The Return | Cricky [C]

Prologue

A sky so light as this, I never thought possible. It was blinding to my sinful eyes. These bright shadows of pink danced around me, blurring in and out of focus; The world around me felt as if it was melting. This isn't right—Clearly, dumbass.

Among the magenta sea of flowering trees and their falling petals, I saw dark red splashed upon the cobble path beneath my body. I'm supposed to be the one making others bleed, not bleeding myself. How I got here, where "here" is, what happened leading up to this, I can't remember. How cliche.

I found it difficult to move, as if my muscles had atrophied. The light peaking through the trees wasn't burning my skin off, but it certainly didn't feel great. My body felt heavy under light's weight. Through the ringing in my ears, I heard footsteps. Anyone who could find me in such a beautiful place, surely isn't the type to take kindly to my dark soul. It's not like I can run, though.

Through my hazing vision, I saw a man wrapped up in shabby brown and black clothes. He looked as if he'd come from a poor town in the middle ages. The man knelt down in front of me. Hesitantly, he reached out his hand to touch my face.

"He's freezing." He muttered.

It was then I realized he wasn't alone. A shorter being, whom I couldn't decipher the gender of, grasped his wrist and yanked it back. "Don't touch him." They scorned like a parent.

"There's barely any energy coming from him. I doubt he could hurt us." The man replied.

"Still," The other sighed, "Weak or not, do you want to take the chance if he is what he looks like he is? A demon lord."

Demon? How simple minded are these two? They can't tell the difference between a vampire and a demon? Granted, I shouldn't be able to survive in daylight like this. I can't blame them for assuming so, but regardless, demons aren't even real. They're tall tales, meant to scare Christians in the way the boogie man scares small children who misbehave.

They must be human, if they fear me so. How strange of them to speak so casually of dark beings, yet be uneducated on what is fact and fiction. They began to bicker about what to do, leading me to believe they were either siblings or partners. The man seemed to have a kind heart—One that even I would say is foolhardy. His androgynous companion was far more reserved, in favor of returning home and leaving me to die.

If they choose the second option, death may very well be inevitable. There's no telling if another will find me on this path, and in the event that they do, there's no promise they won't be as fearful of me as these two. I can't let my life lie in the hands of two futzing weaklings. There must be strength in my body yet.

Though it was strenuous, I did manage to move the muscles in my arms slowly. I haven't felt this sore since I was a human. The little movement I had done alerted the two travelers, causing their conversation to halt. I attempted to apply pressure to my arms in order to push myself up from the ground. That was a mistake. What little energy I had left was wasted on that action.

My chest collapsed into the ground again. I coughed, more blood spilling out over my gums. Great, this is where I'm going to die. Beside two strangers, in a foreign place, blinded by the color pink. I didn't have to see that wretched color much longer, as my vision began to dim. My surroundings faded to black.

—

a/n

Well, hello there.

You probably have a lot of questions. The short answer, yeah, I'm back. If you're satisfied with that answer and would like to continue on to Chapter I, please do. If you'd like more information, here you are.

I mentioned in my goodbye letter that I used writing as an outlet to explore and cope with my emotions. At the time, I resigned from Wattpad because I felt that was an unhealthy way of living. Turns out, it wasn't. Over the last year, I've spent a lot of time turning to truly unhealthy lifestyles, spending time with toxic people, and allowing my mental health to deteriorate. Sometimes we think we need changes in our lives, when we don't.

Writing makes me happy. This community, makes me happy. Staying inside all day and only having four friends, honestly makes me happy. If you ever feel social pressures to be a more outgoing person, to meet new people and party, know that you don't have to. There's nothing wrong with being introverted and preferring to keep to yourself. Alright, mushy-gushy PSA over.

To celebrate my return, I wanted to create something that reflected on my first story: Silence Remains. This prologue was intended to draw parallels to it. Though it will be a very different story overall, it'll explore similar themes. I think you guys will like it. I will continue the stories I left unfinished upon my departure soon, but I thought it'd be for the best to return with a new story. Also, I am still working on a real novel in real life, but that's slow-going.

If anyone has any other questions that I failed to answer here, please feel free to ask in the comments. Thank you all for the amazing messages I received when I left. Thank you for continuing to read the old stories and commenting on them. And thank you for making the return with me.

With love,

-Nona