Chapter Twenty-Seven
Deep blue eyes met the dark, unmoving eyes of an old photo. A tender hand reached to stroke its burnt edge.
“Sorry,” Jakko murmured, his fingers meeting the glass of the frame splitting him from the picture.
Placing the picture back on a shelf, at the end of a line of ten others, the messy haired boy bent back over the table he sat at, a knife in hand.
He sat in a dark windowless room, the only sign he was not trapped completely in the place a door. The room was separated from the world, and the air inside seemed completely different to that in the jubilant city the apartment was in.
The world outside could have been nonexistent to Jakko, for all that mattered to him was gone. His apartment was only a reminder to him that he was not yet dead, even though he might deserve it.
Jakko slid the knife he held against a block of wood, shaving pieces off. As he worked on, it came apparent that he was making another picture frame to join the eleven others on the shelf.
In each of the clumsily, yet lovingly crafted frames was a single picture, each with a different girl in them.
All of them had something in common. There was a name carved into their frames, and every single girl had become a victim of Alice.
Jakko sat working for what could have been an eternity. When he was finished with the frame, he set it at the far right of the line of frames on the shelf, hoping he would never have to fill it.
The pessimistic voice in the back of his head told him he might have to, so the least he could do was care for the shrine he had built, so none of the victims would go forgotten.
Jakko set the knife down and set to work clearing the table. It was slow work making sure everything was clean and dust free, but when he was finally done he set to covering the table with candles of all sizes.
By then, Jakko’s hands were stiff and tired, but he continued, lighting each candle. He even lit some incense.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered in front of the memorial, his head bowed in guilt. “I promise I won’t fail this time, and if I do, I think I’ll join you-“ he exhaled deeply, closing his eyes.
“Gina, sweet Gina, you didn’t deserve to die. Joanna, you kept fighting till the end, begging for me to run and save myself. Teresa, your sharp tongue made me like you more. You knew what true suffering was my dear....” Jakko went on; reminiscing over the victims he had been close friends with. He called each by name, thanking them and smiling of happier times, before Alice had grown bored with them and thrown them away.
At least boredom at first that drove her to toss away the girls, but then it was intended to hurt him. So many times he wanted to help another person, got his hopes up, and just as it seemed they would succeed he had all torn away from beneath him. He shuddered at the memories of their screams and crying as he was forced to watch them die, and pushed them aside, trying to focus on the present.
He should have known better than to put anybody else at risk, but he could not help himself. He felt bad for those at the so-called Leyaan Academy.
Jakko had sworn this time to save this girl Perdita, who had been stripped of her true name, leaving her weak and confused. He would get her out of that place alive, even if it was the last thing he did.
Jakko kept standing there in front of the memorial, not wanting to leave and face the world, but knowing he had to eventually so he wanted to get it over with.
With a deep breath he stepped out of he room and locked the door. He was the only person who had ever been inside it since he had lived in the apartment, and was not going to let anybody see the room soon.
Jakko headed out into the stairwell of his building, which stank of death. He lived in the poor part of the city, and that suited him well. He did not mind where he lived. He did not even think he deserved to be alive.
Stepping into a dark alleyway, he headed towards the back where he knew there was a dead end, but it sufficed for what he needed.
He let himself become transparent; nonexistent and drift away to where he needed to be.
He swore he would not lose again.
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what a depressing chapter Oo I was having a bad day that day I think xD this world comes up later in the story, so don't you go forgetting it xD
even though this story is finished, the uploads may be slow as I'm working on it's sequel for my NaNoWriMo ^^ I'll ry to get more up soon though and thanks for reading this far :D
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Ashes
Mystery / Thriller"Once a being has been named, it has power. Be sure to take care of yours. I'd know how important it is, because I lost mine." Joshua is always fretting over the "what ifs" in life, but never trusts his gut feeling because it's always wrong... at...
