• The trees seemed to reach out and grab at Mandari as she sprinted through the woods. It was late December and the snow was high. No...can't go back. I can never go back...No I can't!. The sound of search dogs as subsided a long time ago, but she still ran as if they were snapping at her heels. Mandari felt the tears stream from her dark blueish eyes, and fall back into her ebony hair. She could not run fast enough.

    Mandari...she's not normal. She sees things. I just wish she could be normal. Icicles fell from a nearby tree , making her run faster. Mandari...this is a place for people who have a hard time coping with life. You won't have to worry about visions anymore. "I'm not crazy" she cried to herself. The bare foot caught on a root, causing her to fly over a line of shrubs. She hit the trunk of a tall tree, quite hard.

    "There is no happiness. Why do they smile, why do they smile when I can see them screaming inside. They can't face reality!" she cursed into the darkness. "Sending me to a mental hospital, how dare they. Would a mere poser like them ever be able to stand one day in my shoes". Her eyes lingered to her bare bleeding feet. "Even if I'm not wearing any shoes." The world started to spin under the silvery moon light. Mandari swore lightly under her breath at the taste of blood.
    "I can't wait to just die out here. It'll put an end to all this madness."

    Silver turned to gray. Gray turned to black. Black got darker still.

    Mandari lay in the snow, silently waiting for the end.
    And then a light shone. Not a white light, a warm soft yellowish light. Mandari's eyes opened slowly. She was indoors...a log cabin? "Wakey, wakey..." a voice said cheerfully. The ebony haired girl whipped her head around to see who it was. There stood a young man. Sunny blonde hair, green eyes, and pretty tall. Or was that just because she was lying down? Or that he was wearing combat boots...Combat boots really?

    He walked over to her slowly and kneeled next to the bed on which she lay. "My name is Junpei. And yours is?" Mandari got up, clutching her throbbing head. "Mandari of Kamazou"
    Junpei quirked an eyebrow. "You'll have to forgive me, I've always lived out here. Titles are meaningless to me" Mandari eyes the young man cautiously. "You live out here alone?"
    "Yes I do" . "Isn't that a little , I don't know, creepy?" Junpei let out a soft chuckle. "Haha, I guess you're right. Sorry if I frightened you. I was walking around when Zero found you."

    "Zero?"

    "Yes, my dog." the blond smiled, motioning to a large dog looming in the corner. A Siberian husky. It was wagging it's tail happily. "Ahhh. I see" Mandari said softly. These two were so... sugary. It hurt Mandari to even look at them. Junpei was so idealistic of what a "happy-go-lucky" wanted. And Mandari could not understand why he had such a smile spread across his face.

    She stared at him as he went to go boil tea. He scares me...Junpei. Not even a surname. What is this freak? Junpei tapped a silver teakettle on his counter. "Not this one, I need a bigger one" he muttered, searching the cupboards.
    Mandari stretched out her legs under the sheets. I need to escape this freak fest so I can get on with dying. , she thought. Junpei spotted Mandari getting up. "Woah! No, no, no! You hit your head really hard." he said. Mandari threw her head back "I'm fine! And I'm leaving this place" she declared, strutting towards the door. And then the room began to spin. Maybe throwing back your badly concussed head isn't the smartest of ideas.

    She fell back into a pair of soft arms. "Please Mandari. You're hurt. Just say a few days until your head is back to normal. Then you may flee this place or defy me in which ever way you find necessary." Mandari breathed in the scent on Junpei's white shirt. "Mkay...you freakishly tall dog owner" she mumbled into his chest. The world started to black out again...

    and Mandari wished the sugary scent of Junpei's clothes would just fade away.
    (to be continued...)