Futatsu no Sekai (Two Worlds)

Chapter 4: Eternal

"You wanted to see something worse," she started, "Am I right?" 

I kept my head down. 

"Fine."

The setting started glowing with yellow and occasionally other colors. Bright colors of people's shirts started developing as my head rose from looking down.  Blurs became faces, and blurs became people. I stared endlessly at who I thought was Esther. I didn't know what came over me, I just felt sorry for existing. My lips parted as my surroundings became surreal. I sighed. 

Please.

Not again. 

No more.

I sat at a table with Esther and my other "friends" and ate silently, like usual. Esther was oddly silent and people were suspicious. She looked as if she were going to cry, she held back, and she was transparent. 

A hand swooped atop her shoulder. 

"Are you okay, Esther?"

She fell apart. Her face scrunched together and she began her session of wailing noises. Her crying seemed to damage her head even more than I had done, and I reached out to her, sorry she had to bear with so much pain. Others surrounded her with the intention of comforting her, and my fake self did the same. 

As she was crying, she looked towards me and her eyes widened. Then, she continued sobbing, louder.  She was afraid. And she would do anything to get me busted. I deserved it. She was a tower of falling bricks and all I wanted to do right now was to fix her. And I couldn't...it had already happened and it was beyond my abilities. 

"Esther! What's the matter? You can tell us anything!" one of them said desperately.

She cried louder.

"I can't!" she yelled, "I'll be hurt again if I say anything-"

Bad move, Esther.

My fake self stood up as a warning. Strike one.

Others didn't notice, but Esther was the only person who felt my aggression radiating from me. even if she didn't look, she felt it. 

Esther was struck with a jolt of bravery and courage. She stood up as she took the other's arm off of her shoulder. She looked up at me with tears still occupying her bottom eyelids and her eyebrows furrowed. 

"You!" she yelled.

Everyone looked at me.

"Lien slammed my head against the wall! More than three times! And she threatened me to keep quiet, but I can't. I can't keep quiet for an impudent bitch!" she shouted as she pointed at me.

Everyone gasped in fear, and scooted away from where I sat.

"Yap your head off for all I care. None of you wanted me around anyway." I said as I started walking away.

"I thought you were brave! Brave enough to threaten me and slam my head against the wall, huh?" 

She's getting cocky.

Strike two, Esther.

The fake me stopped walking. She turned around and smiled.

"You aren't very smart, are you?" she teased.

"You're not smart to assault me, that's for sure," Esther retaliated.

Silence. No one in our group knew what to say, and kept out of the way. They knew one look from me could cause their death.