Names Only Exist In Fairy Tales

              Silence reigned.           

             No one could speak, no one could think.  It was a nightmare that choked the throats and voice of every member within that sanctuary room.  Somehow, sound didn’t exist for that gap in time, as the black-masked man treaded noiselessly between the red plush vinyl pews.  Small children clutching their mothers’ hands whimpered with fear – they could sense the overwhelming terror that shook through their protectors’ nerves, though the source was unknown to their naive minds.  Teenagers gaped with shock, witnessing the very things they’d only imagined from chain mails sitting in their inboxes.  Adults tried desperately to shelter their little ones, and elders could only shake and quiver with dread.

            The mask said nothing.  The mask demanded nothing, wanted nothing, had nothing.  Nothing except a shiny – oh-so-shiny – black gun resting between his gloved hands.  Even the rays of light that penetrated the window shades into the darkened room could not even come close to penetrating that featureless face of his.  He walked – and the room jumped with his every step.  They all knew their lives, their fates, everything they’d worked for depended on the decision of this one anonymous man.

            All except one girl.  She stood there, shaking, just like the rest of the fellowship.  Although she had just as much to fear about this stranger with the weapon, there was a sense of familiarity tugging at her mind.  She couldn’t understand why this shadowed figure turned on faded lights in her mind.  Her heart thumped, yet her mind was calm, peaceful, serene – and she had no clue for what reason.

            Nobody had dared to speak out until now.  A brave, but idiotic young child no older than six pushed his mother’s hands away before she even knew what was happening, and stepped forward – right into his path.

            “Who are you?” he growled, glaring at his eyeholes with admirable glints of steel in his eyes.  The man said nothing as usual, and merely raised his arm.

            The mother screamed, but no sound could come out of her mouth.  He was raising his gun arm.  Before anyone could jump forward to shield the child, the trigger was pushed.  Only then did the mother find her voice, and a shriek pierced the room, echoing off the sides of the walls into each and every individual’s ears.  A shiver ran through the room as they watched the tiny figure land with a thump to the ground, dumbstruck.

            His mother rushed to retrieve her son’s body, but before she could a metallic click sent her feet to a halt.  He pointed his gun at her as well, and whispered in an almost inaudible voice, “Do not touch him.”  She backed off with more reluctance than thought possible, her eyes welling up already.

            Somehow, the man seemed to sense her despair, and hissed two words of comfort, with a not-at-all friendly tone.

            “He’s alive.” 

            The woman’s eyes rolled with relief, and she slumped weakly onto the pew.

            “I only grazed his shoulder.  You should teach him…manners…”

            The child’s father suddenly stepped out as well and yelled furiously, “Who do you think you are, harming my child?  Who do you think you are?”

            His head hung slightly lower as he whispered even softer, almost gently in reply, “I am…nobody now.”

            “What the heck does that mean?”

            “SHUT UP!”

            He suddenly started shooting randomly, creating pandemonium, breaking the silence forever.  The crowds ducked instinctively, and countless were almost killed by a stray shot.  He’s lost it, the girl thought, as her mind raced, searching for a solution to their life-threatening dilemma.  On impulse, she suddenly found herself stepping behind him, throwing her arms out dramatically in an act of defense.

            “Please!” she screamed.  The people immediately stopped shouting and ducking, as they peeked feebly from behind the pews at this new person who was risking their life to prevent a catastrophe.

            “Please, don’t harm these people!” she said, pleading to him in desperation. 

            His reply crushed her spirits.

            “…No…”

            And in less than a second, she suddenly realized she’d been shot.  He had spun around on his heel and pressed the trigger without even acknowledging his new opponent.  She felt…nothing.  It didn’t hurt.  It was just…there…and then she was falling…the sequence of events didn’t follow up in her mind, they were just…there…like everything else.  Out of nowhere, tears erupted in the corner of her eyes, as she collapsed slowly…slowly…to the ground, right before the entire fellowship of her church.

            What’s going on…where am I? 

            She couldn’t remember anything.  Her mind was blank…erased…and then, to make everything even more confusing, a random image appeared in her head…it was…it was…I don’t remember…

            A boy.  He was smiling…that was good.  She smiled to herself as well, unaware of her world completely by now.  And who was that next to him…that was…that was herself.  But how…?

            Suddenly, she opened her eyes.  And she saw it.  The image was immediately clear to her – it was right before her very face.  The masked man had collapsed to his knees as well, and as he pulled off his thin covering, she recognized the pained face from her vision.  It was not that of a mature man, but merely a lonely seventeen-year-old.

            “You…why…?” she said, barely making out the words in a raspy voice.  His eyes were wide with shock, and he could only stare and stare. 

            “Why are you here…?” he parroted.  She smiled again, and the rest of the world seemed to melt away in both of their minds.

            “I’m here…because I chose to be here.”

            “Then…why did you leave me?”

            “Because…because…I couldn’t see myself within you…I was invisible…”

            “No…never, you were never invisible…I always did…always will…”

            “You don’t understand…”

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            “Hiloooo…!”

            She was smiling, but he didn’t see it. 

            “Hello…” he mumbled.

            “Wait…how do you think you did on your test…wait!”

            She rushed after him, but he didn’t see…never could see…

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            She sat in the cold, hard chair of blue plastic.  She felt dead, couldn’t feel anything anymore, just numbness…the counselor was talking but she couldn’t hear…

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             She lay in bed…too tired to cry…

            ”God…” she whispered to no one but herself… “where are you now…?  How come you’re not here…” she whimpered.

            “God…did you know I forgot my name?  I have no name…names don’t exist in this world…names are just fairy tales…they don’t really exist at all…”

            “My name…does not exist…”

            “Because…because…he doesn’t remember it either…doesn’t know what it is anymore…”

            “I’m nobody to him…therefore…I’m…a nobody in this world…I’m a nobody to myself…in my own life…nobody’s have no names…names don’t exist…to him, my name doesn’t exist, so to me, my name doesn’t exist…”

            “I hate looking into his eyes…and seeing someone else…another girl in his life…my tears are invisible to him…just like me…to him, my pain doesn’t exist, just like my name…he doesn’t know me…doesn’t know me…it’s useless…”

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            “It’s okay…” she whispered.

           “No, no…this isn’t how it should be…” he wheezed, dropping the gun with a clack, the strength gone from his body.

            “You could never actually see me…in my mind, there was always some other…person…out there, fogging your eyes…” she said, her eyes glazing in slow motion.  “I loved your eyes…I loved them so much…and yet they always belonged to someone else, no matter how much you told me they didn’t…I could see…”

            “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” he said, his voice quivering, “I didn’t mean it…”
            She just smiled, thought weaker than ever this time.  “Sorry is too late for this case…but I said it was okay…I know your eyes belong to no one but you…no one…”

            Her eyes grew heavy as she struggled to retrieve her thoughts, which were disappearing into nothingness…like smoke…

            “It’s okay, everything will always be okay…I’m right here…I’m not going anywhere…anymore…”

            He held her head in his hands, shaking.  So you know how I feel…?  Thoughts rushed into his head, too fast for him to organize.  I said I was a nobody…you thought you were nobody too…?  I guess…that’s how it was always supposed to be…I’m nothing but a player…but still, it shouldn’t be…like this…never…maybe…

            As if some unknown force had caused it, his head turned towards his abandoned gun.  Cradling her head, with her closed eyes, he clutched the gun, his hand trembling uncontrollably.  He pressed it to his chest, winced, and pulled before he could hesitate.

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            “And you say nothing else happened?”

            “Yes, Officer.  The girl just jumped behind him, and he turned around and shot her, and then suddenly it seemed something snapped inside of that boy’s mind and before you know it, he’s suddenly just shot himself and the entire fellowship’s staring like there’s no-”

            “Thank you, that’ll be enough.  You say you’re sure they exchanged no words between each other?”

            “Yes, Officer.  That girl says nothing but ‘Please don’t touch these people’ and he goes shooting her and-”

            “Yes, yes, very well, thank you.  You may return home now.”

            The witness got up and strutted out the door.  The Chief-of-Police sighed heavily, rubbing his temples with his thumbs. 

            “I don’t get it…every witness claims the exact same thing.  The girl stops him, he shoots her, and then he shoots himself for no reason.  They didn’t even talk to each other!  How…?”

            The police man’s personal assistant walked in, carrying two cups of coffee.  He handed one to his boss, and the officer nodded in thanks.  The lanky assistant glanced at him with concern.

            “Still working on that case?  Don’t you think you’re only overworking yourself?”

            “No…I’m fine.  I just don’t get it, the details are so confusing.”  He sighed, got up, and said, “I’m going to the café to buy lunch.  You can organize the case papers if you want.”

            “Okay, Officer.”  The stressed policeman shuffled out of the room, as the assistant gathered the notes.  He mumbled to no one but himself:

           

            “Geez, I wonder what’s up between those two…a murderer and a random girl?  Wonder if it has to do with something more…”