Short stories and poems

She carried others' grieves like they were her own.

"My God, give me the strength and the heart to do good for others, even at the expense of my own wishes. Keep him in the light. He deserves his happiness. And please, I beg of You, do not punish him with guilt at what has become of me."

Pale skin encrusted in clumps of dirt as the pads of bare feet press against the stone pavement, crushing the air between them and the ground in a comatose daze, almost as if even her legs are no longer willing to move forward, afraid to allow her eyes to see the man who morphed a monster out of the shadows of her mind.

An asthenic sensation seeps into her knees, rapaciously pulverising the strength that used to penetrate through the cells of her bones, her legs now threatening to give away as each second disperses into the shadows like a pearl of water sliding down the side of a bucket and dripping onto the surface of the water deep within the well, transposing the tranquility that cradled the motionless liquid in a gentle embrace. Yet, she wills herself to keep walking in his direction, the restlessness within her overpowering and suppressing all thoughts about turning away.

The ground, illuminated by the graze of the pale moonlight's fingers, quivers within the pools of her deep brown orbs — it wasn't the sight of him that implored her to uncurl herself amid the dirt and shakily balance herself on both feet, it was the sound of his voice that ignited a tiny spark within her heart, quenching her frail body from its icy darkness by a fragment. Though her eyes are too glassy to even see the man who holds her heart in his hands, he can see her, a broken angel trying with all her might to wrench herself away from the suffocating grip of the darkness has on her delicate throat, slender fingers wrapped tightly around her tender flesh from behind. Darkness is always conquered with light — it would be truly impossible for the latter to be overcome with the former, so, this is the reason for why she is still placing one trembling foot before the other, even when her head throbs from the blood pulsing through her veins, whilst that voice in her head screams at her to stop, to stop trying because she'll never find the rest that she's longed for her whole life, a need of her soul that not even he can give.

When he notices her petite figure staggering towards him, almost like she had been wounded by a gun shot but was summoning the remnants of her energy and life to seek refuge, his mahogany eyes widen with pure shock. Twisting his body away from the others, he stumbles over his own feet to run towards her, heart pounding fiercely within its battered cage.

Just as he reaches her, he opens his arms out before engulfing her small frame in his embrace, wrapping her in his familiar scent and a warmth that she has always yearned for — pleaded silently with her desperate eyes from certain people in her life, only to be cast aside like she was just some empty vessel devoid of any emotions. She didn't even realise that he had been running towards her, she was so focused on moving, anywhere but back there. At the touch of his arms around her body, pressing her close to his chest, her eyes widen at the abrupt action, eyelashes grazing against the soft skin above her glistening eyes that are gleaming with unshed tears as her dark brown orbs snap towards the face of the man sobbing uncontrollably over her shoulder.

She was someone he never expected to keep in his life for too long, someone who he deemed useful to help him get through this part of his life; yet, as time flew by, like a bird soaring high in the sky, untouchable by the influence of those who are doomed to only inhabit the ground, he begun to see a girl slipping out from the mask that she loved to done, her real form conforming to the visage of a china doll that had already been dropped onto the marble floor numerous times, effectuating so many cracks on the surface, yet, her eyes remained as beautiful as the day he looked deep into them for the first time.

He was responsible for tearing away her mask to reveal the defenceless child who loves to play hide and seek. Actually, it's quite ironic how her favourite pastime game when she was younger, was indeed hide and seek, and, would you like to know which part she most liked to play? It was most certainly the one who hides.

She was exceptionally clever at picking out discreet spots to squeeze her body into before the seeker would finish counting and sneak around the house trying to find her. She'd suppress her giggles drenched in a mischievous glint with her soft hands over her mouth as she switched her hiding place each time the seeker got too close to discovering her for her liking.

Little did she know that she'd grow up to live in the same way — constantly hiding and moving. He was certainly lucky to be the one to encourage her to remove the mask, or maybe it was because she realised that she had finally found someone who was most like her than anyone else she had ever met in her life.

Two identical charges always repel each other away — well, that's what she learnt in science, but that was something she never understood, nor did she ever take the initiative upon herself to look into it — at least, in their case, though they were so similar, he was shrouded in a veil of darkness, whilst she was lightly treading through the gleams of light that the earth drinks in pleasure, a distraction from the constant foreboding presence of evil and darkness.

She looked behind her, and saw the suffering and pain he was barely enduring — she knew that she couldn't leave him alone. He was too selfish to warn her of the dangers because he wanted to walk in the light so badly that the lives of others were pushed away from the centre of his mind. He just wanted the chance to relish in the warmth of something that was denied him when he was only a child. It was almost like he used her as his own sacrifice — she held his icy hands within her delicate ones and pulled him out of the shadows, she let him walk into the light whilst the blight spread across her body, the blight that latched onto her tender flesh as soon as she touched the malevolent darkness that had engulfed him.

Despite all of the agony she felt, she never said a word, biting her tongue because she no longer wanted to be selfish, no longer wanted to put herself first when the Spirit taught her to give up her life for Him and others. It was almost too hard to smile as she watched his retreating back grow smaller and smaller within her vision until it became just a blur in the distance.

Somewhere deep inside, she secretly hoped that he'd at least turn around to glance at her once more time, but he never did. She convinced herself that it was all worth it, he deserved to find the joy and happiness that she at least had the chance to taste. She felt proud of herself for her brave sacrifice, she felt strong and contented as she looked up towards the heavens and smiled one last time on the outside.

She began to wander the city streets at night after that, her steps light and steady, just like they have always been, even if the weight on her heart had accumulated to such an extent that it felt like she almost couldn't move her body at all. She wished that the stars could at least shine a little brighter, shed a little more light into her life so she can see the path before her more clearly.

A woman with no capacity to fight off any dangers that she encounters shouldn't be walking around the streets alone at night, like she was simply just some ghost that no one could see. The pale moonlight grazes its gentle fingers against her locks and face, effectuating a lucent appearance of a young spirit who walks the Earth with a contaminated heart. The exterior is putatively broken, yet, her glinting orbs gleam with a tender light, a glimpse of a remaining hope that flickers like dim candlelight.

That is how they know that at least some part of her is still alive.