NINE ━━━ THE GIRL
WITH THE WISTFUL SMILE

LITTLE GIRLS DREAM OF FAIRYTALES, RIGHT? With a flick of a wand, a maiden's nightmare of torment and agony may turn into a fantasy of rapture and heavenly joy— living in riches and glinting crystals that got extracted in the mines of greenery mountains. Though, what would happen if the girl who went through those tumultuous years didn't meet her fairy godmother at the right time.

A pair of curious and beady orbs stared at the colony of ants lining up 'till the entrance of the small lump made of dirt and gravel. The little girl finds it odd that such tiny beings could create a bijou of a kingdom, still risking their frail lives only to give a sanctuary for their queen. Questions bubble inside the child's mind, and one stuck onto her.

Why do humans still try to ruin these creatures' simple times?

"Y/N! We really should get going!" A delicate voice called out from the distance.

The child, Y/N, looked up and smiled brightly at the lady who beckoned her over to her direction. "Okay, mom!" She answered back, her tiny and pitched voice slightly cracking from her roaring volume. The little H/C-haired stood up from her crouching position, patting the dirt off the spots that the back of her shoe made a print, and sprinted over to her mother with excitement bubbling inside her innocent character.

Her chubby little arms wrapped around the woman's knee securely as the said lady giggled at her daughter's actions. "Are we going back to your place, mommy?" The girl asked, her voice imbued with a sense of joy and enthusiasm just like the lady before her.

However, the dynamic atmosphere drastically took a turn. With sad-pitiful eyes and a tightened-forced smile that could make even Orpheus' melodies of mourning play for the mother's suppressed emotions, the lady paused for a moment before she spoke, "N...No, baby girl. You'll have to live with daddy now.".

The girl peered at her mother, concerned about those sweet-loving eyes turning into something the little one couldn't read. "I don't want to! Daddy keeps on yelling at you back at our last home! He hurt you, mommy!" She whined loudly, frowning towards the mention of her father alongside the memory of him and your mother arguing at the dinner table.

The much older lady smiled morosely down at her daughter, taking her tiny hands into her long slim ones before squatting to the child's short height. "I- I know, honey... If I could sell my heart only to stay with you, I would've. But the government people will keep me away if you don't live with daddy." She explained, although her elucidation might confuse the little girl more due to her maximum comprehension.

"You wouldn't want that to happen, right?"

The young girl set her eyes below, staring at the way her feet angled diagonally inside as she started nodding her head in reply. "No..." She murmured and felt a soft pat on her head.

Her mother's pleasant smile lifted the small one's spirit as her bright grin could rival the sun that was shining its light down on the two as if they were calling for heaven. "Let's promise each other that we'll have our happily-ever-after together, okay? My little princess still needs to look pretty!" The lady lightly pinched the small bridge of her daughter's nose, getting cute giggles from her child in return. Her smile faltered for a moment when a sharp ache coursed through the young adult's temple, but she didn't bid any mind to it.

"I promise!" Little Y/N peeped in between her giddiness before walking out of the playground with her mother by her side.

"Mom? Am I... pretty?" Y/N, who was now attending middle school in her second year, held her phone by her ear as she asked her mother at the other end of the call. Her fingers dug onto her skin like blunt razors, feeling onto the healing marks as she bit her bottom lip anxiously. Her mother's reassuring words were her safe haven from the inner voices mocking her every move.

"Why, of course! You're the prettiest princess I ever laid my eyes on!" The same velvety voice spoke out through the speaker of the cellular machine.

The girl smiled gingerly at her mother's words, her distressed antics steadily calming down. "Come on, mom. I'm not a child anymore." She murmured, thanking the gods that nobody heard her mom on the phone. Her mother laughed through the phone speaker, ignoring the faint pain on her chest and quietly apologizing for the nicknames she would give to her only daughter.

"...Is your dad there?" The middle-aged woman spoke out.

Y/N pursed her lips, her smile turning into a frown with the mention of her biological father. "He's out because of work... as usual." She replied curtly, not wanting to talk about the said male. "Anyways, are we still going to your house this weekend?" The middle schooler inquired, leaning her back against the headstand of the twin-sized bed.

"Well, I still wanna make you look more pretty, my little princess!"

"Did you get in?" Y/N, who had just finished looking at the results of her first year in high school, held a phone that seems like the latest model. After checking out the final decisions for her admission to the institution, you wanted to call the only person who would care about your passing.

The 16-year-old's brows knotted together from her mom's sudden croaky voice as her concerns started to twist her chest uncomfortably. "Well, yes... But that doesn't matter now; are you okay, mom?" Y/N raised, taking out her school shoes and setting them on top of the shoe rack.

Her mother laughed it off as if her question was out of the world ridiculous, "I'm fine, dear. You know that hypertension runs in the family. With just a few hours of sleep, I'll recover quickly." She reassured the other and soon squealed at the news her daughter gave. "I am so happy for you! Did you also see that guy who also took the exam in the same room as yours? I recalled his name is Hiroshi!" Her teasing comment left the young girl in a muttering mess; she knew that her mother would mention that boy sooner or later.

"Will my princess now finally meet her prince charming?"

"Not with the names again, mom!" Y/N groaned, still can't get over the remark her mother made as she could hear the latter's laughter on the speakerphone.

"Hey, mom... I just got back from school and- I'm tired, mommy." Her jaw clenched due to her tensed form as she leaned against her bedroom door. The first-year student bottled up the stinging pain that's piercing her very soul— ignoring the voices that continue to hunt her like prey. She had gripped onto her last bit of sanity just for the peace of mind of the person who unusually leaves her in a voice message.

"It's so hard, mom. I- I don't want to burden you with anything, but if this gets worse, I might do something more serious than what I've been doing now; and I do not want to see you devastated if I do that." She trailed on, taking a deep breath to gather her thoughts together as the girl was close to the brink of tears.

"Just... Call me when you get this."

She wasn't able to get her happily-ever-after as her time with her fairy godmother passed by like the first drop of snow on a winter's evening.

The illuminated moon soon descended for the coruscating sun to arise over the mountains and riverbeds. Along the walls of the girl's comfort quarters, a certain H/C-haired first-year was occupying one of the bathroom stalls. Her glassy hues scanned over the text over and over again like she was looking for a sign. A bluff or a lie; she had wished those five shattering words which were irradiating from her cellphone is nothing but one of Pinocchio's scandals.

'Your mother died of Aneurysm.'

"What about our happy ending? Didn't you promise me you'd make me look pretty? I'm- I'm your princess, right?" Her voice wavered and cracked from her built-up emotions as the realization hits her.

She's alone now, a troubled mortal who will have to relinquish herself over to the demons of torture to drown her painful memories into a pit of oblivion. She may recreate the notes of Mozart's requiem as each key stabs her heart into melancholic isolation— after all, she believed it wasn't her mother's time to kiss the dark angel's lips of misery but hers instead.

What atrocious thing had she done that made the gods in the heavens befall such a star-crossed fate over her life? With every string of happiness tying around her feelings, a sudden slice of misfortune cuts it and leaves her broken once again. Will, she ever in her life experience even one moment of pure bliss and joy?

'I've been holding on... Holding onto that silver lining every time I took those words and beatings just- just to see you every weekend and tell you that I'm 'happy' because that's what you always hope for, right?' Y/N looked up at the ceiling, not allowing the tears to fall of the corner of her tear ducts. "What am I supposed to do now, mom?" She wept, her chest writhing in an uncomfortable way that made her want to rip her chest out.

A loud bang interrupted the girl's internal monologue as the stall door moved slightly from the hard-knocking impacts. "Y/N! Why so sad wittle lamb?" Scornful laughs and chuckles reverberated the tiled walls.

The gods have no remorse at all for this pitiful being.

"S..."

"Sakarai-san?" Your hand quickly shoved the supposed-to-be love letter in the pocket of your yellow cardigan by the time you utter the name of the newcomer. Hazel irises clashed with E/C— her spiteful gaze intermingling with your bemused goggle.

The said person had her arms crossed, most of her body weight leaning onto the side. Her two other friends were standing behind her on opposite sides, sinister smirks settling on their faces aside from Sakarai's displeased frown.

"It's been a long time since..." You didn't finish your sentence, realizing your choice of words was rather substandardly selected.

"Shut up."

You tilted your head as you didn't quite hear the message drawled from the other's mouth. "What di-" With the sound of heels quickly clicking against the cemented floor of the bridge, a whip of pain met your left pale cheek right before you finished your sentence, which made your head swing to the side from the explosive contact.

Sakarai lifted her arms and gripped on the soft cloth of your yellow cardigan harshly. "The volleyball boy has been by your side like a lost puppy that I even can't have my fun at you. You don't deserve any happiness, Y/N!" She barked at you, making you wince slightly from the volume of her pitched voice. The brunette glared back at the two other high schoolers behind her and gestured her head over to you, "Do it, girls.".

"But Sakarai-san..."

"I SAID DO IT!" The two girls watched their friend yell at them in frustration, scared of the female's almost psychotic behavior over the current situation. However, they didn't move a muscle, which added more fuel to Sakarai's vexation.

The girl continued to stare at them for only a few seconds before scoffing at their final decision. "Fine!" She sneered and pushed you onto the plastered floor with massive force, dropping your school bag in the process. "You guys are fucking cowards. Stop me if you want to get kicked out of school." Sakarai said with her voice dripping in venom.

You sucked in a sharp breath when a prickling sting surge throughout your nerves as the tip of a school shoe kicked her side. Your face morphed from the pain. Another series of blows proceeded to hit you in every part of your body, leaving you to cry out from the torture Sakarai was giving you.

Although the shock of pain overwhelmed your body functions, your hand hurriedly stuck inside your yellow cardigan; the thought of the love letter's condition is stored in your subconscious like it was a sense of obligation.

"Seeing you smile with him during lunchtime! Are you trying to taunt me, Y/N?"

"T...Taunt you?"

You coughed out specks of crimson blood and lifted your swollen arm. Like needles piercing your enervated body, excruciating pain and exhaustion were the two things you were feeling as you tried to stand up, leaning onto the bridge's railings for support. "You think I'm taunting you? YOU'RE the one who's taunting ME, Sakarai-san! All I asked is to have just a little bit of joy to myself, but you try to take it away from me every time I do get the chance of having it." Your grip on the railings tightened around to the point where your knuckles turned into a color of paper.

"The lamb is talking back, huh?" You whimpered aloud when a push hits your shoulder blade suddenly. Sakarai snickered through her nose, "Do you think that I'd care?" She hummed and pushed your shoulder once again, ignoring your groans of distress. "Do you think I'd feel guilty about it? Of course, not!" The brunette mocked and pushed your shoulder with a force that made you waver back slightly.

"Seeing you in misery brings me joy, Y/N." A smile casted down on her face while she slapped you with her left hand, feeling the warm sting on your cheek after the harm was done.

"So die, you hear me? DIE!"

A gush of cold wind swooped you into an embrace as you fall back from the railings due to Sakarai's powerful push, your school shoes slipping out of your feet in an instant.

Your eyes widened, trying to reach your arm out to get a hold on the metal railings. You tried to scream at the top of your lungs, but your battered body wouldn't let you.

THUD!

The high schooler felt like she was being burnt all over her body once she met the ground floor. "Ma...Make it... St-Stop." You gurgled on your own blood as your teary-bruised eyes stared up at the constellations in the sky, thinking about how the night sky became brighter and the stars became larger. "Ple...Please. It h...hurts, Kag..." You trailed on and coughed out a bit of blood as you felt your lungs intrude on you with every hack.

Pain. The pain was too unbearable for the fallen maiden. You couldn't move at all from the way your limbs were twisted in a sort-of-grotesque way, though you knew that you're seconds away from meeting the reaper of lone souls.

"My princess."

"M...Mom?" Your bottom lip quivered from the voice you had missed so dearly as the extreme agony you have been going through had started to fade away. Transparent tears fell and mixed in with the pool of crimson under your nearly-cold body, the clouds over the night sky clumped together as it prepares to weep over the lands.

"Mommy's here. You could now rest, my dear."

A small laugh erupted from the girl with such difficulty due to her crushed lungs as she stared at her mother's glowing image in gratification. "I... I m-met th...this guy, m...mom. I..." You couldn't continue what you were saying as raindrops drizzle on your bloodied body. The heartbeats of your heart soon slowed down with every drop of rain; your eyes had started to lose their sight while your fingers still ghosted over the love letter inside your pocket.

"I'm sure he must be a pretty nice guy."

You gave your mother a wistful smile, letting the tears still flow on your pale and cold cheeks as you uttered your final words right before your heart completely stopped beating.

"He really is."

And the gods ended the maiden's years of torment and agony, and made it into years of heavenly-bliss in the embosom of her fairy godmother.

how was it guys?
i also teared up man.