After a tragic past, Claire Elric is left alone in this world to fight against her mind and screaming thoughts, especially after her best friend, Leo, decides not to remember her and start a new life in which she is just a girl who studies in the sa...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"That was. . . . . . something I don't have a comment about," Conrad huffed, his hand tousling his hair.
"Me either," I sighed as I got up but my knees were too weak to keep me supported. I had to grab my bed post to stand still and firm even though the whispery, eerie voice banged itself at the walls of my mind.
Silence followed.
"What now?"
What now? It was a big question. Too many options, followed by many other questions. . . only one leading to the right path.
"You need rest, Conrad. I'm sure your back's aching from sleeping on the chair. The guest room's free, you should go lie down there."
He passed me a weak smile but shook his head. "Not unless you do it too."
He cared... I didn't know which part of me whispered this but it did and it felt right.
"Fine," I agreed. "I'll rest too."
֍
"This new neighbourhood's strange," The five-year-old me informed my parents as they walked me towards a friend's house.
"Don't worry, sweety. You'll be making friends soon. There're a lot of kids here and you'll meet many more when you go to school."
We soon made it to a shallow house, not much beauty left in the old building. But it was huge and ancient-looking. My dad and mom held each of my hand as we went in. I followed my parents as they led me to a garage from where I could hear laughter and screams.
The gate was open as my parents were greeted by a man of my dad's age.
"How are both of you? It's been ages seen I've seen you and—oh, who is this lovely little girl?"
"C-Claire," I whispered, a little uneasy due to an unfamiliar face.
"Well, Claire. You're in luck. My son is also here with me and all tidied up—"
A thrash interrupted him. Tilting a little to look over the man, I saw a boy with auburn hair that were covering his eyes.
"I didn't touch it, I swear! It just... FELL!"
I was confused as he apologised to his father when I noticed the bucket he was holding. It was empty since the paint in it was splattered on his jeans and the floor.
My father pushed me ahead into the garage as the little boy blushed due to embarrassing himself in front of guests.
His father did the same as he nudged him forward. "Leo, this is Claire. Claire, meet my not-very-tidy-anymore son, Leo."
With that our parents left us alone in the garage as they made their way in.
The uneasiness followed as we both had nothing to say, staring anywhere but at each other.
He broke the silence first, stretching out his hand covered with green paint. "I'm a lion. ROAR."
The smile that followed made me giggle and shake his hand, letting the paint cover my hand as well.
The scene changed to when I was fourteen, when my friend was no longer there, when I was trying to adjust to it but couldn't.
"Earth to Elric."
The voice snapped me out of my void, my haven. I glared at the boy who gave me a crooked smile. "We need to do something for our science project. Do you have anything on your mind."
"Lifecycle of a butterfly."
A blunt answer, not giving any space for further conversation. I kept walking towards my house as he followed me. I felt frustrated, I didn't want him to. All I wanted was to be left alone.
"Stop it! Stop following me!" I shouted at him.
"But we need to make a project together!"
"I'll make it on my own!"
I turned on my heels, increasing my pace as I tried to get rid of the little boy. But he followed, so I ran. Fumbling with my keys, I quickly ran into my house only to find someone faster than me.
"Conrad, get out!" I hissed.
"Easy, little butterfly. I want to help make the project, that's all. I'm not one of those who just write their name at the end and say that they did it. That hurts my ego." He replied, pouting.
I rolled my eyes but sighed in defeat. I already had a terrible day, being bullied and having no one to help me. So, I let him help me in our project.
Some long hours later, we were close to finishing the project. Conrad didn't do much—just tormented me as much as he could. Adding the final touched, I noticed Conrad smiling like a feline at my for no apparent reason.
"What?"
"Aren't you happy? You get to make the lifecycle of...you."
I tilted my head in confusion. "What?"
"You ask that question too much," he pointed. "But I'll gladly answer it. You see, I like imagining people as animals and I see you as a Butterfly. You're beautiful inside out but you don't see it, just like a butterfly can't see its wings."
"Oh, really?" I answered dryly but in some part of me, a flame ignited, forming a warm, soft blanket in the blazing storm that was inside me.
"So, little butterfly, I'm bored. Let's do something fun. Want to throw eggs at people's faces?"
My eyes snapped closed once I tried to open them because of the light that was streaming into my room through the window. The morning like invading my whole body.
Opening my eyes, I sat up straight on my bed when something grabbed my attention.
Something sitting on my nose flew away from there, coming into my vision as it flew out of the window.
A butterfly.
But it left something behind—a memory.
I know, not much in this chapter and I is the sorry. But in my defence, it was important. And also sorry for the delayed chapter. I have to write to books—this one and another—so deal with me.
