A faint light sparked from the darkness, and the world formed like a big bang. As if she was just born, reality only now became a concept she could understand. The first moment, the first step, was taken on the edge of a cliff. The girl, Rita, felt the cool air blow against her, but there was no sense of discomfort from the chills.
Looking down, she saw a young girl with black hair and purple eyes running around through the beach of a small ocean. Although Rita could tell it was a beach, she couldn't visually identify any of the surrounding themselves, as if her field of view was surrounded by a white fog.
"Am I in a dream?"
Uttering those words, she was now near the young girl, crisscross on the cold sand. She could hear her laughter drown her ears, and the waves followed those laughs in a rhythm. The girl ran up to her with a smile and grabbed onto her collar, tugging it quite hard which made Rita squeal a little.
"Kind of~. I guess it's more like seeing your life flash before your eyes while unconscious... Actually I guess it is a dream." Said the girl, never stopping her laughter as she spoke. She moved her face right onto Rita's, their noses almost touching one another.
"Do you think things would be different if we met only a few years earlier?" And with that question, the young girl vanished like time itself erased her existence.
Now alone, the bright sand turned into a shade of brown wood, with the light shining down now coming from behind her.
Looking back, Rita saw two silhouettes behind the shoji of her home. It was her mom and dad, speaking to each other on a sunny Wednesday. Without thinking, she leapt up from her zaisu and ran to open the door, screaming "I'm sorry" over and over. But as she got outside, the two standing were the same black-haired girl, older and taller, and a short white-eyed child.
"Sorry for what? It's not like you could do anything to fix it, so you don't have to worry about it."
"She's just trying to be considerate, 'Vidia. Though I really don't believe in that fake it 'till you make it shit."
The two gave their own comments, their faces obscured by the blinding white void behind them, which covered their whole bodies in rays of light.
Rita was at a loss of words. Even though they had their voices, even though they had their eyes, they spoke words that she never imagined they would say to her.
"That's because they aren't real, Rita."
A voice, coming from no direction or source, as if it was God who talked, entered. And with it, the white void's light grew brighter until both the girls were engulfed.
"When it comes to dying, you want to know the worst part of the experience?" The voice inquired. Indeed, it inquired, hoping that Rita herself knew the answer. But why would she know?
"It's that in the end, you only have me left." Rita answered. Facing a mirror that was ahead of her, she could see her face covered in tears, but she couldn't feel their warmth.
There will never be warmth for her, after all. Rita smiled.
"Because in the end, I only have myself left." She repeated, the voice gone, erased just like the black-haired girl... To call Ovidia the black-haired girl is disrespectful, and Rita immediately laughed thinking about it.
And so she looked into the mirror, and she put her hands together for a prayer.
----God, Ovidia, Rita.Please, let me die.
...
"Hey, which knife do you think brings out more of my style?" asked Ovidia, posing in front of a cracked mirror. Rita had never earned much money, so she never had the chance to replace the glass. Yet, each fragment seemed to give a different perspective to Ovidia's pose, which she thoroughly enjoyed.
Whatever the answer Rita would give, Ovidia found herself choosing the knife with purple strikes rather than the one with red ones. Rita herself seemed to be stuck on a decision herself, and by the time she opened her mouth, Ovidia threw the red knife into the garbage bin.
Already playing with her new knife, Ovidia grabbed Rita's hand and ran outside to the warm sunlight, the clouds formed out of blades and hearts. Rita had squealed in pain, the grip on her hand becoming overwhelming. But before she could speak out, Ovidia put a finger on her lips. "Shhhhhh."
"God, I love that face of yours, you know." She said, staring at Rita's face that blushed profusely. "I swear, one day you'll kill me."
Ready for another adventure on the outskirts of the city, Ovidia quickly checked the mailbox and skimmed through bills and advertisements. There seemed to be no letters, though. It made sense, Rita never had any friends or family that would contact her. However, one of the envelopes were colored grey--
----God, Ovidia, Rita. Please, I know you will look for me, so I'll wait.
The two girls went to an uncleared forest on the edge of the city. It had rained early in the morning, so it was quite humid now that the sun was out. Fog filled the air, and the chirping of the birds and the hums of insects filled each crevice of each tree. Up ahead, they could see a rocky mountain with the sun just so conveniently aligned at the top. Many teenagers and hikers traveled here for a couple of reasons: the wildlife, the climbing, and most of all...
"The horizon."
With sweat staining her shirt, Ovidia has reached the top of the mountain. The knife she grabbed had saved her multiple times from falling, as with her combined natural strength, she pierced the stone to keep herself hanging. It was truly miraculous.
She looked back, but the fog made it very difficult to look down. Rita was likely struggling to get up, so she panicked and started to climb back down. After a couple of minutes of searching, she saw the red shimmer of Rita's hair and called out to her. Rita's arms were shaking as she clenched her teeth in pain. Quickly, Ovidia reached out to her and grabbed onto her waist. Pulling her up as she climbed. The fog grew thicker as she climbed, all she could see was grey----
----God, Ovidia, Rita. Please, I want warmth.
Finally reaching back to the summit, Ovidia and Rita both tiredly walked up to the very top. With Rita on her side, Ovidia felt an even bigger sense of accomplishment as she saw the horizon. Beyond, there was nothing but the blue sky. Not even the ground could be seen, as if they were a cliff up in heaven.
Rita, exhausted, could barely catch her breath, so she was unable to get a good look at the view. Feeling pity, Ovidia put her arm over Rita's shoulder. As if it was exactly what she needed, Rita calmed and took in Ovidia's embrace for a second before opening her eyes. A moment later, they widened in disbelief, as she saw the beauty of the world envelop her vision like nothing before.
"It's beautiful isn't it. Come on, let's get closer to the edge."
The two walked closer to what felt like the edge of the world. If one were to describe the moment to their grandchildren, they would say it was like crossing into an entirely different world.
Reaching the very edge, Ovidia was just behind Rita with her arms wrapped around in a hug. They had many adventures that were fun, that were thrilling, that were scary, but this one was just peaceful. The perfect view, the perfect smell, the perfect touch, the perfect sounds. It was just perfect.
Rita was still in awe, not having broken her gaze to the different world. Ovidia, though. look back for a second after hearing a strange noise coming from afar. Unfortunately, the fog covered anything or anyone that could've made the noise. For another few seconds she looked harder, and it appeared.
"Hey, Rita. Don't you want to be happy?" Ovidia asked. Rita, barely snapped out of her trance, gave a small grunt in response. Ovidia turned her around and looked at her eyes. She could see her own reflecting upon them... but the color was the exact same.
Meanwhile, it only got closer. Ovidia, however, didn't realize how close it got until it was right next to them, it's grey--
----God, Ovidia, Rita. Please,
"Never look back."
Those words echoed until it became a painful ringing. Rita, not even noticing, had fell from the cliff, completely airborne. Looking up, all she could see was Ovidia... Her black hair swayed with the wind. Her purple knife taken out as she was preparing an attack. And her green eyes...
Blinking, Rita lost the sight of Ovidia, and instead saw herself standing upon the cliff in her place, with blood dripping from her nose and eyes. Black becoming red, purple becoming red, everything becoming red. It was always red.
"Rita."
Falling further into the blue sky, she stopped feeling the wind grazing on her body. She stopped smelling the clear air. She stopped feeling the warmth of the sunlight.
"Please."
She stopped existing in this world.