The body dropped from the 5th floor and an eerie silence accompanied it. The person could be identified as a male with long greyish-black hair and pale skin that glistened in whiteness yet blemished with dark spots. He wore a black tracksuit whilst being barefoot. His eyes remained closed as he fell to his death.

One he had already accepted.

Seeing all this was a female with rectangular shaped glasses but only one eye remained bare as the other was covered by an eye patch. She had standard length scarlet silky hair that was tied into a ponytail and wore a long black dress. She had an African aesthetic that allowed her clothing to accentuate her near flawless figure. Her feet were occupied by closed sandals and her one scarlet eye widened as she witnessed the male falling to his death. Her exotic appearance was quite unique and one that would garner attention everywhere.

In that moment her heart stilled and her breathing immediately grew heavy. The bottle of water that occupied her right hand fell out as she began running straight towards the direction of his fall, instinct overtook her and she let go of any hesitation in her mind.

I can make it, I can make it, I can make it.

Her mindset was only occupied with thought of the saving the young man.

Everything began slow down; time seemingly grew slower. Was it in her perspective or just the world? She didn't know. She didn't want to know. She knew what she had to do. As she drew closer and closer, the falling body seemingly moved further and further away.

I won't make it; I won't make it.

She screamed in her mind.

Seconds seemed like minutes and minutes like hours.

Just before the male's body hit the ground...

Time completely halted.

"Only two?" I thought they would be more. Maybe he has the others.", A voice sounded out.

"Let me bring them In." The voice sounded out once more.

The moon in sky glowed more brightly than before, exuding an aura of brilliance. The moonlight's intensity grew to a point where it rid out any darkness its presence assumed. Everything grew white, their surroundings grew faint and the male and female found themselves in something beyond impossible.

Time resumed as the male hit ...

Nothing.

The female was still in shock and remained still. Her disorientated senses reestablished themselves before taking in her new environment. A 'White' world filled her vision and seemingly took reference to Heaven. She was stupefied but not necessarily scared, she looked around looking for him. She lowered her head and there he was. She quickly analyzed his condition determining him to be unconscious, so she crouched to his level and slapped his right cheek with enough force to wake him but he did not. She looked at him worriedly and didn't panic leading her to simply take in a deep breath to calm herself.

She thought for a moment ...

Then it hit her.

She quickly looked around her and sprinted into a certain direction. There, she picked up her water bottle that looked to be suspending in space with no form of gravity acting upon it then sprinted back to where the male laid.

She uncapped the lid and poured the water on his face.

"What ....", he woke up in a stupor. That cold feeling he ought to feel from the water could not be registered. His perception was filled with 'Whiteness'.

"Is.. this.. death..? It's so.. quiet... and feels.. warm.. It.. feels.. safe.", the male said to himself in a relieved tone. His hoarse voice was shallow and a tinge of roughness which most people wouldn't be able to understand. He had a blank expression. His eyes were faded and had no focus at all. He only noticed the 'White' world and nothing else.

"But.. why.., why.. do. I. still.. feel.. this.. way? Why.. is.. there.. still.. pain?", he asked himself in a saddened tone as tears trickled down the corner of his eyes. He slowly composed himself and looked up to see a female looking at him with a concerned expression.

She looked at him quietly without saying a single word as she only observed his actions and listened to his self-talk.

"Who.. are.. you.., have.. you.. also.. died.. as.. I?", he asked in a plain tone stretching out each word as slowly and long as possible evident of his distorted speech as his tears stopped unknowingly. His belief that he and this woman had died subconsciously let him relieve all that weighted on his mind, the tragedies, the failures, the misery. All of it went into smoke.

She took residence next to him then looked up at the 'White sky' and said,

"I don't know. I saw you... and so I wanted to help you then I just remember landing here."

"Ironic.. to.. think.. that.. a.. wish.. I.. made.. would.. be.. fulfilled.. with.. my.. death..", The male said as he looked at her disregarding her intention to save him as he felt that what she did was meaningless, after all he considered himself meaningless.

"I believe we aren't dead because if we did then I would probably be in Heaven right about now singing with Angels and in my own golden mansion, don't you think?", She smiled not reacting the slightest to his manner of speech.

"Heaven.., huh..? Such.. a. place... cannot.. be.. reserved.. for.. people... like.. me.", he said straightforwardly immediately silencing her for a moment.

"Why? Why did you...?", she asked in a soft voice expecting the male to react aggressively yet contrary to her expectations the male remain calm.

"My.. life.. was.. a.. life.. that.. wasn't.. a.. life.. I. wished.. to.. live..", he said.

She listened attentively and sighed heavily. He then looked deep into her eye,

"Well... , I. can.. also.. see.. it.. in.. your.. eye.., while.. you.. tried.. to.. hide.. behind.. that.. fake.. smile.. of.. yours.., I.. know.. deep.. down.. inside.. you.. just.. wanted.. to.. let.. everything.. go.., let.. everything.. die. 

You.. held.. on.. a.. thin.. rope.. of.. hope.. knowing.. that.. there.. is.. no.. hope.. in.. your.. heart.. yet.. you.. so.. graciously.. attempted.. to.. find.. it.. in.. another. 

You.. continued.. trying.. to.. convince.. yourself.. that.. you.. can.. do.. it.. and.. find.. a.. way.. but.. reality.. continued.. to.. beat.. you.. down.. like.. the.. insignificant.. person.. you.. were.

You.. tried.. to.. get.. up.. but.. couldn't.. so.. you.. crawled.. throughout.. your.. whole.. life. Your.. beliefs.. wavered.., your.. faith.. faded.. like.. a.. candle.. in.. the.. wind.. and.. you.. were.. a.. moth.. moving.. aimlessly.. to.. find.. a.. purpose.. but.. couldn't. 

Yet.., through.. all.. this.. you.. persevered.. through .. willpower.. alone.

At.. the.. very.. least.. you.. succeeded.. where.. I.. failed."

She turned her head to look deep into his eyes. She couldn't retort because everything he had said was true and honestly she was kinda creeped out by his accurate evaluation. So , she simply looked at him blankly and he looked back at her with the same expression.

She asked," What's your name?".

"Lennox. You..?", he said

"Lauren.", she said and then silence resumed for many minutes.

"I.. have.. a.. guess...? Do.. you.. want.. to.. hear.. it..?", Lennox's voice sounded out after some time.

She nodded slowly.

"You.. have.. the.. bearing.. of.. an.. orphan.., were.. you.. one..?", he asked.

She squinted her eye and looked at him with caution.

"Care.. to.. share.. your.. misfortunes..?", he asked dismissing her change of attitude.

"Why do assume I was an orphan or that I carry misfortunes?", she asked in bewilderment.

"Just.. a.. guess..", he said with a wide grin revealing his white teeth.

"Well we aren't leaving this place anytime soon so a little story wont hurt much", Lauren sighed softly 

" It starts from a while back, approximately 6 years ago..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Lauren, Lauren..", a feminine yet soothing voice echoed unceasingly.

"On my way Mom", said a young energic lass exuding the aura of a bright teen.

Born in South Africa, in a province called Gauteng. I lived with my father and Mother there in a city called Johannesburg. Honestly, we didn't have much, we lived in the slums and struggled a lot to make ends meet but our little family always kept a positive attitude and believed that in due time things will change because they also believed that I would be able change our fates and walk down a road of prosperity. My father originated from Spain but migrated to South Africa against his will to work as a laborer and died very earlier in my life because of that. It was only the two of us, all of our other family members had already died or left us because were surmised as burdens and hinderances. They gave up on us and Father died but she never lost her positivity, her belief that everything will be alright always seemed to personify whatever hopeless situation we landed ourselves in. It was her boundless positivity that kept me going even in the darkest times of our life. Subconsciously, she became a beacon of hope. She became my heart.

"Hurry Up. You'll be late for school.", Cheryl, Lauren's mom frantically prattled about, moving in all directions to get all of Lauren's school equipment.

"On my way Mom", screamed the young lass in excitement.

Cheryl chuckled and proceeded to pack all the necessary items in a black school bag. She turned towards her daughter who was hugging her with a gentle smile on face.

"Just on time", Cheryl's African aestheticism showcased its true significance with the corners of her scarlet lips raising themselves in response to her daughter's excitement. Her scarlet exotic eyes made her prone to stereotypical endeavors that segregated her from society which was also made evident with her daughter. She obviously wished such a burden never fell on her daughter's shoulder but fate seemed to have other plans for her. She eventually grew to accept such an outcome. Being personified as the devil himself truly made her feel like all that there is to life is misery and havoc yet even then she still believed that things could change but not for her but for the little one who looked up to her. That fragment of light that gave her way was the only reason she remained alive even when her husband died.

"Mom let's go", Lauren smiled happily as she took the bag in hand and ran towards the door.

Cheryl chuckled once again. She was extremely proud of this daughter of hers, even after everything they went through, she still kept her head held high and moved forward with the belief that things will get better.

"My daughter has grown up, huh?," said Cheryl catching up to her daughter as they then proceeded to leave the building and walked to school.

I never really had many friends when I attended Highschool but I had one that meant the world to me. Her name was Julia. She essentially was a South African native and one of the most open-minded people I've met. She also was one of the only people in this world that never judged me.

"Woah, your eyes remind me of a certain anime character that could create fire with their eyes. How COOL!!!", a voice of surprise and bewilderment expressed itself without reserve. It undoubtedly was genuine and seemingly hid a hint of envy.

Lauren's peripheral vision was occupied by a short and very energetic young lass. Her lightly toned skin easily made her distinguishable as a child born from parents of two different races. While discrimination was not exercised with prying eyes it still existed and she always received the end of the stick. Seeing someone so different gave her a feeling of closeness. Her comical brown eyes sprang into view which was accompanied by her ragged hair that was tied into two pony tails. It was obvious who her favorite cartoon character was just by her appearance. Currently, both Lauren and Julia were in school all attired in their uniform just getting ready for the morning announcements by the school principal.

"Uh, Thanks", Lauren responded in a shivering tone. Her social anxiety lit up, all the insecurities about her own being completely overwhelmed her psyche. She obviously did not speak much outside of her home because of the indifference, ridicule, fear and prejudices she would suffer because of her exotic eyes. In this instance, she predetermined that this girl was merely making fun of her through a façade of kindness.

Why wasn't she leaving already? She's obviously here to make fun of me like the rest of 'Them'. I hate it, I hate it so much. THIS SUCKS!!!!' , Lauren screamed in her head.

"So awesome, what Is your name? Mine is Julia", she said with a bright smile.

Lauren was caught by surprise and stood there seemingly struck by lightning.

"Uh.., its.. Lau..ren", she stated after a few seconds whilst stuttering in between her words.

Julia chuckled eventually laughing because Lauren's bewildered expression truly was funny to her.

"I think we are going to great friends.", Julia hooked her arm around Lauren's and began walking to their classroom.

"Yeah...", She was left shocked and followed her whim. A friendship she never thought she would have suddenly popped out of nowhere and she was nowhere near ready for it.