Kyros, Kyo, Aquarius is just a normal boy living in an organized peaceful city, when he suddenly stops being able to control his body. He is forced to watch a train go into a tunnel, which might seem like a harmless thing, but it can seem a little w...
I looked up from the dull wooden park bench, its wood smooth from the pressure of countless bodies sitting on it, that my body was forcing me to sit on for some unknown reason and watched a brand new looking bullet train speed into the tunnel. A passenger in the last compartment waves and I gasp. A person saw me from a speeding train yards away. And they waved to me.
Who even does that anymore? My mind twisted in confusion. Normally if people are looking at you they just stare until you see them too, then they look away embarrassed.
That person was still staring at me, their grin so wide and unmoving I was surprised that their face hadn't ripped open and they bled out on the cold steel floor of the train.
Most of the train had gone into the tunnel by now and it looked like the passenger's neck was going to snap as they stared at me without turning their body to face me. It seemed like they were never going to go into the tunnel, time feeling as if it was slowing down even more the closer that last compartment got to the looming entrance of the tunnel.
But eventually the train did go into the tunnel, its last compartment shining in the last rays of the sunset before disappearing. The strange feeling of not being able to control my own body disappeared along with the train, but it was instantly replaced with a foreboding feeling.
What just happened?
I jumped off the bench, confirming that I once again had control over my body. I started sprinting back into town to get as far away from that bench as I could get. I got a few strange looks from the passerby, but most of them didn't even seem to notice me. I almost ran into a broad shouldered giant of a man and he didn't even flinch or stop walking. It felt like I was invisible.
I jolted to a stop in front of the door to the house that I share with my mom, if you can call her that. She has never shown any motherly qualities and she is never home for longer than at most a whole night. But she does feed me and let me live with her.
I slowly reach out my hand toward the dull steel doorknob, trying to hear if anyone was inside. The only reason I could think for her to be home would be that it was my birthday, but if she did come home for that reason I did not want to deal with what she had planned. I twisted the doorknob, hearing the click of the latch, and leaned forward slightly to open the metal door that was really good for nothing but keeping the outside temperatures out of the house.
The automatic lights snapped on, the sterilized smell of cleanliness that is always there after the cleaning cycle making my nose scrunch up as my eyes scan the fortunately empty first floor. To my right was the dining table and, over a counter top, the kitchen.
The kitchen was made up of lots of wooden wall cabinets over fake marble counter space. There was one sink, stove, dishwasher, and fridge. They were all white as my mom thought it brought the room more together, which was good for when she had her work friends over. I shouldn't even call them her work friends as she had no other so called friends than the ones from work. The dining table was a normal nicely lacquered pine table. To my left were the stairs, the rail a matte black.
My eyes lock onto a plate on the dining table with a strip of paper next to it. My footsteps break the silence as I walk over to the smooth table, closing the door behind me.
The plate had a single sugar cookie on it sealed with plastic wrap. The strip of paper was the receipt for the cookie and on the back, written in all lowercase were the words 'happy birthday'. No exclamation marks. No love mom or anything like that. Just happy birthday.
At least she remembered, I thought while picking up the plate and paper. I continued into the kitchen to throw away the receipt and its sad excuse for a note then took the plate and cookie up the stairs and into my near empty room.
There were random rugs scattered around the second floor, their colors clashing most of the time. My mom had taken to what she called "getting donations". She started taking rugs off the street once she realized how much money should would save by just covering the floor with rugs instead of turning on the heating.
I sat on my rock hard bed, crumbs of the stale cookie probably sitting on my lips. My mind starting racing, going back to what had happened earlier. Why was that person so interested in me?, I wondered, my mind filling with random, mostly impossible, answers. I stopped myself before I could freak out even more. Maybe Gaikan will understand, if he isn't with that witch he calls a friend and is willing to talk to me.
When my parents got divorced and my mom threw herself into doing nothing but work related things, Gaikan was the only person I could be around. He was the only person I can say I have ever truly enjoyed being around. He has been my neighbor my whole life, the only person I knew when I was younger, and he still probably knows the most about me out of all the other people I now know. We were practically inseparable until he "found someone else", which was his excuse for never talking to me of his accord ever again. Hopefully he would put aside our past if only because it was my birthday.
I gathered up all my courage and walked back out of my house and into the gray gloom of twilight. The lack of light was making the shadows of everything longer and it was not helping my peace of mind. I couldn't help but think I kept seeing that person from the train's face in the corner of my vision every time my eyes shifted even the slightest bit. I tried not to let it bother me.
My feet dragged slightly as I walked over to the house directly next to my own. You would think that I would see Gaikan because we are neighbors, but he somehow found a way around that too. The bright color of his brand new door, I don't remember when he changed it nor did I realize until now, seemed to be dulled by the foreboding feeling of menace seeping out of Gaikan's house from between the door frame and door. However, I did not let this scare me away. Already one thing creepy has happened to me today and I did not want to be too scared to knock on an old friend's door.
I raised my clenched fist, the back of my hand facing the door, and let it fall against the cool wood. The sound was quite quiet but it felt like it was reverberating throughout my whole body, shaking me to my very core. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door a few more times before clasping my hands behind my back, waiting for the entrance to hell to open.
The door creaked open and I could feel my heart stop in terror while my vision went red with rage. The witch was home. And she was way too happy to see me.
"Kyros, was it? How wonderful to see you! Gai-chan and I were just talking about you. Come in!", she said overly loudly, like she was trying to warn Gaikan that the parasite from next door decided to crawl over. My nose crinkled and the corners of my mouth turned down in disgust when she called Gaikan 'Gai-chan'. Her words were dripping with malice, I could see her lips straining to keep it from overflowing and ruining her no doubt 'expensive' outfit.
I could hear Gaikan's hesitant footsteps, slightly muffled by the carpet, as he walked over to stand behind Vio, his hand resting on her hip. His face had its normal look of anger, but I could see worry flashing in his eyes.
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"Kyo?", he asked, his voice hushed as if he was saying it to himself. "Why are you here?"
"Thanks for the welcome. Some weird stuff has been happening and I want to know if you can make sense of any of it.", I mumble, shifting from foot to foot, avoiding making eye contact with Gaikan. It was weird to be talking to him after so long. We didn't exactly leave off on a good note either.
His eyes turned to Vio before he sighed and looked back at me. "Come in."
