Against Gray Skies

Prologue

Music careened unevenly from every direction, but Ami could feel that all meeting at one point- her. The erratic blend of arpeggios flowed smoothly into her and something synthetic entered as well. Something about this music was ambiguous, yet, it also had no true identity. Nonetheless, Ami knew, this piece was composed for her, for this very scene, for this very moment.

She cocked her head to the side, allowing the faux golden curls atop her head relax against her shoulder. A smile spread slowly on her face, and like the music, it was open for interpretation. Slowly, she lifted her hand away from the ornate Victorian chair and moved to sit on it.

“So,” she began in the same manner, “You wished to speak with me?”

“Yes,” said a young adolescent male. His naturally blonde hair was slicked back, leaving cold, blue eyes to watch Ami menacing.

“Well, then, what did you wish to speak with me about, brother?” she said, watching her brother with a droll expression and empty, dark brown eyes.

“Merele,” he started, “you are acting more and more strange everyday.”

Her smile returned, “Why, Brother, I do not have the faintest idea of what you are talking about.”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. The sudden depression. The sudden starvation. The sudden apathy. You are not telling Father something, Merele, and I’d appreciate it if you told me.”

She shook her head, “Oh, Brother. Silly, silly, Brother. There is nothing wrong with me, absolutely nothing.”

“How does that explain the way you will skip exactly five meals and then return for the sixth, but only eat cranberries?”

“Dear Brother, can I simply not be hungry?”

“You can, but not for that long. Why are you starving yourself? Why did you do this after that day?”

Her countenance remained unchanging, “Brother, will you go on about this forever? I cannot imagine how long it would take for you to discover the truth.”

“I’m prepared to wait as long as it takes.”

She tossed her curl behind her hair and sighed, “Well, then. Perhaps I should spare you; after all, I do love you, Brother.”

“And as do I to you, Merele. Now please, proceed.”

“Unlike you, I inherited something from Mother: the power of premonitions. You see, I will be struck by a sudden feeling, and it will consume me until I realize the reason why. But, this feeling is not all consuming, for one thing can overcome it, and do you know what that one thing is? No, I didn’t expect so. The answer, dear Brother, is pain. Now, I do not approve of that silly mutilating the body thing that the Americans do, but this…is an art. It begins as hunger, that silly grumbling in the stomach, but it’ll grow until that hunger becomes starvation. That near-death feeling, the feeling of a true all consuming pain to destroy the feeling I had before, is absolutely exhilarating. I don’t expect you to understand this, nor do I expect you to approve of this. Of course, I can imagine that as soon as I finish speaking, you will tell Father and the two of you will try to force me to eat on a regular basis as the two of you do. But, dear Brother, you do not understand my need for pain, just as Father did not understand Mother’s. The pain,” she started with a smile that finally began to take form, “is euphoric.”

He looked at her countenance, and saw her smile take full form. The sadistic smile consumed him, as the hunger consumed her, and the lights faded.

Author’s note:

So this is rather short. I had more, but somehow it didn’t fit in with the theme of the prologue, so I’m just going to save it for later chapters. I haven’t touched this kind of writing for a while, so all opinions and criticisms are welcome. Thank you and have a good day.