It was dark, cold, and damp, with water droplets dripping through the sound of footsteps that could be heard in the distance. The same sound echoed throughout the room, which seemed to belong to a dilapidated castle. A woman with short brown hair sat on a slightly elevated throne, her figure concealed by a shadow, revealing only a multicolored halo above her head. The people who ventured into the corridor finally reached the door, which was completely dilapidated. A woman sobbed as they knocked, again and again, in desperation.
"Open up, you cursed demons!" the woman cried, filled with despair.
True demons with menacing wings opened the door, revealing a family of poor, dirty, hungry, and angry peasants.
"Filthy monster," she muttered angrily.
The demons turned to the sinister figure sitting on the throne, whose identity was revealed by the shadow in the room, exposing only part of her body, covered from head to toe in a red fluid made of mana.
"My Queen? What should we do with them?" a demon asked.
"Let them in... I want to hear what they have to say. Otherwise, I'll kill them," the Queen replied.
"Very well, my Queen."
Reluctantly, the two demons closed the door behind the family standing at the threshold of the room. The Queen, regal on her throne, then spoke with violent authority:
"One step closer, and you'll die."
The family halted in their tracks, staring at the silhouette hidden in the shadow with terror, only revealing eyes of multiple colors shining like starlight. She still wore her haughty and accusing smile.
"Very well. What brings you here, humans?"
"My husband..." the peasant woman started, glaring at the Queen with contempt and anger.
The poor woman struggled to find her words as grief choked her.
"My... husband... was cruelly killed while doing what your subordinates ordered him to do!"
"I'm sorry to hear that, my dear. But if my demons killed your husband, there must have been a justifiable reason."
"How could it be justifiable?! Tell me!"
"Well... perhaps he wasn't working fast enough?" the Queen replied casually.
The poor peasant woman burst into tears at the Queen's hurtful words. She fell to her knees, clutching her hand against her heart, which wept for her husband.
"You demons... you don't know the suffering of humans... We work, we get sick, we're hungry and tired..."
She slowly raised her gaze to the Queen, her eyes reflecting her hatred and anger with precision.
"How can you claim to be a queen without having experienced suffering and hard labor? Be cursed, you filthy demon..."
The Queen's self-centered smile slowly faded as the mother's words echoed in her head. It was a sad truth, spoken with sincerity. Her gaze shifted to the darkness of the room, and she whispered to herself:
"I... I don't know suffering... Yes... I don't know it..."
*
The scene abruptly and violently cut off with the sound of a notebook slamming on a table. It turned out that the scene that had unfolded was just a dream of a brown-haired second-year student.
"Wake up!" the teacher ordered.
All eyes in the classroom were directed at the girl lost in her thoughts. Murmurs of laughter could be heard throughout the room.
"Gwendoline, if you don't get enough sleep at home, you should consider going to bed earlier!"
"Yes... sorry..." she murmured.
Gwendoline had the attributes of an ordinary teenager. Her clothes were simple and discreet, a subtle blend of gray sweater and black sweatpants. The dark brown shade of her short hair captured the spring light illuminating the classroom, while her brown eyes revealed her reserved temperament. Her gaze was downcast, burdened by fatigue that had left dark circles under her eyes, and her eyes drifted pensively.
As she timidly observed the class, she noticed a blonde girl sitting at the back who was secretly filming her with her phone.
Lidia...
She thought, pretending to groan, while Lidia laughed with her friends.
"Alright, that's enough! Let's get back to the lesson!" the teacher commanded, silencing the laughter and chatter in the classroom.
But... what was that dream? It was too vivid...
As the class continued, Gwendoline's mind kept wandering. Her strange dream about the Queen of Demons left her puzzled about its significance. Dreams were often bizarre, but not this time. Deep down in her soul, Gwendoline knew that its meaning was different and that this dream had not been left to chance.
*
When the bell rang at 4:30 p.m., signaling the end of the school day, Gwendoline remained in her seat while everyone else hurried out of the room. She knew she didn't have much to do at home, so she didn't rush.
"Don't forget, tomorrow you'll hand in your homework on compound interest!" the teacher reminded.
Turning around, the teacher noticed that the entire class had already fled, except for Gwendoline, who was calmly packing her things.
"Gwendoline?" he called, sitting on the table with his hands on his knees.
Gwendoline turned her gaze toward him at the sound of her name.
"Listen... I know things haven't been going well for you lately. I wanted to know if everything is okay at home with your sister?"
"Cassandra doesn't have much money to pay the rent, so she's looking for work. According to the landlord, we'll be evicted next month. So... it's a bit chaotic at home."
"I'm sorry. As always, you can come talk to me if you need anything."
She finished packing her things and addressed the teacher one last time before leaving the classroom.
"It's alright, sir. Goodbye..."
It's true... I can't say I've had the easiest life... it's as if a curse has been placed on my fate.
She thought, looking at her steps as they led her toward the school exit.
*
As she passed through the sliding doors of the high school, she stopped on the path to the bus stop, intrigued by a commotion behind the school building. A crowd repeated loudly: fight, fight, fight!
As she approached the voices, the sounds of the crowd faded. When she arrived, all she found was Lidia filming a scene with a bloodied teenager lying on the ground and a muscular man with bloodied fists. It didn't take long for Lidia to notice Gwendoline, who was observing the scene.
"Well, well, isn't it the baka?" Lidia mocked.
"What happened?"
"Oh, well... This poor guy on the ground insulted me because I dared to say that his whore of a sister got raped. So, I brought my big brother, and he beat the hell out of him."
Gwendoline was surprised to see how far Lidia would go over a simple insult.
"If you don't want the same thing to happen to you, you better watch your mouth when you dare to talk about me! Got it?!"
"Yes..."
"Good! I'm outta here. See you tomorrow, loser!"
Gwendoline patiently waited for Lidia and her brother to leave before approaching the injured teenager to offer help and talk to him.
"Are you okay? Can you get up?"
"Yes... I'm fine..."
The bloodied teenager struggled to get up, clutching onto Gwendoline's shoulder. His body seemed ready to collapse, with numerous broken bones visible.
"Do you want me to help you?"
"Yes, please, take me to the bus stop," the teenager requested.
Gwendoline assisted the young boy in walking, despite his legs being half-broken, step by step, until they reached the bus stop.
"You must be... Gwendoline, right?"
"Yes, how do you know?"
"You're known throughout the school... They call you the sewer rat or the friendless one..."
"Ahh... I already know it..."
"By the way, I'm Nathan."
"Uh... nice to meet you?"
Halfway to their destination, they spotted the bus in the distance, picking up students who were already present. The engine rumbled as if it was ready to depart at any moment, leaving Gwendoline and Nathan in their misery and solitude.
"Oh no, it's already here!" Gwendoline exclaimed.
"It's okay, don't worry, we'll make it."
As he uttered those words, the bus moved away from the two adolescents who were just a hair's breadth away from catching it, leaving them enveloped in a surrounding silence.
"You spoke too soon..." she sighed.
They endured their frustration and waited at the bus stop.
"Well, I'll call my mom to come pick me up, and you?"
"I don't know, my sister doesn't have a car to pick me up..."
"My mom is nice, maybe she'll agree to give you a ride?"
"Why not..."
Nathan dialed his mother's number and explained the situation without hesitation. His mother agreed to take Gwendoline home, without expecting anything in return.
"It's settled, my mom agreed."
"That's kind of her."
The continued silence was accompanied by the singing of the surrounding birds. Both of them watched the passing cars, one by one, waiting for Nathan's mother.
"So... you... you don't have a mother?"
"No, my adoptive parents committed suicide..."
"I'm sorry..."
Nathan lowered his head further upon hearing Gwendoline's response. Once again, both of them were plunged into an uncomfortable silence. Then, a dark thought slowly made its way into Gwendoline's mind: suicide, could it be my way out? She pondered this question again and again.
*
Sitting wearily on the worn-out couch in her dilapidated house, Gwendoline gazed sadly at a letter placed on the living room table. Written by Cassandra, her adoptive sister, the letter confirmed that she had gone to work as a waitress and wouldn't be back anytime soon. The sound of the wind echoed through the room, adding to the already long-standing silence. The clock read 11 p.m., indicating that she had been sitting on that couch, contemplating a decision, for hours.
Gwendoline stared at her hands, looking pensive and sorrowful. For a moment, she thought she saw her hands stained with blood.
My mind is playing tricks on me... Again... Just like that dream I had in class...
She could still see the images of the weeping mother standing before her. The images from her dream replayed in her mind. But suddenly, another vision intruded into her thoughts: the image of her adoptive parents holding a baby in their arms—Gwendoline.
I never knew my biological parents... My adoptive parents always told me that my real parents grew tired of me because of my ruthless and severe behavior. Was that really the case?
Gwendoline couldn't forget the image of her childhood that had etched itself into her mind forever: the tragic death of her adoptive parents.
They took their own lives... I suppose after their business went bankrupt and debts piled up, they decided to make the same choice I'm about to make.
The next moment, Gwendoline made her way to the bathroom, step by step, armed with razor blades and a letter addressed to her family. A few tears of despair rolled down her face.
To be honest... I don't know if Heaven and Hell exist... All I hope for is for all of this to stop...
She opened the bathroom door and immediately locked it. She stood for a moment in front of the dusty mirror, wondering if she would really go through with it. But deep down, the idea seemed to her like the best solution: her parents were dead, her life was spiraling out of control, and her health was concerning. Yes, she had to do it.
The financial pressure on my family... My health... My depression... And most of all, Lidia's cruel harassment that keeps growing over the years...
"I'm sorry for breaking your promise... Ma'am... But I can't do it! I can't take it anymore!" she sobbed.
After uttering those mystical words, she decisively and without hesitation reached for a box of pills in the cabinet. She swallowed them with a large glass of water and, without looking back, embarked on the final possible action: cutting her arms. And that's what she did. She fell to the ground inexorably as her blood flowed.
"It is... over?"
Nearly fifteen minutes had passed since Gwendoline's life gradually faded away. Her skin grew paler, and the bathroom floor was covered in the blood that flowed from her. She was conscious of her body for the last time.
"I'm sorry... Ma'am. I hope you'll understand... and I sincerely wish to join your daughter, to tell her how much she didn't deserve what she went through..."
Gwendoline uttered this phrase, filled with sadness and pain, as she took her last breath.
[On April 19, 2020, at 11:58:29 PM, Gwendoline ended her life]
However, her life was not over, in fact, it was far from over. The all-encompassing darkness cradled her soul, which floated confined in this empty space. She opened her eyes as if waking up from a sweet dream.
"What? Where... where am I?"
Her voice, that of a lost teenager, resonated in the abyssal void where she found herself. Two theories seemed viable in her mind:
So, this is death? It's just an infinite void where one feels at ease? Or... Is it just my brain imagining these final moments?
Unexpectedly, Heaven and Hell appeared before her. Though apprehensive, Gwendoline's soul couldn't choose its final destination.
This is strange, my soul is stuck between Heaven and Hell. Why?
That's what she thought before a voice similar to her own answered:
"Because you're not meant to be a resident there!
"How? Who's talking to me?!"
The next moment, her soul began to travel through universes, surpassing even the speed of light.
"I'm... in space?!"
Through a tunnel of light, she finally caught sight of a bright, shimmering source that dazzled her.
"Slow down!" she exclaimed, before reaching the end of the tunnel of light, which ended in complete darkness.
Have I reached Heaven?!
[Unknown place, unknown time, unknown day, unknown date]
She woke up abruptly in a silent and cold place, illuminated only by a few lanterns.
"Wait... But this isn't Heaven, is it?"
The room resembled a large medieval cell, with walls separated by bars that overlooked a long corridor, carrying an aura of ancient nostalgia. The floor was made of rock, suggesting a bygone era. As she lowered her gaze, her eyes widened in astonishment.
"What the...!"
Four young people, seemingly around her age, were sleeping on the floor. A girl with long pink hair, dressed in a nightshirt, was surrounded by three boys in their underwear: one with blond hair, another mixed-race with slightly curly hair, and a third with black hair.
"What the hell?! Am I still dreaming?!"