1 Who Are You

Hikari: 3:03 PM, Monday, April 5th.

Red. Such a vibrant and bright color. If only it weren't the color of blood, maybe- just maybe- it'd be my favorite. My name is Hikarashi, but I despise that name so I go by Hikari instead. There's two parts to my name, "hikara" which comes from the word hikari meaning light or to shine. On the other hand "shi" means death. That last part to my name, I hate it. Why did there have to be "shi" at the end of it. It doesn't even sound right. I can't do anything about it though, much like everything else in my life. Not much that's special about me. I have a disorder called CIP, which stands for Congenital Insensitivity to Pain. It basically means I can't feel physical pain. I have a twin brother, who's nothing like me at all and doesn't have this disorder. His name is Hansel, which means "gift from god." I'm sure you can already tell who the favorite child is. There was some type of mistake when we were still in my mother's womb, and the ultrasound only showed Hansel at first, then about three weeks before delivery, yours truly appeared. Even though I was born first he's pretty much perfect. Great at sports, good looks, straight A's. The whole package. He's still my little brother though, so I love him even if he gets annoying. He pretty much is a gift from god, to me and everyone he meets. We don't have much in common, and maybe that's what makes him so great. When we were kids he'd get sick really often, so he got all of our parents time and attention, even now he still does. I do good, they tell me to do better. I do better they tell me it isn't good enough, you know the drill. it's always been like that, and the more I think about it the more it makes sense. My little bro's got the whole world to offer, and even more. And me? I'm just a boring talentless kid that constantly gets shit from his parents. I think I was a bit different long time ago though, in elementary school maybe. I was a pretty smart little fifth grader and I always won at musical chairs. But you know, shit happens I guess. One time when we were kids, Hansel got sick and didn't go to school. I think it was around that same grade. On that day a psycho broke into the school, causing a fire to burn people alive. Then he went around killing others off with a knife. He stopped when he saw me though, gave me a little smile while I watched him dismantle my best friend. The crazy bastard grabbed my best friend and stabbed him in his throat and blood sprayed out of him like a sprinkler. Then the guy started cutting off bits and pieces and then said to me "lunch time boy, eat up!" Talk about luck, the day all this happens the "gift from god" is lying in bed, all cozy and warm. Anyways, I'm 17 years old now, in my junior year in highschool. I'm mostly a troglodytic person, and don't like big crowds. It's April though so school's almost out. Which sucks because there's this girl I really like named Akira. Her name means "bright" and just like her name suggests, she's as bright as a diamond under the sun. She works as an apothecary, and she's extremely kind and gentle. Anytime you see her she's in a genial, and welcoming mood, always beaming with a smile. Today in class we talked quite a bit. I plan on asking her out before school ends, but no guarantee I'll do it. Anyways, I got a detention to get to.