Chapter 59~ Pitiful, Right?
"Ollie, it happened again," I informed as I took my hands out of the water.
Crimson blood was trickling down my arms as I held them up. Because I have this condition where I can't feel pain, I won't know that I stabbed myself until the water turns red. I was washing the dishes because I wanted to be helpful around the house. Also because Allen broke the dishwasher and we have to wash them by hand until we get it fixed.
"That's it, you are banned from washing dishes! I can't have my little cupcake getting hurt so much~" he fussed as he wrapped up my hands with gauze.
"I'm fine Ollie, you don't have to worry so much," I tried to calm him down.
Of course he didn't listen to me, I was his precious little cupcake after all. We went to the bathroom to access my wounds; Matt would take over the dishes from now on. Once my hands were patched up for the fourth time this week, Ollie gave me a safer task to handle.
"Can you get my other books from the attic? They should be in a box marked 'books' so you won't miss it."
I gladly accepted and headed for the hallway. Since my discovery of my condition, I've been testing what injuries Can inflict the slightest feeling. I've placed my hand on a burner, placed my hands in fire, stuck my hand in the toaster, placed salt and ice cubes on a wound, sliced my arms, shut my fingers in doors, and punched walls.
I've had unintentional accidents too because of my sensitive skin. Like burning myself in the shower, easily getting sunburned, and slicing my skin from sharp objects. After all, my skin is pure white. I'd blend in with the walls if my hair wasn't black.
To protect from anymore skin damage, I found a way to create a sunscreen for myself. It's made from darkness so the sun's rays won't char me.
Anyway, when I was in the middle of the hallway I pulled on the rope and a step ladder eased down as an entryway appeared on the ceiling. I climbed up the ladder and took in the dusty atmosphere. The attic was like a time capsule covering passed wars, old trends, sentimental assets, and memorable moments in time. Boxes upon boxes hugged the walls as cobwebs and dust bunnies followed behind. The only light was from the trap door I came from and a little window that needed a major cleaning.
Like Ollie said, I quickly found a box named books and picked it up. But out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of an out of place object. It was a dusty old violin with a matching bow carefully placed next to it. What makes this violin so out of place? Well, it was the only instrument around and it had an odd feel to it. I placed the box by the trap door and approached the violin. There seemed to be something engraved on it that read Stradivarius.
Carefully inspecting the instrument, the wood used for the creation named itself. Spruce was used for the top, willow for the internal blocks and linings, and maple for the back, ribs, and neck. I placed the violin and bow inside of the box and carried it down the ladder. Folding the ladder back up, I carried the box to the living room and confronted Ollie.
"Hey Ollie, what's up with this viol--" I opened the box to see the instrument cleaned and strings tuned. Just a few seconds ago, it was dusty and clearly neglected use over many years. Now it looks vintage and begging for someone to run the bow across it.
"Oh that old thing? I wanted to learn how to play the violin. The sound it makes is so beautiful!" He explained.
"Doesn't that take years of time and dedication to learn?" Allen comment as he walked by.
"Yes, and that's why it's still in the attic," he sulked.
"By the way, what is Stradivarius?" I moved it out of harms way.
"'A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Stradivari (Stradivarius) family, particularly Antonio Stradivari, during the 17th and 18th centuries.' " Matt recited.
"Very good Matt! You're done you're homework," Ollie complimented.
" 'While only about 650 original Stradivari instruments (harps, guitars, violas, cellos, violins) survive today, thousands of violins have been made in tribute to Stradivari, copying his model and bearing labels that read "Stradivarius" on them. However, the presence of a Stradivarius label in a violin has no bearing on whether the instrument is a genuine work of Stradivari himself.' "
"Ah, so this could have been made later in time. This might not be an original piece," I confirmed.
"But it'll still play, I would love to hear how it really sounds," Ollie was sifting through the box of old books.
Everyone was going back to what they were previously doing. I picked up the violin and bow to place it back in the attic. Although, my feet didn't move. My arms moved on their own as the violin was placed in my right hand and the bow found my left. My neck rested on the bottom of the violin as my left hand stroked the bow across the strings. Back and forth it went, like a grandfather clock. All sounds disappeared from everyday life. The only noise was the music I was creating. The notes flowed like a stream and climbed the scale.
Everything fell into place, this violin was singing a beautiful song I had never heard before. It all felt so natural as if this was meant to happen. Then, I was sucked into another realm. A grassy field appeared with a calming breeze as my song played softly in the background. I searched around my sudden location for a sign of an explanation. All I saw were luscious trees, swaying grass, exotic flowers, wide hills, and a bright blue sky overhead with white wispy clouds.
"Olivia..." a soothing voice echoed among the trees.
"Hello? Who are you? Where are you?" I spun in circles looking for her.
"I'm right here, my darling," the voice materialized into a female figure.
She was a thick woman with peachy skin and a noticeable bust. Her hair was pulled back but I could see strands of dark brown hidden under her light green vail. The vail covered her face but I could tell that her features were nothing but perfection. She was wearing a long emerald colored dress with pearl white ribbons and a classy trail. She was barefoot but had perfect posture. But most of all, she was elegant, gorgeous, and absolutely stunning.
She must have been at least seven or eight feet tall.
"Who... are you?" I breathed.
"If I told you who I am, you wouldn't like me," she stepped toward me. "That violin, I had Antonio Stradivari himself make it for me long ago. You probably don't know, but it's a left handed violin. I never thought that it would make it to you after all these years."
She placed her right hand on my cheek and caressed my face. The warmth was soothing and almost... familiar.
"Are you left handed?" I inquired.
She laughed, "No I'm ambidextrous. Olivia... you're so beautiful. Never forgot that, okay?"
Her figure faded away as the scene changed back into the living room. The song ended, the room was silent, everyone was gathered with a stunned gaze. When realization finally hit, they all started to clap. Ollie began to weep tears of joy and I think a tiny smile flickered upon Francois's face. My face grew hot as I lowered the violin and took a bow.
"Olivia, when did you learn how to play violin?" Allen asked.
I shrugged, "I guess I always knew... I don't remember taking lessons."
"Olivia!" Ollie clasped my hands, "You're left handed!"
"Well, yeah. How could you tell?"
"You hold the bow with you dominate hand," he replied.
*~ Time Skip ~*
About a week later Ollie finally let me go. And by that I mean letting me go to a different country. Allen decided that it was time for me to meet his friends in America since I've gotten so good at skateboarding. I wasn't reluctant about the idea, I guess I'm just a little nervous about meeting new people. Olivine handled that pretty well the first time, but me... I'm her opposite. I don't think I'll do so well.
Before I talk about the plane, I want to point out that I found a way to hide my valuables. Since I learned that I can somewhat control darkness, I figured out how to store valuable things in the shadows. I placed my violin in my shadow along my skateboard. It sounds weird to store something in my shadow, but since the darkness is an endless space, I can put anything in it.
Now about the plane. It was a smooth ride for the most part, a little turbulence but nothing too upsetting. I witnessed the sunset above the clouds and placed my hand upon the window. The scenery looked so free, just like that little window in the white room. The endless sky reached far across the horizon and spoke to the sea. The sun sank into the ocean as the moon rose from its slumber.
Olivine is more poetic at this than I am...
Everyone else around us was starting to fall asleep, along with the annoying babies and chair-kicking children. Allen yawned and turned away to sleep as I felt a sudden chill wash over me. The area was dark and most comfortable for me, however, being in the darkness is rather cold. Sometimes I start to feel depressed when I'm cold and feel cold when I'm depressed.
Pitiful, right? To feel an overrated and overused emotion from a temperature? How opposite am I from the prefect little Olivine? No wonder everyone loves her, all of her rejected traits are implanted into me.
"Olivia? Are you okay?" Allen must have noticed the dark cloud looming over my head.
"Yeah, just a little cold," I didn't exactly lie.
He immediately started to take off his bomber jacket and place it neatly over my shoulders. Then he brushed the hair out of my face and settled back into his seat. He sighed and put out his arm, implying for my to lay on it.
"Don't lie to me, I know something's bothering you," he scoffed with closed eyes. "Talk to me."
With slight hesitation, I cuddled his arm and pressed my cheek against it. I tightened my grip before I found words to answer him.
"I've just been putting myself down, that's all," I spoke low to not wake other passengers.
He became more alert, "That's all? Why?"
"It's nothing real--"
"Olivia, don't let being her opposite define you. You are so much more than you think you are," his ruby red eyes stared deep into my crimson ones. His expression was serious and I almost backed away.
"Sorry, I need to be less harsh around you. I'm just worried about you, okay?" He calmed down.
"But why? I don't think I'm worth worrying over," I tried to hide my face.
"Because even though we're not blood related you're still my little sister. Of course I'd worry about you," he kissed my forehead, making me feel better.
"Thanks Allen..." my cheeks grew warm and a smile wouldn't go away. There's this weird feeling in my chest too.
"You should smile more, you're cute," was the last thing he said before drifting off to sleep.
*~Timey Wimey Skippy~*
Before the plane landed, Allen woke me up but let me keep his jacket. I must be special because he would never lend anyone his bomber jacket. It was early morning when we touched down in New York, it was really busy for being so early. I stayed close to Allen as we found our way to terminal C. Allen told me that some of his friends were going to pick us up and we were going to hangout at his place. It's all to get me used to meeting new people.
Of course, being in public with pure white skin did cause some people to stare at me. But I didn't pay much mind to it, I just looked a little different from everyone else. I'm human just like them... except I have certain abilities that humans cannot acquire.
"Allen! Long time no see bro!" A teenage boy with dark blue dyed hair greeted Allen with a secret handshake.
"Trevor, this is my sister, Olivia," he introduced me.
"H-Hello..." my voice wouldn't speak up.
Why can't I speak normally to new people?
"Woah, you didn't say that she would be pretty," he tried to flirt.
"Hold on there lover-boy, let's not provoke the poor girl," a teenage girl walked up behind him. She had tan skin, short brown hair, and hazel eyes.
"Cadence, this is Olivia. She's just a little shy," Allen playfully pushed me forward.
"H-Hi, it's nice to meet you..." My voice still didn't listen.
We chatted for a while before we gathered our stuff and headed out to the car. It was Trevor's car, but Allen was driving it while he sat in the passenger seat. Cadence sat in the backseat with me, I think she wanted me to feel comfortable. I stared out the window and tried to hide behind my hair.
I'm a little disappointed in myself, I mean, how come I couldn't be more cool about it? My heart was beating so fast and my mind wouldn't focus.
I noticed that Cadence was starting at my skin and I took that chance to speak up.
"I-It's a skin condition..."
"I wasn't going to ask about that, I was just thinking how cool it is," her voice was sincere.
"Cool? How?" I was taken back.
"For body art of course! The colors would come out perfectly because it's on a white surface. Mind if I show you?" She pulled out some washable markers from her satchel.
"Sure," I extended my arm out to her.
She drew a beautiful flower and colored it in with bright colors. She was right, the colors came out perfectly as if they were on a sheet of paper. I even managed to crack a smile at her cute drawing.
"So, are you like Allen?" She asked from out of nowhere.
The car fell silent as I frantically tried to come up with an excuse. Allen didn't prepare me for this!
"It's okay Olivia, they know," Allen looked through the rearview to reassure me.
I nodded and spoke up, "You could say that. I don't know what I represent though..."
"Do you have any cool superpowers?!" Trevor looked back with excited eyes.
"I can see in the dark and tap in your life force, along with discovering what kind of person you are," I answered as Cadence finished up her drawing.
"Really? I wanna see how it works!" Trevor was overly excited.
"Let's get in the house then decide what we're going to do," Allen quieted Trevor down as he pulled in the driveway.
It was a nice house, not too subtle and not too flashy. Allen found a spare room for me and I placed my clothes in the drawer. Then I pulled my violin out of the shadows and placed it on the bed. I traced over its surface and sighed contently. I felt like playing it again, it gave me a good feeling whenever I ran the bow over the strings.
Allen knocked on the door before coming in. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.
"While Trevor and Cadence are raiding my fridge, is there something that you want to talk to me about?"
I was confused at first, but I quickly remembered our conversation that we had on the plane. I put on a straight face and gave him my honest opinion.
"No, I don't have anything to talk about to you," I went to make sure the strings were tuned.
I heard him shut the door and walk over to the bedside. He didn't say a word, he just kept staring at me with a knowing expression. I tried to look away but I could feel his gaze weighing me down. When he couldn't bare the silence anymore, he sat down and held me close.
He whispered, "I know that you killed that girl, but I'm not concerned about that. I'm concerned that you're mentality hurting yourself over something that you didn't do."
I gritted my teeth and tensed my muscles. Immediate rage washed over me like a storm. He didn't understand. He couldn't understand. No one could know how it felt to be trapped in that room for what seemed centuries. It take in all that immense pain for that fragile, idiotic girl, only because we couldn't live apart. Now that I remember it, all I want to do is forget.
But I can't. All that Olivine is not, I am. She has forgotten but I can never forget. The one time I felt pain was back then.
"Olivia? Don't keep this to your--"
"I don't need your sympathy! It's my fault for being the unwanted! I couldn't take over and bust myself out of that hell hole! She's the one who got herself into that mess but I was the one who atoned for it! I was the one who had to bare the pain and horrid memories that they caused, all because she was too weak to contain them. We may be one person but she was the one who separated us... I never wanted to break apart... I never wanted to become this," everything came pouring out like a waterfall. Meaningless tears fell down my face from frustration.
I realized that I had pushed him down and I was standing in the middle of the room. I wanted to run away, I needed a place to be alone. But in honesty, I don't want to be alone anymore. Even inside of her I felt alone. It felt like I never existed, it still feels that way to me.
"I didn't want this to happen... I hate myself for this Allen. It's idiotic and pitiful with no point... it drives people away."
Once again, I tried to hide behind my long hair. But Allen stood up and uncovered my face with a blank expression. I felt like fighting, running, dying. Anything to get away from this moment.
"You really are just a scared child," he whispered as he brought me into his embrace.
"Shut up," I tried to push him away but he was too strong.
"Olivia, I'm don't know what happened before Oliver found you, but I do know that, that is all in the past. You can't move on until you accept what happened."
"Allen, you don't understand. I can never accept what happened until she does. We are one person, separated by sheer willpower. I can never accept until she does, I can never forget until she does, I can never be my own existing being until she does. I am forever waiting on naïve child."
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Happy Birthday S. Korea! (August 15th)
I forgot to say that the music piece is "Canon in D", and no, that is NOT me in that video. I can't play the violin... plus I'm black XD
My source for the Stradivarius info was Wikipedia. I'm not a walking encyclopedia.
So school is starting back up again for me. That means slower updates... fantastic. It's going to be a hectic year, I just know it. I don't want to go back to that stress causing, drama-fied, depression filled, anxiety hellhole. But it's required by state law so I don't have much of a choice -_-
Remember to Comments & Vote!
BAI~! ☆〜(ゝ。∂)
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen247.Pro