Personal Demons: Nothing Ever Happens/Small Town Reprise

We kept silent as the creatures searched the area, looking for us. Figuring that we were dead, buried under the rubble, they all headed back south, towards town.

“The man on the radio;” Mimiru whispered, huddled in my lap, “He said…they were allergic to pennies. Maybe that's why…”

I nodded, “I get it…the alien didn't choke on the penny; it had an allergic reaction!”

Mimiru looked up at me and smiled, “Do you still have those piggy banks from when you were a little kid?”

I smirked, remembering exactly where I kept them.

After we felt sure that the extra-terrestrials were gone, we made our way back southeast until we finally reached the edge of town.

My grip around Mimiru's delicate hand remained tight as we slowly made our way across town, heading towards my house. No one was in sight, though. The roads were dusty and windows of buildings were smashed in; doors were broken down and houses were turned inside out.

Kazuma chuckled nervously, “Do you think they were looking for us?”

I grinned, hoping that it would help calm me down, “Please tell me that question was rhetorical…”

Finally, we reached my block and my house came into view at the end of the street. Cautiously, we jogged towards it. There was nothing stopping us now; we were finally going to end this.

I shoved the front door open. It had been taken off of its hinges at some point, which is why it was so hard to open. Suddenly Mimiru and I both gasped, surrounded by an unbearable odor. Covering my nose, I scanned the living room, examining each item that had been thrown out of place. I spotted mom's picture, still on the dresser, untouched. My dad was right where we left him; on the couch, as still as mother's photo.

“Augh…well, that explains the smell…” I griped, still squeezing Mimiru's hand.

Mimiru didn't really seem to care how tight I was holding her hand, but she didn't return the hold either…maybe she wasn't thinking about the same things that I was at the time.

Kazuma stepped back towards the door, pulling her hand away, “You get the pennies…I'll wait here.”

I nodded and ran up the stairs and into my bedroom, kneeling down next to my bed and reaching under, “C'mon…where are they?” I grumbled, “Please let them be here…please, please…let them…” I gasped as something smooth but hard slipped through my fingers. I reached further in desperation and pulled it out; sure enough, it was one of my old piggy banks. Like an excited puppy, I flew down the stairs and ran to Kazuma Mimiru, who still waited patiently at the door, “This should be enough! There's gotta' be hundreds of pennies in here!”

Mimiru smirked and pulled out a small coin purse, “I found this by the couch.”

Waiting for the aliens to show up, Mimiru and I sat on my roof, watching the sunset, eating some ramen that I had heated up for us. Mimiru finished her bowl and sighed, rubbing her shoulders, “What a day! I wonder if it'll ever end.”

I nodded, “Every day has to end sometime, Kazuma.”

“You think?” Mimiru gazed out at the set, “Do you think…there will be another adventure waiting for us tomorrow, Sassi?”

I nodded again, slurping up the last of my ramen, “Of course…well, once this is over, I'm pretty sure things will just go back to normal.” I looked back over at Mimiru who was hugging her legs, “and maybe you and I could just…leave.”

She looked at me in surprise, her auburn hair swinging over her big jade eyes, “Leave? You mean leave town?”

I laughed, “Sure. We'll finally be free…and we'll still be together.”

“Sassi…I…” she stammered, “what about…this is our home.”

I put down my bowl and looked out over the trees; the sun was finally disappearing behind them, “I don't want to be held prisoner in this town anymore. I want to live a life.” I looked at Mimiru, “I…I don't want to do it alone, Mimiru…”

Mimiru followed my gaze and leaned her head on my shoulder, “I do want another adventure, Sassi…and I want to have it with you…but I think you're forgetting your mother's words too quickly…” she paused, closing her eyes, “I don't know if I can leave this place ever again.”

“Why not?” I asked curiously, cocking my head.

Mimiru sighed, “Never mind…I…I don't even know what I'm saying now.”

We slept in my attic that night, curled up in an old wool blanket. We chose this spot because it appeared untouched by the aliens. The next morning, we got up and gathered all of the pennies that we had found. We headed down the stairs and out into the street, quietly and carefully.

“Wait.” Mimiru handed me the coin purse and ran back inside. A moment later, she came out, holding mom's picture.

I gasped. It was good to see my mother's smiling face, frozen like that; so that no one could make her smile go away.

Mimiru kissed the picture and smiled, shoving it into my pocket, “She'll protect us, Tsukasa.” She nodded slowly, taking the purse back and pouring a few pennies into her hand.

“What should we do now?” I asked, gazing out at the empty road.

Mimiru shrugged, “Just…throw the pennies at them I guess.”

I looked up thoughtfully, trying to remember what I had done when Mimiru was possessed. I had just tossed the penny into her mouth, right? Sure was a strange allergic reaction, though. I pondered about it as we walked further toward the school. We figured that there had to be some there.

As we neared the school zone, we noticed a thin fog rolling in and surrounding us. Mimiru coughed and waved some of the smog away, burying her face in my shoulder. I sighed and squeezed the pennies in my hand until my fingers began to go numb.

Soon enough, we had reached the school. We stood still, waiting for any sign of them. The fog was thicker here and, even though we could see the sun up in the sky, we couldn't see the bleachers in the field nearby.

Mimiru and I both turned, startled, when heard something scraping against the gravel behind us. The figure of a red haired girl wearing a sixth grade uniform appeared before us. She looked at us with wide red eyes.

Mimiru took a penny and aimed it, glaring at the girl, who didn't react at all at first. But after a moment, she cocked her head to the side, which made a bloodcurdling cracking noise that made me gag, perplexed by Mimiru's threat. I don't think she knew what would happen to her if she were hit. Finally, Mimiru flicked her wrist, knocking the creature right in the forehead.

Just like before, there was no reaction for a moment. Mimiru gasped and backed away, “Sassi! It didn't work!”

I grabbed her wrist and held her still, “Just wait.” I clenched my teeth, trying to convince myself that it worked as well.

The creature stepped closer to us, snapping its head upright again. I shivered and shut my eyes tight, loosening my grip on Mimiru's wrist, but not letting go. I felt her begin to back away, leading me with her.

With my eyes shut, I couldn't do anything but listen to the noises around me. I heard the sound of Mimiru's quiet panting, the school's generator purring in the distance, and the constant but faint screeching sound that stung my ears.

Do you know that feeling that you get, right before you fall asleep sometimes, like you're falling? Well, it was like that, only backwards. I felt like I was falling upward.

Soon enough though, that feeling was interrupted by a sudden crackling noise. My eyes shot open, taking a moment to focus before I could see Mimiru, who had picked up the penny and shoved it right against the creature's neck. The girl's mutilated body shook and twitched. It began to cough and stumble. Mimiru persistently pressed a second penny against the wrinkled skin of the host; this one against its eye.

After a struggle, it finally fell to the ground, with a loud thud that made me shudder. Mimiru picked up the two pennies, nudging the host's body with her toes. She turned to me, her face pale and in shock.

“You all right?” at last, I allowed myself to breathe.

Mimiru nodded gravely and shoved the pennies into my hands, “Next time, you do it.” She brushed past me, heading toward the track and field.

As we neared the track, the sound of the school's generator grew louder. Mimiru sat down on the bleachers and I plopped down next to her, looking around cautiously. Seeing that there was no one around, I turned to Mimiru. She was looking down at her legs, which were scratched and bruised. Her skirt was tattered and filthy; just like her hair. I couldn't see her eyes, but it didn't matter. I knew exactly what they would look like. If I could see them, I would see nothing. Her eyes would be seemingly empty and colorless, as if she were staring off into space.

Mimiru was always a thin girl. Her body didn't have much shape to it. She was so tall; it made her look really thin. I wasn't sure if that was the only reason she always looked so scrawny, but I guess it really didn't matter.

I sighed and leaned my elbows on my knees, resting my forehead in my palms. I could feel all of the dust and dirt in my hair. I must look like a mess to Mimiru as well, I thought.

“Will you leave town, Sassi? For real?” Mimiru's voice was cracked and exhausted.

I nodded, closing my eyes, “Yeah. Probably.” I shifted a bit, taking a moment to yawn before saying more, “…I hate this place.”

I felt the bleachers shake a bit and rise slightly as I heard Mimiru take a few steps down the track, “Well,” She called back, “maybe after all of this, this town will be different. Maybe it will be more exciting.”

I looked up to see Mimiru standing with her back facing toward me, her hands folding behind her back, and her head turned so that she could send me a weak smile.

“Maybe you won't want to leave anymore.” She finished.

I shrugged, “Maybe.” I wanted to ask her why she wouldn't leave with me, but I thought better of it. Talking about it never made Mimiru feel good.

With a low, annoyed groan, I rolled over and slammed my hand down on my alarm clock. I opened my eyes and blew my bangs out of the way so that I could see. There was light pouring in from my window, through which I could see a few kids outside, throwing their backpacks over their shoulders and starting off toward school.

I tossed my blankets off and lazily scooted out of bed, forcing myself onto my still shaky legs. I yawned and rubbed my eyes hard, trying to keep them from closing again. I slipped on some pants and a shirt and ran a brush through my hair, which I had washed the night before, then grabbed my toothbrush and trudged out the door, waving to the photo of my mom on the coffee table.

Everything was normal that day. Girls were talking about boys and boys were talking about sports, and Mimiru and I reminisced about the good ole' days back when my mom was around. Classes went by quickly, just like usual, and the fog had lifted. After school, Mimiru and I hung out under the bridge, where we put our feet in the river and laughed about the silly things we had done in the past.

Everything will always be normal. Things won't change in a town like this. People will come and go, but we wont ever notice, because we can adapt. A memory is just a picture in our head, but there is no way to tell if it is real or not. Your memories die with you unless they are recorded. But it's impossible to record everything.

Nothing ever happens in a small town like this, and nothing ever will.