:| Haunted - by - Nothing |: [Pika]

“No!” The sudden sound surprised Europa so much that she jumped back, her eyes wider than they could be. With that resounding “no” she was brought back to the world. She was so shocked that her eyesight was clear once and the gears in her head were moving once again. Was that meant for her? Was he refusing her apology? She could think, but she could not understand. What had she done wrong, besides running into him? Or maybe that was what he was protesting against. But he wasn’t moving and neither was she. Europa turned her head to the side as she tried to remember what had happened. She had seen her siblings—no, she had believed she had seen her siblings—and she was running…running for what?

She looked back at the boy to notice that he had collapsed almost as if in desperation. Do I leave him here and pretend nothing happened? Her attention turned to where she would have gone if she had not run into him, and then back at the boy. No, I can’t leave him here. If anything, I’ve never seen someone else so overcome by something—except Mother. And Father. And Tanner. As she kept staring, she couldn’t help but wonder if he had lost someone too. She did not have much experience with others who had to go through the grieving process, but she had a feeling that this type of reaction was common among those who had lost someone. Already starting to forget everything that she had been thinking about earlier, she let herself sit on her knees as her own desperation turned to concern.

“Are…are you okay?” She wanted to reach out a hand and place it on his shoulder, but she didn’t know if that would be a wise decision. What if he attacked her just for being too close to him? Europa kept moving her hand toward the boy and retracting it before she could make any contact with him. What would everyone else do in my situation? Europa knew Storm would have waited with the boy until the boy could stand on his own, Sundra probably would have done the same. Io would have ran to Storm or Sundra—the latter more likely—and then pulled them to the boy so they could fix him. So what would Europa do? She was afraid to leave him alone, even if it meant seeking help, but it didn’t look like anyone was going to be walking by. Biting her lip, she looked back and forth for any other stray person to come by.

They had to move away. Even if no one was around, Europa knew that they could not stay on the street forever and she was worried that he would not be able to pick himself up. “Everything’s going to be okay, alright?” she said to him. “I’m going to help you up now.” She told him not as a warning, but as a hope that he would not resist her when she tried to lift him. He looked like a big guy and though she was blessed with some height from her parents, she was still very thin and not used to heavy lifting. She placed her arms underneath the guy’s armpits and used as much strength as she could devote to bring him upright, her face contorted to show how much she was struggling to bring him up. She would make sure he was standing, though, even if it meant using her last bit of strength to help him.

Europa took a minute as she leaned against the wall, her vision again clouded but this time from the exertion she had just put in. Her chest felt compressed as she took quick gasps. How did Storm do it, lifting all the feed into the troughs for the animals? Maybe if she had helped out, she would have some of the upper body muscles that were beneficial to ranching. But even if she had the muscles needed, what use would they be? The industry change meant that any heavy lifting was highly unlikely unless she was male, and she hardly had the nutrition at home to sustain any meat on her bones. It was also due to this that she felt weaker every day.

I have to make sure he’s okay. He is okay, right? He looked so distressed— Europa paused as she thought about how she had been in a similar state not too long ago. Was that how I looked earlier? Were my eyes just as unclear as his? Everyone in her family had coped with each death differently and she had yet to see someone look in the distance like someone else was there. At first, she thought it was a sign that she was crazy, hallucinating on a regular basis, but the hallucinations came less frequently the more time she spent with Tanner. The reaping must have triggered them again, which would explain why she had seen Storm and Sundra so clearly earlier. The fact that she was hallucinating still scared her, though, because no one she knew had mentioned anything like it.

Until she saw this boy. Who had he lost? Europa shook her head to rid the question. It was not her business to know and she would not ask him. Still, she was curious as to who he saw. She then saw his lips moving which caused her to tilt her head before she caught a word or two. “Yeah, I just need to rest a little.” A lie. Her chest still felt like it was being wrapped up in a bandage, and her breaths were short and quick. Her mind was still reeling, trying to understand what had just happened moments after the reaping ended. Why did she hold on to them that way? Why could she not let them go? They had moved on, so why couldn’t she? She hated the thought, but she knew she had to do it. Otherwise, someone would find out and she would be labeled as the crazy one in the district. But didn’t this boy see people or things too? He was the proof Europa needed to prove to herself that she was sane.

“I’m s—sorry. I should have…should have watched where I was going.” But I couldn’t have because I couldn’t see. Or what I did see wasn’t really there. “I hope…I hope I didn’t cause you trouble.” You looked so lost and confused. “Are you hurt?” I don’t think I ran into you with much force, but that couldn’t have been a light hit. Europa stood there, half of her words coming out of her mouth and the other half staying in her mind. Her eyes were focused again and staring at the ground with an intensity that only showed embarrassment. Even after a year, she was used to having someone lead the conversation and take care of matters. That was not saying that she kept quiet all the time, but her elder siblings had always had the stronger voice in the family. She bit her lip and rocked slightly on her feet, feeling her face get warm. She should have been more careful now that there was no one to clean up her mess.


((Formatting will have to wait till I have more stable internet...and I don't have to worry about boarding happening anytime soon.))

When the other boy checked to see if he was wounded, Europa’s eyes followed his as she saw the pinkish burn of a scrape on his palms and the dark red color that alarmed her. After watching the Games so much, blood seemed almost second nature, but the thought that she had caused that—they’re only minor injuries, it’s not the same, Europa—scared her. She knew that she could not compare the scrapes and cuts to the Games as it had really been an accident, but the sight of them made her reel. She blinked a few times to move her attention away from his injuries and towards his face as she heard him asking if she had been hurt herself.

She looked down and checked her hands and knees. Europa had not expected anything as she had not fallen down, only taking a few steps to regain her composure. She shook her head and for good measure, added, “No, I seem to be alright…” …physically. But she would be alright mentally as well, as soon as she remembered what she had to do. Everyone else was probably already home, watching the recap of the reapings for the other districts. At least Father and Io would, able to stand the Games when no one they knew well was in there. Mother was still weak and Europa was sure she was recuperating in her room, trying not to show the others that she could not shake off her other two children as easily. Even to that day, Europa could hear Mother quietly sobbing in what was once Sundra’s room. Europa thought she had it hard, but whenever she thought about her mother, she knew that the pain that had been alleviated for her—a lot due to her best friend—was still in Mother. They considered it a miracle that Mother had survived so long with so much grief in her.

“Ehm, I’m okay. But I feel like I should be helping you out. Y’know, since it was…er…me who caused those.” She pointed a shaky finger at his knees, waiting for complete control over her own body. Europa’s eyes then saw the other guy’s eyes move around and that was when she noticed that there were other people looking at them, but not bothering to stop. All of a sudden, the invitation made even more sense. The boy standing across from her must have felt just as uneasy about the crowd as she did, because there was nothing else on her mind besides going somewhere the others could not see them. “Eh, sure, we can go. But there’s really no need to feed me,” she quickly added in, trying to impose on the boy as little as possible.

And then Europa realized that she did not know who the other boy was or anything about him. Introductions, introductions. It had been a while since she last had one. “I’m Europa,” she said. “I’m Europa Wie.” What is the next part? She stuck out her hand. “What’s your name?” Anything to think of something else.


((I promise I'll format! Soon!!))