"Do you want to understand the meaning of life?"
Maria pulled a small note off her earphones.
Just seconds ago, she was about to put them on, pretending to be busy—definitely not because her only friend had ditched her to chat and laugh with other classmates.
Did she really look like some loner, gloomy, friendless girl?
No way. Absolutely not.
Then she spotted the note stuck to her earphones.
"Damn it! Who's the jerk that did this?"
Maria muttered a curse under her breath.
She figured it had to be some bored idiot messing with her.
Nine times out of ten, it was that loser Mark and his dumb buddies.
With a sour mood, Maria slogged through another less-than-stellar day at school.
---
That night.
She emptied her backpack, meticulously checking every item to make sure no one had snuck in another prank note.
The next day.
"Do you want to… truly live?"
Before heading out to get ready for the day, Maria, on a whim, grabbed her earphones from her backpack. To her shock, another note was there.
But she'd checked everything last night, and she'd locked her door before bed. This shouldn't be possible.
What the hell!
How did this thing end up in her backpack?
Did someone sneak into her room last night just to slip in a note to freak her out?
Her nails scraped against the words on the white paper.
A chill ran through Maria, her already pale face turning even more ghostly, making her look downright unhealthy.
Before heading out, her parents, for once, showed some concern, asking if something was wrong.
Maria's sleep had been improving lately, and they'd noticed. But now, with that familiar sour expression back on her face, they figured something was up.
Maria hesitated, wanting to spill her worries.
But she couldn't bring herself to say it. She didn't want her parents thinking she was some timid, incompetent kid who got spooked over nothing.
So, Maria went to school as usual, but the note thing still gnawed at her.
She got through her classes, uneasy the whole time.
By the time she got home, Maria felt like she'd burned out.
All the bad luck piling up was getting to be too much.
In the blink of an eye, it was 11 p.m. Good students would've been fast asleep by now.
Maria locked the windows and doors, checking every corner of her room where someone could hide.
She made sure nothing weird was lurking.
All this was done before bed.
She placed her earphones on the nightstand, right by her pillow.
After all the stress, Maria's eyelids grew heavy, and she drifted into a groggy sleep.
Another night.
From the top of the wardrobe, Barry's figure appeared.
He walked upside-down across the ceiling, his body dangling.
His eyes met a pair of icy, piercing ones.
It was Maria.
When had she woken up?
Her eyes were wide open, staring right at him.
"No matter how hard you glare at me, it's not gonna do a thing."
"Am I right… Elan?"
The moment he said her name, Maria's pupils shrank. Elan was clearly stunned.
How could this weird strawman know her name?
No way.
She'd never told anyone that name. Elan was a name she'd given herself, so there was no way it could've leaked.
But the impossible had happened.
That comical yet oddly cute chibi head was, in Elan's eyes, as terrifying as a monstrous beast.
Scary. Too scary.
What came next sent chills through Elan's ghostly form, making her feel like she was standing naked in a frozen wasteland.
"You're scared? Heh, no need to panic."
"I know way more than you think."
Barry chuckled, his deep, piercing gaze seeming to swallow everything.
"I know where you live, your past, your thoughts."
"You're Maria's twin sister, born deformed, abandoned by your father. You died on a cold winter night, right in the front yard of your home."
"Your dream is to be a normal human."
Maria's pale blue eyes trembled.
Elan couldn't fathom how all her deepest secrets were known.
"Surprised?"
Barry flipped midair, adjusting his stance, landing lightly.
He spread his arms, deliberately lowering his guard, as if inviting an attack, and stepped closer.
"I know you want to protect Maria, to keep her from getting hurt."
"But you can't do anything, can you? Just watch, right?"
"Glares don't kill, Elan."
Barry stepped right up to Maria, close enough to feel her breath.
Her hot exhale hit the strawman's face, rustling his faint strands of hair.
What are you gonna do?
You better not touch her, you bastard!
Facing an enemy she couldn't possibly beat, Elan's spirit trembled with tension.
But her eyes stayed cold as ice.
Should she make a move?
If she got suppressed again, who'd protect Maria?
Elan's mind was a mess, torn over whether to fight.
Barry's chibi head leaned closer to her eyes and said, "Elan, you don't want Maria to get hurt, do you?"
His toy-like hand rested on Maria's forehead, a silent threat.
Damn it! Elan cursed inwardly.
She raised her pale hand, but Barry was faster.
In an instant, a rope made of straw formed a ring, binding Elan's spirit back into Maria's body.
The power gap was just that big.
One move, and she was done.
"You don't know your place and still dare challenge me?"
"Compared to Maria, you haven't had enough hard lessons."
"Don't try messing with my plans, you overconfident little girl."
Barry pinned a new note to Maria's earphones.
When he turned back, he saw it.
A pair of eyes burning with defiance.
Elan's gaze was fierce, carrying a unique intensity so different from Maria's softness.
"That look of yours? I like it."
Used to Maria's gentle demeanor, seeing a different spark in the same face was a rare treat.
"But a friendly heads-up: keep up that defiance, and I'll take care of you and her…"
Before he could finish, Barry slapped Elan unconscious, knocking her out for a few days.
Right before everything went black, Elan heard his malice-filled words.
The sorrow of being powerless hit her soul, and for the first time, she truly felt what Maria must feel when bullied.
Ugh, I'm so weak.
The next day.
Maria woke up, nearly jumping out of her skin.
Yup, she saw it again.
Another white note stuck to her earphones.