Emergence of Verity

EXIGENCY

FOREWORD

"I have read somewhere, that quiet people have the loudest minds. It was indeed, the truest words to me. I was hopeful to speak out; to tell my truths and ideals. I wanted to be heard and to be fully understood, of how peoples minds like mine works. But, however loud my thoughts are, my lips have always been sealed and even my hands were once numbed. I was never a speaker, for I never speak with ease, so let this be my voice -"

Chapter 1: EXIGENCY

Here I am again, slowly walking down the sidewalk, hair tied up in a messy bun wearing baggy sweatshirt and pants. If someone from school sees me like this, they wouldn't even recognize me. Which is in favor of my anti-social tendencies, I don't think I'd like to ruin my morning making up small talks with people I barely liked.

Just as I entered the shop the soothing smell of coffee hugged my tired mind. I badly needed a barrel of it. I've been exhausted in the past week working on my school papers.

"The usual?" Maria asked as I approached the counter. "Uh huh." I replied without returning her warm smile.

What's so smiley this early morning? A question I keep asking myself whenever I see people like her. I paid and took my cup and sat down on a small round table at the far corner of the shop. My usual spot with my usual two shots of espresso. I slowly sipped my cup as I savor the steam licking my cheeks, fogging my square-shaped glasses.

Sitting at the far end of the store I gazed at the glass window overlooking the busy street. The usual cars passed by with the same boring faces. I wonder what they're up to? How do these people start their mornings? Why do some people like Maria can afford to smile at people like me? Well, I understand that it's her job to smile and greet everyone happily. But if I were to work at a place like this, filled with these kinds of people, I dont think they'll hire me in the first place.

However, this nosy kid, two seats next to mine, has caught my attention. He was blankly staring straight up my face with that pair of bulging eyes. Like what the f**k? Although I'm creeped out, I'm more annoyed. So, I stared back. I'm not losing to that pig. Yeah, he kinda looked like one. He's so ugly and fat he doesn't fit like a kid at all. I didn't stop until they started to leave. Just as when the kid stood up and looked back at me, I rolled my eyes so hard that I hurt myself. Feeling a bit dizzy, I didn't bother looking again because I don't want to give him the chance to retaliate. Uh, the satisfaction of my pettiness.

I went back to my coffee. It's so comforting that I have forgotten about being annoyed just moments before. I was back staring at the foggy window just beside the coffee table. Seeing people rushing early this morning always makes me wonder what they're up to. What makes them so busy they can't even look at peoples faces they meet on the streets. Or maybe they are intentionally avoiding peoples gazes, pretending to be looking at their phones or checking the time on their watches. Some even use their phones with headphones jammed on both their ears, while walking at a constant speed.

Time seemed inexistent at the very moment I became lost beneath the vanity inside my head. Watching and judging peoples movement I savored hating everyone I see. But just as when I finished sipping my cup of coffee, I snapped back to my reality when I heard more or less than five glasses shattered six tables from mine. It sounded like music to my ears; someone's paying for something they didnt break. Hah! My kind of mornings...

"I'm sorry, so very sorry." The lady spluttered anxiously. "My child, he's a bit upset I didn't know, s-sorry!" She's madly shaking as she lowered her body to a kneel trying to nervously pick up the broken pieces.

The child which looked like Gollum from Lord of the Rings was madly getting away from a man's tight grip. Which I suppose, the child's dad, looking like a complete wreck yet calmly standing still but I can see the pain from the childs face. They looked like a below-minimum-wage-income type of family with no excess money to spare.

Maria hurriedly run towards the havoc they're making while the old bald Todd who always look sleepy followed closely behind.

"No, please, stand up! We'll take care of these ma'am!" Maria anxiously stated as she motioned Todd to do it. Maria used 'we' but why is Todd the only one picking those up? Prat.

I stood up, finally realizing I don't want to stay any longer. I rolled my eyes and looked at the Gollum-like child. I realized that he was staring back, I mockingly grinned and walked across their messy table.

That chaotic moment made me smile in my head the whole day. It's one of the many reasons I didn't want to bear a child. Such hassle!

"Miss Stiffon, are you with us?" said loudly by the professor with the mad hair catching my attention. "uh huh. You can see I'm right here." I said while smirking at his rooster-like face.

"I was asking you a question!" he said in a calm manner but with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "And I answered! I said I am here!" I snapped back.

"Get out." he said in a forced calm voice, done with my nonsense. I stood and walked towards the door feeling superior. I'm not staying inside that room when I am calmly asked to leave. Psh!

Walking down the corridors made me realize that he was asking me a different question back there. I smirked at my stupidity.

"Taniya!" Called by a chirp like voice coming from behind me. I looked back and greeted her with "What?" It was Berry, jogging to catch up with me.

"Professor Aliston said you have to submit a report on selenicereus." She answered panting. "Why would I study cacti?" I rolled my eyes.

"Cause you'll get suspended if not." She muttered before I turned my back from her. "Psh!" I stormed away. Unlike the usual boastful arrogant monitors, Berry, our class monitor who looked like tweety bird, is timid and quite naïve.

I went to the library and sat on a table with a computer set knowing very well what selenicereus is. But just to spice things up, I'm writing anything I just made up. I knew this punishment is just to get the hell out of my arrogance back at his class. He sank that low but I'll swim deeper. Hah!

Subject: Selenicereus

Classifications: (moss green, dusty red and mud brown)

Description: Blooms only once in a blue moon. These are small spiky creatures that visibly glow silvery under the moonlight. There are color variations depending on the genetics of the creature. They are very useless and unimportant to any study.

Conclusion: It's a cactus! Which means f**k you. Furthermore, I just wasted my time for this.

I wrote at the top of my report paper. Then included some realistic photoshopped picture projecting the life cycle of my made-up creature. Finished the email and sent it to Professor mad-hair Aliston. I'll surely get suspension after this. I laughed in my head.

I am sitting at the cafeteria savoring the moment before getting suspension from professor mad-hair. "Hey missy!" Came a hot voice on my left ear. It was Portus, my childhood friend turned enemy. Although we're not literal enemies I just don't want anything to do with him. "Go away!" I said stiffly without looking at him. "Don't you miss me, Tati?" he said smirking all teeths out.

"Yeah, stay there and I'll wait for your fans club to crush me." I replied finally looking at him. "Go away and stop calling me that!" I said sternly ignoring his cutesy pout protests. With a sigh he turned his handsome back and walked away.

I just noticed how he grew his hair into short waves. He might have wanted me to notice that. He's always been that gorgeous but I don't think I'd get a peaceful college life with him around.

I went back to savoring the moment before getting my suspension mood. Ahh, the calm before a storm. I was counting the hours awaiting the outburst of shouts coming from Professor mad-hair's office just a few corners from the cafeteria.

Two, three, four, five but it didn't come. No shouts, no hurried footsteps, no angry angsty rooster-like face entering the cafeteria.

You see, I've done this quite a lot before. Ever since he shamed me in front of the class for defending myself from the school bullies. He called me arrogant, indignant and disturbed, so I decided to prove him right. I get endless shouts and a minimum of five warning notes before getting a notice of suspension from the school board. I even received an email to my nonexistent parents with my made-up email address. Mentioning my arrogance and pride along with my lack of consideration to my professor's patience. They even suggested that I leave the program before they totally expel me and not be able to acquire a good moral certificate. Well, I couldn't care less, you don't disrespect people if you want to be respected; I don't think I deserved to be shamed like that! I got bored waiting until I decided to finally go home.

It was near dusk; I saw kids running around the corner store. I decided to take a detour wanting to find out what they're so giddy about. It was the cotton candy vendor who just arrived pulling his kariton. I remembered what my gramps said to me before; regarding those sweet floss-like string candy: "Tati, don't buy those cotton candies again or you'll die of suffocation from the magic sugar they add on it. Not to mention the dirt and bacteria hanging around their karitons." He warned.

Now that I got older, I realized it wasn't because there was a magic sugar on it: cause there's no such thing as magic. Duh! It was just because of a huge amount of sugar you'll get from it; you might actually choke on it. But I get the bacteria thingy my gramps warned me about. Those vendors looking like they don't take a bath nor clip their nails, not to mention the molds populating their karitons, yuck!

Though, I wouldn't mind dying. Easy way out! If I could die tonight, I would very much willingly accept such fate. I would even stop my own breathing, even block my own airway and suffocate to death. If it would make me happy and satisfied, hell knows I would give up everything just to stop existing. But no matter how much I wanted it, it's a shame that I was a coward who couldn't do it. I was brought back to my reality when I heard a loud screech followed by a deafening crash, a spine-tingling scream then darkness.

It was almost dark when I arrived at my gramps humble house. The surroundings felt so silent it didn't feel like I was at gramps. The house was dark and looked deserted. The streets were so silent it's giving me the creeps. "Gramps?" I whispered nervously. My breathing getting deeper and louder but I tried to calm it down as I approached the front porch.

I was about to climb the stairs when I heard something getting dragged followed by loud footsteps Shhhhk thump, thump, shhhkk thump, thump.

My heart deafeningly pounding along with the strange sound, I slowly followed where it was coming from. I walked towards our backyard then looked around hoping to find out what's making the noise but it looks empty; I don't know if it should concern me or not. But what caught my attention was the fallen leaves; gramps never leaves his backyard unraked. I heard a loud stifled breathing on my left, which sounded like it is having a difficulty to breath followed by loud dragging footsteps, I looked at the direction where it was coming from. To my surprise, I saw a giant shadowy figure dragging something.

No, it wasn't something, it was someone. My heart sank when I saw the pair of shoes of the one getting dragged, it was my gramps. They were heading towards the arch-like hole of a big old acacia tree, where I used to hide when I was young. I would run there whenever someone or something upsets me so much that I wouldn't want to talk.

The shock made me run to their direction, but the faster I run the farther they go. It doesn't feel real. It can't be real. "Gramps!" I shouted as I run and run to follow wherever they are taking him. I kept following until I realized that everything around me was getting darker and darker, the streets never got so dark as this. The darkness looks so empty that the last thing I saw was stuck in my head: my gramps' eyes wide open with a glassy vacant dead look. I was numb.

I was careless not to notice the surrounding darkness that I lost track of my gramps. But I can make out the trail of blood he left, instead of footsteps, on the dry ground. I fell to my knees and was so weak that I couldn't cry. Even my throat felt so dry I couldn't make a sound, I felt hopeless. Then I heard a faint cry echoing in this cave-like darkness I'm on, it sounded so far away I couldn't distinguish where it was coming from.

The cry, which I believe was my gramps made me recover from the shock I felt moments before. I stood up with my shaking knees and walked towards where my feet are taking me. The dry ground felt a little lighter now, but my shaking knees makes it harder for me to hold my balance. I walked and walked further without direction that I'm getting more anxious from each pathless step I take. I couldn't see anything around me aside from the ground I am standing on.

I can feel my fear slowly slipping away as I walk more steadily and carefully, blindly following the echoes of my gramps' cries. I badly want to get to him, to make sure he's fine and well. But I couldn't imagine how he'd be like with all the blood he'd lost. Blood! Where is the blood I was following? I should find the trail of blood!

I got down on my knees and crawled on the ground like a baby, my knees kept betraying me that I keep slipping and falling. There I saw fresh droplets of blood. I'm not sure if I want to wish it was gramps so I could follow wherever they are; or if I wanted it not to be his so that he was well and not losing that much blood.

But all I could wish of right now, is for this to not be real. I want to wake up badly from this bad dream if it's even a dream. I stopped crawling once I realized that the blood I was following was now gone. I couldn't relocate where it's gone even when I crawled a few steps back. I lost track because I was lost in my head. Now what do I do? My fear is creeping back, I don't know what to do, "Gramps!" I shouted feeling defeated.

"Gramps! Where are you? What shh-should a-I do?" I stuttered while feeling a lump in my throat and burst out crying, but I feel too numb to even feel the tears running down my cheeks.

My heart aches so bad and it's getting harder for me to breath now. Five, I feel my muscles shaking madly. I couldn't contain my posture that I fell to the ground face up. Four, there was a loud punch-like thump on my chest followed by three difficult and heavy breaths. Three, I feel hot blood pulsating in my veins. Two, I couldn't move nor make a sound. One, I feel disoriented and could only make small breaths now. I passed out.

I heard the slightest beeping sound which woken me up, but my eye lids were shut so tight I couldn't make out even the slightest light; if there was such around. I couldn't even distinguish what the sound was, for my ears felt like it was left submerged in a cold water for so long that it entered my system and couldn't get out.

My body feels so heavy that every inch of my bones is aching with just the thought of moving. Even my skin couldn't distinguish if I was lying on the ground or floating through the clouds. "ahi" there was a soft far away dull whisper that I couldn't understand the words.

I made five small breaths; it feels heaven taking in this air. It was so light and comfortable it makes me want to sleep forever. Not even a moment of comfort, a sudden sharp pain struck my head, a piercing sound echoed through my ears which made my brain pulsate so rapidly, aching along with my shaking body.

I was shaking madly and my body was throbbing along with my head. My breathing was getting heavier and heavier and I feel colder each time I breath. Then, there was a loud muffled shout from faraway followed by a very powerful gust of wind. It was so strong I was lifted from where I was lying down and got thrown off back and forth. My body felt so light like paper that it gets easily taken to where the strong blow of wind is going. The gale slowed down and like a paper, my body swing through its soft blow.

But a gravity like force pulled my body down so fast I can feel every inch of my skin, muscles, veins, bones, and even my stomach, getting torn so painfully apart into very small pieces.