1 Alika : The Alleys.

A flash of light slowly appears as I gently open my eyes. I flinched a little after I realized the street light was standing upright with its bulb staring at me without blinking. I closed and opened my eyes once again. Everything looks so dim and fuzzy. I have no idea how long I have been lying down here in this small alley. I carefully tried to sit back up and drag my body to lean on a big barrel just a little bit more to the corner of this road.

I was surprised to find blood gushing down my forehead hence my hair soaked with blood and sweat. I tried to recall what was happening; the very last thing I remember is that I was walking down the street from work while enjoying the rain.

"Hey! Hey! " I heard people called me from the corner of the alley with half hoarse voice.

"Shhh !! HEY! " He's calling for the second time. My dizzy head can't help but feel irritated by the noise.

"Ouch..." My hand tries to support my head as my vision gets blurry when it's trying to reach the focus of a figure that's calling me from the other side of this alley. Now I could even barely see a silhouette. My heavily wounded head has not managed to proceed who he is, woman or man, a human or ghost.

" Who are you?" My word came out croak and weak at the same time. I could feel the figure slowly approaching me.

"This is me. James " His softly spoken undertone statement sounds frightening to me. I got goosebumps. I knew something wasn't going right; my head was getting heavier while my blood was melting down and interfered with the control of my brain. I could barely say a word or two; my vision got a little bit clearer as he was now sitting down right next to me and started pressing his lips against my ear.

"I'm James." He whispered without raising a single note of voice.

"What are you doing here?" As my vision got even more blurry and sometimes blackout for a short second, I'm trying to reach his face until I managed to touch his jaw. I stroked the corner of his lips with my thumb; I heard no answer; silent remains. I sighed hopelessly and felt my blood flowing more and more profusely. I'm no longer care who he is or what he is trying to do with me.

"Can you help me to go back home?"

"You can't go home. I can't talk to normal people," he answered quietly. Okay, now I know that I'm not talking to a human. Luckily, I fear nothing at this moment. I only want to go home immediately and refuse to die in this small alley if being dead is the only choice I had.

"I am."

"No. You are helpless and currently the closest to death. That's why you can see me." He replied by lowering his voice. I could feel his soft caress on my wounded head.

"Will I die?" I asked hopelessly.

"Not necessarily. I'm just saying your condition is very close to death. If anyone helps you, it's a different story. You want me to stay here until someone passes by; you can use your remaining strength to scream out loud." he then casually rested his head on my thigh and played with my fingers.

"What is your name?" Asked James.

"Alika," I Answered. a few moments After James told me about how close I am to death, my mind flew to the emptiness I have been dealing with for more than a year now. A lonely day I spent with a pile of stories that I could never tell anyone. I realized how miserable my life is. I can't even tell if being close to death is good news or a sign that this tragedy had to end somewhere.

"Alika. Why do you want to go home? Are you married? Or do you miss your parents? " His voice had brought me to my senses; I shook my head slowly.

"I kicked out of my parents' house for being a rebel. They thought that I owe them my 15 years of education and 24 years of growing up. They wanted me to get married at 25 with a prosperous fellow whom I don't know where to find, give them cute grandchildren before I turn 30 years old, afford a beautiful house and live a perfectly lovely life without flaws." I explained sarcastically

"You don't want any of that?" James wonder

"Of course I want. But My parents neglected that I have other dreams as well."

"Then, why do you want to go home? "

" I don't know, to be dead isn't that bad either. What do you think?" I giggled while enjoying the pain gnawing at my head.

"Being dead isn't bad. But if I still have the right to choose, I prefer to be alive. It seems like I miss the morning sunlight; I miss cooking, although only for myself. Do you know the smell of soup and grilled fish at lunchtime? I think I did not give them enough credits while I'm alive."

"Are you saying you are going to live For the smell of soup and grilled fish?" I chuckled a little. He noded.

"and other foods as well. Overall, I miss the feeling of having a soul in my body. I miss the peacefulness of going to sleep and pulling my blanket over my body during cold days, or just smiling over sweet dreams when I wake up on a cold morning. You know, those little things start coming to my senses after I die." His voice trembles as he keeps playing with my finger like a little child telling their mother about their big dreams. Little did he know, his explanation had encouraged me to survive at this moment.

" Hey! It Looks like someone's Coming! Come on, shout with all your might! " James lifted his head and patted my thigh.

"PLEASE!" my voice broke out of whack Half lost, half hoarse like a singer who lacked drinking. I torture my throat as screaming; James helping me making sounds by beating the big aluminum barrel. The blood in my head flowed even more profusely when I used my energy to crawl away from the place I sat down.