I've spent the whole night with my brother, but when I woke up, he was no longer on the bed
It seems he has woken up before me
I got up and dressed into new clothes
I left his room, and went to the kitchen to see what were they preparing for breakfast
"Chloe"
"Yes, Sakura"
"What are you making for breakfast?"
"Niv has found some black berries this morning, so it will be as a side dish. The main dish will be horse meat"
"Is it the meat I got?!"
"Yes I think"
Finally, my hard work has paid off
"Ha ha ha. You all are lucky that I went with him"
She just smiled at me. Which made me a bit pissed. Why are they treating me like a kid? I am turning fifteen!
I left the kitchen, and since I woke up late (I wonder why) it seems that they have finished praying
I went to Joe, and thanked him for telling us about the zombies
"Oh, no problem" He says as he pats me on the head. How can this day be any worse?!
"I saw a few clothes that might fit for Lara" I said
"Huh? Where did you find it?"
"I found it when we were looking inside the zombie's house"
"You found a kid's clothes inside"
"Yeah"
"Oh, okay. I will tell Chloe about it"
"Yeah, you better do"
"Why are you commanding me"
"Weren't you already going to do it?"
"..Yeah"
"Then why do you care"
"Augh. Whatever"
I went to my room, and a while later Chloe came in. She gave me my breakfast and I gave her the clothes. It feels like we're trading
The food is just like Chloe said. It's some black berries and meat
I took the meat and started biting on it.
Why is it so hard?
I used every single piece of strength on my teeth to eat the meat, but at some point, I got tired of it, so I left it
I just ate the berries
What a breakfast
The door swings open, it makes me jump, the food is spilled on the ground. I grab the blanket without thinking, and cover a part of myself
It's Niv
"Sakura!"
"Y-Yes?"
"Why didn't you tell me that there were some kids' clothes in that house?"
"E-Eh? I didn't think it'd be that important. S-Sorry"
"Do you understand why I care so much?"
"N…No"
"Because if there are some kid's clothes there, that means there used to be a kid who was there"
My jaw drops. My eyes widened.
"I-Is everything going to be okay?"
"Yes, I hope"
"S-Sorry"
"It's okay. Just be careful next time"
"Okay"
"Sakura"
"Y-Yes?"
"There is a zombie nearby. Do you want to come?"
"N-No"
"Huh? Why?"
"I…I will finish my food"
"Oh. Okay"
He left the room, but my heart is still beating fast
It really scared me. I never thought I'd get this scared from a door swing
I lied to Niv. The food is all on the ground, I can't eat it.
I called Chloe to clean it up. Meanwhile, I was wondering the house trying to find someone
Not so long after, I found her
"Judy!"
"Oh, hey Sakura"
"I want something"
"What is it?"
"Can you cut my hair?"
"Where did that come from?"
"Come on. Just do it"
"Why me?"
"Because you have a really beautiful hair"
"You think so?"
"Not just me. That's what everyone says"
"Wait really?!"
"Yes"
..
..
"Hey Judy"
"Yeah?"
"You have a disgusting grin on your face"
"Hey! You mean I can't be happy with people's compliments?"
"No, it seems like it's something else. I don't know what is it"
"Okay whatever"
"Can you cut it?"
"Are you sure? You've been growing it since you were born"
"Yes I am sure"
"What makes you so sure?"
"Niv said he likes it shorter"
"Ohh. So you are at that age?"
"Huh? Why are you saying it like it's a bad thing?!"
"Well. You are at an age where you want to impress everyone. I've been through that"
"Why are you talking like I am a kid"
"Just be careful"
"From what?"
"You will lose yourself if you want to impress everyone and anyone"
"I am doing it for Niv. Okay?"
"Okay. Okay. Come here"
I sat on a chair, and she got some dual sharp object
"What's this?"
"A scissor"
She starts cutting my hair
"Hey, I thought it would hurt"
"Did you seriously think that?"
"Yes"
She continues cutting my hair as I saw them fall on the ground
I never imagined I had this much hair
After a while, she finished cutting my hair. She made it reach my neck instead of how it looked before
"Don't you think this is a bit too boy-ish?" She asks
"I don't care"
"It seems like you really don't"
"Thank you Judy!"
"No problem"
And just like that, a fifteen- Ah. fourteen years of hard work(or the lack of)is gone
I showed Joe and Chloe my new hair. They seemed shocked at first, but then they gave me a weird smile, also, they were sweating, is it because of the sun?
Joe told me that Niv left, so I decided to go outside and find him
Why is the sun always out? Can't it just rest?
I walked on the thick sand, using my feet strength to keep me from drowning inside it.
Wait, can I drown inside the sand?
I kept walking, and in no time I found Niv
"Niv!"
He turns to me and says, "Hey Sakura. You changed your mind?"
"Hu Hu Hu. Yes. I knew that you need my help"
He smiles and tells me to follow him
"Are we going back to that house?"
"No, but it seems that Joe found a zombie near that house"
We continued walking for a bit, and we reached the place where we found the first zombie. We went past it and continued walking
I feel a little weird, my jaw is clenched. My back is stiff, and my heart is beating fast
"H-Hey Niv"
"Yes?"
"It's really hot"
"Do you want to head back?"
"N-No. Since it's hot, I decided to…cut my..hair"
"You cut your hair?"
"..Yeah"
He reaches to my hair and touches my neck
"It's really short"
"I-I know. I just didn't know how short you preferred it"
"Did you ask the old man about it?"
"N-No. I only care about your opinion"
Niv's face gets stiff. He starts to sweat more than usual. I can hear his breaths. His hands are shaking
"W-We need to go back" Niv says
"Huh? Why?"
He grabs my hand and we walk back fast
What happened?
It took us a few minutes to be back
Once we opened the door, it seems like they is a huge meeting, or a party
Everyone is here, even some faces that I don't recognize
And on top of a podium is the old man
To his left is...Judy. She's tied up. Her mouth is covered
"This person here decided to cut the hair of my beloved!"
Everyone instantly lost the smile on their face. Some of them were scared, others were heated and angry
"And God had sent a punishment for the looks of her. I will be the one who delivers the punishment!"
He pulls out a knife, and slices Judy's throat
She attempts to scream, but the only thing that was heard was a grotesque, painful, unrecognizable voice.
Her voice drowned in her own blood
The blood filled the place. People got blood on top of them
I wanted to talk. I really did. I wanted to explain that I am the one who told her
But the words were shoved inside my mouth
shoved inside my mouth?
A quick image came to mind once I thought of that. I felt something building up in my throat, then to my mouth.
I was about to throw up
I put my hand on my mouth, and ran outside. The only thing accompanying me was my tears
I threw up on the ground as I stayed on all fours
I stared at what came out. There was a yellow-ish liquid covered with some black dots
I continued staring at the sand I ruined for my own satisfaction, because I couldn't handle the feeling of not letting it out
The thought of that with Judy's throat being slit, and her screams in the background made me throw up everything I ate
I laid down, and stared at the sun. Not so long after, I felt that my eyes were screaming at me to stop looking at the sun, and I did as it said
I went back inside the house. The blood is still on the ground, but no one is here, not even Judy
I went back to my room, and once I opened the door, I saw Niv
I sat on my bed
"Sakura"
"..."
"Did you ask her to do it?"
"..Yeah"
He stays quiet for a moment, and then he speaks, "I..I should've told you sooner. Sorry"
"..."
"Please don't do anything without the old man's agreement"
"How can I?! He killed Judy just because she cut my hair! Why does he call me his beloved?! I don't want to be his" I say as tears start falling onto my cheeks.
What a dumb body, it's not like Niv can see them
Am I cursed? But that doesn't make any sense
My crying started to echo through the room, but it was only strong enough for this room
My brother stayed quiet. He didn't say a word
"W-Why? Why did she die?"
"Because… It's the old man's will"
"I hate him!"
He comes closer to me, and lays his hand on my shoulder, and says, "You are hot. Looks like it's taking a toll on you. Please calm down"
I couldn't even if I wanted to
"Take deep breaths. It will help"
I did as he said, and my heart slowed down, but my eyes still hurt from crying
"Lets go to sleep for today. You can stay with me for today too"
I went to bed with him. All I could dream of were some scissors