Conclusion of the experiment
"A bad friend is like a shadow! It stays with you on sunny days, but disappears when the sun disappears ..."
Reality of Life
Lol, yes, this is exactly the result I expected! I am well aware of how the coronavirus has affected people’s financial situation. I also have clear accounts on this. It is known that many are now living in financial hardship. However, I have now realized that this disease has also made people’s hearts poor.
That's exactly what I needed. I am not upset with you and I am not a beggar either. My own wealth is enough for me that you can’t even imagine. The experiment was over and I felt like I knew who was a real friend to me on this site. There were those among you who helped me spiritually, and I thank them. Some didn’t even do that. I repeat, I am not upset with you. Fear not, I am not hungry yet! Some didn’t even want to hear my name, thank you for that too! I understood you and drew a conclusion about you for myself. Ex, the virus has made everyone spiritually poor ...
Best
Sherzod
Author of little experiment
deal with it, kid
Do you have a problem with me?
Well, too bad kid.
You're stuck with me.
...
Kid, I can't understand you when your mumbling like that. Speak up.
...
So what if I'm Death?
...
Ew, you humans are so weird.
Kid, do you see any zombies or skeletons covered in blood anywhere?
...
Kid, I'm a teenager.
I didn't ask to be Death, it just...happened?
....
Aw, you hate me that much?
Well, would this make you feel better?
...
Oops.
....
Well, how was I supposed to know dogs here didn't have three heads on Earth?
...
I was being sarcastic, kid. Tip number one, I'm very sarcastic.
...
Well, my job's to protect you. Boss' orders.
...
Of course it was. Who do you think is my boss?
Kid, you got a lot to learn.
...
I know you know your multiplication tables. I've been watching you for a long time.
...
That's not stalking, kid. Stop holding your fists up like that.
...
What, you think that little metal knife's gonna hurt me?
...
Oh.
Sorry kid. Are you okay?
...
Well, it's your fault for not asking. How was I supposed to know kids didn't know I'm not solid?
...
It's not a life choice kid. Now shut up and show me where a reaper can get some decent sushi around here.
...
Kid. I don't eat human souls. That's disgusting. I only eat diet souls.
...
Kid, I was being sarcastic again.
Broken crayons still color
I watched her in the mirror for many years, always calming the storms that raged under her skin
… rattling her bones.
Broken never looked so damn beautiful.
But as all broken things, there were parts of her malfunctioning like a damaged toy
… like allowing the idea of happiness to stain her blood,
coating her insides with possibilities of rainbows and butterflies.
She was tired of the lies.
She never talked about it, the pain she suffered as a child, and blows she took like a champ as a teenager. She spits at the word “love” when it’s thrown at her so blasé.
Where was love when the first monster she encountered violated her? Was that love? Sure, he was kind, but he was a sick bastard that preyed on the innocent and the damned.
I watch her stare at herself, blinking back regret and chaos behind her eyes, and for a moment, she was still. Her calm frightened me to the core, and yet I could not look away from her enchanting aura.
I searched for love in her eyes, it’ was somewhere deep, under all the dirt and built-up particles that would repeatedly crash into her like a wrecking ball. A reminder.
For many years people assumed she was lost, but in all honesty, she didn’t want to be found.
Not yet.
She had broken pieces to clean up and discard first.
Continued Artful Exposition Dump (Ransom 4.2)
Jason’s laughing. “Man, you really told her!”
I want to punch him. I want to punch him so bad my hands hurt and I have to shove them into the pockets of my shorts.
“Cram it,” I snap, standing to my feet.
Shooting me a sideways glance, he kicks sand at me. It sticks to my wet shins and makes them itch. I’d glare at him, but that’d require me to look into the sun and my eyes already burn for some weird reason.
My phone buzzes in my sweaty hand and slowly, as if I’ve forgotten how to let go of things, I loosen each finger. My entire body skips a beat--maybe it’s Lydia.
The sun’s glare is too bright, so I turn around and shield the screen with my body.
I want my bracelet back.
My body constricts, folding in on itself and making it impossible to breathe. She doesn’t mean that--she can’t take it back. She said...
She said...
Closing my eyes, I force myself to breathe.
“C’mon man, we can’t take all day.”
I bite back my reply, opening my eyes and tapping a single letter.
k
It doesn’t matter what she said anymore, doesn’t matter what I said. It’s not like her words ever meant anything, anyway. I can still feel blood trickling down my temples, sticky pathways tracing across my jaw and down my neck. Ears ringing from the ghosts of shouting, my hand rises to my collarbone, trembling fingers tracing the jagged scar.
What help her words had been then.
Silently, I snatch my towel and energy drink while Jason shifts impatiently from foot to foot.
I lift my arm to shield my eyes from the sun and that’s when I notice--the bracelet is gone.
Oh no no no no.
“Jason, have you seen my bracelet?” Even though I try to keep my voice steady, it comes out harsher than I’d intended.
“No?” He squints against the sun. “I mean, I’m pretty sure you had it on when we were closer to the pier. Maybe you took it off there?”
That makes sense, as the bracelet isn’t something that should get wet. Woven from six leather strands, it boasts a sterling silver plate engraved with my name. An expensive apology is what it is.
And she wants it back.
I’ve felt many things--the warm kiss of the sun and the calmness of a midnight sky; metal through flesh and the agony of shattered bones; the disorienting high of falling and the scream of loneliness. But this... I don’t know what this is. The ground is falling away beneath me. Each beat of my heart sends glass ripping through my veins.
I stumble towards the pier. Jason’s shout to meet him at the car is a distant dream.
Swallowing, I try to rid my mouth of the bitter, dead taste of betrayal. It burns, all the way to my stomach, eating deeper. I grab my head, close my eyes, try to steady myself.
I don’t know how long it takes or how I manage to make my feet move in a straight line, but I’m at the pier. An army of grey has taken the sky, capturing the sun.
My legs no longer belong to me. They carry me in tight circles and zig-zag across the sand, doubling back until it is impossible to pick out a single footprint. It’s nowhere to be found.
Even though it will rain any minute now, people are still scattered across the stretch of white sand. They cast curious glances at me, but don’t offer any help. Not that I expected that.
“Hey, are you looking for something?”
I whirl around. At first, I think she’s a child, she’s so small. Just barely reaching below my chest with wispy hair the color of the sand, a friendly smile curls up the corners of her pink lips.
“Um, yeah.” Where did she come from?
“I think it’s going to rain.”
Absently, I nod and turn away to scan the expanse of sand again. It’s pointless.
“I can help you look if you’d like,” she offers. Her voice is soft and her words rise and fall with the waves.
I shake my head. “No, that’s okay.”
Jason is probably fuming right now. I should go, but I can’t bring myself to leave just yet.
“I’m waiting for somebody anyway.” She steps beside me and glances up. “What are you looking for?”
“A bracelet. Uh, braided leather, metal plate engraved with my name.”
“Oh.” Tilting her head, she blinked. “What’s your name?”
“Ransom.” It’s getting dark rapidly and the thought of slogging through the shifting sand back to the car makes my calves ache.
“I’ve never met someone with that name before.” Crouching, she starts sifting through the sand with her fingers, then waddles a step and sifts some more.
“Me neither.”
She laughs. I feel the panicked knot in my stomach loosening.
“So is this bracelet really important to you?”
I lift a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. My limbs are heavy with exhaustion and my brain has fizzled out, making it impossible to concentrate.
“I guess so.”
“You guess?” It’s not a mean question, just curious.
I just shrug again.
“A gift from someone, then?” Pausing, she meets my eyes. Hers are blue, like mine, but a deeper shade that changes with the last dying rays of the sun. Hypnotic, almost.
“Yeah.” I kick at the sand.
“Oh, I see.” Her eyes pierce through me as her delicate eyebrows pull together slightly. “A friend?”
I shake my head. “No.”
I thought the word would hurt when I said it, the way it hurts inside as it echoes in my skull. It should stick in my throat and choke me until I can’t breathe, but it doesn’t. It slips out easily.
The girl frowns, her eyes a navy that is almost purple. But there is no judgment in them when she asks, “So you never considered Lydia a friend, ever?”
I freeze, a jolt running through me. The girl doesn’t even blink, just stares at me. I want to run far, far away, from this beach and Jason and this girl and the bracelet and the waves and the memories. I want to run until nobody can find me and I’m in a place where nobody knows me or even notices me.
I hate this place. I hate mirrors and the face that stares back at me when I look at them; I hate the nightmares and I hate the scars that rip the canvas of my skin.
But most of all, in this moment, I hate Lydia.
“No.”
-Inference-
After quarantine ...
***
- Dude, let’s go to watch football match: El clasico!
- No, I don’t want to go today
- Why?
- During the quarantine period, I realized that I was wasting my money on useless things!
- Sorry...
- That’s right, I’m not going to watch football anymore. I’m not a fan of anyone anymore. Because the players did not help us during the quarantine period ...
***
- Is it too expensive? No, I can’t pay that much for a doctor!
- What happened to you, dear? After all, who took care of us during quarantine? Not doctors?
- True, they helped us, but I’m willing to spend money on entertainment!
- No, that’s wrong! Forget things we don’t need and respect doctors!
- All right honey...
- Now we always save extra money!
***
- Please help! I’m bankrupt! I am a great singer and actor!
- No! Now people can’t help you and not go to the concert and you will be left without money! Because you didn’t think of us during quarantine ...
***
- Did you wash your hands, baby?
- No, I have not washed my hands yet, but I will wash them later
- No, wash your hands now! Didn’t you learn a lesson?
- Okay mom, I follow the hygiene...
- I love you my baby!
***
- I think we need to worry about more serious inventions now, sir!
- You’re right, we don’t pay attention to gadgets that are unnecessary and redundant anymore! We need to look for ideas that solve clear and global problems and focus all our attention on it!
- Of course! We also need to keep nature that way now and spend more money on the most essential areas!
- Yes, you are right! We scientists are still so helpless! In this life, a person should think not only of himself, but also of the poor ...
- Unfortunately, during quarantine, many people starved to death! We ignored them and were indifferent! Now we give special love to everyone! Look, I want to set aside a billion dollars for the poor now!
- Great! Now the world will be completely different! Otherwise, we will disappear from the face of the earth forever ...
***
There are many more such ideas. These dialogues will definitely happen one day! Maybe we will be the owners of this conversation ?!
Now, I want to thanks for coronavirus! Why? Because:
You reminded us of our weakness. We believed in our knowledge and strength, but we weren't know that everything was in your hands. To be honest, we went into the claim of divinity, not in words, but in deeds. And today we are helpless in the face of an invisible particle. You show who are humanity, thank you, coronavirus!
***
We humans were enemies and we were thirsting for each other's blood. Now we take care of each other and help each other. How we longed for mercy! Thank you, coronavirus!
***
Because of you, the drunkards have stopped drinking, the adulterers have stopped committing adultery, and the prostitutes have stopped drinking. Men and women do not mix and have fun, they are even afraid to come close to each other. You locked them all up in your house and returned them to your honest family. Thank you, coronavirus!
Thank you..
If one of my jokes offend you. . .
1. I'm sorry
2. It won't happen again
3. 1 and 2 are lies
4. You're a fool
When people tell me that they're spiritual, I'm like,
"DEMONS ARE SPIRITUAL. BE MORE SPECIFIC."
Unless your name is GOOGLE don't pretend like you know everything
I'm sorry I hurt your feelings when I called you stupid. I thought you already knew.