Ladies and Gentleman, I give you: Stories from the Island!

An Introduction:

Stories of the Island are short stories written (obviously) by me.

The Island of the title is the fictional island of Virgilia, the setting of most of my short stories (although there will be some short stories set elsewhere.) This island simply appeared in the Mediterranean around 800 AD, off the coast of Italy, and it has had a certain fame for being the house of the devil. Nevertheless, as it's more or less as big as Sicily, people started to move there, and soon, it became a civilized island. Many things have happened on it's soil, a lot connected to Italian history. Nowadays, it is the 21 Regione of Italy, with the sprawling city of Ilardine as it's capital.

True to being the 'house of the devil' of most popular legends of the time, Virgilia has the most well-documented history of magical practices and natural born mutants in its libraries, if you know where to look. The reason behind this has made more than one mind mad, and sometimes the police have found these mad people leading cults worshipping strange gods.

The stories will follow the lives, or be loosely connected to, four girls: Alyssa, Katy, Silaya, and Lilith. What makes them so peculiar...well, it's up to you to find out, hehe...

These stories are original, as well as the characters, but they are also crossover friendly. That means, you will find that the stories are tied to different settings (Griddles' fiction readers, keep a close eye on here. You never know what you might find), but, due to Virgilia's nature, most are sort of rumors at best, unless I provide actual evidence that proves they are not. Also, if someone wants to borrow some of my ideas (characters, locations, concepts...) they are free to do so, but I would rather like to be informed about it, so that I can see what people want to do, and give advice on how to use them.

The first story I am going to post (Part 1 up as soon as it's been corrected) is called Encounter at the Art Gallery, which will basically introduce my world and my characters while providing an entertaining story. The next one is something that's still in the workings, but may surprise quite a few of you.

Enjoi!

Thy_Robocop

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

Ah, what the hell, lets start the story, shall we?

Encounter at the Art Gallery

Part 1: Talking on the bench.

The circular square in front of Ilardine’s Art Gallery was unusually quiet that day. On a typical day, Art and Literature students from the nearby university would hang around the square, chilling out after a particularly hard day of studying, and meeting their boyfriends and girlfriends. Visitors of the museum would pass by, and people of all ages would hang around in the nearby coffee shop, the best one in town, according to most. But that day was quite a cold one, and anyway, most of the regulars were off to the festival in the nearby town of Castel-Oreste. Only a few people, who couldn't afford to go to the festival, or weren't bothered about going anyway, were in the square, doing what they usually did.

A small group of girls appeared at the beginning of the road that lead to the hidden square. There were five of them, all dressed in the same style of jacket, short skirt, boots with high heels. The only thing telling them apart was the different hair style each one had, as well as the colour, which matched the colour of their skirts. At first glance, any normal passer-by would say that they came from some of the richest families of that great city, Ilardine, and so would easily assume that they had better things to do than go to a peasant festival.

At that moment, the so-called ‘better things to do’ that they were doing was chatting about the latest episode of O.C., the coolest boy of the school, and how he looks like Ryan. They were heading towards the Holy Guardians’ Coffee Shop, hoping there was some drama going on to amuse them, and to get a glass of Coke, tea or any of the alcoholic drinks that the shop offered.

It turned out that they didn't have to go too far to see drama. There was one that they could create themselves, just a couple of metes away from where they were.

“What the hell is SHE doing here?” said the tallest, blue-haired girl of the group.

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

Ay, ay... Good luck with the thread. We will see just how many people will actually read this. :p And as I see with such division it should be around 4 more posts before you post the whole 1st chapter. I'll be here waiting with my comments for chapter 5, no need to comment on everything twice I guess.

Oh, and nice intro about the setting, sort of reliable-looking. Well, you're Italian after all. :p

_________________
This post is intended for information only. Please do not reply to this message as responses cannot be read or acknowledged due to the stupidity of the user.

Hmm...20 views so far...good.

**********************

“Err…chilling out, I suppose?” suggested one of the girls next to the first speaker, a brunette with long hair.

“There’s a better way to say it. She’s acting like an emo.” answered the girl with pink hair, and all the girls laughed.

“Well, we don’t want emo’s in our territory. She has to go.” said the leader of the pack of girls, a very beautiful looking blonde.

The cause of this sudden change of discussion was sitting on a bench, in front of the very elaborate baroque fountain that was at the centre of the square. The girl was still wearing her school uniform, a dark blue jumper with a light blue skirt, which was odd, as school had finished hours ago, and she had had plenty of time to change into different clothes. But the particular thing that distinguished her from everybody else was her hair, hair so fair that it was nearly white.

“How about we do that test-tube trick your brother told you about, Shay?” suggested the blue haired girl to the leader.

“Nah, she’s not worthy of that kind of trick. Let’s push her out of here, and get over with it.” the pink haired girl said.

“I agree that she’s not worthy of the test-tube trick. But I don’t agree on pushing her out. We are ladies, not brutes. In these situations, humiliation is the perfect solution.”

“How about we leave her alone?” asked the brunette.

The other girls stared at her.

“Well, let’s face it. We don’t have a good excuse to humiliate her, and anyway, it would be more effective if her protector is around to see, just to piss her off.”

Shay pondered this for a moment. “Your quite right, Katy. Humiliating her in front of her protector would surely piss her off, and we would gain more out of it. Still, she needs to go. And I have the perfect excuse to teach her a lesson... ”

*****************

Evil girls are evil...

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

5 are mine! Oh, and don't mind no comments. I guess the more you post the more chances for comments. I hope you won't go emo if nobody posts here even after you've spammed 10 pages by yourself... :p I'd never care much about a lit thread should I have one. But that's me, I guess.

_________________
This post is intended for information only. Please do not reply to this message as responses cannot be read or acknowledged due to the stupidity of the user.

Nah, I won't go emo. It's hard enough to come back from a cyber-conversion once, twice is pushing your luck. And you can't come back a third time...

I'm actually planning to create a DA account, where I will post my stories as soon as I finish posting them here. Is that a good idea?

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

DA is crap, but it's your choice. I wouldn't expect more feedback there then here though.

_________________
This post is intended for information only. Please do not reply to this message as responses cannot be read or acknowledged due to the stupidity of the user.

Lulz, I forgot...You're the DA pessimist...

I don't know all the pro's and cons of being on DA, but I can see 2 at the moment: a) Have a place where to store and show my complete stories so that people don't have to scan the whole thread when I start posting other stories here on SNAFU and b) see through the mature barrier. The temptation is so overwhelming...

-13 to my 18th birthday, and counting...

Man, only a month has passed since school began, and I already have 5 test to do in the next week or so! And I'm not counting the oral tests (especially physics)! I also still have to finish writing my articles for the school magazine, too, and homework always comes in massive amounts, so that means no more writing part 2 until I get past next week.

I need a holiday...

Well, at least I can still go on with Part 1. Here we go!

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

********************

“Excuse me, girls,” said the black haired girl who still had to speak. “ but I seem to be missing something important here. Who is that girl?”

“Oh, yes. Pardon me, young Jasmine. You’re new here, and so you still have to learn all the tid-bits of folklore and school life.” said Shay.

“You just need to know she’s an emo freak that brings misfortune to the school. The rest is fluff.” said the pink haired girl, adjusting her hair in the meantime.

“And why does she bring misfortune?”

“Well, for starters, her name is Lilith. As in, the queen of monsters.” said Katy.

The other girls stared at her again, only this time, they were surprised. Before Katy could say anything, the tall girl said: “Queen of monster, eh? She doesn’t have the guts to force a dog to do her bidding, she would wet her pants if she met a monster… She’s more of a Queen of Unfortunate Events. You know, like the white-haired girl in that fairy tale…”

“Yeah, but in her case, she brings misfortune to herself, and her surroundings follow suit. That’s why I don’t want her here.” said Shay.

“And what of her protector?” asked Jasmine.

“Oh, her.” commented the blue-haired girl. “Well, you should know her by now. Little police bitch, thinks she can protect everyone, doesn’t know how to stay in her place…”

“Well, she can’t protect her for long if her protected starts acting crazy. Have you heard what happened to that guy who picked on her yesterday?” said the pink-haired girl.

**************************

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

What I say is not because DA doesn't give you proper opportunities. Face it, DA is a well organised and user-friendly hosting site. I have no problems with its looks, coding or whatever else. The only problem is that once you delve in the site too much you will find out about the lame aspects. So just posting your stuff there and using it to view mature content is not bad, but if things start happening around you it's going to be trouble. The rules, admins, and some parts of its community are crap.


Thx, now I feel so old.


I have to write an assignment even though I've just passed the 1st week... No miracles there.

_________________
This post is intended for information only. Please do not reply to this message as responses cannot be read or acknowledged due to the stupidity of the user.

As in, the g that banned the green garden gnome that begins with G?

Man, that is so misleading... I just had to write it.



What, U2? (ignore use of chat speak, my mind trying to save energy before going to bed) When I started school, I had to write an essay about music and give it in a week, just like you.

But I'm pretty sure that you don't have 4 tests to do from Tuesday to Thursday, oral tests to worry about in those same days, enough homework to fill an afternoon and write and gather the articles for the school newspaper by the end of the week, to worry about.

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

Well, you have had a few weeks to be worrying about that stuff already. I have not. But even when I do have something to do, I can still manage some time to spare on reading/writing. You must always stay on top of things.

_________________
This post is intended for information only. Please do not reply to this message as responses cannot be read or acknowledged due to the stupidity of the user.

Here's another update for you!

****************************************

The other girls looked at her while she cleared her voice and spoke in a quiet tone. “They say that she was so angry, that she emptied a bottle of liquid nitrogen on that guy. Froze him nearly to death.”

The girls simply stared at her, except for Katy, who soon said: “Oh, come on! You can’t believe that story, can’t you?”

“Well, that guy was found frozen…”

“Ok, admitting that is true, it can’t be her. Unless you have a decent explanation on how she has managed to put her hands on liquid nitrogen, and hold it long enough in a glass bottle before attacking.”

“Well, you must admit that what happened is not normal. And say whatever you want. I am thoroughly convinced she’s the culprit.”

“And this is why she needs to go.” said Shay. “But first, lets have our fun. We shall teach her a lesson that will keep her off our territory for the rest of her life.”

“Do you think it’s a good idea?” asked Jasmine, timidly.

“What, you think she might freeze your ass?” said the pink-haired girl.

“With clothes like those, I’m surprised it hasn’t already frozen.”

*********************************************

A CHALLANGER APPEARS!

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

**********************************

The girls, surprised at this sudden comment coming out of seemingly nowhere, turned to the left, towards it’s source. Standing there beside them was a girl, seemingly older than the other girls. She had long brown hair, tied at half length by a red ribbon, and light blue eyes. She was wearing a black baseball cap with the company logo of a famous boiler producer, a scarf with black and red stripes, a dark green jumper and a long skirt with elaborate decorations on it, that hid most of the black boots she wore. She was also carrying a plain green-grey bag, which looked quite full from the outside.

The newcomer looked at each of the girls in turn, a faint smile on her lips. She spent a while longer to look straight in the eyes of Katy, and then she went on towards the coffee shop.

“Excuse me, but were you talking to us?” asked Shay before the strange looking girl was out of ear-shot.

The girl stopped walking, and turned towards Shay. She looked at them from an angle, something that reminded the girls of a certain detective Caine from a famous TV show. And then she spoke.

“I wasn’t talking to you. Talking implies a conversation between two or more people. The way I said it, I was merely expressing a statement on a particular type of clothing that is not a wise choice to wear, considering the weather.”

There was no reply from the technicoloured-haired girls, so the other continued: “By the way, you seem lost, young ladies. Well, if you take the first left, second right, third left after the traffic lights, stick to the left side of the road, continue for a kilometre or so and wait until evening comes, you should meet a couple of colleagues of yours who may help. See ya around!” She grinned, and with that, she left the girls and later disappeared inside the coffee shop.

**********************************

Confusing? She usually is...

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

Make her buy 3 cups... I want some chocolate too.

_________________
This post is intended for information only. Please do not reply to this message as responses cannot be read or acknowledged due to the stupidity of the user.

**********************

“Did you understand what the hell she said?” asked the blue-haired girl to the rest of the group.

“Err…No, I lost her when she started talking about statements.” answered the pink-haired girl.

“It just goes to show that you were never a bright spot in grammar, Corney.” Katy answered back.

“Oi!” protested the girl called Corney, but was quickly interrupted by Shay: “Now, don’t start you two. We don’t want to fight here in the open, do we? But yes, I agree with you girls: she does have a strange way of talking. Now, the main problem is: who is that girl?”

“What, you don’t know her? Shay, the girl who knows every person in this square doesn’t know the name of the odd looking girl that is walking through her territory? It’s definitely going to snow tomorrow…” said Katy.

“Can’t she be just a tourist or something like that? You don’t know the name of all the tourists that pass through your territory, and this is the place where they are most likely to appear.” suggested the blue-haired girl.

“That would have been my first guess, but I have seen her quite often in this part of town, so I doubt she’s just a tourist. I would think she must be an exchange student, or something like that. What do you think, Jasmine…Jasmine?”

Shay had just turned toward the black-haired girl, and noticed that her face was paler than usual. Even the other girls noticed this. There was silence for a while, and then the blue-haired girl asked: “What’s wrong, Jasmine? You look as if you have just seen a ghost…”

“I have.” answered Jasmine. “And so have you, Cathy. In fact, all of us have just seen one.”

**********************************

Creepy...

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

Coolness, 100 views!

**********************************************

“You’re giving me the creeps…” said Corney, in a voice that said otherwise.

“Why do you say that, Jasmine dear?” asked Shay.

“Well, you remember that urban legend that the guy we met at the coffee shop was talking about?”

“Err…Yes, I do recall that legend.” said Cathy “It was the story of a mysterious girl, who appears suddenly and then disappears without a trace, leaving cryptic messages to those who have the honour to talk to her. They say this girl was raped by a god of time, and that she knows past, present, and future as a result. According to the legends, she actually is time itself, and those mysterious appearances are caused by her skipping in time like a crazy time-traveller. What about it?”

“Well,” explained Jasmine “ when you girls left, I asked that guy if he had more information on her, and he gave me a complete description on what she usually wears. Girls, that girl wears exactly those same clothes!”

Everyone looked back towards the coffee shop, concerned because of that new piece of information.

“Well, she looks like flesh and bones to me.” said Corney after a long pause.

“Planning on punching her, Corney?” asked Cathy.

“Yeah… Don’t know why, but I believe all that show of words was meant to insult us, and even if I don’t know what the insult was, I am still going to make her pay for what she said.”

“Now, don’t be aggressive, Corney. As I have already said, we are educated ladies, not peasant brutes. If what the legend says is true, we should maybe try and find out what she meant to say by those directions.” said Shay.

“What, you haven’t figured it out yet?”

The girls all turned to Katy. “Why, have you figured it out?” asked the blue-haired girl.

“Well, I don’t know if there is some special meaning behind it, but in my opinion, she seems to have given us indications to go onto the A 56 road.”

The girls all said “Oh!” at the same time. “Doesn’t mean anything to me.” said Shay.

“Wait a minute.” said Corney, after a while. “Isn’t that the road where the whores ‘work’?”

“It think it is. But what…” Shay stopped at mid-sentence. A sudden realisation came to all of the girls, as they recalled the words of the strange girl: “I was merely expressing a statement on a particular type of clothing… You seem lost, young ladies… you should meet a couple of colleagues of yours who may help…”

Right at that moment, the girl with the black and red scarf came out with two plastic cups, one in each hand. She paused for a moment at the door, and started sipping her drink. Seen from afar, she looked like the most innocent girl in the world. The technicoloured hair girls thought otherwise.

“Hold me before I go and commit bloody murder.”

********************************************

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

***************************

At once, Cathy and Shay were on Corney, holding her and restraining her, while she tried to overcome them to run at the girl and punch her to death. “She called us fucking whores! She must pay for that!” she shouted.

“Yes, we all think that. Now calm down. We will think of the best way to punish her, but for now, just calm down.”

Corney struggled a bit longer, and then, following Shay’s advice, she stopped, but she was still fuming. Meanwhile, the girl with the scarf started walking, and the direction she was walking in surprised the girls.

“Am I dreaming, or is she walking towards that freak? ” asked Cathy.

“Cathy, you should know by now that losers attract losers.” said Corney, teasing her.

“Don’t get me wrong, girls, but I highly doubt that she is a loser. She’s more of the protector kind, even if of an unusual kind.” said Shay.
At the same time, the girl sat down near Lilith.

“Yep, she is a protector all right. Hands on the sound amplifier, girls, and remember our usual tactic. I want to know what she has to say to her...” ordered Shay, then all of the girls started slowly but purposefully to approach the bench where Lilith and the other girl were sitting.

*************************************

By the way, -6 to my 18th birthday...

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

T: -6

Seems you are taking advantage of your work being done up till now to bump your thread every time it falls lower on the thread list. :p How evil.

_________________
This post is intended for information only. Please do not reply to this message as responses cannot be read or acknowledged due to the stupidity of the user.

I blame the dark side and it's cookies...

Nah, just kidding...

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

***************************************

While the other girls were still making their plans, Lilith was sitting alone on the bench, staring blankly towards a spot on the ground just in front of the fountain. She didn’t notice the girls with the different coloured hair arriving, or the appearance of the girl with the black and red scarf. In fact, she didn’t notice anything happening around her. And even if she had been paying attention, she wouldn’t have cared.

She just wanted to be alone. It was better that way. Every time she wanted to make contact with others, something bad would happen, and she would be alone again. Even the girl who had protected her from the school bullies for the past few months had abandoned her. The only ones who would pay attention to her were those girls who would humiliate her or use her, just to be in the graces of those multicoloured haired bitches. All of this was because of her hair, hair that was almost white. The other girls, and even some adults, said that according to local folklore it brought terrible bad luck to whoever was near her,. They didn’t say it straight to her face, just talked about it when they thought that she wasn’t there. But she was always there when they said it, hidden, but always present.

And now there was something worse.

There had been signs beforehand, like a room being colder than usual, drinks that got colder whenever she touched them, and a chill running down the spine of people who came close to her, fuelling the legends of that aura of bad luck around her. Then, suddenly, she realised she was the source of this strange chillness when she accidentally froze the water in a hot bath. After that, she noticed that, whenever she wanted, she could freeze small things by simply willing it, as well as unconsciously, and it was that part that scared her.

She wanted to talk to her protector and friend about it, but she never managed to talk to her properly, as she was so busy being a cop. Once she tried to talk to her, but got her boyfriend instead. They started talking, and Lilith thought that she had made a new friend. But then the boy started to make some indecent proposals. Said he had had enough of his girlfriend, more focused on helping others than on their relationship, and that he wanted to break up with her. He wanted a girl that would dedicate her whole self to him, satisfy his desires. Lilith didn’t agree. She didn’t want to be a sex doll to this guy, and she didn’t want to lose her protector’s friendship. He insisted, started touching her where he shouldn’t. Something stirred in Lilith, something that made her react, and she put both hands on his chest. Next thing she noticed, the guy was lying on the floor, as cold as a block of ice.

Events started precipitating from that point onwards. A girl screamed, teachers started to come, and the boy was sent immediately to hospital. Rumours started to get around the school, rumours that pointed to her as the bad girl, even if the teachers couldn’t prove it, or even figure out how she did it, although liquid nitrogen soon became a popular theory when the science teacher mentioned its effects to his students. Lilith knew that it was her fault, knew it was her powers that did it. She didn’t want to face her protector, and every time she tried to get closer, with accusing eyes, she ran away, unable to face her and explain something that even she couldn’t explain.

Now she just wanted to be left alone. And what better place than go to the Art Gallery, the quietest place in the whole of Ilardine, when not full of university students? Of course, she would have preferred to go inside the Art Gallery, where it was quieter, and where she could admire the paintings and sculptures of famous artists, and be at peace with herself and the rest of the world. Art Galleries always had that special effect on her. Art was also one of the subjects where she got higher than average marks, and she could also understand the emotion and the message an artist wanted to convey in his work of art, so she found it natural that she would be at peace amongst people that were similar to her. Sadly, she didn’t have any money to pay for the entrance ticket. She had spent all her money on colours and paintbrushes to create a painting, only to have it destroyed by her angry, and possibly drunk, dad. And the only days she received pocket money were the days when her grandparents visited. Knowing the situation her family was in, they wouldn’t come for a long time. So the only alternative left was to sit there, and sulk in her misery.

“Need any help?”

************************************

Yeah, wall of text... stick with me, it's going to get exiting later...

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

**************************************

Lilith was so focused on sulking, she didn’t notice someone approaching. She jumped when she heard that question, and she turned towards the source.

To the left of her, the strange girl with the black and red scarf was standing next to her, two cups in her hand and smiling.

“As in, need any help heating the bench? One rear end can’t do it on it’s own, you know. And I also brought some hot chocolate to help us.” said the girl, holding up the two cups in her hand.

“...Huh?” said Lilith, after a couple of seconds. She wasn’t sure she understood what the girl wanted.

“Oh, I see they haven’t cut your tongue out yet. You know, with all these students talking in the classrooms, I am surprised teachers haven’t started cutting tongues out yet.” the girl said, sitting down on the bench next to her, grinning while looking at her.

Lilith didn’t want the girl to sit next to her. She wanted to be left alone. But it took just one look at the girl and her attitude, and she knew she wouldn’t take no for an answer. So she didn’t protest while the girl made herself comfortable on the bench. Her only hope was that she would leave her alone. A wish that was not granted.

When Lilith didn’t answer, the girl sighed, and said “Ok, I admit it. It was not one of my best jokes…” She handed one of the cups of hot chocolate to Lilith, and said: “Drink.”

Lilith looked at the girl, who was still smiling, and then at the cup of hot chocolate that she was offering. “Why do you think I would want your chocolate? Can’t you just leave me alone instead?” asked Lilith. She was a bit harsh, but then, she wanted the girl out of the way, so she hoped her rudeness would make her leave

“Yeah, I could just leave you alone…But then tomorrow morning I will learn from the newspaper that a frozen corpse has been found in this very square, and I would live the rest of my life asking myself: “What if I could have saved here? I just happened to have an extra hot chocolate in my hand. Did I have to be so selfish?” And as I wouldn’t be able to live in peace with that weight of guilt on my mind, I would have no other option than to kill myself.”

Lilith stared at the newcomer. Surely she wouldn’t do it, would she? But then she remembered a prank that other girls had played on a girl who had been in her same situation. The bullies had offered her a drink, and had been so gentle and nice that the girl had accepted. She had drunk from the cup, only to spit it out later, with the bullies laughing at her. Was this girl trying to play the same trick? If so, she was very convincing, but now that Lilith knew the truth, she would not be tempted. “Go and kill yourself then. I’m not going to fall for the same trick.” Then she went back to looking at the ground, trying hard to ignore the girl. Even so, she could still feel the piercing gaze of the girl staring at her. She was going to leave the bench, or ask the girl to leave, but before she could open her mouth, the girl said: “You don’t trust people much.”

Lilith looked back at the girl, clearly annoyed. “So what if I don’t? There’s no one here that I can trust, even what you are saying is just a ruse…”

“Ok, I admit I went a bit overboard there, but can’t you trust anyone here? Allow me, young lady, to prove you wrong.”

The girl started drinking from her cup, saying that the drink was good. Lilith didn’t have any doubt about that. But then, the girl started drinking from the other cup. That surprised Lilith. If the girl had put something disgusting in the drink like she had expected, surely she wouldn’t dare drink from that cup, would she? Or was it all part of the trick?

“Ahh, nice. Though it’s beginning to get cold. You’d better drink it now, before it gets too cold to drink.” The girl passed the cup back to Lilith, and she reluctantly accepted it, although that reminder of the potential of her special power made her uneasy.

“By the way, my name is Alyssa. What’s your name?” asked the girl.

Lilith stayed silent. She didn’t want to give her name that easily, knowing her own ‘fame’.

“Ok, suit yourself. You won’t get very far in life if you don’t start trusting people.”

Lilith looked at Alyssa, who was staring straight at the fountain in front of them, and then she stared at her hot chocolate. She still believed that girl, Alyssa, was up to no good, maybe even preparing plan B of the prank, but she failed to see what kind of prank she would be able to play.

“Do you know what they call this bench we are sitting on?”

**********************************

-2 to my birthday...

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

*********************************************

Lilith turned back to look at Alyssa, who was still staring at the fountain. She waited for Alyssa to continue for half a minute, and then, thinking that the girl was expecting her answer, she asked: “No. What do they call it?”

“They call it ‘The loser’s bench’.”

‘Yeah, for losers like me and you. How appropriate.’ thought Lilith. So the old saying, losers attracted other losers, was true. Lilith had no doubt about it, but up until that day she hadn’t had any actual proof of it.

“They call it the loser’s bench because it’s right in the centre of this square, just next to the fountain. Now, if you have noticed, most people tend to avoid crossing the centre. I don’t know why, but I could try and guess, and my guess is that they feel too exposed when in the centre, while they can cover themselves when on the edges. To try and explain this phenomenon, urban legends arise, where people meet a gruesome end when they walk through the centre. Take this bench, for example. I have heard different legends about this bench. According to those legends, people who sit here have met thieves, spies, killers, perverts, paedophiles, lunatics…”

“Like you?” asked Lilith. She knew that was a cheeky question to ask, but she could not help it. That girl was getting on her nerves.

Alyssa sighed, and turned to look at Lilith. Her face was serious: “I’m trying hard enough not to walk down that path. Believe me, it’s hard as hell.” She threw herself back on the bench, and started looking up towards the glass dome that covered it. “Anyway, normal people don’t know what they are missing when they try to avoid the centre.”

“They miss the eyes of the people looking at you like you were a cursed thing?”

“They miss a beautiful gift the architect has given us, and that is easily overlooked.” said Alyssa. She then started to explain, as if she was a tourist guide:“ When they designed the building, the architect calculated that the sun would shine right at the centre of this square at a certain time each summer solstice. So he asked a friend of his to put a special fountain in the centre, a fountain that would start an interesting light show when the sun hits the tip of it. Believe me, I have seen it once right from this spot, and the view is just …. magic!” She straightened up and looked straight into Lilith’s eyes. “It all goes to show that behind a bad word like loser, or ill luck, misfortune or whatever they call it, hides a gift the guys on that side of the wheel of fortune will appreciate and would like to have as theirs.”

Lilith simply stared at Alyssa. That girl was definitely in the weird zone, but her philosophy made sense. She knew of the special light effects of the fountain. Hell, who didn’t know about it? It was one of the things that made this square interesting. Of course, she had never been there to actually see it, and she hoped she would one day, but she was sure it was beautiful, just as the girl said. She realized she had always unconsciously chosen this bench just because she wanted to be near the fountain when it happened, even if she wouldn’t see it that day. She couldn’t help feeling a sense of friendliness towards that strange girl. Unable to answer, and totally abandoning her tactics to scare her off, she turned back to look at her drink.

“Well…, sorry about my crappy philosophy. I thought you might have found it interesting.” said Alyssa with a sigh. Lilith would have replied, saying that she really found it interesting, but she was still unsure about the girl, and so decided to ignore her, and keep staring at the hot chocolate.

Suddenly, Alyssa asked: “Trying hard to turn it to ice, Lilith?”


**************************************

-1 to my birthday...

_________________
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Sherlock Holmes
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." Lovecraft
"It's incredible how the human mind can devise such simple explanations to the things it doesn't understand, just to avoid looking at the terrible bigger picture that is the truth. Unfortunately, that won't help them when it comes knocking at the door." Alyssa Gillespine

Check out my (still ongoing) short stories here on Snafu or on my DeviantArt Account .

i like your story is great keep on going!!

_________________

Chibi sephiroth

Run girl! She will freeze you! :p

And have a nice party. That's 18, so there has to be lots of sex.

_________________
This post is intended for information only. Please do not reply to this message as responses cannot be read or acknowledged due to the stupidity of the user.