Author Games: Renegade | CLOSED

Finals - Mai Li

•{The • Beginning}•

The girl wanted to be a bird.

To fly, to soar, to be free.

She wanted to go outside the walls surrounding her home, over the treacherous mountains, and away from the people who trapped her.

And one day, she became one.

She jumped off a windowsill and soared into the night. On her journey, she met many, but always left soon. She was not good for interaction. Her life stayed like that.

And yet, she was not the songbird that perches on a branch, but the eagle that narrows in for the kill.

Hunting, surviving, and eventually, thriving. Alone in the skies, and she liked it that way.

Until, one day, she did something different. She saved a little songbird that she could never be, from a monster. She took the blow for the songbird, and faced the price.

She was never the same.

A tear hit the paper, smearing the neat ink that had been penned in.

Mai tilted her head up and stared out the window. The lights of the Capitol shimmered, even at this hour. Another tear rolled down her cheek as she stared at her reflection.

She looked beautiful. And although she looked like she had it all, she was dying inside.

Once someone has altered your imperfections, done your makeup, chosen your outfit, done your hair, and directed you on how to live your life, there isn't much left of you.

And in this reflection, it wasn't her.

Mai didn't belong in the red dress or with her hair neatly brushed or her face looking so perfect. She belonged on the run, in torn pants and her hair in tangles.

She put her well manicured hand on the glass, and stared out. From here, she could almost see the woods where so much blood had been shed, and the last time she ever saw any of them.

Her friends.

She was the only one alive. None of them were still here. News had come in that Neha's body had been found, and was stick thin. Nearby, two mangled unidentified bodies had laid. After that, Mai had stayed in her room, still and not eating. She hadn't slept for days.

It was the concealer that covered the circles under her eyes.

"Mai," A shaky voice said.

A voice that haunted her dreams and tormented her thoughts.

Mai stood, and turned.

"Neha."

The Indian girls face was pale but filled with wonder.

"Mai, after the woods, I thought I'd never see you again," she blabbered, tears spilling over her lashes.

"Get out." Mai sharply said.

"Wha- What?" Neha gasps and steps back.

"Get out."

Neha's eyes widened as she stared at Mai's cold face.

"Mai, I thought that-"

"Get out!" the Asian girl screams and sends Neha fleeing out the door.

Listening to the sound of Neha's fading footsteps, Mai slumped into her chair, only to get up seconds later.

Goodbyes always work, the girl thought, and I never want them to. But the one time I want it to be the last goodbye, it isn't.

Mai walked into her bedroom, and into the en suite bathroom. She stripped out of her dress and stepped into the shower. Mai turned the knobs and felt the warm water hit her body.