Her Perspective,

Sunday, 17th January 2049, 6:21 PM

Alice, holding wet shoes in her left hand, a bronze locket in her right hand ran down a hallway. Her feet sending jolts of sensation as each footstep touched the cold tiled floor.

The lights were off; her shadow long and stretching. As only the orange rays of sunlight broke in through the windows

Alice was being chased. She didn't know how far behind they were but knew they would soon catch up.

The hall split in two at a junction. With no time to decide, since she had been closer to the right wall she entered the right path. The hall itself was a complete copy of the one she had just run down from, until around halfway where she saw an open window.

Luckily she was on the ground floor so it was an easy jump. A look back to ensure she wasn't seen, she jumped onto the stone pavement outside the school building.

With the last of her energy, she thudded herself against a nearby tree and hid behind it. Her back against the tree, she slid down to a crouch, heavily breathing,

Her hair nest like as it fell across her face covering her amethyst eyes. Her shirt buttons were undone and ripped off, revealing a white undershirt. Clothes and hair completely soaked in a mixture of sweat and dirty water.

The girl heard talking, "Which way did she go? Her shoeprints end here."

"I'll check this way, you check that way."

Footsteps resounded as the boy walked down the right hallway.

She covered her mouth with the back of her hand holding the locket. Her body recoiled into itself as she tried to remove all of her presence.

Counting down the steps- one, two, three...

Only when the footsteps were distant did she relax. She had escaped. With her feet still bare she sprinted towards the school gate.

Running over the freshly watered grass, her feet sank in the soil, it was much softer than the tiles but still gave a sense of discomfort. She stepped onto the pavement that led to the gate. Her goal in front of her she looked back and saw a vacant ground and silent school building.

The evening sky lit the school on fire, as its wood-brown walls glowed orange. The windows closed and lights were all off, the difference from the usual bustling made it seem eerie.

Alice, looked at the school one last time, she was finally done with putting up with everything. She finally couldn't stand it, she never wanted to return here.

Her body turned away from the building to the gate. She limped forward with conviction.

She wasn't going to come back tomorrow.

She wanted this building, the people in it and all its memories to disappear.

She walked out the gate ignoring the stunned look of the security guard. Her direction was already decided.

Her body turned right as she continued, what she felt was her last trudge.

Walking along the outer side of the school boundary wall she took another right to hide and rest. She stood against the wall and waited.

It didn't take long and a group of five students walked out. Three girls and two boys, you could tell the leader was the girl with straightened dark brown hair. The girl stood in the centre and had a dominating presence compared to the others.

The dark brown haired girl stopped, "We lost her again, just like last time."

The wider of the two boys asked, "Do you want to wait here-"

"No, since we couldn't find her, let's wait near her apartment. Even if she escaped now she'll have to go back home eventually."

"We need to put her in her place properly this time, she's been acting up now." One of the girls said as she rubbed her face. The pain from being hit still burned. "She actually fought back this time, we can't do the usual, should we shave her hair or something?"

"I hate that sorry excuse for hair, we should shave that mop off her head. Whenever I see her, I feel my skin crawl." The other girl added.

The brown-haired girl was serious as she said, "let's go. Also, shaving would be doing her a favour, it'll also be too obvious that someone did it, we should... maybe set it on fire."

"But isn't that too dangerous," The boy who hadn't spoken yet added.

The group of five took a left and walked towards Alice's house.

"We'll make it seem like an accident, even if she gets proof that we did it on purpose, not like she can do anything."

Alice passively listened to the conversation. She wasn't fazed. But the Orange sky looked so much worse.

She had suffered at their hand for years now. They had been pushing her to the edge from the beginning.

She remembered how it all started. She had just joined, at the time she was still strong, and confident. Her sense of justice overflowing. When she saw the girl bully someone she couldn't stand it and felt it was her duty to intervene.

It was then she was taught life wasn't fair, she was completely ignored by all her classmates the next day. Soon after rumours started spreading and all eyes looked at her with disgust. She became the next target for the bullies.

Since then she had suffered from all types of hardships. But never gave them any satisfaction, she never cried or screamed. She simply accepted it stone-faced.

Silently waited and fought back, the evidence was clear and all of them were in trouble. She thought she had won but was quickly proven wrong. They came back even worse than before, now doing things when no one was watching.

This time she wasn't able to do anything, all the teachers thought they had made up and thought she was the problem now.

She laughed at the thought.

Maybe it was after that she learned that her strength was just an outer front, she wasn't that strong on the inside. The constant suffering had taken a toll on her, she couldn't stand it but she didn't have a choice. So she simply started to run away.

She stopped going to school, stopped going outside, simply locked herself at home in darkness. She lived her life in isolation and stopped caring about everything.

At this point, she wasn't even sure whether what they said were true or lies anymore. She had gotten to the point she had forgotten she had human rights.

It had been so long since someone had stood up for her, someone had treated her like she was human.

Why was she so hated, why did someone have to go so far just to make her life hell? She didn't understand.

She knew everything had a reason, so was there a reason why she was in so much pain, was it because she was everything those people called her. Was she truly such an awful person.

After a while when their conversation couldn't be heard anymore she started walking in the opposite direction the five had gone in.

She had long decided that she wasn't going back home. No one would be waiting for her anyways.

The girl slowly limbed as she moved forward. Holding the pair of shoes and necklace with all her strength.

'When will this end?'

She got up and started moving towards the sunlight.

Without a care about her looks her listless journey started.

As she walked on the footpath she saw into the black tinted window of a car. Her reflection could be seen.

A monster, hideous black hair stringing down like spider webs, coarse and rough, split ends and tangled, her skin bubbling sludge, it was so disgusting that it looked like it was boiling off. Marks all over her body, all the scars that she had been hiding underneath her clothes. The ugliness she had been denying had been put in front of her.

The girl was shocked by the appearance but as she touched her face and body the monster followed all her actions. The reflection in the black mirror smiled and jump out to her, then felt it superimpose onto her body. Before she knew she was the monster standing in complete darkness.

In the darkness, what she considered light was approaching her. It was someone she had wished to see for the longest time. He was running towards her smiling. His hair shining, his sky blue eyes lighting up her world. His features were heavenly, she had thought he was some type of a demigod since the moment she had first seen him. But now he was even more refined and handsome after growing older.

As he got closer she could see his enchanting smile and love-struck eyes, which she had been yearning for.

But when he was a few meters away he slowed down, his turned-up lips turned flat and mouth opened to a gasp. His hands raised to cover his mouth as he took a step back, astonished.

Seeing his expression was a death sentence, her dream collapsed, she remembered her place and his place. she remembered what she looked like and what he looked like.

She wanted to say something but she couldn't she didn't know where to start. She looked at the boy again. He looked towards her again, his expression of love returned and he walked towards her again.

The girl was suddenly filled with happiness, 'that's right he doesn't care what I look like.'

She reached out her hands to hug him but he walked by. He hadn't been looking at her he was looking at someone behind her.

The girl was woken up from her hallucination.

"Deary, what happened to you?! You look like you ran through a hurricane. Please come inside, and let me fix you up." The old lady had never seen Alice before but she wanted to help. Seeing how such a mess she was worried.

Alice ignored her and moved forward. Right now she was empty.

As she walked people avoided her and simply moved around her. Some would give her a long look and then move on while others were too busy for even that.

She walked straight until she reached a bridge. Continued to limb forward until she saw a bench. It pointed towards the river opening. And you could see the sun getting ready to set.

The girl sat down and watched the sun. Placed the shoes next to her but still held the locket.

She didn't notice the beauty of the sun rather all it reminded her was that her existence was as relevant as a speck of dust. It didn't matter if she just disappeared.

As she watched the sun an array of people passed by, Families of three, children playing around and laughing. Couples of all ages and even people who were alone were on the phone.

But Alice only noticed one thing, they were happy.

What about her?

Why wasn't she happy?

Why was she only suffering?

She was the only person that felt this way. Everyone else was happy. She was the only one hurting for so long.

Right she was in the wrong place, she would be happier if she was with her parents.

She should have left with them why did they leave her behind?

A lady jogging by stopped to rest on the bench. She sat down next to the shoes and pulled out his phone. Alice watched her and was reminded of her phone, she checked her pockets and didn't find it.

'Well, it doesn't have anything useful on it anyways.'

The woman put her phone down and looked to the side. She was shocked to see Alice.

"Hey, are you okay? Do you need help?"

"No thank you," Alice said with a smile.

"Are you sure you, it'll rain soon you can come and take cover at my husband's bicycle shop."

"Thank you so much, but my parents are coming to pick me up, they're right around the corner."

The woman could tell the girl didn't want any help and insisting didn't seem to help.

"My offer still stands you can come by if you need a place to take shelter."

As for the girl she lied. Her parents had chosen to abandon her and she never understood why.

She loathed her parents. But now she had accepted their decision. She understood that she wasn't important enough for the two of them to hold them back.

She managed to forgive them for leaving her. They had raised her with an unparalleled amount of love. Now they were gone she couldn't do anything about it, so what was the point in holding onto a pointless grudge?

The short moment of changing colours only reminded her that all things end. The day needs to set.

The murky red only brought gloom to her. As the sun dulled away.

She then sat and waited now under the white street lights.

A cleaning robot, its design was tubular with a hemisphere at its top. Even on top of that, a two-hand long screen was playing the news. Two lights for eyes under the screen and a friendly smile to make it approachable. It rolled forward with its caterpillar tracks. It passed next to Alice looking around for litter to pick up.

"Now for our next story! Superstar Actor and genius fencer, his movies are still topping the box office, Noah Sinfero was seen... *Beep* Breaking news! A sudden storm will be hitting the coastal area of country S. Wind speeds may reach over 100 km/h in some locations, please find shelter as soon as possible..."

The screen on its head had suddenly changed from the story about Noah to the storm. The robot moved on now warning of the storm.

Alice sitting on the bench wanted to know more about Noah. She reached for her pockets.

'Ahh right, I dropped my phone.'

Better to not know, it wouldn't have anything to do with her anyways. She leaned back and looked at the cloud-filled sky.

'I've cried my tears dry, What's left is to simply disappear'

A drop fell from the sky right underneath the girl's eye and ran down across her cheek.

The sky then thundered as the rain started to pour down. The girl, who had dried from the water that had been thrown at her in school didn't mind being soaked again.

The people in the surrounding ran covering themselves. In minutes leaving the bridge completely empty.

She was alone again. All people were passerbys, no one stayed with you forever.

She continued to think in the darkness of night.

As she roamed in her thoughts it hit her.

Right, those words didn't hurt her, their actions she could bear them. It wasn't them that broke her. It was the feeling of greed and envy.

She wanted a loving hug from her mother and bawl like a baby.

She wanted her dad to have the school pay consequences for all the pain she had gone through

She wanted Noah to walk beside her, and only focus on her.

She wanted friends and that she could sit down and laugh with.

She wanted all of this but she couldn't have any of this. It was impossible for her.

Eventually, Alice got up and walked to the railing of the bridge. Her feet splashing in the puddles on the ground.

Grabbing the railing Alice looked down at the all-consuming dark water. She wanted that water to simply consume her.

With a swing of her hand, her shoes went up and over the railing. Then down the height and splashed into the water, sinking and disappearing.

Her other hand with the locket got ready, she pulled it back and got ready for the furthest throw of her life. This was the most precious item she owned not only in monetary value but also in emotional.

It was the proof of promise he had made to her.

6 years ago on the day, he left she had the scene engraved in her mind. Two young children stood facing each other holding similar lockets. The boy lifted the locket and put it around the girl's head while the girl put another around the boy.

Her hand launched forward, the locket was released, it stretched out but came to a stop and swung down, hanging from the chain in her hand. She moved down to rest her forehead on the railing.

Eyes staring at the brick ground and her ears listening to the raindrops, she thought, 'I'm weak'

She couldn't let it go. It was her lifeline, it was what had been supporting her for the last few years. She had kept true to her promise and hadn't taken it off since. This locket is what helped her sleep.

Alice wanted to hate Noah but she couldn't; She still loved Noah, no matter if he had forgotten her and hurt her. she still loved him. It was an unconditional type of love. It didn't matter what he did, she didn't think she could ever control her feelings for him.

But just because she loved him it didn't mean she wished the best for him, what she wished for him was for him to suffer the same pain she had. She wanted to scar him with memories of her because she knew that was the only thing that would last forever.

Alice held the locket and stared at it.

'As an early birthday present, I'll wait for you a bit longer.'

Alice then simply stared off into the distance under the rain. She knew the effort was in vain. He had left her when she needed him most. On the day of her parents funeral, he had sent a letter for breaking the engagement set by her parents. Although, she didn't believe it, after four years of no-show even the most stubborn of minds had to fold.

He moved on in life, forgetting her.

She felt it was time. Nothing was going to happen, waiting anymore would just be hurting herself even more.

"I know it's your birthday tomorrow, you probably don't even remember me anymore, but if you still do, I hope you remember me all your life."

'Next year the day before his birthday would be my death anniversary. I guess we'll be close in another way.'

She took the locket and tied it around the railing. She was leaving it behind.

Alice took a deep breath and relaxed. This was the first time since Noah had put it around her she had taken it off. The chains that had been binding her to the mortal world had been broken.

Alice finally felt free. She had lost the thing holding her back for so long.

She struggled a bit and eventually balanced herself on the railing, she looked down to see the whirlpool of black water ready to devour her. As the water spun in it turned into a gate, she saw her parents standing parallel to her holding hands waving at her, beckoning for her to jump in and join them on the other side.

She smiled a final time.

She didn't know what had happened, but she was falling, the water got closer and closer she looked straight down accepting what was to happen.

'Right, I've been living in my life's epilogue. It should have ended long ago.'