It was a sunny day, clear sky, a bit windy...all that made it a nice day to enjoy, even for those that have forgotten how to enjoy the simple things in life. Courtney belonged to that group, a restless soul that was cast out from society over a decade ago. What's more surprising is that the exact same society, with its silly rules and procedures, forced her back into this world...a world she truly hated. “Why am I even here?” Courtney thought to herself while she was sitting on a bench. She was looking at the tombstone belonging to the grave in front of her. The names and dates on it were as follows:
Jonathan Vargas July 27, 758 AS - September 1, 810 AS
Megumi Vargas February 12, 764 AS - September 1, 810 AS
Courtney Mariko Vargas May 29, 792 AS - September 1, 810 AS
“Hey, we died exactly eleven years ago, apparently. Though, I’m quite alive...I guess.” Courtney then mumbled, so far she had only visited this grave once. This was the second time for her and now it’s just a weird feeling. Until now, Courtney didn’t manage to find out why her name was on that tombstone. However, after some time she just stopped caring...she didn’t even bother to ask the people in charge of the graveyard to remove her name. “Better to stay dead. Less problems.” She said…
These words, however, left her with a rather insecure feeling. She no longer trusted her memories about the event that happened eleven years ago, the event that took her parents away from her. All she knew was that she was locked away in a place nobody ever wants to be locked in. In that place, she was no longer treated like a human being and as the years passed, she lost most of her important memories, which kinda left her as an empty shell...a person without a real personality. The only source to get information from were old documents, and it was quite hard for her to believe in stories about herself that were written by strangers. “Who am I?” Was one of the numerous questions that plagued her every day.
Zoe popped her head up from behind a tombstone. She had taken it upon herself to follow and observe Courtney. Courtney had been acting very strangely recently. When Zoe brought up the bar incident that had destroyed a friendship they once had, Courtney couldn't recollect a single memory from the incident. Eventually, Courtney did remember the event and taunted Zoe in a bitter and hateful glory. However she had only managed to remember after Zoe had shown Courtney how to act like, well, Courtney. It was eerie and completely unlike the personality Zoe had once grown to like, and then had grown to hate.
Zoe took out a datapad from her pocket. She couldn't quite make out the names on the tombstone Courtney was looking at, but she'd write that down once Courtney had left. For now, she was going to begin recording whatever strange behavior Courtney might display. However, upon turning on her datapad it made a loud and clear "BLIP" noise, signalling that it was booting successfully. "Oh crap! I forgot to put it on silent!" Zoe mumbled silently to herself, desperately trying to configure the volume.
“Eh? What was that?” Courtney said after that noise had interrupted her thoughts. She then looked around. “Hmmm? Is my mind playing tricks on me now?” She commented and stood up. “Or is somebody spying on me? How exciting! Though, I wonder...why would somebody spy on Courtney?” It was quite hard for Courtney to figure out from which direction the sound came, as it only lasted for a few seconds. "Well I guess I'll just walk around and see if I can find anything."
“BLIP!” She imitated the sound while scanning the numerous tombstones and bushes in the graveyard with the hope to find what she was looking for. “BLIP! Well...I could’ve sworn it came from here, or was it in the other direction?” Courtney mumbled. “Hmmm, now you’re even chasing after ghosts… really now? But…”
Courtney wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she had the strange feeling that she was being watched. That feeling was common during the past ten years, people were constantly observing her from a safe place. It was disrespectful and always made her angry in the past. Now it was not any different, in fact, it was even worse. “Okay, enough of this. Whoever you are, wherever you are, I know that you’re here. Show yourself. I’m sick and tired of playing games.” Courtney yelled, hoping to receive an answer.
“Okay, enough of this. Whoever you are, wherever you are, I know that you’re here. Show yourself. I’m sick and tired of playing games.”
Zoe froze. Her cover had been blown, Courtney knew someone else was here. Zoe pondered whether to reveal herself or remain hidden. She picked up a nearby stone and tossed it into a far off bush, making it rustle as the stone broke past it's leaves.
“Eh?” Courtney said after she had heard the sounds caused by the stone. She then turned around and stared at that particular bush, however, she decided against further investigating it. Her gaze fell back on her parents' tombstone. “Well…playing games. As you wish.” Courtney mumbled and made her way back to said tombstone. On the way, she got extremely close to where Zoe was hiding.
“Let’s play games then” She began and sounded extremely annoyed. “I can wait all day for you to show yourself, no problem. But let me tell you the rules first, listen carefully...” Courtney stopped for a moment. “Well, there’s actually only one, but still…”
“The longer you keep me waiting, the more I’ll hurt you once we get to see each other. And trust me, I absolutely despise people who keep me waiting for an eternity.” She then sat down on the bench again and stared at the tombstone. 'Come out and play with Courtney', were her thoughts.
Zoe kept still. She didn't want to reveal her presence, however Courtney's threat scared her. She crouched lower, then put her datapad into her pocket. As she tried to adjust her position, she noticed that her jacket was snagged onto a branch. She pulled at discreetly, trying to break free whilst not getting noticed by the person she was spying on. "Come on.. Come on..." Zoe said, in a hushed whisper to herself.