"Please… that's my last money. I need it to buy textbooks."
That pitiful, heartbreaking voice came from inside the students' restroom. Hoarse and powerless.
"You think I care? This still isn't enough. Bring more tomorrow."
Said a student whose words were either a warning or a threat.
There was no difference.
My name is Daniel. This was my first week at this school.
I am just a transfer student who doesn't want to get involved in anything anymore.
Not because I'm a good student—but because goodness no longer has any value.
This is the third time I've changed schools this semester.
Not because I wanted to, but because I had to.
Because if I didn't, I might not be here right now.
Honestly, I know that feeling all too well—
the feeling of begging and pleading for mercy from people who never saw you as human to begin with.
Every time you report it to adults, they call it harmless play.
But what kind of game makes you lick another kid's shoes?
The class bell rang. A teacher walked in and ordered us to open the first page.
The first subject today was symbiosis.
About a relationship.
One that benefits both sides,
or one that harms one of them.
And humans are neither.
When I looked out the window, I saw another school building across from ours.
Three floors.
High enough to shatter your bones—
but too low to end your suffering.
"Daniel, can you give an example of parasitic symbiosis?"
That voice pulled me back to the present. I exhaled briefly before standing up.
"An example of parasitic symbiosis is the relationship between a tree and mistletoe.
Mistletoe lives by attaching itself to the tree's trunk and absorbing nutrients from it."
"Yes. Correct. Let's give Daniel a round of applause."
"So…"
The sound of the world faded again, and I looked up at the ceiling once more.
Empty.
As usual.
The final class ended. All the students paid their respects to the teacher before packing their books and heading home.
I walked home, since the distance between school and my house wasn't far.
Along the way, I passed a wall covered with missing persons posters—
and wanted notices. Both were posted on the same wall.
It didn't matter who was the victim.
It didn't matter who was the criminal.
They were the same.
Humans.
After ten minutes of walking, I finally arrived home.
"Oh, you are home?"
My mother is a widow who always tries her best for her child.
Even though her son is nothing but a loser.
When she first found out that I was being bullied at school, she blamed herself endlessly—as if it all happened because she was incapable of everything. She transferred me to another school, but in the end, everything stayed the same.
Because violence never stands alone.
My mother is someone who believes in kindness. She believes that good deeds will always have an ending.
At least, before she knew what I went through.
I can't blame her for that.
Right and wrong are no longer relevant to me.
So she decided to move with me to this city, hoping everything would get better.
This time, she was right.
At least for now.
That night, the rain fell heavily. Strong winds and lightning seemed to conspire together to curse the world.
I woke up with a dry throat and tried to get out of bed to find a glass of water.
I had just stepped down from my bed when a flash of lightning flickered. I froze when I realized something—strange.
I thought I saw the shadow of a 'human'.
But with unnatural proportions.
If that shadow was in front of me—then its owner was behind me.
I turned around and reflexively jumped, trying to open my bedroom door.
But the door didn't move at all.
The figure stood there—right beside the window.
It had a human shape, but its entire body was wrapped in bandages. Its neck was long, almost as long as its arms. Its fingers were elongated, as if divided into five joints.
Its eyes—there were no eyes, only empty holes.
My entire body froze. Cold sweat began to run down my skin. And as I tried to process the situation—my head started to feel unbearably heavy. As if something large and solid was repeatedly smashing into my skull.
"You see them every day."
"You know they will never stop."
The voice echoed inside my head—not a single voice, but like dozens of children speaking at the same time.
"You want... Ending."
The pain in my head grew worse.
"Go away. Whatever you are, just go away."
"If you see their desire... The world will move".
All those dark memories replayed themselves right in front of me.
The days when I had already lost any reason to live for tomorrow.
" The price is half of your life ."
I closed my eyes, trying to understand the meaning of every word the creature said.
But what surfaced instead was an urge to do something I might regret.
"Alright."
The atmosphere fell into silence. The figure was gone.
It vanished without a trace.
When I looked down at the floor, blood had begun to seep from my nose.
And in an instant—everything faded.