"Maybe it is better to know nothing than to know everything that will hurt you"
I patted Aeizen's back to calm her down. I knew she wanted to cry just resisting not to.
"Players, back to the game. I repeat, players back to the game. Round 4 will start in 10, 9,"
"Thanks for helping me." Even though she didn't cry, I knew she is sad.
I smiled at her and stood up then held out my hand. "Let's go?"
For the first time, I saw her sincere smile. She grabbed my hand and she stood up.
"8, 7, 6,"
We're back and the sky still looks the same, it's still as strong as concrete so we can go back safely. The clouds aren't moving, maybe it means we won't fall if we step on it and if the clouds move, we are really going to fall.
"5, 4, 3,"
I turned to our silver team's bleacher. First caught my eye. He just stared at me, expressionless. He didn't even smile. Sometimes I don't really understand him. Well, that's so him.
"2, 1,"
I returned my attention to the game.
"*whistle*"
Round 4 has started. Just one round before everything will be finished. Before round 4 started, we discussed that we would play normally and not chase the ball too much because of the trap that was ready on our sides.
01:12
I passed the ball to the other team before Sixzen ran closer to the ball, it fell completely to the floor. The ball turned to gold. Inside, the side became a heart, like Sixth's case. The middle of it was a torn leaf.
Sectwen's eyes widened for reasons we don't know she couldn't focus on the game. Another bizarre behavior. She is the sixth victim.
"Sectwen!" Twentieth shouted at her to call her attention but she did not catch the ball and Forzen chased the ball.
Forzen stumbled, crossed the line, and fell. We were shocked because it was no longer the sky that was beneath us but a sea. A sea with a strong storm!
"Help!" she shouted while supporting her weight using her hands.
"Aeizen, help her, we'll play!" Sixzen commanded.
Sixzen can't help but continue the game because she's the best one on their team.
"Focus, Sectwen," she also commanded Sectwen who looks startled.
Everyone is distressed because a while ago it has been mud, sky, and now it's the sea. What's worse, it's stormy and it looks like there's a tsunami, so Aeizen has a hard time reaching her hands to Forzen.
"I-I'll help her!" Sectwen pulled Forzen's other arm and helped.
We can't help them because we must play against them. Is this what Author wants? Are we going to choose what is more important? A single person at risk or the lives of the majority? Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Forzen was safely lifted.
*whistle*
Round 4 ended. We are looking forward to not scoring anymore. What we wonder is how Forzen when Aeizen, and Sectwen picked her up from rushing water. Sectwen told me why she suddenly lost focus. And like the previous two I talked to, Aeith, and Sixth, they remember something about their memories from the past which caused them to be miserable.
"Players, back to the game. I repeat, players back to the game. Round 5 will start in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6,"
We are back again. Last round, finally!
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1,"
The timer was delayed again in counting. It must have something to tell us.
"This last round will be a special one. Previous rules were eliminated except for one new rule: There must be one team ... who will win this game."
Very similar to what it said yesterday.
*whistle*
The gold team settled first. The ball is directed to my direction, I passed it to Fourth. I nearly missed it but I got lucky. Tenth spikes it. I notice that she adapts from playing volleyball.
Unfortunately, less than thirty minutes into round 5. The gold team had already scored. The ball turned silver, in the middle on one side there was a heart, in the middle was a... baby?
We were the first to settle, it went to the other team. While playing, I could hear a deep breath to my right. I turned my back at Tenth. Her eyes widened as if she had seen a ghost. She held her stomach. While looking at her, I didn't realize that the silver ball was flying towards my face again and...
"Second!" my team shouted.
The ball hit me in the face and knocked me down. When I opened my eyes, my team surrounded me and lend me a hand. When I sat down and told them that I got myself, they continued playing while waiting for my recovery. My vision dimmed and my eyes narrowed when the vision cleared. I felt a spark all over my body. My breathing got heavier. I couldn't sweat because for some unknown reason, but I feel cold in my brain. My heartbeat quickened. My whole body was hot, and my brain is cold. I feel mixed and various emotions. Joy, sadness, frustration, depression, fear, anger, and so on. It was as if I wanted to cry but can't. There's a sudden appearance of an image on me that I can't describe clearly what it is.
Did others feel the same way before that changed their whole mood? I turned to Tenth, she was on one side and crying. My teammates couldn't do anything because Tenth was in bad shape, and they had to end the game because there were only three of them playing. I haven't seen what was inside the ball before, I would have known why I was feeling this right now that fumbled my mind.
*whistle*
Round 5 is over, finally.
"Second!"
I feel heavier on my eyelids. I heard screams. Someone is running. I felt tired. I can't stand this anymore. Then everything faded and became dark.
***
"Hey, are you okay? Wake up!" I heard the husky voice of Aeith.
I opened my eyes and saw the two worried faces of Aeith and Fourth.
"I-I thought you wouldn't wake up, Second!" Fourth sobbed.
"Oh my! Stop worrying us, will ya?" Aeith is acting tough.
What happened? I am still lying down. Then I noticed that I was lying on the floor of the fifth floor. I'm back from wearing a school uniform. It's a bit dark and the court is gone. The volleyball court and bleachers are gone. The game is over must have been over then.
I smiled at them.
"Why did you pass out?" Ninezen asked. I didn't notice him right away.
Third sighed. "Still, glad you're awake"
"That's Second for you. You're a weed!" Seventh is trying to act cool with his jokes.
I feel better yet I feel weak. I'm still really tired. I want to rest in my room with my soft blanket and pillow. Speaking of pillow, I caress the thing that supports my head as I gradually lift my head to sit.
"Pffft" Fifzen seems to be holding his laughter.
I was holding so I looked at it, dark blue? I saw someone's chin and face? My eyes widened as I looked at him.
"Bwahahaha!" they all laughed.
"W-What's up?" First said.
Then I realized that I had been lying on First's thighs earlier. I instantly stood up without their support. First averted his eyes, covered his cheek with the back of his right hand, and walked away.
"Where are the others?" I asked them to get out of that embarrassing moment.
"Downstairs," Aeith replied
"How's the game?" I asked them. I passed out so I don't know what happened and what the results are. Sadness replaced the faces of those who had once been happy to tease me.
"Did something happen?"
"It's okay... well," Fifth can answer me directly.
"Answer me!" I could no longer contain my emotion. Looks like something bad has happened. This is not good.
"Tenth is dead," Fourth burst into tears and Fifth immediately calmed her down.
"What?! How did that happen?" I replied in disbelief. No, it is not possible. Why Tenth?
"Author said so," Third explained. He was stopped for a moment. "After the game, while you lost consciousness, Tenth lost her control and she hysterically shouted in agony while hurting her stomach. We stopped her while she was crying. We didn't know why she was doing it. We asked her. She said she remembers her past on earth. A reality that broke into her is the fact that she was carrying a baby."
I am stunned at what I heard.
"No one knows her condition except her and her boyfriend who left her as well. She suffered, mentally, emotionally, and physically. When she checked with the doctor, she knew that she is ill. She couldn't save both her and her baby's life. After remembering her tragic past, she couldn't bear the pain she is experiencing, that's why the hologram gave her a choice. Is she going to let herself be killed by Author or she will fight the circumstances that she is facing and live?"
I have no idea that Tenth suffered this much from her past. She seems a lighthearted person, but no one knows about her hardships. It must have been a rough journey but here she is. She fought until she decided to give in.
"In the end, she gave up. Author killed her silently and her corpse was taken a few minutes ago."
It was as if I was stuck in my seat and my tears were welling up. Little did I know that Tenth had such a hard life. Just this morning she greeted us, and I cooked breakfast with her. It was just last night when I was still playing board games with her. What a speed of events.
"We can't do anything about it. We tried stopping her suicidal acts, but she refused and has chosen death."
Why is this happening to us? What is happening to us?! Why do I feel like I'd rather choose not to regain my memories after all?
***
I am here in my bedroom, and it is time for me to sleep. I was wearing sleepwear and sitting on the side of my soft bed. I hold my ballpen and notebook, on which I write down every incident that happened to us.
The game of volleyball was another extraordinary game played by girls yesterday. The ball we used had an image being projected. Over the course of five rounds, eight of us fell victim to the recurrence of our memories. Of the four previous victims, there was a brain and the image in the middle was different. This means, when the ball falls into a team's territory, the ball randomly chooses who will be affected, not physically but mentally. Here comes what the Author said.
"Only this time, it's more extraordinary. Boys can endure the pain of being physically hurt while girls can endure the pain of being emotionally hurt. In this game, more unforeseen events will happen. Good luck."
If the boys have felt physical pain playing basketball, the girls have felt mental and emotional pain. The victims lose their focus on playing because something is disturbing their minds.
A brain is an image inside the ball that represents mental torture. Everyone has a different image is projected in the ball because we have different experiences on earth.
Twentieth - with white paper in the center of the ball—that is a school card. She remembers how dismayed she was at her school.
Sixzen - with letter F—that is a mark on an exam. She said she failed her major subjects before and because of that, she studied eagerly that she no longer has time to play volleyball.
Aeith - with a currency bill—financial problem. Aeith has already told me about the hardship she went through until her mother was fortunate to be able to go abroad.
Forzen - there are some wrinkles in the middle of the ball—that is 'stress'. Forzen was overly stressed with issues at school, home, and her mental health.
On the other side, here are victims of emotional torture. A heart is the image inside of the ball. It affects the victim emotionally.
Sixth - holding hands but with a crack in the middle—means friendship. Sixth had one of the most important people in her life lost.
Sectwen - leaf torn in the middle—that is a family. Sectwen's father and mother are separated.
Tenth – baby—this is the child Tenth was carrying.
Second - the image in the ball is heart-shaped that is broken and bleeding. I didn't even see the ball itself. Fifzen said that's what he saw. I recognized that mine was the most different because the image of the other victims is animated, but mine was a real heart that was broken and bleeding. Similar to the reactions of the seven victims, my eyes also widened, I got confused, I was unable to think and focus on the game.
With Tenth's death, perhaps all her memories came back before she died. She was depressed and we didn't want to lose her, but it was her decision. It was a tragic outcome nonetheless, we respected and hope for her to rest in peace with her baby. After Tenth died and was declared that stage 2 has been cleared. Author announced the winner of both games.
In basketball, the silver team won. It was a surprise, but the boys did it unexpectedly. Author said that the silver team won because of First, which I don't understand. Author did not explain why.
In volleyball, it would have been almost a draw. The gold team won. I don't know how. As for my fainting incident, it seems that I missed a lot. When the other team scored and the ball fell on us, my head hurt, and I sat down. My whole body weakened because of what I remembered. There was one boy... At first, I thought he would be just an ordinary person in my life, but when he came and entered my life, I met him, I was able to talk to him, I was with him until he disappeared from me.
Until then, only those are the things that showed up in my memory. Maybe the image inside the ball was a bloody heart because I was hurt so badly. I felt the ache of a bleeding heart due to the extreme pain, but I did not know when, how and who that person was. Then I understood why Firstwen died. He became weak and could not resist the challenge, just like what happened to Tenth. It was fortunate of me that it wasn't me. By any chance... it could've been me. Maybe it is better to know nothing than to know everything that will hurt you. I sighed at the thought of it.
I left my room. I can't sleep after all. I have a lot of things going on in my mind. This is too much to bear but we have to. I'll just go to the art room to gather my thoughts. I'll look at my artwork and maybe alleviate the sadness I feel. I went up to the 4th floor and stopped for a moment in the music room. It was closed and I hear no noise. First came to my mind. I hope to hear him play the piano right now but it's late and he might be sleeping. I went straight to the art room and was about to turn on the lights when the lights were on, and the door was slightly open.
Someone's awake? Maybe someone who can't fall asleep in the middle of a silent night after a rough day. I would like to have a chat with him or her then.
Out of curiosity, I immediately opened the door. I was a little surprised, not because I thought there was a ghost, but because he does not usually go to this room. He can't sleep too, I see. He gazed at me as he sat on a chair. There must be something bothering him.