My parents and I traveled to this country because my father was called from his job. I never knew anything about my dad’s job since I had just met him a couple of months ago and my mother had said we’d be depending on him from now on. It was hard for me to meet him for the first time but I hadn’t held anything against him for his absence in my life throughout all of my childhood. The day we met was almost as if we had known each other forever. I felt so comfortable with him that I immediately welcomed him into my heart. It was so easy for me to call him my father.

One day they went out to bring dinner, I waited in the hotel room while I watched some strange show on television. I wasn’t really interested, especially because there was an odd feeling that was keeping my mind busy even if I tried to get distracted. A couple of more minutes passed before I finally heard knockings on the door. I was expecting it to be my parents coming back, but instead, I found a man dressed in a black suit and hiding his eyes underneath his black sunglasses.

He greeted me with such formality as if it were something important. Apparently, he knew my name and last name just as well as he knew my parents. He explained to me why I had to go with him, an explanation that seemed to have been made-up for a child to convince her that everything was going to be alright.

I asked myself if I should listen to him or not. He inspired some sort of trust in me but yet, I wondered if my parents were alright and if they were still going to come back home. I asked the man what had happened to my parents but he refused to answer. I wasn’t being forced to go with him either, which is why I didn’t think he had done anything bad to them. Eventually, I agreed to follow him and listen to whatever had to be told to me.

I don’t know exactly what I’m doing here or where my parents are right now but I can only hope for their safety and future return. I live in a two-story house with an Italian married couple who have just recently moved here. They were told I was an exchange student from Ireland.

I was indeed, Irish, but I wasn’t really expecting to be going to school here in Australia. The only thing I was assured is that my parents were alive and finishing ‘work’ that would allow us to go back to Ireland. I decided to stay with this family and attend school for one year, as I was told. I would wait patiently for my parent’s return.

This is my first week of school and I’ve been pretty comfortable so far. Everybody I have met is extremely nice to me. It’s only been four days and I’ve already become quite popular throughout the overcrowded school. I met a great and nice guy named Christopher, a beautiful and popular girl named Ellen and her best friend, Claire. I guess that by being around them I’ve become well-known, even if it’s only been four days.

It’s finally Friday and Claire, Christopher and Ellen asked me to meet them at a nearby-coffee place. They said it’s the best in town, so I’m really looking forward to it. As I was walking out of my last class I saw a very interesting person. She seemed as if she were waiting for somebody because her firm, green eyes were staring right at the door I happened to be standing at.

I stopped as soon as I noticed her presence which strongly attracted me. I thought to myself how beautiful she was and how I wish I could talk to her. I had never been intimidated by anybody before but this girl seemed different. Suddenly, I realized she was looking at me. I felt embarrassed because she probably thought weird of me. I turned around right away and kept walking while my heart began to beat pretty fast. I reached my locker and began to open it. Due to my nervousness, it became something noticeably difficult for me to accomplish.

Then, I heard a voice, a beautiful and calm voice speaking not very far from where I was standing. I rolled my eyes over to see who this voice was coming from, and just as expected, it was that girl. She was talking to a boy who seemed just as interesting as her. This boy’s face was handsome, almost angelic. His long, wavy hair and stunning hazel eyes were breath-taking. The peach-haired, porcelain-skinned girl reached for his ear and whispered delicately to him as they both giggled gently. They were so beautiful.

They began to walk away from me, down the hallway where everybody else in it became a fading background when compared to their perfection. I was astonished by such extraordinary human beings who happened to be sharing the same school as me. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed them before.

After they had disappeared from my sight, I looked to the opposite side of the hall and saw Christopher coming my way. He greeted me with a hug as he usually did. We walked out of the school and sat down on the concrete stairs that were located in the main entrance. As we waited for Claire and Ellen to join us, I began to remember those two people. Christopher noticed there was something on my mind so he asked if I could tell him what I was thinking about. Without a doubt, I told him who I had seen and how beautiful I think they were. He said nothing. Instead, he looked away as if trying to avoid the conversation. I wasn’t sure if I had said anything that could have bothered him so I remained quiet. Finally, Claire and Ellen caught up to us and we began walking to the Café.

Once there, I began to think about my parents and what their whereabouts could be at this moment. I decided to go to the bathroom so I excused myself as I left the table. Once there, I stared at the image of myself reflected in the mirror. I stared as I blanked my mind and closed my eyes. I thought there was nobody else but me until I heard a strange noise. Oh, it was that girl again. She had been showing up everywhere I go, almost as if she was following me. Strange thing was, she never even looked at me almost as if I weren’t there. I stared at her reflection in the mirror and watched how she washed and dried her hands without moving her hair off her face. I hadn’t yet been able to see how she looks like behind those straight, red bangs. She crumbed the paper into a ball and threw it in the trash container. Her steps were silent and her body language was unreadable. I watched her exit the bathroom as the door slowly closed behind her.

I began to think about her unexpected appearances everywhere I go. The first time I saw her was on the first day of school. I was trying to find my classroom and it was a little late. There was nobody in the hallway but the two of us. As I walked her way to ask her for directions, she disappeared as if running away from me. The next day she sat on the table behind mine during lunch. Strange thing was, she was alone. The following time was a bit awkward, I found her in my classroom sitting in my desk until I walked in. She only stood up without even looking at me and walked out, passing by right next to me. The previous time to this one, she walked on the same street as me after school, yet, on the opposite direction. Once again, we passed by each other’s shoulders while she avoided all type of eye contact.

I was convinced this girl was creepy but I still felt the urge to speak to her. I wondered if she was really following me and for what purpose. Just in the middle of my thoughts, the door was slammed open making a loud noise. It was Ellen. It seemed they were starting to worry about me since I was taking too long so I apologized and followed her back to the table.

It was late and Christopher offered to walk me back home. While on our way, I asked Christopher why he had avoided our earlier conversation and, once again, he tried to slip out of the topic. I wanted an answer so I insisted once more.

“Beautiful and perfect, there’s no doubt about it,” Christopher said as his first and only reasonable answer. He, then, began to compare them with angels and other godly creatures I don’t even believe in. I was wondering why he was speaking of them as if they were some type of idols or heavenly icons. I decided not to interrupt since I was also interested in why he held such high concept of those two. They were something else, indeed, but Christopher’s answer wasn’t really what I was expecting to hear. I wanted to learn about these two whose names were addressed as Ceres and Deadalus.

Chapter Two:
A Pool of Water

I walked inside of my new home as I slowly closed the door behind me. I began to walk up the stairs forcing my legs to help me reach the second floor of the house. I went to my room and grabbed my sleeping clothes and then I walked to the bathroom to take a shower.

The warm water began to hit my naked skin as the vapor immediately took its shape around me and the rest of the room. I found it so relaxing that I closed my eyes in great comfort. Then I saw it.

I was sitting down in a dark room where a weak blue flashing light allowed me to see a long-haired guy’s lips reaching for mine as my heartbeat fastened considerably. With the core of my eye I was able to see a girl staring straight at me. Her eyes reflected more than just the images shown on the television, she shone evil.

I opened my eyes and breathed out a scare wondering what that was.

"A foreshadow or a memory?” I asked myself. No, it wasn’t a memory. I began to wonder erratically who the guy in my vision was and why my heart started beating faster every time I remembered those lips pressed against mine. However, the image of the girl frightened me too much to be remembered.

I turned off the water and reached for my towel as I wrapped myself in it. I looked at the reflection of myself in the mirror and began to think, have I always looked like this? Suddenly, another vision struck me.

I saw a blurry image of a dark green blanket lying beneath me. There were tears in my eyes as a short-haired blonde woman sat by my side. She kept telling me everything was going to go back to normal. She said everything was going to be alright and that I wasn’t alone. Truth is I was.

I opened my eyes again and met with my reflection once more. Who was that woman? What was happening to me? Why am I having these visions?

I got so scared that I dressed myself and quickly left the bathroom. I ran towards my room and locked myself in it. It was pretty late, perhaps I needed sleep. I had school the next day and I hadn’t had enough rest lately. Yeah, that must be it.

The next morning, I walked inside my classroom as usual. For my surprise, I found my friend Christopher talking with two people I never thought I’d find inside of my classroom. It was them, Ceres and Deadalus.

My heartbeat increased, my legs started shaking a bit and my breath became quite heavy. Why was I getting so nervous by having those two around? I had to admit they intimidated me.

Christopher waved at me with an indescribable look on his face, this made Ceres and Deadalus notice I was there also. They smiled. A simple yet beautiful smile was given to me and it felt like the greatest gift I could ever expect from anyone. I couldn’t understand these feelings I was getting.

“You must be Jaide.” Deadalus said with that heavenly voice of his.

“Yeah,” I babbled “nice to meet you.”

They must have noticed my extreme nervousness because they kept staring at me with some sort of gracious look on their faces. I was completely embarrassed, but still tried to dissimulate.

“I’m Ceres,” the girl said, “and this is my co-worker Deadalus.”

“Co-worker, you say?” I couldn’t help but ask, then again I wasn’t thinking straight.

“Yeah, we work at a cosmetics store together. You should visit sometime, it’s called Untouched Beauty.” Deadalus then said.

His voice was so charming that it drove me crazy. Could it be I’m falling in love with him? No way!

“We should go after school, don’t you think?” Christopher’s voice interrupted my thoughts. I was now being stared at by the three of them.

“S-sure”

So after school ended, I was going to be heading towards a cosmetics store. I couldn’t stop thinking about Ceres and Deadalus. Throughout the whole day, they were all that populated my mind. The time finally came, I met with Ellen, Christopher and Claire at the same place we called our ‘hanging spot’.

When we finally got there, my heart started beating fast again. I walked inside of the store and found myself overwhelmed with amazement. This store surely had everything you could imagine involving cosmetics. Soon enough, we heard someone approaching. It was them.

“Welcome.” Ceres’ delicate voice was heard.

I was wondering how they got here so fast, so I asked her. She giggled in a low voice and slightly looked over to look at my friends. She kept a smile on her face, but this time it was a different one. I don’t know why, but that made me feel quite insecure. I must be imagining things.

There was an awkward period of silence. I looked at Christopher and noticed he was only staring at the floor. I found it strange, but I stood quiet. Another couple of seconds passed before I glanced over at Ellen and found her doing the same thing. Just to please my fearful curiosity, I looked at Claire as well. Just as thought, her eyes were also staring at the floor. I really began to lose confidence and tried to start a conversation, but no matter what I said, I got no reply.

I eventually began to panic. Why was I being ignored? I dissimulated my way to the exit door and found it locked. The sign on the door read, “Closed.”

I started shaking, my hands began to sweat and my body felt cold and weak. I felt a presence standing right behind me. I turned around and found myself face-to-face with Deadalus.

“What’s going on?” I asked with my appalled, trembling voice.

“What’s wrong Jaide?” His voice carried a tone of sarcasm.

“Stay away from me!” I screamed

“Why? I thought you’d be happy to be this close to me, isn’t that what you were thinking about all day?”

After hearing his words, I stared with no strength to even move out of his way. Soon, Ceres caught up to both of us. She was smiling with that same smile from before. She got close to me just as my heart started beating faster. She moved her fingers through my hair and then placed her hand on my chest as if feeling my heartbeat. She smiled once again.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” she whispered in my ear “come with us.”

I followed them while I trembled and struggled trying to hold myself back from crying. I was so scared because I didn’t know what was going on. I looked over at my friends, who were now staring straight at me. The same smile I had found in Ceres was now being offered to me by my own friends.

We reached the door labeled with a sign that read “Employees only.” Now I began to panic even more. Why were they taking me to the stock? No, it was no stock. Before my eyes, a metallic door with a black, red and white logo began to open just as Ceres keyed in a code from a strange apparatus installed in the side of the wall. The door opened up to reveal a laboratory before my eyes.

“This is where beauty is born,” Deadalus said.

They sat me down in a white room where I was going to be watched by my own friends through a glass wall that lied ahead of me. There was a table made out of metal placed just a couple of feet away from me. Ceres and Deadalus handcuffed me and stood next to me, Ceres on my left side, Deadalus to my right side.

I started hearing them say all sorts of things that at the moment, made no sense at all.

“Let’s begin.”

“Edgar, don’t miss out on any detail, I want everything written down perfectly.” She seemed to be taking to Christopher, but why did she call him ‘Edgar’?

“Chris, make sure you get every second of this on tape.” Deadalus said while he looked at Ellen, why did he call her ‘Chris’?

“Finally, Alina, narrate the process as it goes. I want it to be stored in the records.” Why have they referred to Claire as ‘Alina’? What is going on?!

Project: The Perfect Suicide – Trial One
Subject: 0012
Host: Manson, Miyavi
Status: Active

“We’ve met again, Pricilla.”