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Mono saw her every day, walk through this same path alone. He wasn’t sure what her destination was, but she was always alone. He thought it was sad, disappointing even. Didn’t she have any friends? It was dangerous to walk home alone.
That’s why he decided he would befriend her.
“Hey!” He called to her.
The girl froze now before turning around. She had short dark hair, with bangs that covered her eyes. “Do you need something?” She asked.
“Why are you alone?” He wondered. “Do you not have any friends?” Hearing that aloud now he realized it sounded a bit rude.
“I mean- I always see you alone here, so I was just worried- it’s dangerous to walk alone out here.”
She looked away now. “I’ll manage.” She replied before she started to walk down the path again.
“Hey, wait!” But she had already left, much to his disappointment.
The next day, he had tried to get her name.
“Afternoon!” He said, catching up to her so they could walk side by side. She didn’t reply, she didn’t seem like a talkative person.
“You’re always alone aren’t you?” He asked. Now that he thought about it, her skin was abnormally pale, with no warmth at all.
She shrugged.
“Well, it’s okay. I’m your friend now.”
She didn’t react to this, but he noticed she quickened her pace.
“Hey, what’s your name-...” She ran off now, leaving him without an answer to his question. Was she shy? Or just really closed off? He wasn’t sure but he hoped to break through those walls of her soon.
Their next conversations were very similar to this, always cut short, until eventually she finally gave him a different response.
“Why do you keep following me?” She asked.
“Huh?” He never really thought of this as following. They both just happened to see each other in the same place every day. Right?
“I… well I think you’re really interesting. I want to learn more about you.” He explained. It was true. Something about this girl drew him in, he wanted to hear her speak more, wanted to know more about her, wanted-
“I think it’s a waste of time.” She said, interrupting his thoughts.
His eyes widened. “What? Why?!” He demanded. “Isn’t it normal for friends to learn more about each other?” They were friends… right? Her next words answered that question for him.
“We can’t be friends. I can’t be friends with you. So leave me alone.”
He didn’t try talking to her after that. Those words had really hurt him. He watched her pass for a few more days, headed to who knows where. He was disappointed, honestly. His attempts at making a friend had failed once again. Was it him? Was he the problem?
She was pretty reserved too, he doubted she had many friends. How do you make friends with people like that? People who preferred to be alone. How do you get close to someone who doesn’t want to be near anyone in the first place?
A drop of water landed on his nose now. He looked up at the cloudy sky now and sighed. He should find some shelter. He hopped off the ledge he was sitting on, walking a few steps before he noticed the girl again. Her hair was drenched and so were her clothes.
She’ll catch a cold!
“Hey-” Wait… he didn’t even know her name… He had known her for a few weeks now and didn’t even know her name…
She stopped walking, lifting her soaking bangs to look in his direction.
Her eyes, that was the first time he had seen her eyes. They were a pale grey, giving an almost lifeless impression, they sent shivers down his spine.
“Why do you always pass through here?” He asked. It was a bad time to start asking questions, especially in the middle of the rain.
“Home.” She said simply.
“Home… is that far?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go get some shelter then until the rain stops… So you don’t have to go home in this.” It was a thoughtful gesture, but he had his own intentions behind that too. They never spoke outside of here, this was his chance to do that.
She seemed to hesitate, looking around before sighing. “Okay.” She said. She didn’t sound happy about this.
He smiled nonetheless.
“This way!” He beamed, grabbing her hand.
She was cold.
Too bad he didn’t have a jacket on him, otherwise he’d lend it to her.
He felt her tense from his touch, but she didn’t pull her hand away, which was a good sign. He led her to an abandoned house that was by a river. They both sat on the doorstep, with the roof protecting them from the rain without needing to be inside.
He ran a hand through his wet hair before shaking it off like a wet dog. He let out a small chuckle. He looked over at her, she had taken off her cardigan now, leaving her in a white tee and matching shorts. She wrung it out now, letting the water drip onto the ground. She left it beside her now before she started to squeeze the water out of her hair.
“I never got your name…” He spoke, breaking the silence.
She pulled her knees towards her, looking at the rain. There was a long pause before he spoke again. “I’m Mono.”
Still no answer. It was his turn to sigh now.
“Six.” She muttered.
He lifted his head. “Huh?”
“Six. That’s my name.”
His mouth formed into an ‘O.’
“Six…” He whispered. He smiled. “I like it, it fits you.”
She gave a small nod. She grabbed her cardigan, throwing it on now. Hopefully, it was dry now.
They sat together in silence for a while until the rain had finally stopped. She stood up now, hopping off the doorstep, her feet landing in a puddle.
Mono covered his face with his hand to avoid getting splashed. “Ah, careful…” He complained. He got up as well now. “Heading home right?” He asked.
She nodded.
“Let me walk you,” He suggested.
She shook her head. “It’s best if you don’t.”
He tilted his head in confusion. “Why?” He asked.
“My mother won’t like it.”
He frowned. “Can’t you tell her I’m a friend?” He asked. She shook her head.
“Goodbye.” She walked away from him, leaving him alone once again.
Days passed by again, not once did he see her. It was starting to bother him, waiting in the same place for days on end. Their conversations were short, but he still missed them. She was the only person he’d spoken to in a very long time.
“Where is she?” He whined, laying back on the wall he usually hangs out at. He looked over now, across the river was the city. He hadn’t gone there in a while. He wondered if Six was in the city right now. He glanced over at the path she usually appeared at. He supposed he could try and look for her in the city.
The city itself was huge, trying to navigate his way around seemed impossible.
“This is why I don’t come here…” He complained.
He had given up, turning around to go back when a familiar faded blue cardigan caught his eye.
His face lit up at this.
Found her.
He moved forward, trying to catch up to her and not lose her in this crowd. He watched her walk into a store and he followed close behind. Once inside he realized what store they had walked into. It was small, but there was no doubt it was a bookstore, with large shelves of books filling the entire place. He looked around for Six, finding her knelt on the ground, looking through the bottom shelf.
He got to her unnoticed, up until he tapped her on the shoulder.
She looked up, a quiet gasp escaped her lips. She looked around as if making sure no one was watching them. She glared at him now. "What are you doing here?" She hissed.
Mono was taken back by the tone of her voice. He stepped back, smiling nervously. "I got worried, so I came to look for you." He said.
Once again she looked around first, before looking at him. "Well then, you found me. Now go."
"But… I thought maybe we could walk together." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Maybe this was a bad idea.
"No, now go-..." She stopped talking now once she saw someone walk into the aisle they were in.
Six looked back at the shelf now, ignoring him.
"Oh, sorry," Mono said, stepping out of the way of the person as they kept walking.
Six gave him a weird look. He knelt beside her. "You like to read?" He asked curiously. He didn't find her to be the type to like to read.
She gave a slight nod, picking out a book before going over to the counter to pay for it. He tried to get a good look at the title.
Encyclopedia of Spirits
He raised an eyebrow at this. That was a bit creepy, what would she want with that kind of book?
“Spirits?” He asked as they left the store.
She didn’t give him an answer. “Why do you want to read about that?” He wondered.
“It’s for my mother.”
Her mother.
“What kind of person is your mother?” He asked.
“What do you mean?”
“What is she like? She sounds strict from what you’ve said in the past.” He explained.
“She is strict, I suppose.”
He nodded in response. “Is she kind to you?” He wondered.
“She is.”
He smiled slightly. He was glad she had a good mother to take care of her. His smile was short lived though, it fell into a frown once they reached the end of the path. “Do you have to go already?” He asked gloomily.
“Mhm. Don’t follow me.” She said seriously.
He looked away. “I’m not following you…” He mumbled. He watched her leave once again, leaving him alone on that same path.
She wore something different the next day, a grey skirt with a white button up shirt, and of course her same cardigan. Judging by the backpack she carried, he could only assume she was going to school.
“Six! You’re here earlier than usual,” He exclaimed, running up to her now.
“Mhm.”
“You’re going to school, right?” He questions, taking a closer look at her uniform.
“Yes.”
She could at least sound more enthusiastic about it, there was no emotion in her voice whatsoever. Maybe she wasn’t too happy about going to school? He wouldn’t blame her, school could be scary for anyone, even someone as cold and levelheaded as Six.
“Are you excited?” He asked.
“Not really.” She replied.
“Why’s that?” He wondered.
She shrugged.
“There’s got to be a reason-”
“You talk a lot.” She cut him off, sounding annoyed. “And ask too many questions.”
He frowned. “Well, if you tried talking more, maybe I’d talk less.”
“I doubt it.”
“Really! I can barely get three words out of you most of the time.” He complained.
There it was, for the first time ever. It was small, but he heard it. She laughed, for just a split second, but it was there. His face lit up now.
So she can laugh.
“I thought I told you not to follow me,” She said as they arrived at the school.
“I’m not following, I’m walking you.” He corrected.
She tsked, “Well you can’t ‘walk me’ any longer. So go find something else to do.”
He stopped now, watching her go past the school gate along with others in the same uniform.
“Have fun!” He yelled, but she didn’t look back.
He stayed back until he no longer saw any other students in sight. Alone again. He never realized how easy it was for him to practically go insane when he was alone. Well, maybe not literally, but still. When would Six be out of school? Not until another seven hours right? That felt like forever. It probably felt like forever for Six too, after all, she wasn’t too happy about going to school.
Maybe he could surprise her with something when she got out. But what? What did a girl like Six like? He knew she liked reading, but he didn’t exactly have money to get her a book. He decided to walk around the city again to cure his boredom. Along the way, he ended up seeing the bookstore he had seen Six at the day before.
The door chimed when he entered, but no one seemed to look at him, too busy in their own worlds. “Morning,” He said politely to the woman at the counter. Her nose was also stuck in a book, too unbothered to look up.
Rude…
Mono looked around for a while, admiring the different covers of the books until one of them caught his attention. The cover was of a deathly pale girl, with long black hair. She held a red apple in her hands too. Curiosity had gotten the best of him, and he ended up staying there for hours on end reading the book. He was deeply invested in the story, that much was obvious. But at some point, he closed the book shut before putting it back where it was.
The story was about a boy and a girl. The boy unknowingly fell in love with the girl. But as the story continued, it was revealed that the girl had been dead the entire time. And when he least expected it, the girl killed him, taking his soul to satisfy her emptiness.
What kind of story was that supposed to be? It still sent shivers down his spine just thinking about it. But now that he thought about it, Six was also very pale, hid her eyes, and pushed people away just like the girl in the book-
He shook those thoughts out of his head. Now he was just being paranoid. Six was normal. For the most part anyway.
He got back to her school just minutes before the bell rang. Students rushed out of their classrooms, chattering with each other as they headed home. He avoided the other students as best as he could since none of them seemed to have enough manners to try and go around him. He continued to look around until he finally saw her within the crowd. He smiled.
“Six!” He called, waving his arm to catch her attention.
Sure enough, it worked. She looked up, frowning when she saw him. He pushed through the crowd to get to her. “Hey! How was school? Did you have fun?” He smiled brightly at her, waiting for her answer.
She looked around, before moving past him. Was she ignoring him?
“Six?” He called, catching up to her.
“Why are you here?” She whispered.
“I thought I’d walk you home… Is something wrong?” He asked worriedly now.
Was she upset with him? Did she have a bad day?
“People are going to look at me weird.” She warned as she walked a bit faster.
“Why would they do that?” He wondered.
She sighed. “Because-”
The melodic tune of an ice cream truck interrupted her. Of course it would be here at this time. There were dozens of hungry kids at this time.
“Ice cream!” Mono exclaimed. He began to check his pockets. “We should get some-...” Empty. “I don’t have any money though…”
Six rolled her eyes. “Why do you want ice cream?” She asked as she began to check her own pockets. She did have some spare change.
He gave her a sad look now before cupping his hands together. “Please…”
She rolled her eyes before getting in line. He followed, staying beside her. He looked around, seeing groups of kids, in twos and threes, there were even bigger groups, chatting with one another, playing games, etc. It made Mono smile, but at the same time feel lonely. He wished he could have a group of friends like that. He looked back at Six now. Well, it was okay if he didn’t have a big friend group, he had Six as a friend. Even if she was a bit cold at times.
“One chocolate, and one…” Six glanced over at him. He grinned before looking at the man in the truck.
“Vanilla and caramel!” He exclaimed.
“And one vanilla and caramel.” She repeated, before handing over the money to the man.
“Hungry aren’t we? Two icecreams coming up.” After about a minute the man handed over the two ice creams to Six. “Have a good day miss.” He said.
Mono followed beside Six as they headed towards the forest, on the same path that led her home. “Here.” She said, handing the ice cream over to him.
He grinned. “Thanks, Six.”
She nodded, before biting into her ice cream
He licked his now and frowned. There was no flavor, no taste… just the cold feeling of the ice cream in his mouth. Did they not make it correctly? He looked at Six, who seemed to be enjoying her ice cream just fine. Bad luck, he supposed.
She finished her cone now and he finished his too.
“Hey, let’s go sit by the river,” He suggested, grabbing her hand in his now. She didn’t pull away, surprisingly.
“It’s hot.” She complained, taking off her cardigan.
“You think so?” He asked as he took a seat on the ground. He dipped his feet into the rushing water. “Ah, that feels nice.”
Six took off her shoes, sitting beside him before doing the same.
Mono smiled at her. “You never told me how school was, did you have fun… make any friends?” He asked curiously.
“It was fine.” She replied.
He nodded, he wanted to hear more about her day, but he knew she probably didn’t want to talk about it.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You always do,” she remarked.
“Something personal.” He explained.
She stayed silent for a minute, “What?”
“Why are you always alone…?”
“I like being alone.” She replied.
This surprised him. “W...Why?” How could anyone like being alone? It was his biggest fear, and yet… she enjoyed solitude?
“I don’t like people. Don’t like depending on others. Don’t like talking.” She was so blunt with her words.
“But why? How? I don’t understand…” He wished he had someone to depend on, someone to depend on him. If he had someone, anyone, he’d be the happiest person on earth. A friend is what he wanted more than anything.
She shrugged.
He looked down at the murky water. He was lost in thought for a while until something caught his gaze. He couldn’t quite tell what it was at first, until it inched closer to the surface, toward Six.
It was pale, and wrinkly because of the water- it was a hand!
“Six! Look out!” But it was too late, it wrapped itself around her ankle, suddenly dragging her into the water.
He pulled his feet from out of the water, he was panicking.
What do I do? What do I do?!
“Six! Six!” He cried. What was he doing? He needed to get in the water. He jumped in now, moving around and looking for Six. He heard a loud gasp, and looked towards the source, he saw her, just a second with her head above the water before she was dragged underneath again.
“Six!” He moved forward where he had seen her, that’s when he could feel her. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her up to the surface. She gasped for air again, taking in as much oxygen as she could. Mono felt her being pulled back down, but he kept hold of Six.
“Come on, come on,” He said as he dragged her towards the land again.
She managed to get out of the water herself towards the end, he quickly followed, not wanting to stay in that water any longer. Six backed away from the water as much as she could. She was coughing a lot, he worried she might have some water in her lungs. He looked back at the water, his eyes widening when he saw a girl, only half of her face above the water. She stared at them, before slowly sinking back down.
“D-did you see that?!” He stuttered, but she had already gotten up, shoes back on, and cardigan over her shivering body.
“S-Six! Wait up!” He called, quickly getting up and following her. She was walking fast, he didn’t blame her.
He caught up to her now. He reached for her hand, only for her to slap it away.
“Go. Away.” She spat.
He froze. “Are… are you angry at me?” She couldn’t be… He had saved her for crying out loud. “I saved you…”
“It was your fault in the first place.” She hissed.
He shook his head. “No… Six, what are you saying?” She was walking away again. She was leaving him again. “Six, please!” He cried, grabbing onto the hem of her cardigan. She stopped walking but didn’t look back at him.
“I… I don’t understand… what did I do wrong? Why won’t you like me, Six?” He demanded.
She sighed. “Why don’t you get it?”
“Get… What?” He asked.
She looked at him now, dead in the eyes, with her own grey ones. She wasn’t angry, or sad. There was no emotion on her whatsoever.
“I don’t talk to dead people.”
Then she walked away.