How I Made A Very Bad Decision

My friend, Nova, is the greatest person I've ever met. She's multi-talented, smart, kind, and an absolutely gorgeous woman.

—But I don't like her. In fact, I really don't like her.

It's not the fact that she always makes an awful expression whenever she sees me; a raised eyebrow that's followed by a minuscule quirk of her rosy lips. It's like she's judging me. But that's not why I don't like her.

What I don't like about her is that:

She's fake!

A FAKE.

Everyday, she rants to me about all that has happened to her. Through the years that we've been together, I have been her unwilling listener. And I figured out that she's not what she makes herself seem to be.

People praised her about being ladylike, but NO. She's anything but a lady.

She always cusses those who pissed her off, and would lay on my bed all day like a fat pig. She's not fat, but the way she acts disgusts me. Comparing her to a pig would be an insult to a pig.

Because at least, pigs are tasty. And she's not! Urgh, the memory still haunts me to this very day. We don't talk about that.

Moving on, there's also one thing I don't like about her...

It's her strange hobby of collecting trashes of any kind; useless objects. Used things. Boxes of all sorts. Rocks. Plastics. Whatever, you name it. Even people.

If she sees that there's a way to make use of those trashes, she'll pick them up and pile them up inside my house. And I can't even protest! She just brushed me off. Every. Time.

Honestly, all she does is annoy me. I can't figure out why we became friends. She just showed up one day and stuck with me, like a piece of chewed bubblegum on your hair. I don't like bubble gum. But she does. I always see her chewing on bubble gum.

People in our town calls her the 'Bubblegum Girl' for that. How original.

Meanwhile, me. I am the dirt that stained that perfectly pristine bubblegum. People don't like me. Which is understandable. They think that I'm corrupting Nova. But I'm not.

She's already corrupted by herself. She's the one corrupting me!

Always bringing me with her to all her troubles.

Like now...

She's here again, inside my small house. She has her own, so much bigger than mine, but she always come here. Everyday. She's been inside my home more than she had been in hers. And she's rolling on my bed right now, batting her long and pretty eyelashes at me. Smiling so wickedly, her unique sea foam green eyes shining with amusement. So beautiful that it's unfair.

It sent shivers down my spine. Because I know, that's a look that spelled:

T_R_O_U_B_L_E.

All in capital letters and under spaces.

I'm in deep shit right now. Fuck.

And her smile widened, like she could read my mind. Acting like she could read my mind. Which she couldn't do, of course. But I feel like she can.

"How's Nori?" She asked.

"He's doing great. Better than yesterday." I said, trying to pull her off my bed to no avail. She's heavy, despite her slim figure.

Nori is one of the trash she brought in my home. A seven feet man with smooth skin and a troublesome memory. He doesn't remember his past and would sometimes forget everything. I was reluctant at first, but he just had that pathetic lost look in his eyes that made me say yes. He's been staying with me, and by extension, with Nora, for more than a decade.

She always asks about them. Even when she could see them for herself.

"What about Mara?"

"Still the same as always."

Mara is inside my house, somewhere. She rarely lets anyone see her, unless it's time to eat food. She's like a ghost, without the dead part. Fitting. She came after Nori, all covered blood and gory. I treated her wounds, but I have never once talked to her, which is a strange accomplishment. I don't know what to think about that.

"Leopard?"

"Gone."

That wild man disappears for periods of time. I don't know why he still comes back. And I'm complaining. I don't like him.

But none can surpass my dislike for Nova who was grinning at me. Oh no. No.

"NO." I declined in advance, knowing whatever would come out of that wicked mouth is wicked all the same. I don't want to hear it. I don't wanna know it.

Her hand reached for her pocket, and I knew. I just know. Not again.

"I have a gift for you."

"I don't want it." I immediately declined.

Her eyes, expression, and my knowledge of her says it all. What she's giving me is nothing but trouble. Like those old dusty books she pilled up in my study that reeks of ancient wicked knowledge. Like the set of porcelain teacups she gifted me that screams of an aristocratic wealth. Like the flower that she made Nori plant on my garden that whispers of magic and beauty.

All of those may be wonderful, but it's too troublesome. And I always try to avoid trouble.

Obviously I failed because there's HER.

Nova Ealenour Magicka. Even her name sounds troublesome.

Fuck.

"Come on." She fanned me with her long eyelashes.

"No, please." I'm not above begging. Or groveling.

Despite my protests, she wrestled me down and choked me with the golden necklace that she brought out. Wrapping it around my neck three times before locking it tight. It snugly fitted my neck. How annoying.

"There, so perfect for you." She cooed with her voice that felt like silk. Urgh.

I tried to pull it off, seeing as the chains looked fragile. But it won't come off, even when I tried to unlock it.

My breath quickened as I pulled the chains, "Get this off. I mean it, Nova!"

She's always like this. Doing whatever she likes, pushing my boundaries, seeing how far I'd go for her. She's so mean.

Just as I was about to start to panic, I felt something soft touch my cheek. That made me release the breath that I never noticed I'm holding. And I inhaled deeply. Exhaled.

"Relax." She whispered in my ear. "It's nothing bad."

"Sure."

I wrapped my arms around her neck, pulled her close and rested my head on top of her chest, breathing in her calming scent.

She's so irritating. But she's still a friend. An odd friend. A friend that I don't like. But she's still my friend.

"Take this off." My voice was muffled by her clothing, but I knew that she understood me.

"No. It's a gift."

"I don't accept this."

"You have no choice." Her words were final. I knew it. She won't take a 'no' for an answer where she wanted me to say 'yes'.

I don't like her for that.

"Keep it." She said. "It will help you."

Then she left for the day. I don't know where she's headed to, I never asked. She just comes and goes. Like a thief. Except, thieves steal. She, on the other hand, gives me things I don't want and had never thought of having.

It's annoying.

My eyes drifted towards the mirror by the window, just beside my bed.

Looking at my reflection, I sighed.

I tried to remove it again. Futile, I know. My neck is throbbing, pinkish lines were afflicted on my skin caused by the chain's pressure from all my pulling and tugging. If I had a pale skin, the bruise would be much more prominent. I tugged at one part of the chain, causing the others to tighten.

I wonder what she sees in me. Because all I see in my reflection is a small woman with dull hair and boring face.

My shoulders sagged.

"I'm home..." There's a knock on my door. One. Nori.

"Come in."

The door opened, revealing a large man. He was crouching, just a bit, so that his head would not hit the top corners of my bedroom door. On his hands, there's a basket of apples, still glistening wet. He was just about to enter when he saw me.

A flash of surprise passed through his face.

I approached his and took the basket from his hands. Then I looked directly in his eyes and repeated what told him before, several thousand times before, "When you go home, head to the kitchen."

He nodded, eyes lingering on my neck much longer than necessary, saying, "I will..."

I smiled at him and he leaned down to my height, looking at me expectantly. So to not disappoint him, I patted his shoulder in approval.

"You did great."

Nori left my room happily. But not before lightly tugging the golden chain in my neck.

He said, smiling so softly, "She picked the right one. It suits you."

"... Thank you?" So there's really something wicked about the chain. Did she curse it? Was I cursed?!

I sighed and took an apple from the basket, taking a large bite from it. Knowing Mara, that ghost, she'll get that basket of apples and leave me nothing. Better eat it before she can.

That day, I was satisfied.

Nova left early, I finished my apples peacefully, and Leopard was not in the house. Over all, my day was filled with peace and quiet.

My night, on the other hand...

It was consumed by monsters and shadows who wore human faces. They devoured everything in their sight, leaving nothing behind. My house was ransacked, my three human trashes were slaughtered, and Nova was here. She's smiling.

I looked around, but everything was destroyed. Torn. Burnt.

Smoke burned my lungs as I try to breathe in air. There are ashes on top of my tongue; it felt coarse and had a bland, earthy, and slightly bitter taste.

Nova's laugh reached my ears, and it sent goosebumps running through my skin. It's as if cockroaches were crawling on me. It was gross. Disgusting. I've never liked to hear her laugh, but this is by far the worst. This laugh truly mirror what she is behind her facade.

I looked at her and noticed that she's also looking at me. Her expression was cheerful, happy, and a bit excited. Truly in contrast to what was happening around her. She's glowing, like an angel. But in my eyes she looks absolutely deranged.

'God, she's crazy.' I thought, and she laughed again.

"Did you like my gift?" She asked.

"What gift?" She gifted me many things, unwillingly.

She spread her arms wide and gestured the chaos around her, all the darkness and shadows, the shattered moon and all the stolen stars. And she looked at me, grinning. "This. The destruction, everything!"

My eyes widened.

"This. Is. All. For. You." She emphasized her every word and I felt my soul slowly leaving my body.

'You've gotta be kidding me!!!'

I glared at her, "The world is not a trash that you could offer to me."

"Oh~?" Her image distorted. I blinked my eyes to make sure that I was not hallucinating. But her body truly is distorting, mixing with the shadows all around her. Her voice, previously high and playful, became deeper. "But it is. This world is trash. Nothing can prevent it from being destroyed, so I might just as well gift it to you."

"... I don't want the world, Ealenour." I declined, uttering her second name to let her known that I'm serious.

Hearing this, her form stopped warping. "Oh?"

"I have never dreamed of having the world at my palm." I confessed to her. "What I have now is enough."

I have enough. I'm content with my life and there's nothing more that I could ask for.

"But it will be destroyed anyways." Her voice was meek. "Why not just accept it? I can't see anyone fixing it so perfectly, other than you..."

I approached her calmly and embraced her distorted form, "I don't want it."

"The world will be destroyed anyways."

"You said that before."

She wrapped her arms around me, "Everything you ever knew will change."

"That's okay because I only know so little about the world."

The earth around us is shaking, and everything was starting to turn to dust. The very space around us is tearing, and it feels as if time is slowing down yet speeding up at the same time. Nova wouldn't let go of me, and I can't bring myself to push her away. So I held her closer as my reality crumbles under an unknown powerful force.

"You'll die." She warned me.

"I'm not afraid of my death, Nova."

"But I am."

Her sea foam green eyes met mine and I could see the fear in her eye, a fear for me. Honestly, this girl. This is also one of the reasons why I don't like her. She likes me too much, much more than I would like myself.

"Don't be." I said as we faded out of existence.

Then my eyelids fluttered open and the sunlight hurt me as it shone directly into my retina. So I closed my eyelids and covered my face using my hands. My rooster outside is calling out, screaming at those around him to get up because it's already morning.

Ah, what a horrible dream. No one lives and everyone dies, huh? How terrible.

And Nova is in it. Which made it even more horrifying. It gives me chills just by thinking about it.

"—Why are you thinking about it?"

?!

I looked beside me, and behold, there she was. Nova.

She's lying on her stomach beside me, looking at me with her cheeks resting on her palms. She had that smile on her face that makes me wants to slap her face.

"Did you sneak through the window at night and slept with me?" I asked, sitting up.

"Of course not!" She denied and took offence, "That'd be rude!"

"I entered through the door."

Yeah, thought so.

"What did you dream about?"

I looked at her curious expression and thought back to the dream where the my home was destroyed, the world was destroyed, and then we died. A ridiculous dream, I know. Why should I be telling her that?

So I simply told her, "I forgot."

It's just like any other dream; it's hazy and you would immediately forget it once you wake up. Except, it's not a normal dream. And I remember it quite perfectly.

There was a knock on my door before Nori came in. He's wearing the baby blue apron that I gave him on his seventh anniversary, on his hand was a spatula that was glistening with cooking oil.

"Breakfast is ready, um..." He looked at Nova and was startled. His brows furrowed and he turned to me. "You have a visitor?"

I pointed at Nova, "She's Nova. The friend that comes by everyday, remember?"

His furrow deepened, but he nodded, "Vaguely."

We went to the kitchen and found Mara devouring the food. Her purple hood covered the majority of her face, but that apparently doesn't stop her from shoving food inside her mouth. That greedy girl. She's inhaling the food like it's air. Fortunately, Nori cooks food like there's no tomorrow.

R.I.P. to my money.

"She came as soon as I finished setting the table. Is she also your friend?" Said Nori, reaching for the knife on the kitchen counter. "She didn't say anything to me when I talked to her. Should I drive her out?"

"No need." I said, taking the knife away from him and placing it back from where he took it.

Mara looked up from her food and looked at me. I was the first to look away when I noticed the look of greed on her purple eyes.

"It's just Mara. She lives here."

Nori nodded in understanding.

We sat at the chair and uttered our thanks. Then we started to pile up the food in our plates.

Nori was holding Mara back so that Nova and I can take our turns at taking some food. Nova chuckled at seeing them fight while I try to have some peace while eating.

Hm...

There's rice, fried egg, sour fish soup, vegetable stir-fry, fried chicken, pancakes, and some of Nori's weird but tasty experiments. It's a bit heavy for your normal breakfast, but all of this will be wiped out once we're finished.

I should just take my food and eat somewhere, for good measure. That would be a good idea, seeing that Nova had a look that says she wanted to start a chaos. Or a food fight. If she really does that, I'll make sure that she eats every food that was wasted. I'll make her pick every single one and shove them down her throat.

She looked at me and grinned. "Watch out, something will happen."

I glared at her and was about to tell her to just eat when an explosion occurred, and all of us were quickly shoved down the table by Nori. It happened in the span of a few seconds, and I can't even react to what had occurred. Mara was tucked within my arms, and Nova was telling me something as Nori tried to determine where the explosion came from. I look at my friend's mouth, trying to read what she was saying.

My ears are ringing, and I feel like I'm going deaf. I read my name on her lips, but I couldn't hear it. It's like someone placed me under a large bell and stuck it with all their might.

Nova held my shoulders and shook me, causing me to regain my focus, "...ear me! Hey! Get it together!"

"I'm sorry." I said after gathering my bearings. "I don't do well with explosions."

She held my face on her hand and looked at me straight in the eyes, "Can you handle this?"

Her tone was serious, so I paused for a moment to think, and I nodded.

"I was just surprised."

She searched for the truth in my eyes, so I didn't look away. It was the truth. And realizing this, she let go of my face and took a hold of my hand.

"We're going to look outside, okay?"

I nodded and pushed Mara towards Nori. But Mara doesn't want him to touch her so she stuck close to me and took a hold of my other free hand.

As we went outside, we were greeted by an enormous empty space. A flat land. A place where a mountain once stood tall. Now it's gone, all was left is a huge flat earth. No trees were left, no plants nor animals. Just us, my house, the earth, air, and silence. A silence that stretched far and wide.

There was supposed to be a town behind that mountain, opposite to my home. It's gone, too.

I stood in front of that emptiness, dazed.

... What on Earth could have happened?

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