Chapter 3: I'm Pathetic
We see a teenage girl with black and pink hair walking down the city streets, wearing a shiny white uniform, holding a ring with a bright yellow crystal in it. This dazzling girl, in the eyes of anyone who sees her, is Bianca—the girl who once loved stories about magic. She had finally turned 16 and was now on her way to school.
When she arrived at school, all the students, including the teachers, greeted Bianca happily. Everyone knew her, and it could be said that she had reached the top of the social hierarchy in her school. Ever since she let go of her obsession with magic, she had started spending time with girls her age, showing them the smile she had drawn on her mask to hide her true self. People saw her as a sweet, intelligent, and cheerful girl who helped everyone when they needed it.
"Bianca!"—a loud voice shouted, coming from a girl with green hair and animal-like eyes.
When she sat at her desk, she heard the loud voice of her best friend, Zelena, a somewhat clumsy girl who always brought joy with her presence. Zelena found her friend sitting in her seat next to hers and, like every day, rushed over to greet her.
"How are you? Your hair looks good. Did you change your shampoo? Do you have the math homework? Can I borrow it?"—To be honest, Bianca sometimes thought her friend was a rare specimen who, no matter what, always had more than enough energy to ask about everything.
"Did you study for today's exam?"—Zelena asked. At that moment, Bianca felt real terror; she wasn't perfect, and sometimes she forgot important things.
During the break, the students chatted and ate with their social groups. Bianca, the popular girl, sat with Zelena and some other girls who were influenced by her green-haired aura. In this class, all the hierarchies were built around achievements or interests: popular girls, athletes, the smart ones, musicians, and lastly, the video game enthusiasts. These last ones weren't bad people, but they had something peculiar: they always talked about strange things that sometimes scared others.
While Bianca was talking with her friends about fashion and makeup, she overheard the conversation of the "weird guys." Normally, no one paid attention to them, but what one of them said caught the attention of our protagonist.
"Did you hear the news? They found a body, without its limbs, in an alley near here,"—he said ominously, trying to sound scary to his friends.
"Yeah, I heard. They say it looked like some kind of beast ripped them off,"—his friend replied, confirming what he said, and continued, "Some witnesses say they saw the person being dragged into the alley by a suspicious guy who wore a trench coat and a hat to hide his identity. The authorities said that if we return home late, we should be accompanied by someone."
"Hey, what if we go to that alley to see the crime scene?"—one of them asked, trying to sound brave by suggesting something risky.
"No way, you'll probably end up becoming a ghost,"—his friend responded, rejecting the idea. They might be weird, but not crazy.
This news was incredible and caught Bianca's attention. Even though she no longer showed fascination for things like that, she couldn't help her curiosity. She had never been indifferent to the world around her, but that all changed when she lost her mother and her heart broke from her departure.
"What weird guys,"—Bianca heard one of the girls who accompanied them say. This girl always tried to get Bianca and Zelena's attention, to make sure they knew she existed. She would talk about teachers or her parents in a way that could even harm her reputation, just to gain the approval of people she called "friends."
"Who could tolerate those weird conversations from those nerds? What a bunch of losers,"—she said with disgust and contempt for the poor guys.
Bianca dug her nails into her leg to avoid causing a scene over the hypocrisy of those words. This girl had once said that, as people, we should tolerate others to live with solidarity. That's why the attitude she was showing now was unbearable. But, taking a deep breath, Bianca ended up accepting that people show different attitudes when it suits them.
The afternoon was cold and dark as Bianca, tired of the school bustle, walked back home. As she left the school, Zelena asked if she wanted to go shopping with her and the other girls. They could buy that white dress she liked the last time they went shopping, but Bianca kindly refused, saying she had another fencing practice and waved her friend off with a smile.
The words of that girl came back to her mind—WHAT A BUNCH OF LOSERS. Those words were painful. They weren't directed at her, but no matter how hard she tried to forget them, she couldn't. She still remembered the conversation those boys had about the disappearances in the city. But that wasn't a threat to Bianca. She knew how to fight. The real threat wasn't on the streets. It was the lie she had created around herself to fit in, to keep people from realizing what she really thought, what she really wanted.
All these thoughts were giving her a headache. She couldn't bear having to hide her emotions anymore, and her tired mind looked at the ring on her finger, the one her mother gave her when she was still a child, when she was happy and smiled genuinely without hiding her feelings. She remembered the good times, and her footsteps echoed on the pavement. Suddenly, something on the ground stopped her. A fallen branch from a tree. Bianca looked around, making sure no one was near. When she saw there were no witnesses to her actions, she quickly crouched down and picked up the branch. She couldn't help it; the urge was stronger than her. Raising her new "wand" into the air, she murmured her signature spell, one she always liked to replicate from the books on her shelf—a small act that made her feel connected to her past, showing a faint sparkle in her eyes that hadn't fully disappeared, giving her more strength to endure this life. For a moment, the world seemed to calm down, and her heart beat with a spark of excitement she had forgotten.
But then, a soft laugh startled her. The sound came from behind her, and her heart skipped a beat. Bianca quickly turned around, fear and embarrassment rushing to her face. Her mind worked a thousand miles an hour, trying to come up with the most believable excuse that even a judge would believe. There, in front of her, was a cat with golden eyes, staring at her intently.
"A cat," Bianca thought, relieved by what seemed like a simple scare. She wouldn't need to explain anything after all. She crouched down and took the animal in her arms.
"Thank goodness it was you," she murmured, breathing a sigh of relief. "I thought someone saw me make a fool of myself."
But then, suddenly, a soft, clear voice surprised her.
"I don't think it's ridiculous. I thought it was cute."
Bianca stiffened. Who was that? She quickly turned around. She hadn't heard him approach. A boy her age stood in front of her, smiling calmly but with amusement at the current situation. His hair was brown and somewhat messy, and he wore a peculiar hat that seemed to come from another era. Bianca's surprise was evident on her face.
The boy, showing no signs of discomfort, happily took the cat from her arms, and Bianca couldn't understand why his smile made her feel a certain way.
"Thanks for finding my cat. He always escapes to find a mouse to eat,"—the boy said, petting the animal with an almost knowing expression, while the cat seemed unhappy with what its owner said.
"It seems that this time, you caught his attention with your 'magic spell',"—the boy said with grace, amused by her reactions.
Bianca didn't know what to say. She was nervous about this situation. Someone her age saw her pretending to be a sorceress. What if he tells someone? What if it gets to her friends' ears? How would they react? She'd be the laughingstock of the school. She had to explain what happened, or it would be the end for her.
"It's not what it looks like. I was just scaring the mosquitoes away. They're really annoying,"—she said desperately, hoping he would believe her. Something about him felt unsettling, not just because of his appearance. There was something in his gaze that made her feel like he was looking into her in a strange way.
"Do you like magic, don't you?"—the boy asked casually, moving around the black-haired girl.
Bianca looked at him with a mixture of sadness. He didn't believe the lie she had invented.
"Magic is something incredible that people can't explain, so they think it's impossible for a power beyond their understanding to exist. To fly, to be invisible, to control elements—those are things people can only dream exist. The impossible is possible,"—he spoke calmly, smiling at Bianca, leaving her surprised by his words. They were the same words from her story.
"Doesn't it sound exciting, a world like that?"—the young man stopped in front of her. Bianca could no longer tolerate his words. All the stress she had built up, plus what this boy was saying, was pushing her to her limit, and she was about to explode.
"Don't be childish,"—she replied quickly, her tone a bit harsh. "Those things don't exist. You should stop talking about those fairy tales."—she tried to sound mature in front of this boy. If he kept talking about magic, she wouldn't be able to hold herself back with her words.
The boy looked at her silently for a moment, as if he were evaluating his words. Bianca felt a knot in her stomach, and something told her there was more that this boy wanted to say.
— Often, when someone dreams enough, their dreams become reality. Some people who have these dreams have different ideas on how to use these powers. My mother told me that if I had these powers, I would use them to create miracles and help people, because everyone has the right to be happy. Wouldn't you like to believe in a world where magicians can create miracles? — he said, with a softness that contrasted with the harshness of his words —. To fly, to be invisible, to control the elements... To talk to animals. Magicians can do things that regular people cannot.
Bianca's patience started to wear thin, but before she could respond, he continued:
— Stop dreaming nonsense!! It's impossible for a world like that to exist. —
Bianca yelled, annoyed by his words, but the boy continued, — Well, maybe not now, but someday... Who knows? To me, it seems that world could be real, it's just hidden. The stories of magic aren't as far from reality as they seem, — he said with a smile, and Bianca could see a gleam in his eyes as he said those words.
Bianca, unable to hold back any longer, trying to maintain her composure. The anger she felt over her own internal dilemma started to overflow. Why did the boy insist so much on these absurd things? She didn't understand.
— No! — Bianca said, her voice rising involuntarily. — It's just a stupid dream! That will never happen! Grow up already! People forget those things when they grow up! If you keep going like this, the people around you will distance themselves, and you'll end up alone.
The boy stared at her, without seeming upset, but with a look that suggested there was something else he wasn't saying. Bianca, seeing that her words had not had the effect she expected, turned on her heels, ready to walk away. The discomfort she felt was palpable.
As the girl ran off, throwing the branch on the ground to escape from that strange conversation with this person, she had a lot to think about.
Meanwhile, the boy, a little sad at the outcome of their interaction, stayed where he was with his feline friend. He heard a few words, this time coming from the cat he was holding:
— I told you. Why did you think she would understand? —
Meanwhile, the boy watched Bianca walk away, disappearing from view, a slight smile curling his lips. With a sigh, he whispered:
— It's just a hunch. —
When Bianca had run far enough from the place, she stopped in the empty street, exhausted from running away, thinking about what she had just done. Why had she acted like that? She wasn't a bad person. If her mother had seen how she acted, she would've buried her head in the ground. Did she do it because she was annoyed by what the boy said, or because it reminded her of what she had lost? He seemed like a good guy; his smile wasn't malicious, and his eyes were the same as her mother had described—eyes full of light, life, and hope, which, unfortunately, had stopped shining. She didn't have the right to ruin someone else's dreams just because she could no longer fulfill her own.
Maybe those same words he said were the same ones she feared hearing from those she considered her friends. Being different is scary; you don't know how people will react to your likes or desires. That's why it's easier to lie and be like everyone else, to pretend everything's fine, hiding your true feelings behind a smiling mask.
— I'm pathetic, — she reproached herself depressingly, for acting like that with someone she had just met today.
After thinking it over, she turned around to go back to that boy and his cat and apologize for her attitude. Hopefully, she would see him again.
But when she reached the corner, something stopped her in her tracks. A strange man in a trench coat and hat that obscured his face was standing in front of a small girl, who seemed scared by the imposing man in front of her. Wasn't this what the boys at lunch had talked about, about someone being found dismembered after meeting someone with the same clothes?
Bianca heard the man say:
— Want a gift? — as he reached into his coat to pull something from his pocket, his smile stretching from ear to ear. The girl responded, scared:
— My mommy and daddy told me not to accept things from strangers.
— Are you sure you don't want my gift? — The man kept insisting on giving a gift to a girl who clearly wasn't his daughter.
The girl, trying to leave, was pulled by the arm by the mysterious man, seemingly annoyed by her behavior. Suddenly, the man felt a hand on his shoulder, turning to see a teenage girl showing annoyance on her face, her hand on him.
— She said no, — Bianca replied sharply, seeing the situation unfold. She had to do something, but the man didn't seem to like this one bit.
Looking closely at the girl, he noticed a ring on her hand that emitted an attractive energy, bringing back a memory.
Flashback
A mysterious figure with long hair appeared before him, the darkness hiding his face, but his aura was terrifying.
— You are my property. Want your freedom? Find a ring that emits energy and bring it to me. And if you see anyone wearing one, kill them, — he said with a psychopathic smile, instilling fear and nightmares.
After remembering his mission, he tried to remove the hand from his shoulder, freeing the girl's arm to attempt grabbing Bianca's hand, while his other hand reached for a knife in his pocket to attack her. Bianca barely managed to dodge the attack.
As he tried to strike again, Bianca deflected his arm with a self-defense technique her father had taught her, embedding the knife in the wall, giving her the opportunity to escape with the girl. She grabbed the girl's arm and started running.
The man, angry that his prey was escaping, dropped his knife and began chasing after his two new victims.
What will happen in the next chapter?