Warnings: Suicidal thoughts and themes. Also, this is my first original fiction and it will be an one-shot.

The Five

Nineteen year old college student May Calloway walked into her dorm room after a long day. She didn’t believe she was going to make it another year. Although she was passing most of her classes, there were a few that she was worried about. But that wasn’t the only thing on her mind. Her beloved grandfather recently died right before the past Christmas. Also, her mother was in danger of loosing her job. But, what might be the real reason for May’s worries was her unwillingness or perhaps fear of growing up.

May had always been a sensitive person and was extremely easy to stress out. Even the tiniest thing gone wrong in her life, such as failing a test could cause her to go on a panic attack. She also loathed change and preferred to follow the same routine everyday. That was why May would have preferred to stay home after graduating college and be content with a low paying job nearby. Unfortunately, her parents practically gave her no choice but to go to college and May was now on the verge of insanity.

After a few moments of silence, May opened a container that was on top of her desk and pulled out a small knife. She began to place the knife on top of her skin when she realized what she was doing and stopped. Did she really want to kill herself? Did she even have the guts to do so?

May gripped the knife tightly as she tried to decide what to. Lost in her confusion and indecision, May began to loose awareness. It was then that she began to hear voices in her head. A few seconds later, five figures appeared in her room.

It is said that when someone began to debate their conscience, an angel and a devil would appear on their shoulders. This was not the case for May. Whenever she had to make a life altering decision, her five alternate personalities were the ones who debated her fate.

The first personality was basically a child version of May. She looked cute and innocent, and she was very naïve. She was also normally cheerful unless something upset her.

The second personality was looked like an older and wiser version of May. She wore a longe white robe and was basically an ancient sage. She believed that she had infinite wisdom.

Personality number three was basically a nerd. She looked almost exactly like May and preferred to look at things rationally.

The fourth personality also looked like May, except she wore slouchier clothes. She was easy-going and often lazy. Basically, she was a slacker.

Finaly, the fifth personality appeared to be a demonic version of May. She wore a black leather outfit and has yellow snake-like eyes. She also had long black nails and fang-like teeth. The demon had a dark view of the world and believed that humanity was doomed and that the apocalypse was near.

As the fiver alter egos gathered together, the sage spoke first, “I assume we all know why we have gathered here today. It is time to discuss whether or not our vessel shall kill herself. Who would like to speak first?”

After a few moments of silence, the child broke the silence. “Well, mommy always told me never to play with sharp objects. She said I might poke my eye out.”

“Actually,” suggested the nerd, “she was talking to the vessel, not you. Then again, since you and the rest of us are essentially apart of the vessel, she might as well have been talking to us. Anyways, I think that suicide is a bad option. Once she’s dead, she and the rest of us are gone forever. After all, we are technically a part of her soul.”

“I agree,” said the sage, “that nothing good can come of killing one’s self. It will only lead to eternal damnation.”

“I don’t know,” replied the slacker, ‘it seems like an easy way out to me. Then we won’t have anything to worry about.”

“Of course, we won’t have anything to worry about. We’ll all be dead!” exclaimed the nerd.

Upon hearing the nerd’s words, the child grew teary-eyed and shouted, “I don’t want to die! I’m too young to die!” For several minutes, she cried almost non-stop to the point of hyperventilating.

In an effort to comfort the child, the sage patted the child on the shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, young one. Nothing will happen to you as long as the vessel is safe.” Then, the sage looked around at the other personalities and turned her attention to the only one who had yet to speak: the demon. The sage was never fond of the demon, but said demon was a fellow personality who shared the same body. “So, do you have anything to add, demon?” asked the sage.

The demon simply glanced towards the sage, before replying, “It doesn’t matter whether the vessel kills herself or not. In the end, all things will eventually die anyways. Why delay the inevitable? From what I have seen, humanity’s days are numbered. Humans waste energy and resources; thus, killing the planet they live on. They also hurt and kill each other just because on petty differences. After all, that was why our vessel created us in the first place. She was shunned by people who once claimed to be her friends; so, she created us in an attempt to have friendship.”

The other personalities nodded in agreement. “I agree that our vessel created us out of desperation,” said the nerd, “but what does this have to do with suicide?”

“It’s simple,” answered the demon, “our vessel has realized the truth about humanity and its fate. She wishes not to be around when doomsday comes. She is also burdened by loneliness. Because she feels overwhelmed by life, as well as being lonely, the vessel cannot stand to live much longer.”

“I can see why the vessel would be tempted to end her life, but that does not make it forgivable”, said the sage.

The demon smirked and replied, “What is forgivable or not is only a matter of opinion. Something may be unforgivable to one person, but reasonable to another.”

“You may have a point,” stated the sage, “but you must remember that all of us are a part of the vessel. We exist to provide not only friendship, but guidance as well. However, we all have different opinions as to whether we should allow her to commit this act. So, I suggest that we have a vote. Each of us will either vote yes in allowing her to commit suicide or no. The choice that receives the most votes shall become her fate. So, who would like to vote first?”

The nerd raised her hand and replied, “I vote no. The vessel should find a more logical way to get through her problems. Besides, if she dies, there is a high probability that we may cease to exist as well.”

After the nerd finished her speech, the slacker spoke up. “I vote yes. The vessel just can’t stand it anymore. To tell you the truth, neither can I. She never asked to be picked on at school. She never asked to go to college. She was forced into it! All she ever wanted was to have friends to hang out with and to not have any worries.”

“Well, everyone has worries. It is a natural human emotion,” stated the nerd.

“Whatever,” responded the slacker, “I still say that if she could find another way to cope, she would. Since she can’t, I say we should let her finally have the peace she wanted. Besides, her worries are our worries. Once her worries are gone, ours will vanish too. Also, how many times are we going to do this? I mean, this is the tenth time we voted on whether the vessel should kill herself. We should let her do what she wants so we don’t have to do this again!”

A few brief moments of silence passed before the sage said, “I have voted no in all of the previous times, and I still vote no. You forget that suicide is a permanent choice. Once it’s done, it cannot be undone. As the vessel’s guides, it is our job to make sure she makes the right decisions. There are other solutions to her problems that will eventually appear when the time is right. She must realize that she must accept the bad things in life along with the good.”

“Well, I vote yes,” said the demon, “because she deserves to be free of this wretched life. She wants to be free from the cold truths of humanity. Besides, the world shall end soon and the humans will be wiped out anyways.”

“And how would you know that?” asked the sage.

“Well, you could say that I have special powers. In fact, I have the ability to see the future,” the demon replied.

The sage gave the demon a suspicious glare and rebutted, “Why should I believe what say?”

“Why should I lie to you? What do I have to gain?” asked the demon.

“Well,” said the sage, “even if what you say is true, that still doesn’t make it right to kill one’s self. If the world is going to end soon as you claim, then she won’t need to kill herself.” The demon didn’t reply to the sage’s remark except for a small growl and a death glare.

“Well, we currently have a tie. You are the only one who hasn’t voted yet, young one”, said the sage to the child. The child started shaking nervously, because she didn’t really want to make such an important decision. Important decisions were for adults to handle and she was only a mere child. What if she made the wrong choice? Still, the others wanted to know what she felt and she couldn’t let them down.

After a few moments of deep thought, the child finally answered, “Well, I don’t like school or being lonely. I didn’t like it when those kids made fun of me. But they don’t bother me much anymore. Mommy and Daddy would miss me if I died. Also, there is so much that I want to see and do. So, I vote….. no.”

“You do realize that you referred to yourself instead of the vessel?” asked the nerd.

“Yes”, replied the child, “but didn’t you say that I’m a part of her. So, we’re kind of like the same person, right?” The nerd tried to form an explanation, but only nodded in the end.

“In any case, it has been decided that the vessel will not be committing suicide today. It is now time for us to take our leave,” announced the sage. The demon and the slacker were about to object, but the sage disappeared before they could say anything. One by one, the alternate personas disappeared. Soon, there was no trace that they had ever existed or that their convorsation had taken place.

May suddenly woke up from her trance, completely unaware of what just happened. It took her a few minutes to realize she still had the knife in her hands. ‘Not today’, she thought as she placed the knife back into the container and closed the lid.

Then, May turned on her T.V. and began flipping through channels. Perhaps things were really going to be okay, for today at least.

The End