<<Raiden>>

"We're here. Are you done being my companion now?" I asked trying to fake annoyance. I wasn't really bothered by him but that didn't change the fact that I didn't wanna let anyone into my life after what I have lived. If you can consider my past four years of existence "living" that is.

"Not quite"

"So what, you now take arts?" my sarcasm took over.

"No, but I have something for you" who gave him the mere thought that I want anything from anyone?

"You can keep it whatever it is" I dismissed whatever he was going to do.

"Are you sure? Students are usually willing to pay for one of these"

"Well good for them I guess. I have to get to class." students were already filing in and taking their positions on their respective easels.

"Alright, alright. I can take a hint" he said, a bit disappointed if you ask me.

Halfway through art class, Evan, my tutor was fumbling through his files and dropped a very shiny looking silver card, the size of my hand.

He didn't see it slip so I picked it up for him. It had some engraved writing on it, along with the school emblem and name.

"You dropped this" I handed it to him.

"Oh thanks" he took it and placed it neatly in a transparent folder. "This baby is precious"

The thing with Evan is that you can't avoid conversations with him no matter how hard you try. He just lures you into talking to him and it's not even bothersome.

"What's that?" I asked him about the card. He was mixing colours on a palette.

"Oh that my friend is the silver invitation"

"You're gonna have to explain for me since I'm a new student and still don't understand most of the things going on around here" I grabbed my alloted brush (Evan only lets me use one brush) and honestly I don't blame him.

"Well see, our school football team is a big thing around here. They're very great and they're absolutely killing it this season. Their school league matches gather a crowd from all across the town, and this," he tapped the silver card "is one of the only 11 courtside seats that are exclusive for the team members' choosing"

"That's awesome I guess?"

"It's more than awesome really. It's practically impossible to get one of them if you don't have someone on the team, and not just on the team, but only the ones playing the game get them."

I thought about it as we painted. I didn't like sports or were a big fan of them, but to watch such a major game from the courtside must be really epic, and for once I actually considered an activity that was out of my shell.

I was going to ask Aiden for the ticket since he was an official team member and he would give me the ticket because he's a really good brother and friend.

"You gave it away??" I screamed. Aiden hopped on the kitchen counter.

"Well yeah. Sorry I didn't assume that you'd want to go to a football game. Emphasis on FOOTBALL. Which is a SPORT. That you don't LIKE."

"Well sorry I'm trying to come out of my shell like you and dear mother asked. Who did you give it to anyway? I swear if it's Scarlet I'm going to inflict internal damage on your nonexistent brain" I turned my hand into a fist.

"I wish" he said with dreamy eyes "But her boyfriend Matt is already on the team and"

"Matt? Could his name be any more generic for a jock"

Aiden rolled his eyes and continued "obviously gave her his invitation, so I gave it to Rue from Math"

"Rue? The girl with flashy pink hair? Tattoos?"

"She's the one"

"Well have fun eating lunch alone" I said leaving the kitchen.

"where are you going?" Aiden yelled after me.

"Out." I simply said.

I had nothing with me but a sketchpad and a pencil. Despite my horrible painting skills, I drew flowers better than a lot of people.

But I didn't like drawing regular flowers, only the ones I found rare or never seen before.

And so I went on what you can call a small journey to find flowers. This town, in spite of its cold dim weather, gave me the impression that it might have flowers I've never seen before.

I walked around till my feet started hurting. Leaving the house and just setting off somewhere I don't know always made me feel better. It was like getting a taste of life.

Pain. Pain made me feel that I'm alive. Pain was what I needed sometimes to be sure that I still exist. That I wasn't a fragment of imagination.

Lost in my thoughts and not actually looking where I'm going led me somewhere I did not wanna be: sliding face first down a hill.

I managed to make it out with only a few scratches. It wasn't a big hill to be fair.

I dusted my clothes and noticed there was a rip in my pants a little above my knee. I cursed and walked a few steps when I realised I was not alone.

In fact, I was in someone's backyard. I quickly hid behind a tree until I heard the person get back inside.

It was then when I noticed a reddish purple flower protruding from in between a mass of rocks in the dirt. Forgetting my scabs and surroundings, I sat there on the roots of the tree I was hiding behind and started sketching.

Time passes when you're doing something you like; very cliché yet very true. I was determined to finish it in one sitting.

I didn't even realise when the stranger woman offered me a glass of water.

I froze.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to-" and then I realised that she sort of wasn't that much of a stranger.

"It seems like you need it" she said. It was Maggie. The same woman who offered me the same glass of water a few days ago when I was lost.

I didn't even notice how dry my throat was.

"Thank you" I gulped the whole thing down without any struggle. "I really didn't mean to sneak into your backyard" I apologised as I handed her the glass and stood up.

"Well you're not stealing my corn or peeing in my flowers so I don't see a problem. I see you like flowers?"

"Yes actually, I do"

"Lovely! Kids these days love flower apps and whatnot. It's nice to see someone enjoying the beauty of nature for once"

I actually laughed at that because she was sadly right. If it wasn't on the Internet it wasn't not worth seeing.

"Come inside. Let's get your scratches cleaned up?"

"I don't think it's necessary madame"

"Bullocks! It's Magdalena or Maggie, no titles" it felt weird calling a lady older than my mother by her name but I did as I was told.

I had five scabs in total, and thankfully only one of them was on my chin, and they wasn't even that serious. My clothes took most of the fall.

Maggie's house was the definition of fairytale style. It was cottage-like with the most beautiful and housewarming furniture that made you want to sit and bask in the magical vibes it provided. It was as if you passed through a door that took you from 2017 to the middle ages.

"...And I don't want you sneaking in to my backyard again. Just come through the door dear I'm pretty sure it will be open" it was so foreign finding someone genuinely nice these days.

"Alright I won't. I wouldn't have first place if I had known where was I going."

"Oh and one more thing" she said, heading out to the back yard again. I followed her warily, still flushed with the feeling of being an outsider.

We walked a paved path towards the far edge of the cottage, which held a steel gate. "When you want to draw flowers, you can do it here" she said.

I was stunned by what I saw. And I wasn't talking about the flowers.

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