*Able to.*
*Yesterday, I never was.*
*Today, I am.*
*Tomorrow... perhaps.*
*TICK*
As the red clock hit 8:12 AM, the sunlight slipped into my room through the open blue curtains. I never bothered to close them, even though I hated the cold. Outside, five birds, all of them together in a utility pole chirping. Inside, there was me, walls that surrounded me, a television, and a calendar where yesterday, Saturday, had also been crossed out. I picked up a red pen and crossed out Sunday too.
I turned on the television. Light flickered and my eyes didn't like it. A cartoon appeared. The name was "The Light That Protects the City."
A city was being attacked by some monsters. Screams, blood, and dead bodies. "Let me guess, he'll appear today at the 10 minute mark?"
A hero came in and saved the day. "Predictable since the first episode." I stood up. Episode 101 ended.
The floor creaked as I went downstairs to the kitchen. I took a look at my sister's room. It was arranged, clean, and organised. Something I only saw in comics.
"... You have woken up?" My sister didn't look at me. Around the kitchen table, there were three chairs. My sister sat on one, close to the door. The black rabbit doll sat on the other, in the middle. I sat on the last one, near the stairs. On the table, there were some biscuits, two cups of tea, and a strawberry flavoured pastry. My sister didn't sip any tea. She just held the cup.
I took a sip and looked at the black rabbit doll's eyes. "It is sweeter than it needs to be." My sister looked at the black rabbit doll. "Tell him," she paused there for 4 seconds. "I only used two... spoons of sugar."
She looked at me. I looked back. She looked up and so did I. She looked forward. Curious, I also did the same, but she came closer to me. Slightly closer than necessary. But before she made physical contact, she stopped there.
"Go to bed, it is... early for you." She looked at the black rabbit doll. It didn't blink. It never did unlike the clock which always kept moving. And today, it moved a bit too much.
*Why is it so loud?* I stood up and went towards my bedroom again. I looked at the calendar. The date was crossed out.
I erased the cross.
When I arrived downstairs, the doll wasn't in its chair. It was in my sister's lap, resting, getting cuddled. She looked at me, I looked at the door and went towards it.
Before opening it, I looked back. "Be sure... not to leave," my sister took the doll from its chair and cuddled it. She didn't look at me, but she clearly said that sentence to me. The black rabbit doll looked at me. I looked back into its eyes. I looked ahead, opening the door, but looked back at my sister once.
Words weren't spoken, and movements weren't made, for 30 whole seconds. Until I broke that chain by going outside. Looking ahead, there was light and colours everywhere, unlike behind me.
* * *
I walked down the streets of London to reach the road. Rocks scattered, colourful graffiti on the walls, and wrappers thrown here and there. An old lady was walking in the opposite direction, I looked down on the ground, chewing nothing in my mouth, and just trying to walk quickly. She stopped there. "Oh my, so you, till this day, are still alive?"
I paused there, thinking about words I could use as a reply, nothing felt good. But even worse, nothing felt natural. So I spoke nothing. I should've prepared something. She walked past me, and so did the world way before her.
I went forward, now having to face a novelty.
Vehicles and smoke had captured the roads. Stations weren't safe, and so were humans as two cars had just crashed into each other. Both of them were turned into worthless metal just because of a small accident which could've been solved easily, if we could reverse it.
"He looks so stupid," a lady pointed at two men arguing. "Yeah," the other made a video of them. I wondered if they were even old enough to own a licence as both of them looked quite young.
"Who the hell are you talking to when I am the victim?!" The man whose car was crashed into shouted, veins popping, eyes locked at the guy in front of him, and fists clenched. "Excuse me, victim and you?! Sir, wear some glasses first, then maybe you can see the truth." At least human humour was still the same.
I looked up at the Sun, and then at a park's trees which were fluttering. I exhaled, a small breath vapour came from my mouth, and started walking towards the park.
At the park, there was no one, not even children. I looked down and found some ants. They were making a colony together, when one fell, the others helped him stand up. They carried food and shelter together, because the winter season was coming. Looking around, I found three swings, and I sat in the middle. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes. Yet, no one came.
Places where I had expected noise were as silent as a graveyard, and everywhere else, I hear it.
I walked out of the park with some places in my mind to go, especially after such a long time.
* * *