Sasha Shadows

As the movie ends, everything around me begins to swirl, forming a real life mixture of paint with the colour of light yellow, white and black. Therefore, the atmosphere around me turns into pitch black due to the excessive dark colour that dominates almost the whole space.

This is confusing.

So confusing.

I have yet to make a move to leave but literally, I'm already standing in front of my house. The whole neighbourhood is covered with dead silence except the insects' winged orchestra. As during this hour, people would usually go to bed instead for staying up. Thus, this leads me to have a sudden 'I'm all alone in this abandoned world' idea.

Out of the blue, the hooing sound of an owl startles me as I nearly trip and fall headlong to the ground. Turning my head towards the voice source, I can't stop the chilliness that causes goose bumps along my spine at the sight of the owl, which is having its big round eyes staring straight at me.

Oh my god, it can see me!! I'm not entirely invisible.

As I've reached the front door, I hastily kick my shoes away, in which they won't even budge, until I give up and change my focus onto my pocket, fumbling lightly for the house key. "Darn the bloody great fall, my keys are in my bag." I curse under my breath when recalling myself leaving the handbag at the bookstore. "How am I supposed to enter?" But as I reach out to touch the doorknob, my transparent hand finally reminds me the short cut.

I am a ghost. I don't need a key.

And with the thought shining bright in my head, though there won't be any light beaming out of my skull, I burst through the front door and finally enter. Safe and sound. "This is fun!" I exclaim in excitement while jumping on cloud 9. And then, I accidentally smash my hand onto a photo frame and it crashes onto the ground.

Oops.

But strange, my hand only moves the photo frame instead of anything else. It might be something important that I can touch, so I squat down to pick up the photograph. My fingers sweeping the shattered glass away in a cautious way before I finally clamp its edge with my fingertips.

After putting it to my eye level, the image eventually illustrates my vision and resultantly brings back the memory of my grandfather and me. Yes, the two people standing in the photograph, smiling are my grandfather and the little me years ago.

--Flashback starts--

My grandfather held me up until our eyes were parallel, chuckling with his face full of wrinkles. I was laughing wholeheartedly when he mimicked the sound of the roller coaster. "Want a ride, little Sasha?" He asked while warmness filled my little heart until I nodded. A huge bright smile was showing how much I agreed to that idea. That routine.

Since I was his only granddaughter, he bought a bicycle and modified it just for me. First, a basket was added to the front of the bike and last but not least, several rainbow coloured pinwheels were glued or tapped to each and every corner of the manual vehicle. Grandpa asked me to name it.

And Rainbow was what come into mind. So this became the name.

"Yay, we're going on a ride!!" I was almost shrieking out of overloading happiness when my grandfather put me into Rainbow basket. He then prepared himself on the saddle and there we went after his announcement.

"Let's roll!" was what he said as the bicycle moved forward with the pinwheels spinning, thereby adding colours to our journey. "Whoo!!" Our hair drifted backwards, revealing our foreheads as Grandpa began to pick up speed. We laughed along the way when passing from house to house.

At that time, he had knee problem. But the little me did not know how severe it was as the only thing I repeated along the way was 'faster faster...'. Grandpa would never disappoint me as I could feel stronger wind slamming onto our faces from the front.

Not long after, we stopped by the hills and looked down the busy streets, where cars were moving with different speed. On that day, we played 'I Spy'.

And I won.

Grandpa got me a chocolate ice cream as a prize which turned out to become my favourite flavour until now. And then, we travelled back home by Rainbow again. The spinning pinwheels were the major cause for me to stay happy. Just happy.

--Flashback Ends--

I miss you taking me everywhere on Rainbow. I miss your smile and those wrinkles marking your age. I miss your grey hair that mixed with a little hints of white. I miss your spectacles that kept your vision clear. I miss everything about you, Grandpa.

You told me to forget everything that happened between us. You said you didn't want me to suffer, yet I still treasure the memory with all of my heart even though I've turned into a drifting soul now.

My eyes are burning but water flows out of them. Drip drops of tears begin to stain the picture as I sniffle. Since this object is a pledge of Grandpa and I's relationship, I head to my room, still holding onto the rectangular picture of us with my body floating and intend to pull the drawer open.

But I can't open it as my hands just move through it. "No..." My hand turns shaky until the photograph falls like a dead leaf. Then, it lands on the wooden desk. "Maybe I'll just keep it here temporarily." I mutter before moving towards the cupboard.

One thing that I've forgotten to explain since I've "woken up" is that I'm still wearing the bookstore's T-shirt and the same black skinny jeans. And I'm feeling the immediate urge to change now as I dislike wearing outside clothes while sleeping on my bed, which is extremely messy because of me rushing in the morning.

***

Clerence Cartwright

Today is Monday and I have classes to attend. But right now, I'm still staying in the rented house and reading an online novel absentmindedly. It has reached the forty-eighth chapter and the story is close to the end, however, it's been a few hours since I've waited for the latest updates.

The author of this book surprises me today because he or she usually updates punctually without delaying with any possible excuses. And strangely, he or she also doesn't put on a notice about late updates might be done today.

Let's say the author is a she, alright?

So not long after, her readers begin to spam her message board, urging her to update the next chapter of the book. Some are aggressive while some are polite. Different emotions can be felt through these messages as emojis are used as a sign of 'friendly'.

But there's no respond towards every message, as if the author has disappeared. Even though I have checked her message board every thirty minutes, I feel as if those answers are not even read. The only thing that changes the look of her message board is the increasing messages that are non-stop spamming.

Poor author.

I've seen one of them gathering the others to spam until she appears like a genie. But what if the Internet of her house has crashed down? Or what if she has slept pass her usual waking hour?

My mind is loaded with questions with no answers. And wasting my time waiting in front of the laptop is literally not a good option, so I turn the computer into sleep mode before going to change my clothes. Although I'm skipping classes today, I haven't say I'm not going to somewhere else.

After calling for a random taxi driver, I lock all the doors and windows, including my room's and leave the house. The place I've set is the bookstore where I can travel there by foot.

I know, why don't I set the place at my house, right? Because I've already stopped going to gym for one fucking month. And the reason is the overloading assignments according to my level in academics which appears like a lame excuse. But believe me, the higher the level, the tougher it is to score, and the more the assignments you'll be given. Anyways, walking has become the only sport I can do daily.

After a few minutes, the bookstore finally appears in my clear eye vision. The idea of entering and saying 'hi' lights up my face with a bright grin, though it is replaced by a neutral smile afterwards. There at the counter, a different girl is standing there. I've never seen her but as I'm about to turn and leave, someone calls my name.

"Clerence!" It's Madam Jesslyn. She approaches me with her high-heeled footsteps and her expression holding a mixture of surprise and confuse. "What are you doing here? I thought... I've told you today... is your off day." She blurts out breathlessly as if she's been running a marathon.

"I'm coming to say hi." I admit. "Hi."

"Rascal." The manager comments, pinching my cheek. A bitter smile is visible on her face. "How's Sasha?"

Sasha's name sends a pang to my chest until my heart must have skipped a beat. And the feeling is fucking painful but I love that. To be honest, it's been years since someone can send a jolt to my heart. Maybe it's a sign.

"She hasn't wake up yet." I answer wearily. "And I'd prayed for her last night before sleep."

"Good boy," praises Madam Jesslyn as she pats my head even though I'm much taller than her. Instinctively, I bend down to let her continue the action in a comfortable posture, or she don't have to raise her hand for a long time.

My puppy-shaped soul loves being patted.

"Where are you going later?" She queries again while quit patting my head. And that is when I stand up straight to look at her 45°.

"The hospital. I'm meeting Sasha later." My answer is straightforward, and I can see counter girl Number 2 pouts with a long 'aww' as if she has lost the chance. Her mouth shaping 'she's so lucky and I'm envy', at least this is how my brain analyse the things that my eyes have registered from quite a far distance.

"Oh great, I have something to give her. Please wait for me when I go get the things." Again, she runs back into the bookstore like Cinderella and returns with a box wrapped beautifully. "Her birthday is around the corner." Madam Jesslyn stuffs the box into my lap while explaining briefly. "Tell her that there are always people caring for her, even from afar, alright?"

I lower my head to look at the gift box which is the same thickness of a textbook but lighter than that and back to Madam Jesslyn's face. "I will." I send her a wink. She pinches my ear this time. "Ow ow ow ow ow...!"

"I said no flirting." She reminds through gritted teeth but in a playful way. "Your taxi is here, send my regards to that poor girl." Madam Jesslyn states when raising her chin towards my back, where the taxi stops before firing its horn double times.

"See you tomorrow, Madam Jesslyn." I smile at her slyly and she just stands there akimbo with her head shaking. Her eyes roll skywards as this is what the corner of my eyes have seen.

Once I've gotten into the vehicle, the smile on my face vanishes. And what replaces is my face full of melancholy.

ᵟᵁᴱˢᵀᴵᴼᴺˢ ᴾᴼˢᵀᴱᴰ ᵀᴼ ᴹᴬᴷᴱ ᶠᴿᴵᴱᴺᴰˢ:

1. ᴴᴬᵛᴱ ᵞᴼᵁ ᴺᴼᵀᴵᶜᴱᴰ ᴬᴺᵞᵀᴴᴵᴺᴳ ᴰᴵᶠᶠᴱᴿᴱᴺᵀ ᴼᴺ ᵀᴴᴱ ᴸᴵᵀᵀᴸᴱ ᴰᴵᵛᴵᴰᴱᴿ ᴹᵁˢᴴᴿᴼᴼᴹ ᵀᴼᴰᴬᵞ?

2. ᴰᴼ ᵞᴼᵁ ᵀᴴᴵᴺᴷ ᶜᴸᴱᴿᴱᴺᶜᴱ ᴴᴬᵛᴱ ᶠᴬᴸᴸᴱᴺ ᶠᴼᴿ ˢᴬˢᴴᴬ ᵀᴴᴬᵀ ᶠᴬˢᵀ?

ᵀᴴᴬᴺᴷ ᵞᴼᵁ ˢᴼ ᴹᵁᶜᴴ ᶠᴼᴿ ᴴᴼᴾᴾᴵᴺᴳ ᴵᴺ. ᴿᴱᴹᴱᴹᴮᴱᴿ ᵀᴼ ᵛᴼᴹᴹᴱᴺᵀ ᴵᶠ ᵞᴼᵁ ᴸᴵᴷᴱ ᵀᴴᴵˢ ᶜᴴᴬᴾᵀᴱᴿ, ᴬᴺᴰ ᴵ'ᴸᴸ ˢᴱᴱ ᵞᴼᵁ ᴬᴸᴸ ᴵᴺ ᵀᴴᴱ ᴺᴱˣᵀ ᵁᴾᴰᴬᵀᴱ💕💕