The Arise, Part I: Chapter 2

Malaysia appears in a metal room filled with technology she has never seen before. As she walks around, the room seems to have fading images of her bedroom, her school, the kitchen, and all the other places she has been in the last twenty-four hours. They fade in and out like malfunctioning holograms.

She shifts around to observe the unfamiliar room, when she walks around in the room, she walks around in the images as well. When she touches the machines, they don’t feel like she expects them to—they feel like the concrete of her room wall. Suddenly she trips, and when she falls on the cold metal floor, it is soft like a carpet.

How is this possible, Malaysia thinks to herself. As she gets up from the floor and collapses on a metal bench where her bed should be.

The room suddenly starts shaking as it turns brighter. Malaysia goes into a slight panic, but then she hears her sister’s voice.

“Malaysia wake up,” Shirley says at her bedside.

As the sunlight blinds Malaysia’s eyes, the room glitches, and this time, so does her sister. If Malaysia concentrates, she can feel the cold of the metal ground on her back.

“Why do I have to wake up so early? It’s Saturday,” Malaysia says, pulling the blanket back over her head.

“You don’t have to wake up early—it’s ten thirty Malaysia,” Shirley says with a friendly smirk. She sets an empty suitcase by her bed. “Pack your stuff. Then come down for a very late breakfast.”

Malaysia staggers out of her bed and winces from a bruise, recalling when she fell in her dream.

Maybe I fell in real life and that part filtered in, Malaysia thinks. She doesn’t know why, but the dream scares her because of how real it felt.

“Malaysia come down for breakfast—you can pack later!” her mother calls from the kitchen.

When Malaysia comes downstairs her mother hands her a steaming cinnamon roll. Her mouth is watering, but her hands are still–she can’t reach for it, and the longer she stares at it, the more of the world disappears behind her. This time she doesn’t notice, and it seems like Malaysia is locked into some kind of trance.

“Malaysia are you feeling, ok?” asks her sister from behind her. Malaysia looks up to see her sister walking by, her hands full of clean laundry.

“Yea I just zoned out,” Malaysia says not even knowing what happened.

Malaysia stuffs down the cinnamon roll just as the doorbell rings. She could recognize the voice of Averie talking to her sister from across the house.

“Malaysia, Averie’s here!” Shirley yells from across the house. Malaysia hesitates before responding. She isn’t sure if she can face Averie after the day before. However, she can’t just ignore her either.

“I’m coming,” she says, her voice shaking. She doesn’t know why she’s so afraid to see Averie.

✾

“So, you’re saying that he knows, how?” Cillin asks with worry.

“He always knew, Cillin—now he is just doing something about it,” Kentae answers.

“So he always knew I was your—?”

“Don’t,” Kentae interrupts, “You never know who is listening.”

“You couldn’t have told me earlier?”

“I thought it was better if you didn’t know.”

Cillin sighs and hugs himself, his back to Kentae. There is silence between the two. Kentae moves to comfort him but hesitates.

“Does he know about… her?” Cillin asks, a mix of curiosity and concern.

“I believe so.”

“Do you think he knows that I was—?”

“Again, you never know who is listening.”

Suddenly, a rumble knocks some pebbles off the wall. Kentae moves over and studies it. Cillin follows him.

“I have a weird feeling about all of these small earthquakes,” Cillin says touching the wall.

“Well, we just got to get used to it. It’s not like we can go anywhere else.”

Kentae moves across the room in silence and grabs a worn-out leather backpack. He hands it to Cillin. Cillin puts it over his shoulders after he fills it with books and papers. He also grabs the box with the key and drops it in.

“Cillin, I think it might be better if you leave that here,” Kentae tells him just as he is about to leave, “There are a lot of people at your school who would find that suspicious.”

“Father, I am pretty sure everybody would find it suspicious—that is why it is hidden in the box. I don’t want to leave it here; they might be looking for you,” Cillin replies.

“If they were ever looking for me, they gave up. It has been twelve years. I think I am fine. They probably assumed that I left with Fia.”

“What do you mean ‘left’?” Cillin asks.

“That is a conversation we should save for another day. Now, get to school. You don’t want to be late and raise more suspicion.”

“When is ‘another day’?”

Kentae sighs before replying. He turns to meet his son and puts a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“When I can talk to both of you.”

At this point, I might as well do this alone, Cillin thinks, I have been alone forever anyway. What takes so long? Couldn’t we both have been released early?

✾

Malaysia licks the hot chocolate from her lips as she and Averie sit in silence by the café window. This place could always calm her, let her escape from the world, but it brings back too many memories. No matter where they go, Malaysia can only think about leaving it all behind.

Averie meets Malaysia’s gray and blue eyes; she can sense the discomfort in Malaysia. They look around the café knowing this is the last time they will be here together.

Malaysia wishes that she could keep this simple, perfect life. Even if it isn’t perfect, it is the closest she can get. This is the last day she has in this small town; it is sad to have it end like this; things could have been better. Malaysia wasn’t on great terms with her classmates when she left, and Malaysia knows that as much as Averie says she doesn’t care about what happened the day before, Malaysia knows things will never be the same, especially after Malaysia leaves.

“Malaysia, I know you’re thinking about what happened at school yesterday. I just want you to know that it wasn’t your fault,” Averie says in a gentle tone.

“I wish I could just stay here, I wish I could just keep everything the way it was before. Things are changing, and not in good ways,” Malaysia replies. This is the closest she has been to breaking, to letting out all of the pain and tears that she has buried so deep.

“Things can’t always be perfect, Malaysia,” Averie says. This isn’t what Malaysia wants to hear, but Averie knew it was what she needs to hear.

The girls walk back to Malaysia’s house, neither of them ready to say goodbye. As they walk, Malaysia seems to relive every memory she had with her sister, her town, and Averie. Instead of focusing on the past challenges, Malaysia looks to the future when she will have to face it all alone, without her sister, without her friends, without Averie. She can’t bear it—she wishes she could just disappear.

As the girls approach the front steps of the tall green, two-story building that stores so many memories, Averie turns to Malaysia and says something that Malaysia will remember forever.

“Things can’t always be perfect, but we can still try,” Averie says as she slowly walks back down the steps and back home.

Malaysia watches her leave and whispers a silent goodbye. She waits until Averie is fully out of sight before she shuts the door of her house, never to see Averie again.