Idea by @minipage

A character's final goodbye

Guest Starring: @LexTheDrawer (YEAAAAAAAH)

minipage

Hey.

So now we say our goodbyes.

The magic of reading is that the second you read each word, something new is happening.

Read this slowly:

I love you.

With each word, you saw something different.

Try again:

I love Cosmic Brownies.

See? Different.

That's magical.

Another magic thing: Everything you've read is just a combination of 26 characters.

SHPOW! Mind blown.

So why write?

I'm not going to give you some philosophical answer. Because, boy, I could.

Write to stay busy. It's something to do.

Nothing more.

There's nothing more to it. There shouldn't be.

That's what textbook writers think.

We SHOULD write to create stories though. Or if you're into non-fiction, you write to put people to sleep.

I'm just kidding. I respect non-fiction writers.

I could just have easily been non-fiction.

I could have been a health textbook.

Instead, my words were manipulated into something a little more interesting.

Stories! Heroes! Villians! Magic! Adventure!

Humans aspire ot have all those things.

But the fact of the matter is, we can't all be heroes like Percy. We can't all posses magic powers like Merlin. We can't all go on great adventures like Frodo and Sam.

But you can write about it!

You.

You can write something great.

You could write John Locke's Treatise. You could write Fitzgerald's Gatsby. You could write Dicken's Tale.

You could.

Are you?

I sure hope so.

There's actually a Global Language Monitor.

Guess what is does.

It counts the number of words in a language!

1,025,109.8.

Is that not amazing?

1,025,109.8 words waiting for you!

So go write them!

But now you're wondering what happens to me.

What happens when you close this? When you exit this window. When you click out. When you close the app.

Well, I'll lose a little bit of that magic.

But I won't be completely dead.

We, as all humans, live on the memories of lovely people like you.

As long as you remember.

Maybe you won't remember.

Then I'll die, my words, my message, my characters.

But it's up to you in the end.

Don't feel pressured though.

Go on.

Go off into the world.

Do something great.

I'll be here when you need me next.

:)

LexTheDrawer

The gentle sun roused 16 year-old Vivian from her slumber, pouring in from the window opposite of her bed. It was oddly bright compared to what she usually woke up to.

She took a glance at the digital alarm clock that sat on the mahogany nightstand adjacent to her rumpled bed.

The red numbers showed 10:45.

Ten forty-five? No wonder. Most days, she would be up at eight twenty-something or nine o-clock by the noise her three friends made. Such happens when living with other teenagers.

But it was silent this morning. Where was Raymos? Justin? Anna?

Not bothering to change out of sleep shirt or pull down her chocolate hair from its scrambled bun, she went down the hall to the kitchen to see what was up.

Justin, the oldest at 17, was quietly sitting on the three-person couch, still in his white shirt and dark boxers worn from last night.

His hands and thick, scruffy black hair hid his face as his head was being supported by his arms. He wasn't moving at all, but instead was still and frozen.

As Vivian approached him at snail-speed, she heard his deep breathing and whispering. Over and over again, she heard the boy saying to himself...

"Oh god... Oh my god..."

Something was definitely wrong, terribly wrong. For that strong and silent guy to act in pain meant bad news. That's when she noticed the scrap of ripped notepaper laying at his feet.

As she bent down to pick up, she felt a hand grab near her shoulder. She craned her head up and her earthy-brown eyes gazed into Justin's pale gray-blue ones.

His face showed a struggle to hide the shock and horror, to lock it away, but his eyes leaked the truth, even without tears.

"Vivian..." He tried to say something, and he glanced at the note. It was the source of sadness.

The reason...?

Vivian straightened up with the paper secured in her two fingers and thumb, mouth slightly open in question. Read it?

Almost as if their minds were momentarily connected, Justin let go of her arm and gave a slight nod. He sighed heavily and leaned back into the plushy couch.

Vivian smoothed out the note so that she could see the messy handwriting of a blue pen scrawled on one side of the paper.

With a uneasy huff, she started reading it.

Hey guys. You know the last couple of days had been rough, right?

Rough? That was an understatement. The four had been having blowouts for the past week or so, every day.

The stress of school, jobs, and just trying to get their lives together was causing lot of fire..

I thought about the way I always acted and such. I started thinking, "This cycle won't end, will it?" I mean, ever since I got away from my dad, it's all been rage.

I seriously thanked you guys for trying so hard to help me control my temper and to not lash out at people.

Cycle? Rage? Oh no. Only one person in the household had major anger issues..

**Where are you? Why did you leave this?**

Vivian gulped back dread and continued.

But... It was in vain. This will never heal. I can't keep trying to fight a useless battle. My temper wins each time. And will always win each time.

You guys were the best, no lie. I had so much fun, and I was happy when we pulled through our dark days together.

Those days... Vivian's mind flashed back to multiple things. When Justin landed himself in the police station. When they had to rescue Raymos from those thug guys from the downtown bar. Multiple fights and suspensions.. And even a time where Vivian was hospitalized by a blow to her head, she still had the scar from the stictches.

Dark times all right.

Don't blame yourselves for anything. This was a problem I got stuck with from the start. A destruction I was born with. I realized with this, I had no future. If anything, I was bound for prison, rehab, and restraining orders when I grow up.

I don't want that. I don't want to hurt people anymore. I don't want to endure this load, this burden, for my whole life. Or even now. For years, I've tried to deal with this uncontrollable demon. I even sent Vivian to the ER. Yes. That was me who caused that and I lied about what happened.

I'm done. I can't do this. I'm done.

Those words created a chill within Vivian, a shiver which tightened all muscles in her thin body.

She knew who wrote this. She knew where this was leading to...

Her lips trembled and her throat closed on itself, threatening to choke her.

No.... She had to finish. She had to make sure. This wasn't right!

So... I'm going to the train tracks over by the intersection. The four way stop. The one Raymos calls the "Four-way for F***ots." That still makes me laugh.

I'll sit and wait on the tracks. I got my iPhone and headset. I don't want to hear the train.

**Oh god.** Vivian thought the same words as Justin had said.

No nightmare. No sick joke. Reality...

Vivian wiped her wet eyes, only for them to blur her vision again in a matter of seconds.

That train would take only a matter of seconds too.

Don't worry about the pain. The train is strong; I'll be easily overcome. It will be like the blink of my eyes.

I'm leaving at 1 a.m... So by the time one of you find this...

I'll be gone. On my way.

**What the hell?! No! You can't leave us! NO!**

Vivian took in forced breaths through her constricted throat, making her create awful gasping chokes like a fish with no water.

Her hands trembled as hard as an earthquake, forcing her to clutch the contemptible paper.

I love you all. You won't have my outbursts anymore. You don't deserve that, considering you gave me the best times of my short life.

So this is goodbye. Farewell.

Vivian gasped loudly as she inhaled a big gust of air.

Her whole body shook, making her knees on the verge of giving away.

The tears were escaping the dams that were her eyelids..

Her face was burning hot; she was completely flustered.

One of her friends were gone. Just like that. Not a single word relating to suicide was mentioned...

There was no warning.

The last five words were agony to read, but it had to be done... Vivian breathed noisily as she looked at the last phrase..

Love from your b**ch, Anna.

This really happened? She actually cut her life short?

Vivian fell onto the couch next to Justin, shivering.

The last couple of days... Everyone had been snapping left and right to each other. Anna especially screamed at the other three, somehow outdoing them every time.

She broke down too, but that had occurred before. Anna would have wiped it off the next day.

At least it seemed like it.

Vivian stared numbly at the ceiling, allowing the tiny rivers to flow down her horror-stricken face.

Her mind kept flashing images of Anna, like a personal recording.

The valor her green, energetic eyes held would never be seen again.

The boisterous laugh she gave when someone did some silly action was no more.

Her aggressive nature, that helped and hurt, had faded the night before.

Vivian rubbed her temple on the scar. Anna always seemed so strong and durable...

She thought the girl had forgotten about her family. Her father.

What changed?

Had she contemplated this behind her bedroom door in her solitary moments?

Vivian tried to get an answer, desperate for some form of comfort.

Should she have talked to her friend more?

Tried harder to engage with her?

Tell her how pretty she was?

How witty she was?

Would any of those possibly changed the girl's futile fate?

Justin pulled the tiny Vivian closer to where he was sitting and simply hugged her around the waist.

Never more than friends... The gesture was made only because at certain times and certain places.... Human companionship and proximity was a necessity.

Vivian tilted her head up. Justin was dead silent, staring out the sunny window with wet eyes.

She looked out at the same direction. The sun shone its brilliant beautiful light into the house...

But it gave no warmth. The void of sensual simulation made this sunshine sinister. Phony. Misleading... A false light and hope.

"I didn't think that was even an option for Anna. I knew she was troubled... But not the breaking point." Justin mumbled to hopefully break the rigid silence.

Vivian was about to comment when someone else plopped down next to her and Justin.

Raymos. The ginger was not his usual bright, peppy self. He turned his head towards the two, staring at them with a vacant expression. He knew....

Vivian reached out and took the younger male's hand and her eyes were full of sympathy. Raymos didn't say a thing, but the small, pathetic smile assured her that he was not in a complete daydream yet.

"The school won't believe us, will they?" He said quietly. Vivian sighed deeply and leaned her head back up to the ceiling.

"No.... The students won't. They don't need to know anyway." Justin answered bitterly.

"Should we skip?" Vivian asked from her defeated position. Justin closed his eyes solemnly and shook his head.

"No. We need to focus on that. We can deal with stress when we're at home." He said.

"It's not just 'this' or some little bother. Our friend killed herself, at least act like you care." The words slipped before Vivian could stop herself.

"Seriously? Don't do that. Believe me, I'm shocked and all, but we can't quit our lives because she did. She wanted to us to continue. I want to lay in bed and not get up... But we can't." Justin amazingly kept it together.

"You think she actually did it?" Raymos had to ask. He knew the answer, but he clung to his hopes anyway. Vivian sat up, say staring at the beige, shaggy floor.

"She never stood down to anything. The last battle she knew was against herself. You've seen Anna... Even when she knew she would lose... She didn't quit.

In her head... She knew she was going to lose against herself. She feared she was going to go through life being worse than how she started... Even if it wasn't true."

Vivian stammered and collapsed into a sitting fetal position, her head on her legs. Never had she realized that before.

A loud sniff begun her tiny sobs.

"She'll want to remember her, but not to fall apart... I think maybe we need a memorial. So something can stay with us." Justin's voice shook as he said this.

"We do have a lot of pictures. We have that ceramic pig that she painted and insisted it was art..." Raymos mumbled.

"There's f-fake flowers in the s-stores nearest to us..." Vivian stuttered and cried.

Justin sat up a little and a sad attempt at a smile appeared on his face.

"So... We can start later. Then we can get to school in a few days. We... Can get through this."

Vivian and Raymos nodded.

They knew the upcoming days were going to be the toughest challenges they would ever face.

What choice did they have? They weren't pessimistic; they simply knew their friend Anna well enough to know her actions.

Justin adjusted himself on the cushion to get more comfortable. Vivian scooted close to his side, and pulled Raymos towards her in a tight hug.

Justin didn't mind. Raymos didn't bother to refuse.

Together they spaced out and stared out the white and sky-blue window. The void of activity would remain for the day.

Although they never saw the clip, their thoughts were proven correct when the news, having no exciting or unbelievable stories, reported the fresh blood on the train tracks near the high school.

The kids at school would think nothing of it and continue their daily routines.

Anna's final goodbye would remain undiscovered for now.