited area and, overcome by grief, began to dig into the ground. To her astonishment, she unearthed a hidden world beneath the earth where animals hibernated to escape the harshness of the surface.
In this strange subterranean realm, Alex discovered her sanctuary, free from the prying eyes of humans. Her alienated nature made her transition seamless, and she quickly adapted to the new environment, learning the language, norms, and rules of her new companions. Her diet changed, and over time, she shed her human habits and instincts, becoming more animal-like in thought and behavior.
Years passed, and Alex lost all memory of her human past. Her language skills faded, and she became a creature of the underground world. When this area was eventually discovered by humans, it garnered
worldwide attention. Yet Alex, now a being of the subterranean realm, remained unaware of her origins, and the humans who found the area never realized that the creature among them had once been one of their own.
YOU ARE READING
THE LONG-NAILED OUTCAST
Science Fiction"In the town of Zantalia, a young girl named Alex is ostracized for her unusually long nails, a poignant reminder of her mother's love. After her mother's death, Alex flees and discovers a hidden world beneath the earth, where she finds solace and a...
