Rhubella Fer | District 3 (FIN)

I walk along the lonely sidewalk, offering a weak wave to Mrs. Peterson walking her little weiner dog. She gives me a smile, a wave, and a 'Hello dear.' Continuing along, I pass Rodger Clyde on his bench, reading his paper. "Hey, Rod~" I greet, and he shakes his paper in his own strange hello.

More and more pass me as I continue down my path, meeting everyone with an equally happy grin.

There's just one thing about my friends-

They're all dead.

I stand in the middle of the height spectrum, not four foot five, or six foot seven, but a nice, safe five foot six. I personally prefer my blonde locks curled around my shoulders, because that really handsome twenty-something that stands around the old high school thinks it looks pretty that way. My eyes are a dark hazel with flecks of gold shimmering through them. Really, my eyes are the only things I like about myself.

My nose is too round and large. Bulbous? I think it's bulbous. My ears stick out a little from my head, but not enough that I feel it takes from my overall appearance. I stand proud when I'm alone, or with my friendly, ghostly deities, but in school or at home, my shoulders slump and I seem less than willing to meet the living in the eye. I feel like I sweat too much all the time. It doesn't matter if it's hot, or if it's cold. My body just like... POURS sweat.

I'm not muscular, as I don't generally run around like I used to, but I'm not overweight either. I think I'm somewhere in the middle. I try to smile more, but around bullies and those you hate, it gets harder and harder.

I think I'm a happy person all around. I don't like using the word 'Haunting' to describe my predicament, as I'm not followed by many of them- just the other Fers. Oh yes, the deceased Fers love me, especially those kids who died in those flames. Every time I pass the newly built house, there's always one or two playing in the yard.

It never puts me on edge- they just won't grow any older.

Lizzie and Borden seem to like me too. They don't come nearly as often as the child Fers do, but I still talk to them occasionally. They seem sad, almost like they lived unfulfilled lives when they passed.

I tend to keep to myself when around the living. They are all so boring, and calm. The dead however- the dead are dynamic, moving, exciting, bubbly, pleasant! They've already conquered death! What more is there for the dead to do? I envision my life constantly, waiting until that moment when the spark of life snuffs out into the ashes of death.

The games are glorious- I cannot fathom why those kids are afraid. Sure, the pain will hurt, and I understand dying of a mutt bite or infection must be painful. But surely death would be more comfortable than the meaningless existence of life, right?

I, like all Fers, are cursed as outcasts in the social eye of District Three. I have few living friends in my social circle. Except for Ness- Ness needs to lighten up. The darkness is a friend, a protector to comfort us from the ridiculousness of every day life. The others tend to avoid me, saying things like 'We don't need any of our ancestors advice' or 'I got this.' None of my living relatives deny the existence of the otherworldy deities that haunt my life.

Rhubella has a form of Schizophrenia that makes her hallucinate voices and people. Where she sees children and adults of her family long past, others see air, and hear silence.