Empty World

Chapter 1: Consuming

 I was running. Back to my home? No. I was nowwithout one. I guess you could call me a failure; a disappointment. I ran awayfrom home at the age of 14 and have been hoping around from homeless shelter tohomeless shelter ever since. I was once in an orphanage, there I met my first"friend" Fuko. It's funny her name meant "unhappiness" in Japanese becausethat's what she alluded to in the end, but not her unhappiness, mine. Althoughshe didn't talk much, I considered her a friend and would often steal food fromthe local farmers' market for me and her when the orphanage was having a financialcrisis, but when she figured out I was stealing instead of earning money andpaying for it, she ratted me out. That was when I was 16, now I'm 18, runningaway from what may have just been a dream. I made it to the nearby clothingstore in which I went inside and sat down in a changing room, here I believed Iwas safe until I took a look into the wide mirror. There I saw myself, onceagain, without eyes, but this time my mouth was stitched together and my hairwas completely white. I was so concerned and frantic that I ran outside to thecashier and asked them what color was my hair and if I looked okay, the cashierreplied "Your hair is brownish and uhm...you look like you need some rest". In abrief moment of relief, I stood there praying that this was all an illusion, animagination due to that unsettling dream. The rain had cleared away and the sunwas out so I walked outside, but then I noticed...I had no shadow.