"Hold on Zavier, I'll be there in a minute!" The girl shouted, slinking out of her stiff bed.

She stood up, yawning slightly. She slumped to her dresser, feeling around for her necklace. She soon found it, putting it around her neck and clasped it in place.

She never left without it. Her mother had gave it to her, before she passed. Since that day, she was never seen without it.

"Mara! Hurry up!" A shrill voice shouted up to her.

Mara sighed, running a hand through her dark hair, then opened her door and walked down the stairs.

In the darkness of her home, she could see her brother's silhouette illuminated in the dim light.

"Mara," he cried, "I wanna go to the park! Take me there!"

Mara sighed, "Alright Zav. I can take you after I get something to drink." She huffed, as her brother slumped in the darkness.

She felt for the fridge door, opening it, and grabbed a wrapped sandwich.

As she sat at the polished table, she watched her brother groan and stomp into the living room.

Of course, Zavier wasn't her real brother.

In this dark world, no one really had actual siblings. On a rare occasion, there was one or two actual siblings.

There was no love. No emotion. Expect children. They always had their energy and actions. As they got older, something changes in them.

They turn dull.

Mara always wondered why she was different. She felt emotion, still at the age of 17.

And, besides still feeling emotion, she had a gift.

At least that is what she calls it.

Mara can see the details of the objects and people around her.

She can make out how intricate a weaving is, just by looking at it and not feeling it.

No one else could do this.

They saw silhouettes. Just the shape of the figure. They couldn't even see the black, white, and shades of gray Mara could see.

She was always like this. As a kid, she even asked her father if we could see the gray duck walk by. He couldn't see the color, not even the figure in the dark world he lived in. He called her crazy, but shook it off quickly.

Mara stood, throwing the dark wrapper of the sandwich away and walking into the living room, where her brother sat, playing with dark silhouettes. 'Cars.' Mara thought, remembering the time when she was younger, that they had cars.

Everyone walked now, since driving machines was dangerous. The people only saw darkness, and there have been multiple accidents where people have been run over by cars, buses, and even bikes.

There was no more of that stuff anymore. Everyone walked now.

"Let's go Zavier, before it gets dark." Mara said, laughing to herself. 'What am I thinking? It's always dark.'

Zavier shot up, "I'm coming." He put on his sandals and walked to Mara's side. "Bye dad!" He called, opening the door and skipping outside.

Mara sighed, hearing her father groan and call back, "Bye."

She walked out the door, thinking of her father.

'He used to be like Zavier... What happened?' She thought about this a lot and not just with her father.

Everyone seemed to change during their aging. No emotion. They were dull.

Her father used to say, "Be back before dark." Or "You better not get in trouble."

Now, it was just, "Bye."

Mara also thought that her father changed after her mother passed.

She knew that wasn't the answer. When a death came along, no body mourned. Only family members, and it was only for a day or two. Then, they forgot about them. They were buried and that was the end of it.

Mara shook the matter away, watching her brother jump around, trying to feel around for the birds he had heard sing.

She chuckled to herself, then looked up at the busy streets, people rushing off to work. It was always the same.

She sighed, "Same darkness, same place."