Nobody

Millati Hanifa

(Top 10 Short Stories English Language Fiesta 2021)

Luna let out a long breath. She’s wondering how long she has been treated like this, like an animal. She wanted to get along with her friend, but the fact was not like what she expects.

Another paper landed on her hair, which truthfully hurt her inside. She couldn’t believe anyone in this school. Not anymore.  She thought everyone was the same, they’re mean. She tried to ignore them, but she couldn’t stop tears from flowing from her emerald eyes. She wiped her tears roughly.

“Ha-ha! Look! She is crying! So pathetic!” Shout one of her bullies. Luna wanted to get up and punched her bully right on their face. But she got nobody to protect her and she didn’t want the situation to get worst, so she just silently crying, not doing anything.

The first bell of break finally rang, Luna quickly stood up from her seat and ran to the rooftop. When she finally reached the rooftop of her school, the sky greeted her with nice, warm sun and cloudy blue sky. Sweat covered her milky, reddened face.  She leaned her back on the wall behind her to rest herself. She crouched down, buried her face between her knees. Tears flowing again from her eyes, she’s silently sobbing.

“I’m tired…” Luna spoke to herself.

Luna kept crying in her silence. Nobody was around, no one comforting her. She’s on her own, but after a while of crying, she finally felt better. She tried to give herself another spirit and telling herself that everything will be okay.

The sky is somehow getting cloudier, so Luna decided to go back inside her school building. She lost in her thoughts when walking back to her classroom, accidentally bumped into someone. Luna and that person startled at each other and fell to the ground. Luna winced in pain. But that person suddenly stood up without helping Luna. Luna stood up by herself, cleaned her skirt from dust.

Time goes by, the sky is getting redder, the sun started to hide its shine. The bell rang for the last time before all students rushed outside, including Luna. Her hair shined with the sunset’s shine; the breeze made her hair flow beautifully. Luna walked alone on her way home, carrying her little backpack.

“I’m home,” Luna said in a low tone, knocking on the front door, waiting for the door to get opened.

“This late? You come home this late?! What makes you come home this late?!”

The yelling again! Luna just bit her bottom lip. She didn’t dare to say anything, especially to her father who seemed to be drunk.

“I’m sorry, the bus was too crowded,” Luna said as she walked into her house. She hasn’t finished her sentence, when a slap flew right on her left cheek, leaving her shocked and whined in pain, silently.

“You ungrateful kid! Go to your damn room! You’re such a burden to this family!”

Luna shook her head, rushing to her room, slamming the door hard, and locked the door. She threw herself on the bed, burying her face on her favorite fluffy human-size fox doll.

She eventually calmed down after she cried. she looked outside from the window in her room, seeing some water drops through the glass. it rained heavily, soaking up her city. Luna raised her head, her face looked disheveled, her eyes slightly swollen. She felt tired crying, so she decided to sleep, not wanting to eat anything before she fell into a deep slumber.

The sound of alarm rang made Luna stretching her body, rubbing her sleepy and swollen eyes before she got up from the bed and decided to take a quick bath and walked since today was her day off from school. She wore her yellow hoodie. It was a nice afternoon, a peaceful day for a walk at the park, at least it was what she thought. But unfortunately, she saw a girl was about to jump off the bridge. Luna couldn’t help but slowly approach the girl who was at the bridge, panic painted on her face. She couldn’t do anything but screamed from a distance to stop her.

“Hey! Don’t do it please.” The girl looked at Luna, her eyes are dull, with no shine or sign of life there. Luna stopped for a moment before stepping closer. Luna stared at the girl’s face, she looked lifeless. The girl slowly turned around to Luna giving a ‘why?’ expression. Luna smiled, tried to encourage the girl. The girl thinly smiled back at Luna, then start to tell Luna all her woes. Luna listened to the girl attentively and tried to give support to whatever the girl said.

“I feel better now. Thank you for listening to my story.” Said the girl as she walked away from Luna. Her silhouette began to disappear with the distance. Luna let out a long sigh. She wiped the sweat away from her face. She’s glad that the girl felt better but somehow, Luna herself didn’t feel better at all. Luna put her chin on her palm, watched some birds flew past her. Her hair flowed following where the breeze going. The sky is turning blue, no white fluffy cloud covered the sun’s shine and the cicadas start buzzing their sounds. Luna having a thought to stay on the bridge for another moment to relax.

Arriving at home, she saw her household in a total mess, and Luna was the one who had to keep do all of the households.

Another day greeted Luna.  She’s the first one who arrived at the school. She inhaled, hoping no one will disturb her today. She decided to put her bag in the classroom and chilling on the rooftop while waiting for the first alarm to rang. When she arrived at the rooftop, she saw a person who about to jump from the rooftop. She screamed towards that mysterious person. The person turned around and saw Luna.

As soon the person stared at Luna, Luna pulled the person from the rooftop cliff, told the person to sit and calm. Long brown hair covered that person’s face. Luna sat beside her, and that person started telling her story, what thing she’s been through.

“I feel better after telling you this.” the long-haired girl stood up, removing some dust from her skirt, and left Luna alone on the rooftop. Luna sighed. She saved another person’s life, but she couldn’t save herself, and nobody wanted to do it for her.

Since that day, Luna always at least saw one person about to do the same stupid thing, and she was there to listen and be a shoulder for them.

That day, it happened again. A boy stood up on the edge of the rooftop. Tried to end his life. Luna tried to give her support like she usually did, but it’s not working somehow. When the person was getting closer to their death, Luna panicked but mentally tired. Her eyes were tearing and said, “If you want to go then go on! Your pitiful expression is just too much for me!” as Luna fell to her knees.

Surprisingly, that person started to step back and calmly said, “Maybe today is just not my day.”. The boy walked to the door and left the surprised Luna alone on the rooftop.

The sky began becoming red, the sun started to set down from the sky, the birds flew back to their nest. Luna walked toward the bridge, the place where she saw a girl tried to end her life before.

Luna looked down from the bridge. She seemed to hear the deep river calling her name to jump down, and was somehow hypnotized by it. Luna climbed up the barrier, still looking down on the deep river below her.

“I’m gonna jump now and be free.”

As Luna about to jump down, the surrounding became like slow-motion, someone grabbed Luna by her hand. Luna turned around, her eyes widened, but it was all too late! That person who grabbed Luna by her hand couldn’t pull her up. Her body was slowly falling to the lake. Before she drowned in the lake, she saw a vision of her late grandmother, offering her a hand.  Luna brightened up and took the offer. She slowly closed her both eyes, smiling painted on her face.

Several days later, Luna opened her eyes, finding that she’s in white room. Her wrist was injected by infusion and her right hand was held by her big sister who felt asleep beside her bed.

“I’m still alive…? Or is it all just a dream?”

Its not a dream.

Hi, you’ve reached the end of the story, now its time for you to meet the writer, my name is Millati Hanifa Putri, I schooled in SMAN 1 Temon, my hobby is drawing and listening to music, as you know my point of writing this story is to remind you how dangerous if mental health not taken seriously☺