Leaves blew by the paved sidewalk, many rolling till hit it some leafless shrubs. The sun shined far from its edge within the horizon with its oranges and yellows as it contrasted with the deeper blues from the other side. Its blazing rays hit the top of a coal-colored hood with enough heat to make it feel as if it was flammable. The boy wearing the hood felt as if he were to catch a fever

The Boy: Sometimes I wish my parents would’ve chosen to live in Michigan rather than Texas.

Thought the boy. His name is Ray Caster, the son of the infamous family of the local town, who everyone seemed to always feel odd around. He waited for the school bus on the hot, autumn morning. Luckily for him, the bus would arrive early, and he was able to shield his eyes from the smoldering light. The bus was a bit different from most, with a darker tint on its yellow paint. This, along with the broken AC would lead to the internal head accumulating quickly, which after some time would make the bus as hot as a sauna. Ray sat on of the seats towards the back, keeping his feet closed and straight. The bus would soon stop at a slightly-corroded stop sign. One of the kids standing on the sidewalk was filled with anticipation, getting into the road just as the bus came to a screeching halt. Ray could see the kid’s hair blow back from the air that followed the bus stop, yet their face kept a stiff grin.

Ray, though trying to hold himself back, pulled a slight smile as well. The eccentric kid is Timothy Wood, or Tim as Ray called him, and his pumped-up aura gave Ray reassurance that today, he won’t be completely alone. Tim was a man who was a bit higher than Ray; his hair was messy yet it followed a consistent wave along the right; his eyes appear with malice due to his thick, slanted eyebrows. What really made him notable though was his smile, in which he looked filled with contempt and terror upon first glance. But that egregious smile seemed to have comforted Ray.

Tim hopped on the seat in front of Ray’s and told him good morning, in which Ray remained quiet. He took some time to pull out his brand-new Walkman that he had gotten for his birthday last week, inserting a cassette from the Nightflight To Venus album and put one of the headphones on his left ear. His head popped up from the back of the seat, his grin still welded on his face.

Tim: “Yo Ray, Ferris and his girlfriend are going to host a huge party tomorrow night at Wilston Memorial Park, we should definitely ask if we could join.”

He gesticulated with his hands, trying to incentivize Ray into agreeing with him. Ray simply ignored it.

Ray: “Mm- Ferris hasn’t really talked to me recently, and either way, he usually gets a tad too crazy during parties.”

Tim: “Come on dude, you spend too much time at home anyways. Also, it’s going to be at Wilston’s, and Ferris ain’t the one to ruin what he thinks is pretty.”

Ray feels as if he’s only asking him since he doesn’t like going to places alone, or so he presumes. However, Ray still denies the offer, even though he quite sympathizes with him. The conversation has gotten Ray to think about Ferris again though.

Ferris is an odd boy; a mostly sweet and honest man, but he has a side to him that’s wild and chaotic. He likes to have things in order and planned, and always wears the same light-blue plaid shirt to school with a black double Windsor tie with triumph. Many have said he fits the requirements of being a ‘nerd’, yet he was able to gain immense popularity in his school, Wellest Memorial High School. His remarkably clever and charismatic wits seemed to have proved the worth of his identity. Ray has a deep fondness for Ferris, as he would help him with schoolwork and talk to him without wanting anything back. Ferris is also one of the few who despite Ray’s strange markings on his face, would never treat him differently. However, recently, Ferris has gotten a bit distant. He would start talking to Ray less and Ray had instantly noticed it.

Ray: “If it’s what is worth, you can have some money to buy his weird candy.”

Ray gave a wry smile to Tim, who gave a face of disapproval, yet accepted his offer.

Tim: “Man, he really does have some interesting hobbies huh, but I’ll accept your offer.”

Ray takes out his wallet from his pocket and goes through the many cents to find a few quarters, nickels, and pennies. He places the coins on Tim’s palm, which he closes quickly and moves back to behind the seat. Tim would then place his other headphone in his ear. By the time Ray looked out the window, the last set of kids on the bus route was getting on. As they passed by the aisle to find seats, some would notice Ray and moved back. Ray mulls himself because of it.

Ray: Why couldn’t I be more— normal?

 

---

 

A bird lands on the ledge of a window, they turn its head sporadically in search of its partner. Ray watches the bird flap their wings as they head towards one of the tall, skinny trees out in the distance. The shade of the near trees kept Ray comfortable in his window seat, his elbow on the table with his hand on his chin.

Ray would begin to listen in to the actual classroom discussion, but as he looks around, he notices many students subtly glaring at him. Since he was at the very back of the class, it was easy for Ray to notice their glares, yet this would only make him feel more odious.

???: “And by using this special cosine equation, we can find the angle between vector A and B.”

The teacher finished his lesson for the day, boxing the answer to the problem written on the chalkboard. She looks back toward the class and notices that Ray hasn’t written anything on his paper.

Teacher: “Mr. Caster, would you like to come up to the board and help solve our next problem?”

Ray silently sighed the moment he heard his name, and though he was reluctant to get up, he knew he couldn’t oppose the teacher without getting into pointless drama. He stood up and walked towards the front of the room as he sensed the eyes that tracked him all the way through. After treading through the middle of the class, Ray picked up the chalk and waited for the teacher to continue.

Teacher: “Okay, for example 4, vector a has a component form of <5,2,6> and vector b has a component form of—“

As the teacher was voicing the example problem, Ray, as if mindlessly controlled, wrote the aspects of the equation on the chalkboard. After the teacher finished and asked for the first step, Ray kept staring at the board. Soon, his vision would start to lose focus as well as his hearing became muted. Slowly, he closed his eyes, the soft black color comforted him. Unfortunately, he could still hear some of the weak chattering from the students.

???: “Look’s like he’s being weird again.”

???: “You think he’ll take another nap? Heh-“

???: “Can’t believe he’s still doing this.”

Ray attempted to ignore the many backtalk that was happening right behind him.

The gossip and remarks were nothing new to Ray, it had been this way for the past few years now, and he has gotten used to it. They'd always talk about his appearance, mainly his unatural viney scar that was on his left cheek. However, Ray's infamousity was due to an event that when hearing from others, just tries to shut his ears and end his sense of hearing. That time, even though everyone, even the teachers had gazed him with contempt, he had shared the same view as well.

The only thing he can do now was to slowly fade his thoughts to a simple presence were it couldn't be vulnerable to whatever anyone says.

Slowly, his mind faded to obscurity and once again, Ray has fallen asleep.

 

---

 

Male Voice: “I think Ray is about to come home in a few minutes, so we should probably set up the table.”

Female Voice: “Alright, I’m almost done cooking the pasta, hopefully he doesn’t notice too soon before we talk to him about the plan.”

Ray’s mother, Alicia, spoke to her husband, Cylis, as she tilted her face toward the top of the pot. The pot contained pasta sunk in boiling water, and the steam coming from it quickly heats up her face. Alicia closed the pot with its top and turned off the stove, and swiftly walks towards Cylis who has begun to set up the dining table.

Alicia: “You sure he won’t be upset by such a sudden decision, what if he-“

Cylis: “Don’t worry, I can tell when a man is bothered by something, and this world is definitely one of them!”

Alicia preached her worries to Cylis, but before she could finish, Cylis pinched both of her cheeks with his fingers after they finished putting the legs on the table. However, she seemed displeased by Cylis’ behavior, as her chest puffed along with her face shifted to a wry demeanor.

Cylis: “That boy has never brought any friend here, nor does he go to hang out with any either.”

Alicia: “What about Tim? You shouldn’t be so inconsiderate of him.”

Cylis: “Ugh- that kid gives me the creeps, I couldn’t have the kindness to acknowledge him as one of his friends. I don’t want his influence to reach Ray.”

Alicia: “Cylis..”

Cylis: “What? That’s what you’re here for, ain't it?”

Alicia pouted, already tired of the argument with her rude husband. However, even though his inadequate behavior can be tricky, she couldn’t keep her anger as she stared at her once-before fiancée. Soon she became mesmerized by her husband like the night they’d met. His flat chin covered with a rough beard and a rougher smile, along with gentle black hair that flew from the left to the right. Even the clothes he wears fit his dreamy style, with the white striped coat flavored by a creamy-white bow. However, even with Cylis’ unintentional seduction, Alicia put a foot down to him.

Alicia: “Well- even then, I’d appreciate if you were to be nicer. You’ve gotta be a good role model for Ray.”

Cylis: “Maybe, but—“

Before Cylis could say an excuse, the front door opened. It was slow, but the creak was loud enough for both of them to notice it. They soon heard footsteps enter the premises as the wind blew slightly inside, waving the plants in the doorway. As the figure got into Alicia’s sight, her face sprung up with excitement.

Alicia: “Ah- Ray! Glad you’re early, we’ve got something big to discuss.”

Ray: “Oh?”

Ray had gained immediate interest in his mother, as it's very rare for him to find anything intriguing in his parents. However, his complexion didn’t change in the slightest, as his interest has only gotten equal to his doubts.

Alicia: “Yes, we will have a big discussion during dinner, so do what you need while I finish preparing the food. That, or help me?”

Ray: “Sure, I guess. I don’t have any homework to do.”

Alicia: “Excellent!”

Raising his eyebrow a little, Ray is slightly garnering a suspicion towards his mother. To him, his mother had never been expressive about his mundane life at school, yet today it’s as if she always was.

Cylis: “Alright, come here then Ray, I need your help with aligning the table.”

Ray: “Okay.”

Cylis grabs one end of the table while Ray grabs the other. They lift up the table and move its angle to be parallel to the wall. As they were doing this, Ray saw that many of the furniture and items in the house has been gone missing or looked as if it were about to be moved. Frames were placed upon cardboard boxes, star-shaped stickers on the walls were cleanly removed, and the open cabinets in the kitchen are almost all empty.

Ray: “Why are things gone?”

Cylis: “——“

Cylis didn’t know how to respond to Ray’s question, instead he looked at Alicia for an answer. Alicia looking back after hearing Ray’s question, gave a dimly sigh. Responding with a gentle, but noticeably nervous tone:

Alicia: “Let’s start dinner first.”

…

Merely touching his mother’s spicy lasagna, Ray stares at the two people next to him as they chat about their day. Slowly, his eyesight loses focus as he daydreams of nothing.

Alicia: “When I told them I was going to leave, they were distraught, to say the least. Oh, their poor faces just fill me with guilt. I felt bad just for thinking of going away; they were my only friends there after all.”

Cylis: “Tsk- They’re always so dramatic. Knowing you, you’ll probably go to visit them every other weekend. Ya’ll are just inseparable!”

Alicia: “Don’t be like that Cylis, I-“

Alicia stopped herself from continuing once she noticed her silent son just staring at them. Her heart was hit with slight guilt, and turn to face him. Her attempt to keep things natural had backfired.

Alicia: “Ah, sorry Ray. I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”

Ray: “It’s fine.”

Alicia places a few fingers by her cheek as she apologized, although she didn’t feel content with her son’s response.

Alicia: “So.. I’m sorry that it’s so sudden and late to say this but-“

Her eyes strayed off from Ray as she realized the extent of the issue of revealing something that shouldn’t have been so urgent.

Ray: “——“

Alicia: “Your grandfather had sent us a letter detailing some complicated things, but one of the biggest things we have to do is.. We’ll have to move back to Memoria.”

Unexpected to Alicia, Ray casts an expression not of annoyance, but of slight confusion.

Ray: “Memoria? You mean within the Midnight Forest?”

Cylis: “Yes, your grandfather has gotten sick and we can’t trust him to be alone, so we must move in with him as soon as possible.”

Alicia: “I’m very sorry if the news is bothersome, but we have to leave by tomorrow.”

The atmosphere gains increasing strength as Ray’s parents continue to add to the discussion, but Ray, himself, seems to have been unphased.

Ray: “No, it’s okay.”

Alicia: “R-really? That’s a relief.”

Alicia sighed and closed her eyes for a second before looking at Ray again. She had expected a much more upset response, but instead, Ray kept seemingly calm about it, although that in itself worried her a little. She didn’t ask further though, as she didn’t want to put any stress on her son. Pinning a piece of pasta with her fork, she ate it quietly as the dinner went on.

 

---

 

The lit moon shines from the overhead of the sky, its reflected light casting rays to come down towards a bedroom window. Whether it was because of the darkness or the quietness, the room was filled with an empty solace.

In the seemingly empty bedroom, all that lies is a mattress and blanket. Underneath the blanket, Ray tries to keep warm, his eyes slowly closing in as he finally has a moment of rest.

All that is left alive is the wind that slowly traverses through the empty air, reaffirming that the next day, this will be the end of the Caster’s home.

…

Standing upon complete darkness; an infinite void cleared the distance in every direction, Ray was sobbing, his tears running down his cheeks and chin. His nose was filled with mucus, slowly spilling out from the holes and caressing along his lip.

His eyes were completely shut as he wept intensely, unable to even wipe off the tears that were covering his face. After a few minutes of continuous sobbing, he started to open his eyes.

By just making a slit in his eyelids, a bit of the surrounding area filled with light, revealing what existed in his presence. In front of him stood a purple cloth. Along the cloth, a shadow can be seen showing the silhouette of an indescribable being.

Upon recognizing whatever the repulsive figure is, Ray starts to tremble, his pupils shrinking to a single black dot. Fearing the thing beyond the cloth, Ray turns his head to look in a different direction as well as opening his eyes a bit more.

An eye.. a single dark blue eye stared at Ray. What in the world was this eye? Familiar yet so alienated from the reality that Ray perceived. Its creepy stare sent waves of anxiety from his legs to his neck; he felt as if he was drowning. This terrifying eye that seemed to express disdain overwhelmed his thoughts.

But at a sudden moment, where he expected to be an endless gaze had ended. The eye.. The eye.. The eye.. It’s gone.

What the hell? Where did it go? Please.. Please.. Please..

Come back.