It was just a normal day at work. I tapped angrily at my computer. I had to write a stupid document for my boss. But I was finding it hard to focus. I had barely slept last night. I had kept hearing this strange sound from somewhere in my room—a faint growling— but I couldn’t identify where it was coming from so I assumed it was just in my head. After 30 minutes of frustrating work I finally gave up on the document and switched my tab over to the news station. I wasn’t expecting anything special so I was extremely shocked when I saw the flashing fins of a sea monster terrorizing the town. It flailed in the lake that the town was centered on, splashing water everywhere. I was even more shocked when I saw the scar on its side and knew I had to return home immediately. Alarms started going off. “Everyone exit the building!” I heard a voice call. Everyone looked at each-other confused but I was already sprinting down the stairs. I felt as though I was in a dream. I scampered to my car and got in. I drove down the street in a hurry, barely noticing the people running for their lives. I had to swerve to avoid hitting a few. I could hear the screams and the sound of splashing water through the car window. A stream of water was even flowing down the street. I wasn’t focusing on any of these things though, I was focusing on getting home. Because there was one thing I had to know. I finally reached my house and screeched up the driveway. I ran inside, leaving the front door ajar. I gasped when I reached my room and saw the sparkling glass covering the floor. The top of the tank seemed to have fallen and shattered. I looked in the tank and my heart dropped. I was right that the scar on the monster was the same as the scar on my goldfish. I even recognized its warm orange scales. The tank was empty. “That’s my goldfish!” I said.
Adeline walked carefully over the wooden planks. They were remains from the buildings that once stood here, but now covered the dusty ground. The planks were like dominoes, one wrong move and they would come crashing down on top of eachother, alerting everything to her presence. Dusk was approaching, casting an orange light upon the dust in the air. She clutched Lilith’s hand. Adeline couldn’t lose her. She’d never forgive herself. Lilith would die out here all alone. They kept walking, flinching at every small noise. Anything could be a monster, vicious and ready to attack. They tried to be careful, but it wasn’t long before something went wrong. Lilith tripped over a piece of wood, falling in a pile of it. Each plank banged against each-other, echoing through the streets. They froze, not daring to make a sound. But then they heard something approaching. Many footsteps, light and delicate. A soft growl came from the shadows. A pack. “Quick” Adeline mouthed at Lilith. She scrambled to her feet. SNAP. Adeline looked around and spotted it— a wolf. Its teeth were set in a snarl. It had matted dirty fur with ribs poking out on the sides. 5 others came out of the shadows, all growling. Adeline grabbed a knife from her bag and threw it at one of the wolves. It winced in pain. But that wouldn’t be enough to stop them. They had no choice. Adeline lurched towards Lilith, grabbing her hand once again. “RUN” They ran for their lives. The only way they managed to outrun the wolves was by dodging around corners and swerving behind the old remains of houses. The sun was setting across the sky. Dusk had come to save them. Adeline pulled Lilith into an abandoned house and they hid a corner, shivering. Soon the darkness shrouded them, hiding them from the hungry gazes of their predators.
She liked to talk. I thought it was silly how much she talked, but she didn’t care one bit. She was dark colored, like most of her family. She had a creative mind and spent hours writing and drawing to her heart’s content. Her words were admired and adored but she herself was ignored and thrown aside when she wasn’t needed. She had lain on the floor for hours once, forgotten and lost. She couldn’t express her joy when she was found and placed into the cup on the desk, among her other pens once more.
I stood, waiting at the bus stop to go to work. The sky was a muted gray. Drops of rain fell upon the ground. My breath rose as mist in the frigid air. As depressing as it sounds, I could not show my sadness. They didn’t like it when we were sad. They wanted us to be happy. We were taught not to cry as children, how to hold your smile, how to hide your emotions. And if you got caught being, you would be arrested. So with grim determination I set my face into a smile. The bus pulled up with a screech. The driver smiled at me with dull eyes. I smiled back and so did everyone else. I made my way down the aisle. They thought that if they forced us to act happy, it would make us happy. But it didn’t work, I thought sitting down. As the bus drove forward I tried to ignore the weighing of my heart and the stinging of my eyes. No, it didn’t work at all.
When I was young, people always told me I would be a heartbreaker. I don’t think this is what they meant. It was a comment I got quite a lot. I don’t know if it was my death stare resting face or my complete lack of empathy for others but everyone saw me as cold. They would tell me to brighten up and be kind. I always had trouble making friends as a kid because people seemed to shy away from me. I was never too upset by it because other people bothered me, but sometimes in the middle of the night I felt the loneliness deep down in my heart. This was my life until I met the greatest friend in the whole wide world. Instead of avoiding me, she followed me around everywhere. From the morning to the evening, from the first day of school to the last, she was by my side. She was always trying to make me laugh or smile. I enjoyed her company and I laughed and smiled back at her. Once I found out how great a true friendship could be, I felt my heart open up a little. I trusted her like I’d never trusted anyone before. That was my mistake. Isn’t it puzzling that she would be so obsessed with me while everyone else avoided me? That she would stick with me after being exposed to all my flaws? I was stubborn and cruel. I didn’t care about her feelings and I was rude for no reason. I never lifted a single finger in return for all the effort she gave to be my friend. Perhaps if I’d been kinder she wouldn’t have betrayed me. She would have trusted me with her deepest darkest secret. Perhaps. If I was a heartbreaker she certainly was. Once I started to like her she messed with my head. She dropped random negative comments about my appearance and my actions. She started not inviting me to things. She talked about me behind my back. One time we were walking on the side of a busy road. I had looked away from her for a second and I felt a push on my back. I toppled onto the pavement. A car had to swerve to avoid me. I nearly died that day. Apologizing and sobbing horribly, she claimed she had tripped onto me. But I had a gut feeling she was lying. I never saw a tear on her face. I was blamed for the incident and the harm to the cars that crashed, not her. She got me into trouble loads of times. I was always taking the blame but it was never my fault. I didn’t realize it then but she did it all on purpose. Her secret? She never wanted to be my friend. She wanted to cause me the most unbearable pain possible. And it worked. She messed with my head and with my life. I didn’t have any friends to compare her to so I never realized it. Until the day she got bored. I got to school and greeted her like usual. But she frowned at me and asked if she knew me. She claimed we’d never been friends and asked for my name. For the weeks that followed she ignored me. I was going insane, mentally tearing myself apart. I didn’t know if I could trust my memories that we’d ever been friends. I thought I’d been hallucinating, turning mad. But she should have known never to mess with me. Since the moment she first saw my face so long ago. I realized what a liar she was and a cold and terrible fury took over me. It consumed me at night, it took over my mind when I saw her during the day. I made a plan. It was the middle of the night. A cold quiet night. I turned on my light. Flick. I crept across my room and crept down the stairs. The wooden floor groaning behind me. Creak. My heart was beating faster than it ever had before. Thump thump thump. The cruelness that had always been there in my heart was seeping out into my insane smile and my swirling head. I thought about what people called me when I was younger. They said I had a lack of empathy that would cause me to break many hearts. And they were right about one thing. I didn’t feel any remorse or guilt for what I was going to do. I climbed in my car. The engine whirred on. Duh duh duh duh duh. Faster than even my heartbeat. I started to drive, the wheels rolling on the ground. The only sound in this dark empty night. I finally arrived at her house. I pushed the front door open as it was not even locked. The hinges screeched as it opened. Squeak. My heart beating faster than ever, I tiptoed up the stairs. Tap tap tap. Standing over my old friend, to make her feel just a fraction of the pain she had made me endure. Swish. Into her heart. Drip drip drip. Onto the floor A heartbreaker.
I went walking around Willow Pond. It was quite peaceful. Fish swam serenely. Birds sang above. Wind blew through my hair. Sunshine glittered upon grass. Happiness spread all around. But then something sharp hit me. “Ouch” Looking down, blood covered the toe. Without shoes, pain rocketed high. Rocks lay everywhere. One had red dripping off. Yelling angrily and kicking crazily, harmful stone ended up getting kicked over a fence. Continuing my walk with pain ends hard, but there is no choice. Stumbling home, while having zero tranquility anymore turns out not fun. Finally myself comes home. Never going back again.
Our world is different. We envy those who live on earth. That spoiled planet always got the best of us. They can call us aliens, abuse and mistreat us, but we will always stay strong. We are the people of Monlanti, the planet near the moon. Thousands of years ago, the earth was unaware of us. Our planet is so small it is something they would call a pebble. But it’s our home; the only home we’ve ever known. Then one day explorers found us and our planet. They kidnapped our people and researched them. Those people were never seen again. Immediately they took control of us, controlling our every action and laughing at us because we were different. But the real reason they abuse us is our disadvantage as a planet. Instead of getting our heat from the sun, the grand star they all seem to worship, we get our heat from their moon. This causes them to view us as their property and so for thousands of years we have been enslaved. Life isn’t as good when you are always hidden behind the moon. Plants struggle to grow and we people struggle to live. We never see a bright warm day. I hope that one day I can visit earth and speak to the people there. I will speak for the freedom of our people and a chance at a different and better life. I have heard old stories about our planet. We used to thrive on the reflected light of the moon. Our plants needed very little sunlight and got their energy from the strong tides that flowed over them. But earth has planet all there plants here and they are slowly dying. My family and friends tell me I am a strong speaker. I am preparing to travel to earth soon. I only hope my voice is strong enough. I hope it’s stronger than their cruelness, their curiosity, and their power hungry minds. I can only hope my small quiet voice can speak strong enough words to earn us our freedom at last
