pure, long lasting happiness ROSETTA

skylarversion2

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pure, long lasting happiness ROSETTA Jun 2, 2011 16:29:42 GMT -5

Post by skylarversion2 on Jun 2, 2011 16:29:42 GMT -5

[please excuse how bad my writing has gotten. ;-;]

I've begun to feel like there is good left in the world. For somehow, even without pay for at least 3 months, a stranger, kind enough to give his house up, has lent it to mother and me. The few days I spent writing in a journal now brings a smile to my face. For those few days I was happy, happy that the good that miraculousy sprouted from the Earth is now blooming. Those few days that I scribbled hearts as I signed my signature in hopes of maybe, just maybe finally having a chance to have pure, long-lasting happiness is now coming true.

With a grin spread wide across my clear, blemish free face, I hear others experiment with their own personal scream therapy- as if their version of pure, long lasting happiness consisted of long hours of ripping their throats raw and throwing glass. It's the reason the stranger let us stay in his house, free of charge. He needed a release. A release from the neighbor's screams and fighting. An advantage of being homeless, though, is that you know places that no one else does. So in times like these, when the neighbor's are fighting and your own version of happiness is faltered, you go to those places that no one else knows about, so your happiness can fluctuate and become what it was some time ago.

So that's what Mom and I did. We packed a basket of sandwiches and cut them up into small, bite sized pieces. This was to ensure that we wouldn't eat too much. Even if 5 or 6 bite sized pieces were only equivalent to one full sized sandwich, it still seemed like more, it still seemed more filling.

With a shut of the door, the neighbor's screaming grew louder, there were less obstacles for the sound to travel through. Mom and I, Xerena and Xanti, friend and friend, began to trod ourselvers toward a small patch of forests on the edge of the District, the closest unknown place to our newly free house.

Nothing caught my eye, I was too hellbent on being happy, and somehow my attempts at becoming happy once more, even though I was pretty happy from the point of leaving. However, my spirits were temporarily brought down when someone had somehow found the patch of trees that Mom and I had thought was ours. But quickly the very small bout of anger switched over to a more sympathetic, worried feeling as the girl's trembling hands shook atop her kneecaps, her head rested on the side of a tree. Mom said, "And what is wrong with you? Are you sad? Something happened?"

Rosetta
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pure, long lasting happiness ROSETTA Jun 10, 2011 18:57:16 GMT -5

Post by Rosetta on Jun 10, 2011 18:57:16 GMT -5

Lethe Turner

The frail girl patted the horse's mane with slow, gentle strokes, but her hands trembled. Staring up at her with large, innocent black eyes, the horse sensed her owner's distress. They both knew what was coming when the stable door opened. They both dreaded it beyond belief.

Upon escaping her overcrowded house, Lethe had stumbled across a boy on the way to the stable. He gave his daily introduction as the stable boy, Ronald, and brought awful news: Susie's condition had worsened and she needed to be put out of her misery. Her breath had caught in her throat at that moment. All the oxygen left the air and Lethe was left struggling for answers. Out of her misery? Her favorite horse? Her Susie? At the time, she'd refused to believe it. Shrugged it off and ran away.

Now, sitting in the stuffy, hay-covered stable, reality struck her hard. Her eyes strayed to the horse's hopelessly mangled front leg. Yesterday, Lethe had had her jump over a fence, but the horse's left hoof had gotten caught, and she'd crumbled. Lethe escaped with only a bruise on her head, but Susie fared much worse. She needed to be put down, and one of the stable boys was off fetching a Peacekeeper to use his gun on the creature.

That horse meant much more to her than anyone realized. Because she was an animal, Lethe would never not know Susie's identity, and never have to face the terrifying moments of bemusement she dealt with every morning with Susie. But, now, Susie, her favorite horse would be gone too, along with the faces of everyone she came across. She’d be alone in the suffocating world with no one she’d recognize to turn to. The very thought made her shudder and she hugged the horse closer to her.

Both girl and horse flinched as the stable door opened. A Peacekeeper stepped in, slowly, closely followed by a few stable boys. Lethe could see the gun, glinting at his waist.

"This the one?" he asked, and a stable boy answered,

"Yup, that's the horse. Lethe, c'mon now."

Heart racing, chills leaping up all over her skin, Lethe clung to the horse, who nuzzled and sniffed at her, longing for closeness. "Please, let me say good bye, just another minute," she pleaded. The stable boys exchanged uneasy looks, and the Peacekeeper didn't look pleased. He took out his gun, and waved it at her.

"Move aside, girl," he ordered, but Lethe remained frozen. Fear set over her, paralyzing her, and tears pooled in her eyes. Reality hit her smack in the face. She was going to lose Susie, Susie was going to die. Lethe would be alone in her struggle for peace with the world. Susie was going to be gone. Susie had never failed her before. She'd never not been there. The horse was always there to comfort her, really. Always there to bury her head in when she needed to cry, to be ridden when the girl needed the thrill, the wind in her face, and always remained silent when Lethe needed the quiet. Susie had never failed her, never. Why must she go now?! Why?!

"Away!" the Peacekeeper shooed her, but just as before, the small girl only clung tighter in that humid stable. The Peacekeeper's hand shot out and roughly grabbed her, throwing her aside as easily as if she were a rag doll. Gasping, Lethe huddled at the feet of the stable boys, who knelt down to her. The Peacekeeper got the gun to the horse's head.

"No!" Lethe cried, breathing shallowly, butterflies in her stomach. But, it was too late. The horse's black eye met Lethe's before a gunshot rocketted through the stable, reverbrating over the walls and coming back at Lethe, furiously. Instantly, she felt light-headed, her stomach feeling as though it had turned itself inside out. "No," she moaned, staring at the hay rather than the horse. "No...no...no..." Susie was gone...gone! "No!" She was on her feet before she even had time to think, and pushing the boys behind her away. She could hear them crying out to her, but she ran anyway.

Out of the stable, through the field, past the factories, alongside the fence to a crop of trees. She didn't stop under she'd crashed through enough bushes to give herself bloody cuts on her arm and legs. Then, she stumbled onto her hands and knees, right into a tree in a cooler, shadowy area. Susie was gone, dead, gone. Not coming back.

One could say Lethe Turner hadn't losing things dear to her and they'd be right. She lost her ability to recognize the people around her every morning. Something so simple and so crucial...gone...just like Susie. Drawing her knees tightly to her chest, Lethe leaned against the tree for support, shoulders shaking. Please let this be a dream, she begged in her head, only a dream. This has to be a dream. It wasn't long before Lethe heard people coming towards her. She kept her head down, watching an ant making its way across a leaf. She figured it must be the stable boys coming to collect her. She didn't look up.

"And what is wrong with you? Are you sad? Something happened?"

It came as a great surprise to her when the voice that spoke to her turned out to be female. Her lips parted, slightly, but she still didn't look up out of fear of what faceless person she'd see. Instead, she answered, simply and softly.

"I'm fine, thank you.

Lethe's Speech:05C1A8
Other Speech:FC5A2E
Text:64E204

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Last Edit: Jul 2, 2011 14:31:42 GMT -5 by Rosetta

^^Made by the excellent Shrimp!

skylarversion2

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pure, long lasting happiness ROSETTA Jun 10, 2011 21:53:07 GMT -5

Post by skylarversion2 on Jun 10, 2011 21:53:07 GMT -5

At that time, I still had happiness left in me. There were still little butterflies that beat against the walls of my stomach and there were still technicolored flowers that threatened to sprout out of my fingertips and there were still puffy formations of clouds that made me feel like I lived and breathed on air. I still felt like good was left in the world and that my ecstacy would be prolonged until something drastic would come and take me off of my high horse. At that moment, I was on a fiery buzz of joy; an enveloping intoxication of pure adrenal bliss.

At least, that's what it seemed to be, until I realized that any little bit of happiness would've made anyone that had been as down as me ecstatic like I'd presently felt. So it didn't take as much as I thought it would to steal all my happiness away from me. So as I further examined the girl, it slowly began to seep out of my pores and slither down my body and pool around me. The heavy smell of oil became evermore present as I began to become frustrated. Why would she say something like that? She wasn't "just fine." No. The intrusions in her skin treated with little bloody crusts and the tear stained eyes and disheveled hair made her anything but "just fine."

But she said that she was fine... Maybe she was like me back when I wasn't spewing with happiness. Those times when I was pissed off and I didn't want anyone to talk to me or anything so I said that everything was even when it wasn't. Maybe, even if things weren't fine, I shouldn't have messed with her, but I did. "No you're not! You're bloody and your hair's a mess. What's wrong?" I asked with an authority that wasn't meant to be there.

Rosetta
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pure, long lasting happiness ROSETTA Jun 17, 2011 17:59:50 GMT -5

Post by Rosetta on Jun 17, 2011 17:59:50 GMT -5

Lethe wasn’t one who liked confrontations. In fact, the girl, if she had the choice, would much rather avoid people altogether. Much less hassle, much less confusion. She didn’t like when people tried to engage her in conversations, much less try to help her. So, when another voice, a boy’s, insisted that she was not okay, irritation surged through her veins. Who was he to know how she was feeling? Who was he anyway?

The girl’s head snapped upward to see both the woman who’d spoken to her before, and another boy. Her fingers clawed towards her face in frustration, but she hastily sat on them. Best not seem like a loony just yet when she was unsure of who these people were. As far as she knew, they could be her family. Or her friends…or bad people who would hurt her. So, she asked the most reasonable question she could muster:

“Who are you?”

Normally, her mother would tell her not to be so blunt. When the family had realized that Lethe was inflicted by some mysterious illness that caused her to be unable to recognize those around her every day when she woke up, they pledged to keep it quiet. They asked Lethe to be amiable around others, pretend that she knew them. That was until she was kind around Jason Stein, the biggest pick-pocket in the District, and had found all her money gone within the next moment. Then, to the family’s embarrassment, they announced publicly to a group of friends that their daughter had a problem. She needed protection.

All of a sudden, the word spreading like wildfire, Lethe’s life changed. When people weren’t skirting around her like she was contagious, they were treating her like a child. They spoke in loud voices, acting like she didn’t remember anything at all. Again and again, she told them all she needed to know was their names, and then she’d remember every single interaction she’d had with them. She just wanted their names.

Her mother saw it fit to treat her like she was normal, which is truly what Lethe wanted, but her mother often never put her “condition” in consideration. She wanted Lethe to be married, move out with some man and settle down. These conversations where the only times when Lethe longed to be treated like a child. Her mother simply didn’t understand that. She didn’t understand that the horror Lethe had to face daily would multiply if she had to wake up every day next to an unknown man. She would never understand what it would be like to not be able to recognize her own children. So, whenever this topic came up, Lethe would either leave or protest to the best of her ability.

But her voice often went unheard, leading to her frustration, leading to her clawing at her face in annoyance…leading to the scars.

She was a freak. And one didn’t escape that life. She would never escape it.

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Last Edit: Jun 17, 2011 18:01:53 GMT -5 by Rosetta

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skylarversion2

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pure, long lasting happiness ROSETTA Jun 23, 2011 3:59:30 GMT -5

Post by skylarversion2 on Jun 23, 2011 3:59:30 GMT -5

The air around him caused for a drenching in sweat. It was ironic to think that the picnic that was originally planned would've went without trouble. Even if Xerena and Xanti hadn't ran into the girl, they still would have been sweltering in the heat. He took his hand and pulled his shirt away from his body, allowing for more ventilation and possibly a cooler self. Xerena stood the with the basket of food in her hand, wiping her cheek with her shoulder. It didn't seem natural, like it was an urge, it seemed like she was just doing it so she didn't stand stupidly while whatever was going on unfolded.Xanti still had happiness left, though. He could feel it. The ecstasy he once had might have already shriveled and buried itself, but he was still happy! Even if the girl was not having too good of an attitude at the moment. "Who are you?" she had asked. She hadn't answered the question Xanti had asked, but it only seemed logical that she might not want to go spilling her life's problems to someone she didn't even know the name of.

"Oh, my name is Xanti," he replied. "I don't know what I was thinking. I should've at least told you my name before I bombarded you with questions about your problems..." He wiped his arms to try to remove sweat, but it had no effect. His hands were sweaty too. "It is so hot!" Xerena complained, off to the side and basically out of the conversation. "Oh yeah. That's my mom," Xanti said, glancing over to Xerena. "Her name's Xerena. Do you mind asking what your name is? It's fine if you don't..."

Xanti thought back to his mom and the basket she'd packed for the two. What was in there again? There surely were a few apples, they'd always been able to get those from open markets and the like. Whether they were rotting or not was not much of a factor, but having something to bite into would be refreshing, to say the least. Plus, a peace offering to the girl could never hurt, could it?

"Hey Mom, did you bring any apples?" he asked. He knew the answer, but it would've sounded too assertive if he'd had just said, "Give me 2 apples." When Xerena had nodded he asked again, "Can I have two? So I can give one to her?" After being tossed two apples, one at a time, he notified himself of the sweat stains under his arms. Suddenly, he was embarrassed. Xerena grabbed herself and apple and bit into it. "Here's one for you too," Xanti said, extending the apple out towards the girl.