Chapter Text
It looked at the starry expanse of space, devouring other stars as it did.
Everything felt cold, so numbingly cold and desolate.
And yet, it yearned for warmth.
Warmth that comes from the blood that runs through veins.
Warmth that comes from the embrace of another organism.
Warmth that comes through being able to love one another.
Yet, how could it ever dream of that?
How dare it ever dream to feel warmth?
How dare 'I', or what is of 'my' identity?
It could never dream to feel.
And so, it waited, and waited, and waited.
So it wondered how it would feel to have a body, to be something that can live.
To be something. Anything.
It reached out afar, darkness and blood mixing together.
It wondered for a moment what the point in doing this was,
but what was there to lose?
Yet there was everything to gain.
Because,
I still want to feel.
I want this moment for myself.
...
"Don't look at me like that, just continue reading like you're supposed to."
I woke up, I found myself in some fully black clothes, I had this silky long white hair in front of my eyes, huh. Was I some kind of grandpa or something? I looked at my hands, it matched the snowy terrain I was in. ah, albinism.
Urgh... my head hurt, probably just a mild headache, whatever. I can walk it off
I have no idea what my gender is, maybe I'm male, maybe I'm female, maybe I'm a secret third thing. Don't ask me about my pronouns, I don't care what you address me as.
...
I looked at the rubble that was next to me, made up of concrete, rocks, metal, and other building elements. I saw my reflection in a broken mirror.
Long white hair, red eyes the color of a ruby, zig zag teeth like a shark, red eyeliner at the bottom of my eyes.
I got up and stole a jacket, then headed off somewhere. I didn't know where I was going—but my legs carried me as if I knew where I was going. It felt.. natural, in a way.
.
I continued exploring the vast snowy terrain, there was nothing but the numbing cold and.. well... trees. I could smell the faint scents of coal, ash, and porridge from afar.
The villagers were surprisingly kind to me and offered me shelter, I chatted with them for a moment, quickly gaining their trust and getting along with them.
An old woman named Matilda—from what I heard—spoke to me. "Dearie, how did you end up here all alone in this freezing weather?"
I put on a wry smile, "I got lost, I'm a bit of an adventurer. You see."
Matilda laughed, it was a hearty and warm smile. "Ahaha! Young kids these days are so full of life," she pinched my cheek softly "You really do seem like a good kid, say, what is your name young child?"
"Thanks, Matilda..." she seemed really kind, I could melt from her warmth. "...My name is Faith."
"Ah, Faith! What a beautiful name you have there, dearie." she trailed off, as if thinking about something for a moment before speaking.
"...Have you heard of the man named Hope? He looks just like you, but with a few differences. Be weary of him.. he sometimes raids the village to take our supplies."
My eyebrows furrowed. I nodded gently and put a hand on her shoulder, "It's okay, I'll try to stay safe."
She looked at me with warmth in her eyes, "That's good to hear, dear."
As if on cue, a loud explosion could be heard in the back, I opened the door of the cabin and I stepped outside, my heavy brown coat billowing from the air force. A tired looking version of me with a lab coat, black pants and shoes, and a tie.
I coughed, trying to see who was there through the grey smoke. I saw a taller man looking at me, "You." He pointed at me, oh, I am so fucked. "Why do you look like me?
"I don't look like you! You look like me!"
"That doesn't even make sense."
"Well, it doesn't HAVE to!"
"You're an idiot."
"Oh, yeah, then would a sensible person be blowing up a village with innocent people living there?" He was silent for a moment, his glare made me feel like i said the wrong thing.
"I have my reasons. And I won't waste my talking with you." I didn't even notice his dagger, it stabbed through my abdomen, causing blood to rush up to my throat.
"Keugh...!" I coughed up a copious amount of blood. I grabbed his arm and tried flinging him, but he was taller, and definitely stronger than me. I ended up falling onto my back.
I clutched my abdomen, I could make out what sounded like the strange man's voice. "I didn't want to get blood on my hands today, yet, here we are."
I woke up in a cabin, the same cabin Matilda was in, but where was she? I tried getting up but I immediately regretted it, a jolt of pain going through my torso.
"Don't move! Are you okay?" A concerned voice of a male sounded out. Brown hair, dark skin, Hazel eyes and glasses.
"Ungh.. what- who are you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. First, I conveniently find a village, I become the victim of a terrorist, and now there's a random guy acting all concerned over me. What a emotional (and physical) roller-coaster this was.
"Ah, I'm William Nilsen. And you are...?"
"Faith," I said, almost too quickly. "did you, uh.." I gestured vaguely at the bandages covering my abdomen, since I had no way to word this.
"Oh! Yeah," he smiled warmly "I patched you up, Hope's always causing trouble in Woodford. But atleast you're okay, right?"
I couldn't help but notice the sense of familiarity in his tone, as if this was a common thing. "Well, don't get me wrong, but.." I paused for a moment, thinking of how to say this. "...By the way you describe him, its kind of like you know hi-"
"Haha, no I don't."
"Are you-"
"No."
"..."
The silence stretched out awkwardly, I blinked and he blinked back. Was this a staring competition or something? But overall, his behavior was suspicious. "You do, don't you...?"
"L-Listen I can explain..." I held up my hand in front of his face.
"Spare me the explanation," and the long dialogue. "I'm too tired for this." I said sheepishly, my exhaustion slowly beginning to creep in.
"Well, it's nice meeting you, Faith. You can.. uh, rest while I go do stuff!" He said briskly, leaving out of the front door.
Well, this surely was an interesting day. But everything felt so familiar. From the interactions - to the people - to quite literally everything. Strange..
So similar yet so different.