This is the
short story I wrote for my final assignment in English. It is modeled on
Miriam by Truman Capote and the idea of unwanted visitors. The ending
is a bit odd... Haha. But the aim is to show that the unwanted visitor
is not always an attacker, they are sometimes a victim as well.
Kira had lived by herself for several years, but she was only just starting to get used to it. Kira was 23, studying psychology at Sydney University. She was by no means an introvert, but she opted to rent a small, single person apartment just off-campus because sometimes the loud nature of people instilled a silence in her that was not natural in her eyes. Kira’s only striking feature was her height. At an almost mountainous 6’5”, she towered over every person she had ever met, including the rest of her family.
Kira believed that all the people in your life should bring out the best in you and that there is something just under the surface of our consciousness that we should strive to unlock. She didn’t know what she was looking for when trying to complete this task, just as she didn’t know how she was going to bring out the unconscious, but she immersed herself in psychology to try and find her key to life.
Then she met Alen I. Well, met in a very loose interpretation of the word. It was raining that day and Kira had forgotten her umbrella. She didn’t mind so much, the rain washed away all the irrelevant thoughts that she otherwise would have had, but her books were getting wet. As if materialising from the rain, a figure stepped up beside her and held a bright green umbrella over her head. Which would have normally been impossible but this boy was taller than Kira.
Many thoughts ran through Kira’s head in rapid succession at this strange point in her otherwise normal life. They were something along the lines of; oh, so I’m not the tallest person in the world, that’s odd. Why have I not noticed this mildly attractive boy before? Bright green is a weird colour; it makes me feel fearless, gross and extremely happy all at the same time. How did he see me in all this ominous mist? Why is mist always ominous? This boy did not even ask if wanted I wanted an umbrella, he just knew.
After a couple of minutes of the kind of silence that Kira so desired, the boy spoke, “I do not believe we have met before, my name is Alen I. I noticed you were in need of an umbrella.” Kira didn’t quite know how to respond to this situation. Although the umbrella was unusually large, she felt claustrophobic, but in a good way. She had a strange urge to get as close to this stranger as she could. “It is perfectly fine if you do not feel like talking, I understand,” his smooth voice interrupted Kira’s thoughts. “I’m Kira,” she replied. She felt that words were not adequate for this particular situation, so she didn’t say anything else. And neither did he.
Somehow, they ended up at Kira’s front door. She had not directed Alen in any way, he just knew. Kira felt that this should have worried her, but it didn’t, so she banished the thought to the recesses of her mind. Once she was inside, she knew Alen was different than all people she had ever met. She did not know whether it was his height, his ability to know things about her, or just him; but Kira was determined to find out.
Over the next couple of days, Alen was nowhere to be seen. Kira knew he must be somewhere around campus, for that is where the great umbrella meet had occurred. He was the right age to be a Uni student as well. Although, Kira knew that the atmosphere around her had shifted. Something wasn’t quite right. Sometimes she’d see something out of the corner of her eye, but it was just a flash, a streak, a blur of colours.
Then suddenly, Kira saw Alen everywhere. Suddenly, he was in all of her classes. Suddenly, he caught the same bus as her. Suddenly, he ate at the same restaurants as her. At first Kira thought this was some cruel joke the universe was playing on her. “Okay,” she thought, “I get it, I wanted to find him, I wanted to see if he could help me find my key. That doesn’t mean you have to shove him in my face.” But that’s just what the universe did.
Alen seemed to enjoy Kira’s discomfort. Every time she saw him her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and her lip twitched. Soon, she would narrow her eyes and look at the sky as if it contained all the answers. And at this Alen would smile and give a hearty wave. No more than this, and no less, at least five times a day.
After two weeks of torture, Kira began to get used to Alen waving at her from across rooms; this is when he changed his act. Kira would get home from class and find him standing on her front door step. She would be about to sit down when he would appear and tuck her chair in for her. This Kira could not handle. But Alen was forever persistent.
One horribly sunny day, Kira found Alen at her door again and decided to try a different tactic. She invited him in. Alen seemed only a smidgeon surprised at this offer, which dampened the prospect a bit, but it was too late to back down. Kira was determined to once and for all solve the mystery of Alen. Why he was following her everywhere, but not actually doing anything particularly creepy. Why he was so interesting yet so dull all at once. Why she could not concentrate on her goal of finding out what lay within her because all she could think about was Alen, Alen, Alen.
With him, Alen had a box. Kira did not want to be curious, she felt that she should be repulsed, but she wasn’t. Once inside, he set it down and began poking around Kira’s house. While looking in her fridge, he called out, “Under no circumstances will you open that box!” That seemed intensely unfair, he got to search through all her personal belongings and she wasn’t even allowed to look what he had in one small box. Who did Alen think he was? Some sort of important person that could tell her what to do? No way! So Kira opened that box right then. And there was some sort of mobile phone-looking device inside. Just as Kira was going to pick it up, Alen came back in to the room, holding one of Kira’s favourite necklaces. Both stopped in their tracks and stared and what the other person had in their hands. “Well, I guess we’re even then,” Kira said. Alen just nodded and began fiddling with the clasp on her necklace. “You bring out the best in me,” Alen whispered after a while.
“What did you just say?” Kira exclaimed.
“You bring out the best in me and I need your help bringing it out all the way. You see I’m buried behind my conscious thoughts…”
“Is this some kind of joke? Has this all been some elaborate plan to humiliate me on television or something else ridiculous?”
“No! Of course not! I would never do that, because you are the only one that can help. You are the only one who understands.”
There was a loaded silence in the room. Kira had a very strange feeling that Alen had been reading her mind this whole time and that he was reading her mind right now to sense how she was feeling about this outrageous outburst of her very own thesis. That she had never ever shared with anyone before.
“Look I don’t know why you’ve been stalking me or how you know all that stuff or in fact what this device is, but I don’t like it one bit. So you get out of my house right now Alen I.,” said Kira with as much sincerity as she could muster, for you see, that curious feeling was crawling along her spine once again. Alen looked as if he was about to leave but instead he asked, “Are you sure you want me to go?” And there was nothing Kira could answer but, “No.”
Kira sat in silence, the silence she loved, as Alen worked around her. He would occasionally look into her eyes to test her reaction, but then his attention would turn back to the many wires he was connecting around her skull from the device in the box. He was wearing her necklace and she couldn’t help but think that it suited him in an odd way.
Hours later, Kira was beginning to grow tired of trying, but she would not give up. She was not only finally going to be able to gain her key to life itself, but she was helping someone in great need. Don’t you see? Alen was not in need of power, he was not the attacker; he was the victim. And Kira could be the superhero that he needed.
Later that day, Kira sat in silence. She thought about the many revelations this day had contained. Alen I. was in fact an alien from another galaxy trapped in a human body. He was trapped just under his conscious mind, like she knew everyone must be, and he needed a mind like hers to break free. Once she had released him, with the help of his machine and her necklace, he was able to shoot away amongst the stars, to where he belongs. And leave her behind. “You bring out the best in me,” he had said. But Kira now realized it was the other way around. She had found out who she was. She was not the victim of a crazy psychopath; she was someone that could help people with the power of her mind and her ability to look beyond the probable. Kira could not read minds, but she could walk a mile in another person’s shoes, which is a skill that will go a long way in this harsh, misunderstanding world.
P.S. Got in to Pottermore today! =D
Kira had lived by herself for several years, but she was only just starting to get used to it. Kira was 23, studying psychology at Sydney University. She was by no means an introvert, but she opted to rent a small, single person apartment just off-campus because sometimes the loud nature of people instilled a silence in her that was not natural in her eyes. Kira’s only striking feature was her height. At an almost mountainous 6’5”, she towered over every person she had ever met, including the rest of her family.
Kira believed that all the people in your life should bring out the best in you and that there is something just under the surface of our consciousness that we should strive to unlock. She didn’t know what she was looking for when trying to complete this task, just as she didn’t know how she was going to bring out the unconscious, but she immersed herself in psychology to try and find her key to life.
Then she met Alen I. Well, met in a very loose interpretation of the word. It was raining that day and Kira had forgotten her umbrella. She didn’t mind so much, the rain washed away all the irrelevant thoughts that she otherwise would have had, but her books were getting wet. As if materialising from the rain, a figure stepped up beside her and held a bright green umbrella over her head. Which would have normally been impossible but this boy was taller than Kira.
Many thoughts ran through Kira’s head in rapid succession at this strange point in her otherwise normal life. They were something along the lines of; oh, so I’m not the tallest person in the world, that’s odd. Why have I not noticed this mildly attractive boy before? Bright green is a weird colour; it makes me feel fearless, gross and extremely happy all at the same time. How did he see me in all this ominous mist? Why is mist always ominous? This boy did not even ask if wanted I wanted an umbrella, he just knew.
After a couple of minutes of the kind of silence that Kira so desired, the boy spoke, “I do not believe we have met before, my name is Alen I. I noticed you were in need of an umbrella.” Kira didn’t quite know how to respond to this situation. Although the umbrella was unusually large, she felt claustrophobic, but in a good way. She had a strange urge to get as close to this stranger as she could. “It is perfectly fine if you do not feel like talking, I understand,” his smooth voice interrupted Kira’s thoughts. “I’m Kira,” she replied. She felt that words were not adequate for this particular situation, so she didn’t say anything else. And neither did he.
Somehow, they ended up at Kira’s front door. She had not directed Alen in any way, he just knew. Kira felt that this should have worried her, but it didn’t, so she banished the thought to the recesses of her mind. Once she was inside, she knew Alen was different than all people she had ever met. She did not know whether it was his height, his ability to know things about her, or just him; but Kira was determined to find out.
Over the next couple of days, Alen was nowhere to be seen. Kira knew he must be somewhere around campus, for that is where the great umbrella meet had occurred. He was the right age to be a Uni student as well. Although, Kira knew that the atmosphere around her had shifted. Something wasn’t quite right. Sometimes she’d see something out of the corner of her eye, but it was just a flash, a streak, a blur of colours.
Then suddenly, Kira saw Alen everywhere. Suddenly, he was in all of her classes. Suddenly, he caught the same bus as her. Suddenly, he ate at the same restaurants as her. At first Kira thought this was some cruel joke the universe was playing on her. “Okay,” she thought, “I get it, I wanted to find him, I wanted to see if he could help me find my key. That doesn’t mean you have to shove him in my face.” But that’s just what the universe did.
Alen seemed to enjoy Kira’s discomfort. Every time she saw him her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and her lip twitched. Soon, she would narrow her eyes and look at the sky as if it contained all the answers. And at this Alen would smile and give a hearty wave. No more than this, and no less, at least five times a day.
After two weeks of torture, Kira began to get used to Alen waving at her from across rooms; this is when he changed his act. Kira would get home from class and find him standing on her front door step. She would be about to sit down when he would appear and tuck her chair in for her. This Kira could not handle. But Alen was forever persistent.
One horribly sunny day, Kira found Alen at her door again and decided to try a different tactic. She invited him in. Alen seemed only a smidgeon surprised at this offer, which dampened the prospect a bit, but it was too late to back down. Kira was determined to once and for all solve the mystery of Alen. Why he was following her everywhere, but not actually doing anything particularly creepy. Why he was so interesting yet so dull all at once. Why she could not concentrate on her goal of finding out what lay within her because all she could think about was Alen, Alen, Alen.
With him, Alen had a box. Kira did not want to be curious, she felt that she should be repulsed, but she wasn’t. Once inside, he set it down and began poking around Kira’s house. While looking in her fridge, he called out, “Under no circumstances will you open that box!” That seemed intensely unfair, he got to search through all her personal belongings and she wasn’t even allowed to look what he had in one small box. Who did Alen think he was? Some sort of important person that could tell her what to do? No way! So Kira opened that box right then. And there was some sort of mobile phone-looking device inside. Just as Kira was going to pick it up, Alen came back in to the room, holding one of Kira’s favourite necklaces. Both stopped in their tracks and stared and what the other person had in their hands. “Well, I guess we’re even then,” Kira said. Alen just nodded and began fiddling with the clasp on her necklace. “You bring out the best in me,” Alen whispered after a while.
“What did you just say?” Kira exclaimed.
“You bring out the best in me and I need your help bringing it out all the way. You see I’m buried behind my conscious thoughts…”
“Is this some kind of joke? Has this all been some elaborate plan to humiliate me on television or something else ridiculous?”
“No! Of course not! I would never do that, because you are the only one that can help. You are the only one who understands.”
There was a loaded silence in the room. Kira had a very strange feeling that Alen had been reading her mind this whole time and that he was reading her mind right now to sense how she was feeling about this outrageous outburst of her very own thesis. That she had never ever shared with anyone before.
“Look I don’t know why you’ve been stalking me or how you know all that stuff or in fact what this device is, but I don’t like it one bit. So you get out of my house right now Alen I.,” said Kira with as much sincerity as she could muster, for you see, that curious feeling was crawling along her spine once again. Alen looked as if he was about to leave but instead he asked, “Are you sure you want me to go?” And there was nothing Kira could answer but, “No.”
Kira sat in silence, the silence she loved, as Alen worked around her. He would occasionally look into her eyes to test her reaction, but then his attention would turn back to the many wires he was connecting around her skull from the device in the box. He was wearing her necklace and she couldn’t help but think that it suited him in an odd way.
Hours later, Kira was beginning to grow tired of trying, but she would not give up. She was not only finally going to be able to gain her key to life itself, but she was helping someone in great need. Don’t you see? Alen was not in need of power, he was not the attacker; he was the victim. And Kira could be the superhero that he needed.
Later that day, Kira sat in silence. She thought about the many revelations this day had contained. Alen I. was in fact an alien from another galaxy trapped in a human body. He was trapped just under his conscious mind, like she knew everyone must be, and he needed a mind like hers to break free. Once she had released him, with the help of his machine and her necklace, he was able to shoot away amongst the stars, to where he belongs. And leave her behind. “You bring out the best in me,” he had said. But Kira now realized it was the other way around. She had found out who she was. She was not the victim of a crazy psychopath; she was someone that could help people with the power of her mind and her ability to look beyond the probable. Kira could not read minds, but she could walk a mile in another person’s shoes, which is a skill that will go a long way in this harsh, misunderstanding world.
P.S. Got in to Pottermore today! =D
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