Prologue

Elementary.

All you can hear is the children laughing, crying, screaming, talking, fighting, etc. 

“Why do you look like that?” asked a boy to the quiet girl at the corner.

The girl did not answer and just stared at him. Despite the noise, all he could hear was a deafening silence. It made him shiver. Her stare was creepy and annoying to him at the same time. He wanted to poke her eyes out.

After a minute, he finally had enough. He pushed the young lady onto the ground, mercilessly.

Some of the children noticed but did not pay attention and did not want to help the girl. She was an outcast. Due to her unique appearance, they left her all by herself. No one wants to be close to her. If they did, they would also be treated the same way as her.

The little boy prevented her from standing. “You’re so annoying! You’re already ugly and now, you’re being annoying! That’s why no one wants to be your friend! Creep!” he shouted. The other children joined him. Calling her all names, cursing her, pushing her and some were worse, they hurt her physically. They all took advantage of the teacher being away.

The little girl was immune to this, it does not mean that she’s not hurt. Tears were trying to escape from her eyes but she blinked it away. She numbed herself. Remembering what her mother said. “Never cry in front of those who hurt you, instead, smile. Smiling and being happy is the best revenge.” 

She smiled, genuinely. Thinking that letting them see her cry will only satisfy them. Breaking down was never an option for the little girl. She’s tough. Her smile made the bullies frown and then they went overboard. They got more violent and harmful.

She kept holding back her tears, she kept being strong but at the back of her mind she was praying that this cruelness would end. She hoped that the teacher would come soon and help her escape from them.

And as if it was magic, her wishes came true. A cute little boy shouted, “The teacher is coming!” putting an end to the chaos. The bullies immediately went back to their seats and acted as if they didn’t commit a crime just now.

The cute little boy grabbed her hands and pulled her away from their classroom. She then realized that it was all a trick to stop them from hurting her. When they were far from their classroom, the boy checked her. Trying to see if she has bruises or wounds. All she could do was stare at her savior. Curiosity is evident in her eyes. Her mind wants to ask a lot of questions. One of them was why he helped her.

“You have a few bruises and some cuts but other than that, you’re fine.” The boy smiled as he said those words. “Let’s go tell the teacher and treat your wounds.” He said while he pulled her to the teacher’s lounge. 

“Why did you help me?” she asked, that made him stop.

“I don’t know. Maybe because mommy told me to help those who are in need?” he answered.

The little girl was just speechless. He smiled at her and continued to walk.

They both silently went to the teacher’s lounge and the little boy told the teacher about everything that happened. He treated her wounds and gave her something to eat. He accompanied the little girl until the day was over. It was something she never imagined to happen. Surreal. She was bullied and ignored by all those kids and now, someone made her happy. A friend. 

"My name is Eros." The boy said.

"I'm Psyche." She answered.

"You have a nice name. It suits you." The boy compliments her.

"Thank you." She replied and smiled sweetly.

They both waited for their mothers to pick them up. They played games while waiting and talked about things they wanted to be. Psyche had fun. She forgot every horrible memory she had experienced. Being with Eros gave her something to look forward to everyday. She hoped that they'll be friends forever.

When their mothers came to pick them up, they hugged each other and Eros kissed her forehead. The mothers gasped at what happened.

"My gosh, Eros. Why would you kiss her without asking for permission from her mother?" Eros' mother scolded him.

"I'm sorry, mom." He apologized and looked at Psyche's mom. "I'm sorry for kissing Psyche. She was sad all day and I thought kisses could help her be happy."

Psyche's mom smiled. "It's okay."

They bid their goodbyes to each other and Eros told Psyche "I'll never forget you. Let's be friends, okay?"

She nodded in response. She was shy and couldn't speak. They went their separate ways and went home. Psyche held on to that memory of them forever. Then, she thought about what they would do tomorrow. Will they go to lunch together? She was excited. She imagined everything that would happen tomorrow. She slept with ease and a smile on her face wishing that nothing would go wrong.

The next day came and it was not what she hoped it would be. Eros did not play with her. Eros did not keep his words. Eros betrayed her. She sat in silence in her seat and read books to make her forget what happened. To erase her thoughts about him.

Psyche indulged herself in the story of where a princess meets her prince charming that saved her from misery. She wished that would happen to her. But it would never, right? She was no princess but she is in misery. No one will want to save anybody. No one wants to save her.

She looked at Eros and her eyes are filled with envy. He was enjoying the toy he was playing with, forgetting about what he said yesterday. She sighed and thought it was her fault for trusting him.

Thankfully, no one was bullying her. No one was hurting her and no one made fun of her. They acted as if she's air. As if she was not real. They ignored her. She was thankful for that but not that thankful as Eros was ignoring her too.

She tried to keep herself busy again but it did not work. She would always find a way to think about Eros. Maybe it was because he was her first friend. He became a special person to her, that's why she was becoming stressed about him ignoring her.

Class ended and they still did not talk. She eventually learned to ignore him like what he's doing to her. That was their first and last interaction ever. The both of them grew up differently and did not meet each other’s eyes anymore. Until one day, fate decided to play.

Eros

It happened quickly. I was stuck. I cannot move anything in my body. I just let everything fall into pieces. It was something unexpected. I didn’t know my ending would be something so painful. I wish I changed myself for the better and made amends to the people I have hurt.

Too late for regrets. Wish I felt this sooner.

Too late for guilt to consume me. I should’ve said sorry, sincerely.

Too late for everything. I hoped for a second chance.

I closed my eyes and waited for the impact.

A loud crash can be heard from this place. It happened so soon.

I felt the pain all over my body. It hurts. I wish I didn’t live to feel this pain. It burns me. I yell all the curses I know. Never thought I’ll feel this pain in my life. Even a mosquito cannot bite me and now this happened. F*ck. 

I opened my eyes. Tried to get out of that situation. I crawled myself out of misery. I thought the pain would lessen when I left the car but it didn’t. It still hurts. Damn.

My ending isn’t as great as I hoped it would be. It was a painful ending. I imagined it would be different but it’s not. I silently prayed to God. I never prayed to him. I never communicated with him. Now, I needed him to save me. I am a joke. A clown. Only talk to someone whenever I need them and would abandon them when I don’t need them anymore. Maybe, I deserved this cruel ending.

There’s a lot of people around me. A lot of people were concerned about this tragedy. The tragedy that scarred me physically, mentally and emotionally. It also scarred my life.

There was one woman who captured my eye in the crowd, a woman that was so familiar. She looked at me with pity. I smiled at her. Tears fell from her face. “Don’t….cry……Psyche..” I spoke as I closed my eyes. Letting darkness consume me. I feel less sad knowing that I saw a familiar and lovely face before I died.