A/N

Hey guys! Here's a story update for you! It's fantasy, and magical realism and maybe a bit of horror and real life struggles!
I hope you guys enjoy it! Comment and vote if you liked and give me feedback! TYSM for reading thus far!

Lots and lots of luv

Val💙

2 months ago........

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Goal after goal was scored against our team. They were a pack of cheetahs, so fast we couldn't even keep up with them as they made impeccable runs down the field towards our goal. Our goalie fumbled and let the ball in every time. I don't blame her. Who could stand up straight to their fierce striker?

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I knew we were going to lose this game again, as sure as the sun will rise and set every single day. And I realised that as centre defence the goals were my responsibility to stop, to counter, and it was my responsibility to set up opportunities for my team to actually score. Our attacking team was great, but our defence was as weak as a new born baby. Especially against this team. They were burly, strong, ruthless like a tiger prowling for their prey in the woods.

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Our team was getting desperate. They kicked the ball out of the sideline and was afraid to even dribble towards the opposite goal. The other team got possession every time the ball left the field. This would not do.

The shrill whistle of the seasoned ref signalled half time. Our team trailed with drooping heads to our coach, who was attempting not to fume.

"Good job guys. You have to be more confident. Remember that you can do this. We have trained and only lost one game. Believe in yourself!"

We nodded and all of our hands were in the middle of our team huddle.

"ONE, TWO, THREE Galloping Giraffes!" We cheered!

All of us sprinted back onto the field, spirits renewed, our goalie's hands no longer shaking. WE were standing tall and proud like oak trees, in set position, ready to go. The whistle sounded and we kicked off. Our attackers raced straight through their line of players, feet as nimble as a young squirrel learning to climb. And with a loud cheer, we scored.

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We were so close! All of our front players were now tired however and couldn't run as fast as when they did at the start of the half. It was up to us.

The ball came dancing towards me in a spin of challenge. A spin full of promise. For a second my inner darkness and fear overtook me and I wanted to flee from the projectile, to kick it out, so that it wasn't a threat. But a voice whispered to me in my head.

Pray to me, it said. Speak to me. I can make this fear go away. I didn't know what to say in the moment so i just briefly closed my eyes and whispered.

"Make us win." 

I didn't hear its evil laugh in my mind as it faded away, having gotten what it came to get. I straightened up and confidence brimmed from me like a full vase in the rain. The attacker tried to dodge me, but I tackled the ball from her feet. I ran past all of their people and heard mad cheering from my teammates.

I could hear my teammates sprinting alongside me, but i was too far to go back now. I kept on running towards the goal, in a state of bliss, and devoid of any fear. Out coach would be proud of me. I put all my strength, emotion and sadness into the ball and hit it. I watched as it spun like a weaver's shuttle, graceful, forceful in the thick morning air. The goalie panicked and dove the wrong way to the ball, scoring us an epic goal. 

The whistle blew and the screeches of the other team was extremely loud with grief and defeat. Our team carried me into the sky and threw me high, and it was the most exhilarating day of my life. We had won because of me. We had won!

1 month ago.........

I was sitting in the empty library, studying hard for my upcoming english essay that was to be assessed for my yearly mark. I was sweating and near tears, because english was never my strong suit. I sat there, trying to figure out what an idiom was in the brightly lit room, and wished that I didn't have to do it at all.

The table was a harsh brown, made of quality oak. The room was dyed baby blue, light and airy. The glittering new air conditioner kept the room cool. The teachers weren't bustling around and were sitting in their clear white offices, doing paperwork, and typing as fast as the wind on their laptops to manage the reserves of the library. I could hear the stack of books underneath this floor being sorted onto their appropriate shelves.

And i was suffering up here doing english, scribbling notes in my book, stressing, hurrying, wanting to procrastinate but hell i can't. My parents were overseas and I was a border. They expected good mark, comments and work from their daughter. 

I sighed. This is what happens when your mum and dad were both academic geniuses. My dad was a wonderful mathematician and went to this school and so did my mum. She was extremely skilled at art and english, and really wanted me to aspire to be like her and my dad.

Problem was, I wasn't academic. I do try, but I don't like or know maths, english kills me and art? Just no. I was a soccer person, a sportswoman, a skilled player on my team, and I consolidated my skills over the last month, discovering that I was instead of a defender a quality forward that really loved to score.

And my mum and dad only agreed as long as my mark was A, so time to stress out even more for the upcoming assessment. 

I sighed heavily and returned to the book that I was writing in, reading over my notes and marvelling over how my mum managed to survive english and excel at it all these years. Don't get me wrong, I loved my parents, but they were very annoying and pesky about my grades. I corrected a mistake that my mum would have screamed at me for, and grumbled about how sad this was.

"I wish that I could be free from this." I mumbled, and little did I know what would happen next.

The air seemed to thicken around me as the demon cackled in my brain. All thoughts about english was forgotten and I somehow knew that I had to get the hell out of here, and that this creature was not going to let me go.

"I'll free you from this....." Its cool and soothing voice calmed me and I stopped in my tracks. I wasn't thinking, and I just let my body hang inside the tight loop of air it was creating around me. A window opened in the room and a gust of wind blew in.

What I saw in the window was a meadow, beautiful and green, with a gnarled oak tree and swing waving to and fro in the breeze. The sky was pollution free and blue, with fluffy white clouds like cotton candy. Mesmerised, I walked towards the window.

"Be freeeeee" The shadow whispered, urging me on.

I reached the window and stepped through the ledge and immediately knew that I made the wrong decision. The lovely field was gone and I wasn't falling out of the window either. As i spun to my senses, all I managed was a scream as I tumbled down, down and down.......

Present time.......

I sat in the alley, my head down, eyes closed. My blonde hair hung limply from my shoulders in messy waves, resting on my torn leather clothing. My boots were scuffed as I scavaged them from the shop across the road. I didn't know where I was, I didn't know what to do, and I had lost the will to live. I lost track of how long I sat here, lost in my thoughts. I forgot who I was, who my family was, who my friends were. I was a creature now.

My brown wings were extended through the cracks in my jacket, branding me as a monster, a creature, being of the darkness. I didn't know why I was here, except for the fact that happiness came at a price. Was a price like this worth it? What did I trade for this? I thought hard with my eyes closed, but the deeper I probed into my brain, the more hazy my past life became.

Suddenly it was like a light bulb had pierced my brain with its rays of brilliant light. I remembered my parents, my sport, my friends. And I remembered the creature that I prayed and gave my wishes to, and now it had command over my soul, my body and my mind. I only remembered my past because I tried. Oh, I tried.

The first few days had been tough. I tried to scrape by, attempted to escape this demonic, ruined and empty place, looking everywhere for an exit. Eventually I had given up, and slumped down here after I gathered some broken supplies from the shop. I didn't know how long I went without water, without food, but I was still here, so that was something.

The shadows danced around me, bragging their success in pulling me into their webbing, their claws of iron and steel. They laughed about how I wished to get away from my life, and how easily I fell for their words. I wanted to screech, I wanted to make a sound, anything, but I couldn't until the shadows left. I was controlled. It wasn't true, what they said about freedom. It can be taken away as sure as the fact that I was away from the clutches of the light now.

I wondered if there were others like me, if there was anyone here but me. if i was solitary, lonely in this black pool of death and darkness, if there was anybody that I could lean on. I sighed, and knew there wasn't anybody. I realised that I was well and truly alone, and that false hopes weren't going to help.

With a heavy scream, I tried to sit up, I stand, and my bones protested profusely, having been stationary for so damn long. I howled as I finally forced myself to stand up, and in response, the shadows disappeared, and I was free from their grasp. I was confused and terrified about what was in store for me. Knowing the shadows, they never plan anything good. 

I spread my wings, which I had gotten used to in the past month. They had grown as soon as I fell into this Hell of a place, and I had cursed them, despised them. Now they seemed like a gift, a comfort in this desolate place.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a light, and I felt my bones nearly melting to sludge because of standing up for so long. I knew the price out of this was death, and death would be better than this.

I needed to get to the light, but there was no way that I could walk all that way. There was no wind, nothing resisting my path, and it was as if the shadows had gotten tired of me and had someone else to bring here. I used my only other option, put down my only remaining card.

I opened my wings and took off. 

The feeling was phenomenal, and I was a bird free to roam the skies. For a second I was lost in the great feeling of flight, but then I remembered my mission.

I pirouetted towards the light. I thought of my family, and how strict they were. I thought of soccer, and how I was going to become lead striker. I thought of english, art and maths. I tried to remember as much of my life as I could as I flew into the light. I wasn't going to forget myself ever again.

As my body faded into ash, a voice whispered in my ear.

"Remember the grief that comes with happiness."

And with that I closed my eyes and smiled as I left this world and the next.