After dropping off the bus, I walked towards my home. I climbed up the streets. No horns of the vehicles, no smoke, no people arguing. Just silence with me on the way. Rocks scattered, graffiti on the walls, and wrappers thrown here and there.
In the midst of the silence, there was a man below the streets. Torn and dirty clothes, large beard, and weak body. He was checking the trash can, hand going inside shuffling through the can until it came with a piece of clothing. He walked away with a smile on his face.
I tightly gripped my jacket with only my right hand. Fingers went inside the fabric, almost too inside. *What the hell am I doing? It'll torn up if I do this.*
I went up, reached the door, and opened it. No welcome I got. No one in the kitchen except for me, silence, and the clock. I put the jacket behind the door.
It was 1:00 AM. *Maybe she is asleep.* I slowly went upwards towards her bedroom, making sure not to creak. I stood in front of her door, and didn't utter a single word.
I knocked on the door once. It was slow, even I couldn't hear it.
I knocked on the door twice. They were fast but still weak. Didn't know much about the sound, but I paused for a while before giving the third knock. I rubbed the back of my hand on the door for a while.
The last three knocks didn't come. I opened the door without hearing or sending another signal.
There he was, the black rabbit doll on the bed. Its crystal red eyes stared at me. I stared back at him. It just sat there, not talking, not moving, just existing. But my sister wasn't there.
"Do you know where she is?" It didn't respond, so I took him downstairs towards the kitchen. There was now me, him, the clock, and silence.
I stood up, held it, the black rabbit doll, it didn't tell me, I just held it, and went upstairs towards my bedroom. The door opened and the first thing I saw was the outside view, and the second thing I saw was the television.
I and the black rabbit doll looked outside the window. Calm, peaceful, 5 birds on the utility pole were covering each other with their feathers. Help and affection with them. I opened the television and put on "The Light That Protects the City," show.
I made him, the black rabbit doll, sat on a chair in between the television and the window.
The show started. It was episode 102. Villains appeared and so did the hero. A clash between them occurred. And as always, the hero won at the end.
I looked at the window. "You show reality."
...
I looked at the television. "You show fiction."
Silence.
Then I looked at the black rabbit doll. "Yet, the one that shows fiction is the one that represents reality more than the one that has always shown me reality. At least there was conflict in the show, even if they ended easily. But," I looked outside the window, those 5 birds were still together chirping. The hero of the show died in episode 102 unexpectedly. "At least one of you lies honestly. Even though both of you can't lie." It, the black rabbit doll, didn't give me any judgement.
*TICK*
The red clock in my bedroom also joined the conversation. Just- just why? Why am I doing this? The room felt like a limited area, not a cage, but an area where I couldn't fit. Maybe because I had made it just now.
I looked around the room. A bed, a red clock, blue curtains, a mirror, a calendar with every date till today crossed out, and the black rabbit doll. I went towards the calendar, today, Sunday, I crossed out.
I looked at the family photo. It was there, still alive.
"Father, can I go outside?" He didn't answer.
"Mother, can I go outside?" She didn't answer.
"Sister, can I go outside?" She didn't answer.
"You," I shifted down a bit and looked at the black rabbit doll. "Can I go outside?" He didn't answer.
I looked at the man inside the mirror. "Can I go outside?" The man in the mirror didn't answer for a second. No smile on his face, just patience, as if he was waiting.
*TICK*
The clock didn't stop talking even though the man in the mirror hadn't even opened his mouth. "Will you stop- Stop. Stop it. Could you just- forget how to be impolite?" I looked at the clock.
*TICK*
It only gave me silence as a response which felt worse than a "no," because at least a "no," doesn't have mockery in it. I looked at the man in the mirror. "So, what were you saying?" It said to me.
"Yes." He answered, and so did a second time he did to leave his house, both the same day.
*TICK*
I looked at the clock. It didn't look back at me, because it couldn't.
*TICK*
*Or maybe it can.*
I picked up the doll. "Let's go outside." The door opened, and we went outside, resting on the grass. It felt itchy to me, and maybe to him too.
"So, what should we do?" I asked. It just looked upwards at the stars. "You want to count it?" No responses. I started counting the stars. *1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...*
I forgot the counting and looked at him. "Hey, do you remember-" Of course he doesn't, even if he was a living being, because I was counting in my head.
I looked around, North, East, West, and South, there was nothing to look at.
"Nothing to blame too?" I looked behind, the red haired girl was there, holding the calendar with crossed out dates. She started to cross out every following date too.
"What the hell are you doing?!" I didn't move though. "Removing everything that'll not happen." She crossed out another date. "Why live a life of contradictions when you actually know what you are going to do next day?"
I didn't speak. I didn't move. I just stood there. I looked at the black rabbit doll. Silent. Unmoving. Just sitting there.
She didn't stop. The red pen she was holding had more power than me.
Rain started to fall, yet she was still unbothered. The cold didn't stop her.
*What if the man in the mirror hadn't gone outside today? It would've been calm, silent, and normal again.* I looked behind towards me, the moon didn't go backwards it just went forward, and the Sun, it didn't start to arise from the West but from the East. They didn't reverse, they couldn't. They just... changed their direction. Not really, Earth changed its view.
I made a sound. The red haired girl looked at me, not crossing out the calender this time. She waited.
"Good morning... Senna." I gave her a new name, because she hadn't told me her old one.
She stopped there, looking at me. Her eyebrows went down a bit, and her lips couldn't hold a single position. She went back looking at the calender again, but this time, she erased all the crosses she had made, but she stopped at yesterday, Sunday. She looked at me.
"You are..." she thought for a second. "Stubborn." She still insulted me. She looked at yesterday's date, Sunday, her hands trembled a bit. "Do it yourself."
She vanished from there. Literally, without moving. And left the calendar on the ground.
I looked at the calendar, specifically at yesterday's date, unsure I was. I picked up the pen.
"Yesterday was the beginning." I didn't cross out Sunday and the next day, Monday had begun.
I picked up the doll, and went towards my house, walking alone, but when I arrived there. I found someone else.
She was huffing, sweat in her face, eyes enlarged, and a tiny drop of tear fell down as she was holding onto the wall. She looked at me.
"Wel-Welcome home." Eyes darting somewhere else. She still stuttered.
I stood there, and then opened my mouth. "Yesterday was... a beautiful day. Today... I'm unsure about its beauty, like I should've everyday." I tightly gripped the black rabbit doll.
She didn't reply, so I had to. I took out the strawberry flavoured pastry from my pocket. "Here, it is your favourite, isn't it?" She took a small bite, and then pointed at the black rabbit doll.
"Oh... you want him?" Before I could give her that, I felt a sensation of warmth. Something tightly pulled me. Me, not the black rabbit doll. My sister hugged me.
"I... also want to go next time." Her voice was barely audible.
"Fine," I said. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Promise me, Lient."
"Promise to you, Cresihil."
Novelty awaited in front of us, but this time it wasn't alone, it was together.
"Tomorrow, perhaps, someday."
*TICK*
The clock did not stop but now I was listening.
* * *