A World Turned Upside Down

A Single Light

China flipped through the pages of his notebook, until he found a certain page. It was an essay he had written analyzing how the USSR was successful. He read a few lines of his messy handwriting, and put the notebook back under his bed. China turned off the lights and flopped down on his bed, trying to fall asleep. He couldn't. Not that he wasn't sleepy, but the moment he started to fall asleep, he was afraid that he would wake up and find that it, Japan Empire's defeat, coming back home, everything, was all just a dream. Even if it was a dream, he didn't want it to end. He stared at the ceiling of his room for a while, and eventually decided to go outside. China knew that he would be in trouble if his brother found out, but the night made him feel safe. It was an escape from the world. It was quiet. No one criticizing him for being different. No one yelling at him. No expectations. No pain.

As he was about to sneak out, China remembered he had something he wanted to do. He opened the closet in his room to see a dusty black instrument case. He smiled as he slung it over his shoulder. His old erhu was in the case (an erhu is pretty much the Chinese version of the violin). With that, China opened his window, and slid out onto the street. He closed his eyes as he inhaled some of the cool night air. China walked for a while, and then took out his erhu. He sat down and ran the bow across the strings of the instrument. It was surprisingly not in need of tuning. He began to play. The notes floated through the air. No one was there to hear the song, but China didn't care, he could have it all to himself. It would be better if no one heard anyways.

Then, China saw a single, small light. The flame of a lighter. The light got closer, and China could see the light illuminating a face. It was USSR. The man he admired and looked up to. USSR came closer, and noticed China staring at him. "What are you staring at?" USSR asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. China put his erhu back into its case and stood up. "I-I can explain!" he yelped. 

USSR chuckled at how nervous China was and said, "You don't have to be that scared!" China looked at his feet and shyly said, "W-well I've always w-wanted to t-talk to you. I-I really admire y-you." The two talked. And talked. And talked. Their conversation ended, when China saw that it was already the next day. "Oh...I have to go now, before my older brother wakes up. Maybe we can meet again?" China said. They both said goodbye after that, and left to go back to their own homes. As he was about to turn and leave, China noticed something shiny on the ground. A lighter, USSR's lighter. He picked it up, and was about to call for USSR, but the country was nowhere to be seen. "Huh, I guess I'll just keep it until the next time I see him..." China mumbled to himself as he slipped the lighter into his pocket. Then, he picked up his erhu, and ran home. He climbed back through his window, and put his erhu back into the closet. Since he still couldn't sleep, China decided to write something new. He took out his notebook and opened it to an empty page, and began to write. He didn't really pay attention to what he was writing, so he was horrified with himself when he realized he had written about what had happened when he snuck out.

It was really bad. If Republic ever found the notebook, China would be dead, very dead. Not only would Republic find that he was very Communist, but he would also find that he talked with USSR, one of the countries that Republic never wanted him to associate with! He thought for a while about how to get rid of the what he wrote; throwing it in the trash was too risky, burning the pages was too suspicious, doing nothing would be even worse. Eventually, China decided to rip the pages out and shred them. Since he didn't have access to a paper shredder, China folded the pages up, and cut them up with a pair of scissors. He took the little pieces of paper that now looked like confetti, and threw them into a trash in the kitchen. Then he heard footsteps. China glanced at a clock, it was 5 am. He quickly left the kitchen, snatched up a random book, and pretended he was reading at the table. "Why are you up this early?" a very sleepy Republic asked. China didn't look up from the book, trying his best to not let on that he was lying, and said, "I couldn't sleep." Republic, clearly not buying it, mumbled an 'okay...' and went to get his stuff prepared. As he was about to leave, he turned around and said, "弟弟, we're going to another meeting to continue the negotiations."

{Time Skip}

Republic and China entered the large meeting building, some of the first countries to arrive. As soon as they got to the main meeting hall where the countries that had already arrived were waiting, Republic went off to do something, probably retrieve some papers that he had forgotten. So, China was now left alone with America and a few other countries. "Hi there kid!" America cheerfully said as he held out his hand for a handshake. China stared at him with a poker face for a few seconds, and angrily bit America's hand. America's yelped, but he was still smiling, and said, "Woah! Ya might want to be nicer when meeting someone!" "I hate you..." China mumbled just loud enough for America to hear. Even then, America was still smiling, and said, "You're so much like me!" China sighed, wondering how Republic even put up with America, then asked, "Is that an insult?" There was a long silence, and China left, muttering the words, "他脸皮太厚了...反正狗改不了吃屎." (They're insults)

Then Republic came into the meeting hall, a stack of papers precariously balanced on one hand...and the first thing he heard was the insults his younger brother was muttering.