Forever Fifteen - Chapters One to Four

Chapter One: The Wish

I stare at my reflection.

The girl gazing back from the mirror is completely unrecognizable. Her face looks more mature; older than her true age. Her long, brunette hair is twisted into a thick french braid, added with an elegant, violet flower clip. She's wearing diamond drop earrings with a matching clothing pin. She's also dressed in a flouncy, white one-shoulder dress.

I don't like the way this girl looks. It's so foreign. I don't like it one bit.

My mother grasps my shoulders and beams at my reflection. "Look at you!" She says in such awe, "You look gorgeous!"

I don't respond. I simply keep staring at the girl in the mirror. She is frowning.

"Darling," my mother says in a somewhat hushed voice, "Is there something wrong?"

I nod. "Oh, yes," I say.

"And what would that be?" Mother asks.

"Today is the day I'm turning fifteen." Those seven words sting my tongue. I feel my stomach churning simply by thinking about it. I want to vomit, I want to cry, I want to faint.

I want to disappear from everyone's sight. I hate this unusual attention that I'm receiving.

"But you should be happy. Today is your special day! You're still pretty young, you know," Mother murmurs as she plays with the tip of my braid.

"But birthdays are not meant to be celebrated," I mumble, "They're meant to be avoided. They're the year closer to your death."

"What?" Mother gives me an odd look, an expression I've never seen before, "Who told you all this nonsense?"

"No one did," I say simply with a shrug, "I figured it out myself."

"How?"

"By seeing myself get older every year. It's disgusting."

Mother pulls her eyebrows together, looking somewhat offended. "Forget all about that stuff," she mumbles, "You sound like a lunatic!"

"If you say so," I murmur, not offended as much as my mother was.

We both slowly go downstairs. I feel clumsy because I'm very terrible at walking on high heels, so I keep stepping on my dress.

"Happy birthday, Robyn!" My family hoots once I'm in the living room.

I close my eyes and frown, since I'm constantly being reminded of my "Special day." But then I open my eyes again and manage to put on a stiff smile. "Thanks," I say, but not as enthusiastic as I wanted to sound.

Several of my relatives begin to embrace me. My aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, my mother, and finally, my father.

"Happy birthday, Birdy," Father whispers in my ear when he hugs me.

"Um, thanks," I say, feeling extremely annoyed now. Is it necessary to repeat all this birthday nonsense? I get that today I'm turning fifteen. Goodness, I'm no idiot.

Father calls me "Birdy" because my first name is Robyn, and my last name is Bird. People think it's a bit odd for a girl to have a name like that, but I don't really mind. It stands out from all the rest.

Mother and Father make me sit down on the couch in front of the coffee table. They carefully place a medium-sized cake over it. The cake is decorated with white frosting, pink and blue sprinkles, and lots of colorful candles. I begin to count them all.

One, two, three, four...

One of my uncles, Uncle Phillip, starts to light them up. He gives me a big smile, but I do not smile back.

Five, six, seven, eight...

I feel my head beginning to spin. "Stop counting them," I whisper to myself, "Just stop."

Nine, ten, eleven...

"What was that?" Uncle Phillip asks, staring at me with a worried look on his face. I suddenly become oblivious to everyone's voices.

Twelve, thirteen, fourteen...

I inhale, then exhale. My head is aching while my heart is pounding. This cannot be happening.

Father comes close to my face, then says in a voice loud enough for me to hear, "Make a wish, Birdy."

Fifteen.

I instantly stand up and scream, "I wish everyone would just leave me alone!"

The room becomes silent. Everyone's eyes are fixed on me. I can't take this pressure, it doesn't feel right. I have to go somewhere far away in order to calm down.

I shove past Father and walk towards the door.

"Robyn!" Mother calls after me.

I open the door, step out, then close it behind my shoulder with the loudest slam I could possibly make.

My high heels are killing me. I bet I already have blisters in my toes. I bend down, pull off my shoes, then carelessly fling them behind me, hearing them land hard on the grass. I now walk barefoot, feeling the moist, cool earth kiss the soles of my feet.

My head is still dizzy and in extreme pain. My heart is pounding so hard I can literally hear it ringing in my ears. I'm now sweating. I am sweating a lot.

What is going on?

I keep walking further, closer and closer to the woods that are a bit far from my house. I glance up at the black night sky. The beaming stars and a glistening, round moon are staring back at me.

I am now surrounded by what seems to be millions and trillions of trees. I keep walking, not once looking back.

The world seems to be swaying, rocking, tipping... No, it's not the world. It's me. I'm the one who is swaying, rocking, and tipping.

In any moment soon, I will collapse over the muddy floor and crisp leaves.

I stop walking, then steady my balance and grasp the branch of some random tree to my right. I breathe heavily, feeling extremely nauseous, possibly going to throw up soon.

Then, I drop to my knees, close my eyes, then fall over my stomach.

Thankfully, I'm still breathing. I can still think, and I can still hear. But I cannot speak, I cannot position myself to my feet, I cannot open my eyes. I simply lay there on the ground, waiting for a colony of ants to crawl over my body and do the job for me.

Suddenly, I hear rustling. Then crunching noises. Like someone stepping on twigs and pushing himself past bushes and trees.

A bear? Nah. Bigfoot? Never. It's possibly Mother or Father.

Then, the noise stops. I sense its presence. It is standing there, observing me closely.

Out of nowhere, I hear a voice say, "Tell me, what is your biggest wish?" This voice sounds like it's coming from a male. It's unfamiliar, but soothing, deep and secure.

I slowly open my mouth, but no words come out. The sound of me breathing is all I can manage.

"Tell me. Try to speak," the voice encourages.

I breathe for a while more until I feel the dizziness has vanished. I now feel normal. But I still lay there, careless about what will happen next. I now feel relaxed, as if this person will do anything but harm me.

I now know that I'm able to speak. "My biggest wish is to never age. I want to stop at fifteen. That's all. But we both know that such a thing could never happen."

"Can't it?" The voice asks. A hand starts to stroke my now messy hair.

I do not know how to respond. I still keep my eyes closed, not wanting to know this person's identity just yet.

"What do you call yourself?" The person asks.

"Robyn," I reply.

"Ah, Robyn. Worry no more. You will never age again," the voice says. I quickly open my eyes.

He is gone.

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Chapter Two: Nightmare

I am trapped inside something. I cannot make sense of what it is since it's extremely dark and humid. I carefully slide my fingers against something smooth and wooden at my side, then I press my palm against the edges.

I'm in a box of some sort.

I start to breathe heavily since I'm feeling extremely hot, and I'm suffocating. How did I end up being in this box? I start to wriggle, then kick. I feel something tickle my bare toes. It's crawling all over my feet, then it's making its way up my ankles... It feels like...

Spiders! There are spiders on my feet!

I scream, then wriggle and panic even more. I kick and push harder, then start to punch the wooden top that's above me. I'm still trapped inside. The spiders are beginning to crawl on my knees.

I scream again, louder this time, and keep punching. After several attempts, I hear a loud crack. I'm guessing that the wooden top gave in and opened. I try to push the top of my head, but something else is blocking my way. It's dirt. Dirt is blocking my way.

Quickly, I begin to dig my way out. I grab several chunks of moist soil off of me, then start to push myself upward, ripping dirt here and there, trying to get out of this nutshell.

Finally, I push out my hand as hard as I could. I feel cool air breeze past my palm. I found a way out.

I fully stand up, feeling a bunch of dirt collapsing over my bare feet, then I pull myself out of the hole, that my hand created. My arms are outstretched on moist, green grass. I breathe for cool air, finally feeling my lungs starting to work properly. I climb out, slide my legs over the grass, then drag my body farther away from the hole. I smack and shake away the black spiders that were crawling on my legs. I stare ahead of me.

There is a sign above the hole I've created. It's gray, made out of some type of rock material, and in bold letters something was inscribed:

REST IN PEACE
ROBYN BIRD
DEATH AT AGE FIFTEEN
YOU WILL BE MISSED

I feel my body shaking with fear. Dead? People thought I was dead?

I slowly stand on my feet, and walk towards the hole I've made, then look down.

It's an open coffin, now covered in wet dirt. I was buried underground in a coffin. This doesn't make sense... I'm not dead! I never was dead! Why would people think that? I never died... I am perfectly fine!

I hear thunder, then millions of raindrops pour over my filthy hair. I look up. The sky is a deep, dark gray, as if believing that I died, too.

"I'm not dead!" I scream as loud as I can, staring at the angry clouds above me, "I'm not dead!"

But it keeps raining, the sky not believing me. Tears flow down to my chin, along with the heavy rain. I wipe my face with the back of my hand.

It's cold. I am now shivering, since the only thing I'm wearing is my birthday dress. What happened the night before? I cannot remember. All I know is that I almost fainted, but something occurred after that... What was it?

I widen my eyes at the rest of my sight. I'm in a graveyard. Full of other signs that mention people's innocent deaths. I keep crying, my heart was broken to see something so horrible.

I run towards a black gate, which I assume must be the exit. I open the gate door, then walk out.

My feet feel cold against the road. Yes, I'm walking on a road. I see no cars, and no people. I see buildings, but they are abandoned. What happened? What is going on?

"I'm not dead," I whisper to no one in particular.

I keep walking.

The rain is still pouring over my dirt-covered hair, and my cold, shivering body. I rub my palms against my arms, trying to gather some heat, but it's no use. I instantly give up on the stupid idea. My dress is now wet and soggy. I keep stepping on it accidentally.

I stop, pull my dress over my head, then drop it on the floor. All I'm wearing under is a tank top and mini shorts.

Suddenly, I hear a faded voice. It's the sound of a baby crying.

Then I hear another faded voice. I think it's a woman singing.

And another. It's a man talking.

I now see a bunch of faded shadows, walking to and fro. I see a shadow of a little boy, then, he walks right through me.

He walked right through me.

"No..." I whisper. "No, no, no! This cannot be happening! It's not true! I'm not dead!"

I now understand. The shadows are the souls that are still alive and living in this earth. So, am I a spirit?

I shake my head, denying everything. "I'm not dead!" I scream, "I'm still alive! I'm not dead! I never died!"

My eyes pop open. I quickly sit up, feeling my heart loudly pound against my chest. I am surrounded by leaves and trees...

The woods? I'm still in the woods?

I must have fallen asleep without me knowing. I suddenly gasp.

My parents. They must be looking for me, worried sick!

But what happened the night before? I keep asking myself this question. Something happened, but I don't remember what.

Is it possible that the night before is the night that I stopped living?

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Chapter Three: Dead or Alive?

I do not know if I'm still living. I do not know if I'm already gone. Am I becoming loony in the head? I seriously need to pull myself together.

"Are you okay?"

"Gah!" I scream, then quickly stand up, feeling my heart pulse faster than a fleeing hare. But I see nothing. There's only trees and bushes in front of me.

"Who goes there?" I call. I squint, but still see nothing.

"Um, over here."

I turn around, then find a boy, possibly around my age, staring at me. I feel my face burn.

"What do you want?" I snap.

"I heard you screaming from far away. I came to see what's up. You were asleep, but still screaming loudly... About you not being dead or something," the boy mumbles. I look away.

"I had a nightmare," I murmur, "That's all."

"Yeah, I figured. You know, since you fell asleep on the ground last night."

I stare at him. He stares back.

"How do you...?" I begin, but the boy turns around and walks away, fading behind the trees.

"Hey!" I call, "Wait up!" I run after him, but he is nowhere to be seen. I turn around, in case he was behind me. Nothing.

"Looking for me, I assume?" I hear his voice say. I look up. And sure enough, the boy is up on a tree, sitting peacefully over its thick branches, laughing.

Something about his voice sounds really familiar.

"Who ... Who are you?" I ask, stunned.

The boy is now crouching in a weird way. He steadies his balance, then jumps. He lands perfectly over the muddy grass on his two feet.

"The name's Kite Autumn," he says, extending his hand, "You must be Robyn Bird."

I timidly shake it, feeling a bit confused. "How do you know my name? And how do you know what happened to me last night?"

Kite chuckles. "Robyn, I know lots of things that this world combined will never know."

I'm silent, studying him. His eyes are a liquidy aquamarine blue, his skin is pale like snow, and his hair is jet-black, thick and messy, some strands falling over his right eye. He tilts his head a little, an amused expression staining his face.

"What is it?" He murmurs.

"Nothing," I say, "I'm trying to remember if I've ever seen you anywhere. Like at school or something, but I guess not. You look completely unfamiliar."

"Of course you've never seen me at school, you idiot, because I don't go to one."

I frown at him. "First of all, don't call me an idiot. Second of all, why don't you go to school? Wait... You must be homeschooled, then."

Kite shakes his head. "Nuh. I'm not homeschooled. I used to go to a public school, but then I got expelled."

I raise my eyebrows. "Expelled? How?"

"I did something rather devious," he murmurs, grinning at the thought, "But I rather not mention it in front of a girl."

I wince, feeling my stomach churn in disgust. "Ew, I agree. It's best that you don't tell me."

Kite laughs, but then pauses, thinking of something. "Hey, can you climb trees?"

I giggle at the random question. "Uh, I don't think so. Why?"

Kite grabs my hand and says, "It's really easy. C'mon, lemme show you. We should start with a smaller tree, though."

We both walk deeper into the woods. I shiver, feeling goosebumps rise on my arms and on the back of my neck. Kite glances at me. "Hold up," he mumbles. He unzips his jacket, takes it off, then wraps it around my shoulders. "Thanks," I say, smiling.

"No problem," Kite replies, smiling back, "I'm not even cold, anyway." He glances down at my exposed feet. "By the way, why aren't you wearing any shoes?"

I blush. "Oh, um, they were hurting my feet. So I got rid of them."

"That sucks," Kite says. He stares to his right, then points. "There," he murmurs, "Let's climb that tree."

"Wait," I choke, "You were serious?"

"Yeah, obviously," Kite mumbles.

He grabs my hand again, then takes me to the tree that he calls the "smallest." To me, it looks huge.

"Now," Kite says, "All you gotta do is dig your nails deep into the bark, hoist yourself up, and wrap your legs around the trunk. Keep pushing your weight higher and higher by pressing your feet against the bark and grasping the wood as tight as you can. Then, cling to the closest branches you see, keep climbing up, then sit on the thickest branch. One that's strong enough to support your weight. Got it?"

I nod. "Yes."

"Oh! And one more thing." Kite leans in close to my face and whispers, "Don't look down."

I swallow. "I won't."

"Good. So do you wanna go first, or shall I?" Kite asks. I shrug.

"You go first, I guess," I murmur.

"Kay. Now watch." Kite gets a hold of the trunk, clutching it tightly with his fingers while pressing his palms against it, then raising his legs and pushing his feet upwards. He is climbing rather quickly, which leaves me jaw-dropped. He looks like a monkey.

After what seems to be several seconds, he's already up on a branch. "See?" He calls, "Easy as pie! Now start climbing!"

I nervously wrap my arms around the tree's trunk as tightly as I can, then press my feet against the bark, and slowly push myself up. I slip, then I slide my foot hard against the trunk, causing myself to stop. I sigh in relief.

"Don't hug the tree, Robyn! Grasp it, okay?" Kite yells.

"I'll try," I call in a shaky voice.

I clutch the bark with my fingers, now, trying to imitate the same way Kite did it. I hoist myself up with a grunt, then outstretch an arm and pull my weight up even higher.

It's working! It's working!

I smile triumphantly, now sitting next to Kite upon the branch. He seems impressed.

"Wow, you have skills. I'm surprised," he says with a laugh.

"You taught me, anyway. I never climbed a tree before," I say.

"You must be a fast-learner, then," Kite murmurs.

"Yeah," I say.

It's quiet. A breeze flies past us, causing my twisted, messy, now unbraided hair to swirl in front of my face. I pull some strands behind my ear, then pull Kite's jacket's hood over my head.

"You know, that nightmare you had? About you saying you're not dead?" Kite whispers.

"Yeah?"

"Well, it's real in a way."

"How?"

"You cannot die. At least not anymore, anyway."

I pull my eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean 'not anymore'?" I ask. Kite sighs and murmurs, "You can't die. Remember the wish? The one you made last night?"

I widen my eyes. That is what happened yesterday!

"You were the one who asked me what's my biggest wish?" I ask.

Kite nods. "You wished to never age. To simply stay at age fifteen and that's it."

"Wait," I say, "How old are you anyway?"

"Seventeen."

"Oh."

"So you can't die. Because of your wish. So basically, you're immortal in some kind of... way," Kite mumbles.

Surprisingly, I laugh. "You're crazy. I was only joking around, but I wish it were real."

"But it is."

"Then prove it!"

"All right," Kite says, "I will." He starts to push me. I wobble and scream.

"Kite!" I screech. "Kite! What are you doing? Stop, stop!"

He doesn't stop. He shoves me a little bit harder.

I keep screaming. "No! Stop! Kite!"

He pushes me off the branch. I scream at the top of my lungs, land on the ground, then... Blackness.

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Chapter Four: Promises and New Beginnings

Blood. It's oozing out of my head, I can feel it. My eyes snap open and focus, calculating what just happened.

I see Kite's face close to mine, his arms wrapped around me, a hard-line formed on his lips.

I push him away. In wobbling legs, I slowly stand up, scared of what he might attempt to do next since I now remember what happened. He pushed me off the tree.

Why did he do it?

But I'm still alive. I'm breathing. I'm hurt, but I'm not dead. I am okay.

Kite stands up as well. "See?" He says, "You can't die!"

"But I can get hurt, can't I?" I yell at him. "What's the point of never-dying if you can still feel the pain? This is stupid!"

"But that was your wish," Kite says so quietly, it sounds like a whisper, "You only wished to stay at age fifteen and never age again. So in other words, you can never die. You have to stay at age fifteen. You never said 'I wish I would stay at age fifteen. Never age, and never feel any pain.'"

"But that would be two wishes, you retard!" I spit, feeling incredibly angry at him.

Kite says nothing. He simply stares at me with a worried expression, probably feeling sorry for me.

"Forget it all, I'm going home!" I turn from him, feeling my head burn up of anger and gushing blood. I now walk back home.

Kite doesn't protest. I sense him still standing there, watching me as I walk farther and farther away.

I now run, scared that my head will explode from all these thoughts running across my brain. I pass by my high heels, still cold and wet on the grass where I left them. But right now, they are the last thing on my mind. I just want to go home.

I pound on the door as hard as I can. "Mother! Father!" I scream, "Open the door!"

I wait for a minute. The door is still closed, and it's quiet.

"Open up! Please!" I try again. I'm now kicking the door. I use my foot and my knee. "Open the damn door!" I yell even louder.

I hear a click, then the knob slowly turns.

I stop, holding my breath, hoping I'm allowed to come in.

Mother is staring at me, eyes wide. "R-Robyn!" She gasps, "What happened to you? Where have you been? All of us have been extremely worried. We even sent a search party to look for you a-and..."

I hug Mother, relieved to feel her warmth. "You're bleeding," she whispers, touching the back of my head.

I say nothing. I simply smile at her with tears in my eyes, then enter inside. She closes the door behind me.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," she says. "Why did you run away from your own birthday party last night?"

I frown. "I ... I just hated the fact that I was aging. I didn't want to turn fifteen. I just... I just..."

Mother begins to cry. "Dear, everyone ages at some point in their life. You can never stop it. I know it isn't so fun, but you have to move on with it."

"But what if you can stop it? What if... You can live forever?" I ask, remembering Kite.

Mother pulls her eyebrows together and shakes a warning finger in front of my face. "Now, Robyn, don't get any other crazy ideas. You've gotten yourself into enough trouble already."

I look down at my dirty, wet feet.

"Promise me, hon, that you won't get any more ideas," Mother begs, taking my muddy hands in hers.

But I already did. I wished to never age.

"Promise me, Robyn!" Mother says, her voice rising.

I sigh in surrender. "Okay, okay. I promise." I quickly pull my hands away.

"Good," Mother murmurs, looking relieved, "Now, go on and change. Look at you, you're so filthy! I should call your father and the search party since you're here..." She pauses, staring at me.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Where did you get that jacket?"

"Oh, um, I found it," I lie.

"Okay," Mother says, looking at me suspiciously. "Anyway, as I was saying, go on and change. In the mean time I'm going to call your father and -"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't repeat yourself twice," I mumble a bit harshly, then run upstairs.

I'm deciding to take a shower. I enter the bathroom, then close the door and lock it. I slowly get undressed, turn on the faucets, then get in.

The hot water feels good against my chilled body. Water splashes above my bleeding head. Dirt and blood mixed with water swirl down the drain. I wince in disgust, then scrub my hair with shampoo and my body with soap.

After I'm done, I dry myself with a towel, then blow dry my now clean hair. I get dressed in a gray, long-sleeved turtle neck, black scarf, black skinny jeans, brown army boots, and tan leather bracelets.

I brush down my loose, brunette waves, grab Kite's jacket, then go downstairs.

Mother stares at me with a horrified expression. "Robyn! Where in the world are you running off to now?"

"I'm going to go leave this jacket where I found it. You know, in case if it has an owner," I explain. "But I'll be back, don't worry."

Mother slowly nods her approval, but looks regretful. I quickly sprint out the door and close it behind me before she changes her mind.

I run towards the woods with Kite's jacket tightly clenched in my left hand. I feel very bad about the way I acted with him.

Kite is sitting by the tree we both climbed earlier. His eyes are closed, and he is smiling. "Decided to come back so soon?" He asks with a chuckle.

"I wanted to return your jacket," I say, then sit next to him.

"Nuh, it's fine. You can keep it," he mumbles.

"No, I don't deserve it for being such a jerk to you. It's yours anyway," I say. I hand him the jacket.

He takes it away from me, then wraps it around himself. "Look, the only reason why I pushed you off the tree is because I wanted to prove my point. I didn't intentionally do it on purpose," he explains.

"So it's true?" I ask, feeling my voice crack, "I can't die?"

Kite shakes his head. "No," he murmurs.

I lightly run my fingers along a dark green leaf on the floor. "Kite, can I ask you something?"

He doesn't say anything, but I decide to continue. "Can you die? Or you can't, like me?"

"This is a new beginning for you," he whispers, avoiding my question, "Since you can't die. In an odd way... You aren't human anymore. You're like half."

"But can you die?" I ask again, determined for an answer.

Kite still doesn't reply what I'm questioning him. Instead, he swiftly leans, presses his lips against my cheek, stands up, then climbs all the way to the very top of the tree.

I stare in wonder. He is hiding something.

What could it be?