When things were normal—actually normal—Vivian was happy.

This was back in high school, a time when he was still free. Homework and exams weighed on him, of course, but they were only obstacles—time-consuming, yes, but nothing unbearable. They stood between him and the things he loved: playing games with his friends, making fun crafts just for himself.

He had a good friend group. Their faces are static now, just scribbles in the margins of a forgotten notebook. But I remember this much—they made us happy. They were't the best group of people but so much better than her.. 

Then, one day, Vivian saw a girl sitting alone at lunch.

Everyone else had someone. Friends laughing together. Students reading quietly. Faces buried in phones. But she was different. She had nothing. Nobody. She just stood there looking at everyone far away. Always silently watching.

People passed her without a glance, as if she weren't even there. A shadowy silhouette, her form shifting like mist. The only thing distinct about her was her glowing white eyes.

It was strange. But he didn't mind.

When he mentioned her to his friends, they looked at him like he was crazy. They hadn't seen anyone there.

Still, he walked up to her. First mistake.
He started a conversation, asked if she was okay. Second mistake.
He asked if she wanted to be his friend. Worst mistake.

If only he had ignored her.

Perhaps she had always been there. Perhaps others could see her but chose not to acknowledge her. There was something off about her. Something desperate about her.

She latched onto him the moment he spoke to her, like recognition was the greatest gift she had ever received.

From that moment on, she was always there.

She didn't like him talking to anyone else. She made sure he didn't have enough time to be with anyone else but her, only her. His friends drifted away from him slowly, saying how he never had enough time to hang out with them. It isn't something to blame them for. They all have tried many times but he always had to deny them  leaving only her in their place. Why? Because he didn't know how to say no to her... He didn't understand she was destroying  his social group.

And soon, he had no one... but her of corse.

People whispered about him. Said he was weird. Creepy. He didn't understand it then.

But I do now.

Sometimes, I wonder:
How could something so terrible happen to someone who had only innocent hope for friendship?

That thought plays on a loop.

After high school, sadness consumed Vivian. It clung to him so heavily that even his teachers noticed. He went to counseling. It wasn't enough. He got a psychologist. Still, the weight never lifted.

After graduation, nothing went as planned.

That's as far as my memory reaches.

I've already forgotten his friends' names and thier faces. Soon, I'll forget what they sounded like.

And after that?

I won't even remember what a normal sky looks like.

The longer we stay here, the more the past dissolves. And once it's gone completely...

I won't even understand what escape means.