Fallen

When a body falls down in front of you, one might expect a police involved case. Not this time...

How would you react if a person would fall down right before you? I suppose, most of the answers would be scream or get startled or panic. And what do I do? I look up and meet another person's eyes staring down from the roof top. The dark eyes disappear right after, but the feeling of indifference still stays there. I wondered how they got up on that roof and why they were there in the first place. Maybe the eyes were just a mirage or something similar created by the shock of sudden occurrence of unexpected.

While I'm standing there staring up like some dumbstruck idiot, everyone on campus gathers around making a commotion. I hear murmurs and gasps and some girl screaming behind me. I heard someone calling an ambulance. And after all that I look down and see a blood puddle pooling under my feet. And my nose catches a strong scent of iron. I stand there not moving, waiting for someone to notice me and pull me away, but no one even says a word to me. Even after the ambulance comes none of them pays any attention to me while I struggle to move on my own. After the ambulance came, the police showed up too. They marked the scene with police tape and made the crowd pull away. Then one guy took note of me.

The cop shook me out of the trance and I looked at him with incredulous eyes. He looked at me as if I was some crazy b*****d.

“Hey, kid, did you see what happened here?”

I stared at him in silence trying to think straight.

“Really? You didn't see how this happened?”

This time I opened my mouth to answer, but closed it immediately. That wouldn't achieve anything.

“Listen, don't play dumb. Did you see anything or are you just trying to get in our way?”

Getting the feeling that answering this would make too much bother for me, since he asked question which required more than yes or no, I just shook my head in negative and finally stepped away. I mean my sneakers were damp with someone else's blood and they were a new pair to boot.

While I was walking away, some of the fellow students were whispering and pointing at me. Well, I was leaving a trail of bloody marks as I walked, but it was not because of it. I was, how do I say this, a mocking target for the students. Despite the fact that I was ordinary person, they for some reason, found me worth of getting rumors created about. I was pretty famous as the weird gloomy detached person no one ever knew anything certain about. As I went along someone shouted “Hey, Freak, catch!” and threw an empty can at me which missed miserably.

Well, during the first year of university I learned to ignore that and just mind my own business. I mean, it really had nothing to do with me. They did that all on their own.

After reaching where I was going before I got interrupted, I tried cleaning some blood off on the lawn near the dormitory and went in. My room was on the fifth floor and I was sharing it with another student, but she was on the leave now due to family circumstances. The person was quite nice, didn't make me out to be a weirdo and wasn't aggressive with no particular reason. Or just ignored me completely, who knows. Never bothered to contemplate on that.

I dumped my bag with books on my bed situated near the open window. Took off my shoes and walked to the bathroom to wash them. Good thing my lectures were all over for today so I could take my time washing my bloodied shoes. I really liked those...

The blood came off quite easily, except on the cloth. Well, they were black so it won't be too visible, I suppose. Hanging the shoes on the drier I went to the fridge in the corner, behind the door. I took out a sandwich and ate it in like three bites. Then I did my assignments for today and went to sketch.

The bed wasn't too comfy, but it was bearable and I already had a good spot to sit and draw leisurely. I majored in architecture so I had a sketch book and good utensils for that... The thing is, instead of sketching something for the upcoming project, as I usually do, I drew a dark pair of eyes. Messy pair of eyes, because my hands were shaking and my heart was beating tragically too fast and OH GOD, SOMEONE DIED!

Okay, dude, calm down. I get that it's the first time... The guy fell and fell nearly on top of you, but it's okay. You're okay. As much as you are, anyways. I was panicking like some first-grader. They didn't ask more questions, so it means it's all good. No one will come after you. ... After me? Like after after me? Like the owner of those eyes? If there was an owner. Am I in trouble? Haha, no way, I thought before passing out.

When I woke up it was already bright out and the breeze was cold coming in from the open window. I was, for some reason, lying on the floor still fully clothed and freezing my butt off, apparently. Why in the world would I sleep on the floor? Well, whatever. I checked the time and I was still not late. Like for five minutes. I rammed my books in the bag and dashed out after putting my new pair of sneakers on. They were in the bathroom and damp for some reason. This morning sucked big time, I should say.

I made it to the lecture by a strand. I practically flew in right after the lecturer came. I win this round. I have to say, I am not always late, I'm practically never late, but sometimes, stuff like this happens and I don't like it. When I come in last, there are no seats in the back and I have to move to the front. Then I keep feeling all the eyes brooding into me as if I was some kind of an amusement or a freak show. Though, this time it was far more noticeable. I felt chills running across my body and it gave me the creeps. That's a first for me.

Lecture was easy and ended quickly. Everyone left, and the professor beckoned me.

“I believe this kind of thing won't happen again,” he said looking at me with his wise eyes.

I nodded in agreement and left after he shooed me away. The guy is all right, I think, knowing that he is around fifty and gives s****y grades. That's reasonable, he probably can't see too good.

On Wednesdays I have only one lecture, so I had the whole day all to myself. So, as usual I went straight to my dorm room. On the way there, on the pavement I noticed a big dark stain. It was obvious that someone attempted to remove it, but the thick red paint wouldn't wash off. I wonder what happened here. Maybe something stupid and not too significant.

At my room I still had some food left, so I didn't need to leave. Tomorrow I'll go buy some stuff at the grocery store a little away from the campus. It's cheaper than in the campus. So I ate, then took a shower because it was getting hot and then sat to my desk to write an essay on modern architecture. Differently from other students I worked with books and magazines and other published literature, because I didn't own a computer. I don't even own a phone... Not that it matters.

“What a disorganized place,” husky voice said.

Husky voice? My room-mate had a high pitched voice.

I whipped around nearly falling of my chair and stared to the figure standing in the middle of the room. Definitely not my room-mate.

“Of course I am not,” he declared a bit insulted. “As if I could be someone as lowly as you.”

He apparently could read my mind. With that in mind I slowly stood up and tried backing away to reach the door and get the hell out of here.

“Not so fast, shorty,” he said and blocked my way. “I need you for some errands.”

I was shaking my head indicating a firm disagreement.

“I will not take no for an answer.”

I stopped and stared right at him. He was tall. As tall as two meters or something. He had golden hair and darkish skin. And his eyes were as dark as...

Yesterday flashed through my head and it caused pain as returning memories always do. I remembered the body, the eyes staring down, the blood puddle, the sketching and finally passing out. And those eyes were exactly the same as yesterdays. But something about this guy was off. I mean, he was kind of transparent. And he didn't actually had feet. This dude was floating. Yup, I'm going crazy...

“No, you are not. I am sort of dead at the moment. But I am planning to return to my flesh suit and for that I require your help.”

I stared at him with boiling questions in my eyes and was about ready to pass out.

“Calm down, would you,” he ordered. “You have to be of clear mind to be able to assist me. Please, control your emotions. And stop mumbling.”

This commanding tone for some unknown reason calmed me down. I never felt this calm in my life. My heart slowed to a regular rhythm and my breath evened out. I relaxed my muscles and didn't try to escape anymore. Okay. So this ghost thing wants my help with retrieving his “flesh suit” in other words, body. Okay, dude you can handle this. ... Did he say “stop mumbling”?

Slowly but surely I lifted my head and gazed into his eyes. I just realized we were having a conversation. He or it, could understand more than just nodding or shaking. And why the hell am I feeling so happy?

“I assume you will be helping me, then.”

Out of habit I nodded. S**t...

It's not that I really wanted to be of help to this floaty person, it was just curiosity driving me further to him. And the fact that he could hear me was something more to make me follow him around, just for the sake of it. I mean, it's so rare to actually meet someone who can understand me from my- whatever it was. I'll just assume this ghost dude can read my thoughts. It will be much simpler this way.

“You can call me Fallawim Et Xard,” this proudly exclaimed line made me snigger.

I tried to repeat this odd name in my head, but all I could get right was Falla-something. So, I suppose, I'll just call him that, Falla. Good enough.

He looked at me with accusing eyes as if saying he didn't like the way I called him in my own thoughts. Seriously, can you actually hear me?

“Yes,” an answer as simple as that and I was dumbfounded.

Fine, let's say I'm in. So what do I need to do?

“You just need to get me to my flesh suit. And as for the rest of it, I will be able to handle it myself.”

Aha. So you mean you need to get to your BODY?

He nodded and looked me up and down. Falla seemed to be deep in thought while staring at me appraising something. I didn't look any different from how I always look, so it gave me chills. And then it hit me, that the chills I was getting during the lecture was his fault. Probably.

I kept stalling staring at him and thinking various ways of how I could get out of this without much to do. I really didn't want to leave my room now. Then again, he piqued my interest.

Whatever then.

So, to get to the body, we should probably go to the police station and the morgue. And if we're lucky his body is still there and not incinerated already. Because if it is, it will be hell living with this dude for the rest of my life. Because, as far as my knowledge goes, ghosts haunt one thing until the thing is gone or the ghost is exorcised, but I have no idea how to do that.

Okay, Falla, let's go get you to your body and be over with it.

“I do not like the way you address me, skinny.”

You should stop calling out on my features. I have a name, you know.

“I do not.”

Right. It's Anderson. Just call me Andy, I thought while staring at him.

“Why not just speak aloud?” he asked finally taking interest in me, not just his own matters. Though, I didn't want to answer nor think of that so he received silence from me. Not just my lips, but my mind too.

I finally moved from the spot before him and grabbed my bag. I gathered some stuff, like a wallet, extra jumper and a bottle of water. I was calm with leaving now, because I had no lectures on Thursdays. Lucky me.

Falla followed me without much words. I walked across the campus trying to ignore all the stares and whispers of mockery and gossips. Falla remained silent. It seemed as though no one beside me could see him. And I was relieved. No one would disturb me. I mean, Falla was weird, with the way he speaks, or the way he looks. This golden hair and tanned or naturally darker skin combo was something unnatural. Though, it looked good on him.

I walked to the nearby bus stop and waited. After a while, couple of old ladies came and I pulled my hoodie on my head so it would hide my face more. The weather was getting too warm for jumpers now, but I had to make do with this, since I didn't really like people seeing my face. Or staring at it... Not that I minded the attention, their expressions just made me uncomfortable. I can't change the way my face looks.

The bus arrived and I boarded it with Falla following me. I sat at the very back, since the ride was supposed to be quite long. I stared out the window drawing in the building shapes and forms.

“Where are we heading to?”

Without looking at him the answer reached my thoughts stating to get your body back.

“You are aware of the whereabouts of him?”

Yup. This dude was totally weird. Calling a body him... Anyways, I knew where the dead body was supposed to be, so there was no point in explaining this all to a mind reading floaty foreigner. I gathered he'd figure that out by himself. I just continued staring down the passing streets.

“I am afraid your assumptions are wrong,” Falla announced while looking at me as if I was a fool.

And really, the stare I gave him after, sure made me look like one. I mean I was so confused it had to show on my face. And Falla just stared back as in a staring contest, but he was sure of his victory. Whereas, I was completely out of it. I know for sure that, if the circumstances are not clear, the police takes the body. So why was he so sure of me being wrong?

“You got it wrong, Anderson. The fallen body was not mine. It belongs to my counterpart Zeburr.”

Now that was a new kind of shock. I processed the words carefully and with consideration to the fact, that Falla probably wasn't ordinary human being. If the body I'm heading to is not Falla's, then where is his body? And what the hell is Zeburr? Ah, man this is starting to get on my nerves. All I wanted was to get rid of one alien and now I get to deal with two? How long will all of this last.

“As of now I have approximately ten hours, in your time system, left to get back to my body before my existence disperses,” his voice was calm, with no accusations or rushing. As though he was in peace with whatever was coming to him.

I almost felt pity. Then again, why would I feel pity, if a person in question is so nonchalant. If he doesn't care, why should I. And yet, for the first time I felt for someone else. And it was a strange sensation.

“You are a very kind person, Anderson. I am deeply grateful to you.”

Still, the way he speaks is kind of annoying.

What the hell are you? I gather you're not from around...

As I finally decide to converse with him, he ignores my advances and I give up quite easily.

We got off the bus at the next stop, near the border of the town. In my opinion, it's a strategically stupid place to have a police station, but if it works for them...

“Are we continuing with your previous idea?”

I nodded and stopped near the corner of the station building. Whatever it might be, I was at the scene, even if they didn't seem to care much. And I blatantly lied to them, so there might be some nagging. I looked around and got nothing. I mean, I have no idea where the morgue is.

Then Falla left for like five minutes leaving me restless. If you leave, then at least tell me where you go, I complained. He came back from a different side and asked me to follow him. After a bit, I realized he found the place. It had a tiny window so I sneaked in there through that. It wasn't locked since it was hot. Fortunately, there was no one at the table or in the hall, so we proceeded to the cold room behind double door. It didn't stink as I was expecting, maybe because all the bodies were in the containers.

Falla found the right drawer and pointed it out. I figured he can't really touch anything of hard substance, that's why he needed me. With haste I slid the container out and uncovered the body. I nearly hurled. After all, the body landed face first. The skull was cracked open, half of the face had no skin and the eye was smashed on the left side. Though, this body didn't resemble Falla one bit. It looked ordinary. Human.

I glanced at Falla. His composed expression made me think that maybe he really isn't human. I mean, if you see a body of someone close to you, you don't stay unaffected by it. And he stood there, as much as hovering can be called standing, looking around as if fascinated by the room full of corpses in drawers.

“I have no reason to grieve, Anderson. This body never legally belonged to either one of us. And as I mentioned before, Zeburr has the body I borrowed.”

Borrowed? What do you mean by that? Explain it so even I could understand.

“Our kind cannot stay in this world without a vessel. If we stay in our original form, as you see now, in approximately 30 hours of your time system we cease our existence.”

If so, he has about nine hours to get to his body. Then again, why would I care. I don't even know if he means good or harm. And now I started pondering what he was doing here in the first place. I mean, why would a being which is able to read minds come to Earth? The planet is practically dying from pollution, global warming and thinning of the ozone layer, and so on. In couple of hundreds of years the human kind will probably be gone, so if he wants to make us extinct, he just needs to wait.

I stopped the train of thought and slid the drawer back in. I heard someone walking so I hurried out through the same window. Facing the struggles because of feeble arms my heart began to beat faster in fear of getting caught. My body lost control of itself for a second and I was out the window in a beat.

It was only a moment, but the effect was enormous. Spinning head, twisting insides, squeezed heart and this unimaginable ringing in my ears. I felt like life was being drained out of me. It felt worse than burning fire. My limbs went cold, my fingertips became blue and my whole body was shaking. I fell to the ground trying to catch my breath and regain control of myself. Now I really know how it feels when the death is approaching.

“I am terribly sorry, but if I had not done this, you would have been caught.”

Wheezing I stood up and closed my eyes to tame the dizziness. I told myself I'm okay, but I clearly wasn't. And then I had to run at full speed after being spotted by one of the cops. I sprinted down streets and alleys and stopped only when Falla assured me no one was behind me. Breathing hurt like hell.

“We fell without consent,” I heard him uttering. “A wide gap between our worlds opened. It was our duty to close it. But we got into an argument. Zeburr wanted to see the sunlight a minute longer. I loved the darkness our world provided us with.”

I could only think why he wouldn't just go back. Thirty hours is plenty of time to find another gap and leap back to where they came from. Why not just leave?

“The flesh suit does not hold long. We would need to change it every two weeks, counting in your time. I must admit, this world is beautiful, yet not every see it's full potential. Zeburr, on the other hand, was fascinated and refused to leave. That is why I-”

I got a powerful blow and flew like ten meters away. My arm got twisted from the impact with the ground, my jumper tore and blood gushed out of my forehead. Another blow came and I rolled over, leaving the torn cloth behind. A brick wall stopped my body. I felt one more hit sinking into my gut and I spewed blood. My sight got blurry, but I still managed to see the same dark eyes I thought was a mirage...

“Not going back!” a sharp deep voice ringed out.

“How many more are you willing to sacrifice to stay in here? They did not deserve to cease for your selfishness,” Falla raised his voice and I barely recognized him.

“Think would care? Enough of the darkness. They do not deserve the light!”

I mustered my strength and stood up. A sharp pain pierced through me. Blood dribbled down and a light breeze made me shiver. Every scar I was so ashamed of was revealed, but I stood there proud taming tears welling in my eyes.

Look at me! I screamed.

Both of them turned their gazes to me. The other one saw me like I was an obstacle he needed to remove from his path to carry on. But it was too late for me to keep it in.

I hate this life maybe more than you hate yours. At least you get to experience everything you want in the world you are living, but me... A tear rolled off my cheek. A freak like me doesn't get to choose. My parents hate me, my siblings set me on fire, I can't utter a single word, I keep losing my memory, I look like a monster and everyone around me hates me! I breathed in deeply. And yet, I still keep on living a life I hate so much in the world I love beyond reason. So what right do you have to tell me that this is better than what you've got? I knelt down when my legs gave out. I'll give you my body, but after that you get the hell out of my world and stop being a selfish prick!

Falla moved closer to me as if to console me. Zeburr stared at me as if seeing light for the first time. With awe. Through bloodied eyes I saw him hover out of his borrowed flesh suit which sagged without life. He pushed Falla aside and lowered himself to my eye level. His golden skin and darkish hair sparkled in bright sunlight and it seemed as if he was crying.

“You willing to give your life for the sake of others? Even if they not deserve?”

I cried out, incoherent sounds leaving my damaged vocal chords. I loved life as much as any other, but if I need to choose another human or myself, then another living is much better than me. I am already dying slowly, so what's the difference a day sooner or later. I've had enough of it. I'm tired.

“Young lady, what made you so compassionate?”

I'm not. I scoffed. But knowing that another has to die for no good reason makes me too sad. I stopped caring long ago and yet... No one deserves to die just because you want something. Life is too precious, so please, just take me and then leave, I begged him with all I've had.

“You proofed enough, child. I am sorry. Now lay to rest, and do not cry no more,” Falla embraced me in his arms.

Fatigue downed on me and I fell. This felt as close to heaven as it could and I felt at peace.

I wish this story ended better, but now I sit in the middle of darkness and sometimes have conversations about the world we see below with two strange beings. One with golden hair and one with golden skin. Dark eyed, but so beautiful.