25th April 1951 - Jake, Leeds

"Her life, ordained for marvels, will surpass dreams deemed implausible. She'll make you proud, Mrs. Walker, beyond what you could ever imagine."

He beams at Emily, his dark eyes glinting.

He turns his gaze towards me, and the shine fades away.

"Ah.. you, on the other hand.."

She glares at the drawing and drops it, causing it to fall to the floor as lightly as a feather.

I rip it apart.

They seal me up, darkness engulfs the room as their muffled laughter fills the air. Mommy. I'm frightened. I don't like it here. I bang on the door, begging them to let me out. My pleas fall on deaf ears as their giggles grow feeble, and they leave me in the gloomy room. I feel suffocated.

His hand punches me on the cheek, and pain tears through me.

"Stop that!" She hollers, making him flinch and widen his eyes upon the sight of her. I sigh with relief.

"A shattered soul, deemed unworthy of a lingering gaze, destined to be left behind, a testament to life's most discourteous fate. Preordained to wander in solitude, a soul untouched by the fleeting comforts of companionship. In the merciless scrolls of providence, written in crimson, lies the tale of one cursed to dwell in eternal isolation."

I wake up with a jolt. Cold beads of perspiration run down my forehead as my chest heaves.

Why do I feel so uneasy?

I can't perceive anything except the dim moonlight falling in via the tinted window. Oh. I quickly switch on the bedside lamp and exhale in alleviation. I squish Honey tightly within my arms and try to calm my racing heart. My eyelids surrender to the pull of dreams as I drift off again.

"Jake! Jakee!" I flare my eyes open as I hear someone calling me. I see someone staring directly at me. I'm gazing at myself. He's grinning. He doesn't have a scar like me.

"Who are you?" I enquire, as if in a trance.

"I'm the better half."

It's 7 AM. I snooze the alarm as I get up and stretch. I must've spun like a rotisserie chicken during sleep. My body aches as if I'm 82 years old.

I follow through with my usual morning routine and ascend on the bus.

The better half.. Was that supposed to mean something? Who was that? Surely it wasn't me.. Although it had an uncanny resemblance to me.

Yasmin's squeal pulls me out of my thoughts as she merrily sits beside me. I narrow my eyes and scowl at her as her smirk broadens.

"You're so cute when you're mad!" She giggles as she pinches my cheeks rather harshly.

Over-enthusiastic for god-knows-what this morning.

We chat through the ride, our daily ritual. There's this new student who joined a few weeks ago, and she's been eyeing us both since she arrived here. She keeps whistling and teasing us, as if we're a couple on a date.

Christ, we're fricking nine years old, Mary.