Chapter 2 Reborn

I looked at my bloody hands, I was at an unfamiliar place. It was dark and there was a large poster bed beside me and I found myself lying on the floor.

I coughed as I stared at the ceiling, blood gushing out of my mouth. I placed my hand in my stomach. It hurt, it was painful, but soon I felt my body becoming numb.

A black figure that looked like a man stood beside me. I couldn't take a proper look at his face since everything was blurry.

"You should've just listened to me, you belong to me and no one else. This is the ending befitting of a villain like you. Dying in a stone-cold floor, all alone."

I gasped for air. I started to shake and scanned my ssurroundings My hand automatically flew into my stomach and I breathed of relief when I saw no blood. I breathed heavily and my heart was beating fast.

What was that? It felt so real. I felt like I actually died. I looked at the book beside me,. MaybeI was just dreaming, a dream that felt real.

I combed my hair aand felt ullets of sweat on my face, I tried to calm myself down. I looked at the clock and it was already nine am. I immediately got up and prepared. I had no time for getting emotional over a dream. I need to find myself a job.

Several hours ppassed,and I have not yet found a single store that accepts part-timers. It was already afternoon and I still did not eat breakfast or lunch. My feet also hurt from all the walking.

I decided to sit down at a nearby fountain to rest. It was a SSaturday,so the place was packed with people-families and friends. I stared at a family happily eating during their picni. Friendss were taking pictures ad lovers were having a warm conversation.

The grass was bright ggreen,and the soft air passed through the tall trees of the park. Bubbles and kites were floating around and kids were running here and there.

"Ah, other people have such happy lives, why can't I have something like that?" I whispered to myself unconsciously.

I didn't exactly have fun memories at the orphanage. I never made friends and the people who were supposed to take care of us were not that nice. I would starve three days in a row because of them. And when I finally left the orphanage, I was given more challenges and suffering that never seemed to end.

I felt my phone vibrate again, so I checked to see who called. It was an unknown number, maybe it's from one of the places I applied to. I answered the phone just to hear laughs and whispering.

"Airin," the voice called. It sounded pleading and in pain, the laughing was still audible in the background.

"I'm sorry," she cried.

"Eli," I whispered. She started to whimper.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." Her crying grew louder.

"Where are you?" I asked her abruptly. I stood up and prepared my things.

"I-" she couldn't finish her sentence and it seems the phone was snatched away from her.

"Airin." A familiar high-pitched voice said. "Your little friend here wants to have fun,. Wantto join us?"

I breathed heavily and messed up my hair as I walked back and forth.

"You know the place you little shit," she said and hang up.

I stared at my phone and tried to call the number again but it was out of reach. I was nervous and was sweating profusely. Should I go? If I went there again, I might be arrested this time. Last time I tried to interfere with their fight, I got a warning from the police. The girl I was talking to was the daughter of a person with power. She can twist any story if she wants to.

I've suffered enough because of her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She repeatedly said. I remembered her words.

But I couldn't let them harm her. My conscience won't let me. I packed my bag and decided to go to that place. I've had a shitty life, what more can I lose.

After several minutes I managed to arrive at the school gate. I ran towards the rooftop where I would usually eat lunch alone, it was my secret hiding place not until I was involved with her.

I ran up the stairs and opened the door. My eyes widened when I saw a girl with large glasses crying while she was standing at the edge of the railings of the school. We were on the fifth floor if she slipped. I took my phone from my pocket and turned on the voice recorder.

I shook the thought off and saw a bunch of girls and their good-for-nothing boyfriends filming the girl.

"Walk more! Show us something interesting!" a guy in a mohawk cut shouted.

"Oh! Do a Somersault!" another suspicious-looking guy added.

I bit my lip and walked towards them. The leader saw me and grinned.

"You came! Good thing you didn't try to call the police like the last time!" She joyfully said but her expression darkened after. "My dad scolded me that time because of you."

"Scolded?" I asked her, "You should be jailed."

She snickered and rolled her eyes.

"If you just stayed quiet like you used to, If you just stayed silent and hid at the back of the classroom, you wouldn't be here right now." She warned.

She was right if I just stayed silent, If I just ignored the fact that someone was being bullied, If I just stayed away. I sighed and smiled bitterly.

"Ignoring someone getting hurt," I told them, "wouldn't make me any different from monsters like you"

Her grin disappeared and she nodded at the people behind her back. They nodded back and two boys walked towards me. They both grabbed my arms and dragged me towards the railings.

"Climb." She demanded.

I glared at him but followed. I went up the railing just as they instructed. I looked at the girl sobbing and fear visible in her face. I looked down and closed my eyes. I'm going to die if I fell from here.

"I-I'm sorry," she croaked. I stared at her clothes which were dirtied, her hair was a mess and one of the lenses of her glasses broke.

"This isn't really a time for you to be apologizing," I told her. She continued to sob. I looked back at the group of friends.

"Why are you doing this to us? Why would you force us to stand in the railings?" I asked loudly, making sure I record everything they say as evidence.

The teachers won't listen to us because it's just a waste of their time. They see it as kids fighting even though someone has already attempted to end themselves. Even the police were no good, nobody believed an orphan trying to ask for help.

But where do you run to when even the officials don't help? Where should a child like me ask for help?

Nobody can help us now, nobody but ourselves. I'm tired of being bullied and working day by day just to survive. If I remove them, at least I won't have to come to school scared of what they'll do next.

"Because you annoy me," she said in a matter-of-fact tone "your whole existence makes my head hurt. I'm annoyed by the both of you-"

"You act like some kind of queen at school because you're not even treated like a human at home," I said.

Her arrogant smile turned into a scowl.

"Listen here, you worthless orphan. Nobody loves you, you have no family and no one to protect you. Who do you think you are? Acting like someone important?" she said angrily as she walks towards us.

I ignored her question as best as I could even when I wanted to kick her right in the face.

"You are a bully who loves to hurt other people. Your father is someone with power so you use that to cover up your mistakes. You should pay for the crimes you did." I told her.

She looked so angry and ran towards me, her friends shouted at her but it was too late. I took my phone out, gave it to the girl, and pushed her to the ground before the other girl pushed me off the railings. The impact of her push made me fall backward.

I stared at the railings as I started to fall. The people ran towards the railings to look at me and cursed, after that, they ran away. The girl with glasses-Ahh I don't even know her name.

Well, she shouted at me, my phone in her hands. She looked so scared and she cried aloud. The other already ran away.

Go and use that recording as evidence, use social media to your advantage. Nobody will dare ignore you again. You'll be safe from now on.

It's as if time slowed down and all I could feel was my body falling slowly. I'm going to die as soon as I left the orphanage, I didn't even get to buy the strawberry Ice cream I wanted to taste for a long time now. What did I even do with my life?

Tears started to well in my eyes. Did I just waste my life for someone whose name I don't even know? Did I do the right thing to provoke someone to push me into my death? I started to have regrets. My life was hard ever since I learned how to walk. I was abandoned at an orphanage and now I'm going to die at a young age all alone.

I wanted to travel the world, I wanted to build a family, I wanted to earn and be financially stable. I did not need anything grand, I just wanted to have a nice life. Why is it so hard for me to have a nice life?

I sobbed.

I really wanted the strawberry ice cream at least. It was only 50 coins and yet I couldn't even afford that.

I looked at the sky as I sobbed, slowly realizing I was about to hit the ground. I slowly closed my eyes.

The sky looked so beautiful today as well.

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END