project-stage

[project-stage]

Project:STAGE

Chapter 1 : One step

I was an expected gift for my parents. Some happiness for them to look forward to as I was developing into this cruel world. However when it came to birthing me, my mother died on that day. I suppose that's the only resemblance of her in my life, a happy birthday and a happy death day. Maybe if my mother was alive, this life wouldn't have been a living hell. My father refused to look at me or even acknowledge me. Even the very friends I grew up with turned against me.

I had a false hope, thinking that as I grew older things would get better. Oh, how wrong I was. The bullying and neglect got worse day by day. My father never questioned the injuries I came home with constantly. In fact, no one ever did. They all looked down on me, a nobody who had tried to be somebody. I tried to be somebody important. I wanted to be that somebody everyone had loved, had wanted, and had needed. If I had known that wishes never came true, I would've burned my world a whole lot sooner.

October came by, The cold entering through the windows every night was the only thing that calmed me down. Coming home, I passed by a small toy store, which is around the corner from my house. I saw a tiny frog stuffed animal, that stuffed animal always brought me a strange calm and tranquility.

I opened the door of my house and saw my father sitting on the sofa. There were no beers near the table or on the floor.

At those times I did not realize my big mistake.

-I'm home.- I said tired.

-Oh, welcome.- My father receives me with a smile, something that surprised me, since he never receives me.

My father sits me on the sofa next to him and offers me a glass of tea along with a piece of cake bought from the bakery across the street. I give him an awkward smile

"What do you want of me?" I wonder inside.

My father starts talking after a while, a few light words turn into a conversation, and a conversation turns into a reflection of all that he has done wrong all this time.

-I guess I can't be like mom, I'm sorry.- I apologize.

"-here's still a chance you'll be like her.- My father puts a hand on my shoulder. -If you join the cult, maybe...-

Oh, so that was all he wanted. I remove his hand from my shoulder awkwardly.

-Dad, I gave you my answer a long time ago.- I told him seriously.

There is a silence. My father looks at me, and he stands up. He raises his hand like he's going to hit me, and that's when he realizes, he realizes how bad he's done. He lowers his hand, looking at me.

-Go away.- he orders me. -It should have been you, not her.-

He doesn't have to tell me twice, I grabbed my backpack and headed out the door, determined not to come back. I didn't bother looking for people, because I know that no one would receive me.

I arrive at the bus stop and get on the first one, which, according to the sign, leads to the bridge. I buy a ticket, with the little money I have left, and sit at the end of the bus.

I look out the window until I hear a voice.

-Oh, hello Lucia.-

Next to me I see a boy with a round face and acne, brown hair and blue-green eyes. Pedro is a classmate from the university, I haven't talked much with him, since he is just a simple spectator.

Hello, Pedro, right? I don't think we have talked much.- I clarify, with a dull tone of voice.

-Yeah. We've never talked, you've always been busy.- She tells me, as if it were a joke. -Are you OK? I don't see you with a good face.-

-It's nothing, I'm fine.- I tell him with a smile

He smiles back at me. I think it's the first time that someone from my class smiled at me, fortunately, I can see that he is not like the people from the university, since he is mature, he is doing advanced practice in a nearby police station.

He gets up and goes to the door.

-Hey. Do you want to eat tomorrow together in the cafeteria? - Pedro tells me.

-Huh? Of course, why not-

He did not know that I would not arrive tomorrow.

A few minutes after Pedro gets off, I arrive at my stop, the Pearly Gates Bridge.

I walk up to this one, it's pretty calming. Suddenly, it gives me an idea.

I take off my shoes, and leave the backpack on the ground, I begin to climb the fence that separates the edge of my belongings.

Once I finish my climb, I stand on the edge of the bridge. I swallow, it's a pretty big drop. But that's not going to stop me. A lot of things go through my head in those moments. Would everything have been happier if my mother had survived? If I had said yes to my father's request, would we have been happy? If I hadn't taken this university and had done an Erasmus, would I have gotten along with my classmates?

But that no longer matters, now the only thing left is...

One step.

[project-stage]

Project:STAGE

I was an expected gift for my parents. Some happiness for them to look forward to as I was developing into this cruel world. However when it came to birthing me, my mother died on that day. I suppose that's the only resemblance of her in my life, a happy birthday and a happy death day. Maybe if my mother was alive, this life wouldn't have been a living hell. My father refused to look at me or even acknowledge me. Even the very friends I grew up with turned against me.

I had a false hope, thinking that as I grew older things would get better. Oh, how wrong I was. The bullying and neglect got worse day by day. My father never questioned the injuries I came home with constantly. In fact, no one ever did. They all looked down on me, a nobody who had tried to be somebody. I tried to be somebody important. I wanted to be that somebody everyone had loved, had wanted, and had needed. If I had known that wishes never came true, I would've burned my world a whole lot sooner.

October came by, The cold entering through the windows every night was the only thing that calmed me down. Coming home, I passed by a small toy store, which is around the corner from my house. I saw a tiny frog stuffed animal, that stuffed animal always brought me a strange calm and tranquility.

I opened the door of my house and saw my father sitting on the sofa. There were no beers near the table or on the floor.

At those times I did not realize my big mistake.

-I'm home.- I said tired.

-Oh, welcome.- My father receives me with a smile, something that surprised me, since he never receives me.

My father sits me on the sofa next to him and offers me a glass of tea along with a piece of cake bought from the bakery across the street. I give him an awkward smile

"What do you want of me?" I wonder inside.

My father starts talking after a while, a few light words turn into a conversation, and a conversation turns into a reflection of all that he has done wrong all this time.

-I guess I can't be like mom, I'm sorry.- I apologize.

"-here's still a chance you'll be like her.- My father puts a hand on my shoulder. -If you join the cult, maybe...-

Oh, so that was all he wanted. I remove his hand from my shoulder awkwardly.

-Dad, I gave you my answer a long time ago.- I told him seriously.

There is a silence. My father looks at me, and he stands up. He raises his hand like he's going to hit me, and that's when he realizes, he realizes how bad he's done. He lowers his hand, looking at me.

-Go away.- he orders me. -It should have been you, not her.-

He doesn't have to tell me twice, I grabbed my backpack and headed out the door, determined not to come back. I didn't bother looking for people, because I know that no one would receive me.

I arrive at the bus stop and get on the first one, which, according to the sign, leads to the bridge. I buy a ticket, with the little money I have left, and sit at the end of the bus.

I look out the window until I hear a voice.

-Oh, hello Lucia.-

Next to me I see a boy with a round face and acne, brown hair and blue-green eyes. Pedro is a classmate from the university, I haven't talked much with him, since he is just a simple spectator.

Hello, Pedro, right? I don't think we have talked much.- I clarify, with a dull tone of voice.

-Yeah. We've never talked, you've always been busy.- She tells me, as if it were a joke. -Are you OK? I don't see you with a good face.-

-It's nothing, I'm fine.- I tell him with a smile

He smiles back at me. I think it's the first time that someone from my class smiled at me, fortunately, I can see that he is not like the people from the university, since he is mature, he is doing advanced practice in a nearby police station.

He gets up and goes to the door.

-Hey. Do you want to eat tomorrow together in the cafeteria? - Pedro tells me.

-Huh? Of course, why not-

He did not know that I would not arrive tomorrow.

A few minutes after Pedro gets off, I arrive at my stop, the Pearly Gates Bridge.

I walk up to this one, it's pretty calming. Suddenly, it gives me an idea.

I take off my shoes, and leave the backpack on the ground, I begin to climb the fence that separates the edge of my belongings.

Once I finish my climb, I stand on the edge of the bridge. I swallow, it's a pretty big drop. But that's not going to stop me. A lot of things go through my head in those moments. Would everything have been happier if my mother had survived? If I had said yes to my father's request, would we have been happy? If I hadn't taken this university and had done an Erasmus, would I have gotten along with my classmates?

But that no longer matters, now the only thing left is...

One step.

[project-stage]

PROJECT STAGE : chapter 0

The lights are off. Only the miserable illumination of a lamp is the only thing that makes the death documents of a 20-year-old girl visible. 

Lucia Lanchazo, 20 years old, a calm and kind girl, had taken her own life on October 31 of that year, and was currently in a coma in the hospital. Nobody expected that from her, supposedly, in her life everything was going well, nothing more than the occasional joke and heavy trick from the people at her university, the rest, such as grades, work and personal life, were going well.

The police officer looked at the documents. Andrea Pérez, a trusted friend of Lucia's for a long time, wanted to further investigate the case of her friend's suicide. She took a deep breath and got up, going to turn on the lights in her office with a tired face. Tomorrow would be another day, but still she couldn't get it out of her head.

She took the keys and jacket. She turned off the lights in her office again and left this, locking it.

-Officer Andrea, are you leaving now?- A voice asked, mekin her turn around.

Pedro was a boy who was doing an internship, he came from Lucia's university.

-Pedro, what are you doing at this time in the office?- Andrea asked with a little curiosity

-I came to pick up my things.- Pedro answers calmly.

Pedro turned around and continued on his way, however Andrea follows him. she had some questions to ask him.

-Wait a moment Pedro, I have some questions for you.- Andrea said, taking out a notebook and a pen from her shirt.

-Let me guess. About Lucia, isn't it? - Pedro asked with a little more seriousness in his tone of voice.

-Yeah. If you don't mind me asking you questions about that, of course.-

-Of course not, currently everyone at the university knows what happened, there are even rumors about how she did it.- Pedro said. - But anyway, ask me without worries.- the boy affirmed.

Well, that would be his only chance to have a will from someone supposedly close to the young woman. Without waiting, she started with the questions.

I'm going to start with a simple question. How hard were the jokes towards Lucia?-

-Not so bad at first, they always made fun of her dead mother, but they never went beyond that, at least until Valentine's Day this year, she received a note from a stranger saying that he would see her in the campus corridor, only to find a series of photos in his locker of his mother's grave scrawled and painted in graffiti, and some phrases written in permanent like ''Whore like her mother'', ''It should have been you and not her''. At that moment everything started beignm hard and annoying.- Pedro explained.

''I see...'' Andrea thought, and raised her voice again after an awkward silence.

-Do you think she deserved it?-

Again an awkward silence. Pedro swallowed nervously, he didn't know how to answer that question, but after another two minutes of silence, he turned around.

-No, honestly not- Saying that, the boy left, leaving Andrea with an emotional doubt in her chest.

¿Why, just why on earth did she commited?

[project-stage]

PROJECT - STAGE

Prologue

**The Reaper that came for me.**

Tethered to religion that was never my own.

The vessel that bore me died so I could live on.

Yet you couldn’t accept the burden of losing her life,

You could have raised me,

Instead you roused me to die.

You always looked at me like I was a fake,

A mirror of someone,

A mere facade.

And still I tried to greet you, to meet my own dad,

You broke the reflection that I never could have.

A bruise I carried over to dormitorium

Turned to hall of reminders I never met you,

I cursed out your name,

Why did I have your face?

I never met you yet you haunt me to this day.

My Mother, oh Mother, you cursed me to stay,

In a broken world while your flesh rots away,

The decay of my mind that I face day to day.

If I had a choice I’d have taken your place.

I walked alone back home after a day of abuse,

To meet an outstretched hand,

...Dad, is it finally you?

I wanted a hug, I wanted to feel your embrace.

But instead of a hug, you invited me to your disgrace.

A tether I longed to forget about,

The cult that brought me to life,

Wanted me as the crown.

I finally had it, disgusted by you.

For the first time in my life

I was the one to refuse.

You never saw me as a person, just another Her.

I flinched as I saw your hand rise up above

But you couldn’t even do that,

Oh coward you are.

You drove me outside to never return.

“I can’t look at you no more, it shouldn’t have been her”

You left me out here so I might as well stay,

Walking to feel the wind brush against my face,

The water below is a welcoming sight

I finally jump off to put an end to this life.

Falling off this bridge I feel it’s embrace,

It wants me falling off the Pearly Gates,

But to meet her again and stare her in the face,

I reject risking that sight,

I reject your afterlife.

I prayed to the darkness,

For the Reaper to come,

Before water fills my lungs,

I hear the shot of a gun.

I looked up above to see death carrying me,

Dressed in robes pure black,

Wielding not a scythe but shotguns.

In the middle of warfare,

I read up as my senses clicked,

“Welcome to Deadlock,

you’re in Route Sixty-Six!”

Project - STAGE idea concept by : LUC1ETAA05#0335

Prologue written by: Horderlocke#3075

Art by: margo#0976