The Lost Time

There are sixty seconds in one minute, sixty minutes in an hour, twenty-four hours in a day, and three hundred sixty-five days in a year. Even though every human is told this from birth that isn't quite the truth. In a year there is, in fact, a quarter of a day more than the three hundred sixty-five number that people have grown accustomed to. That number is such a small insignificant amount, yet if one looked, what would be hidden in that small gap, only recorded every few years? How much has been looked over in the billions of years that the universe has existed? Events that have been lost or hidden in the catacombs of time just waiting to be released from their slumber. Not in some faraway land but instead in the shadows of everyday life. For the lost souls in our society, perhaps that is where their true selves lie waiting to be uncovered. Or perhaps, just maybe, in a small place that exists only in our hearts, we know that whatever exists in that void would be better off being forgotten...

"I hate that idea. That there are some things in this world that we shouldn't learn about. That we should merely plug our ears and march on trying to forget that just around the corner exists something extraordinary. Even if you wish to sit back and block out the world, I will seek it out. No matter who thinks they know better. And if the day comes that my actions lead me to someplace where I have no idea where to go... then I'll spend my entire life mulling it over in my head. And if I can't figure it out, then maybe, in some faraway place one thousand years from now, people will give it some kind of meaning. But for now, I'll march forward and see the world with my own eyes!" 

Once I finished saying that, I took a deep breath. With my hand raised high toward the sky, as though piercing the heavens, I utter words that even god himself could've only said were taken directly from the depths of my soul. Standing atop a crumbling, collapsing structure, as countless things floated toward the hole in the sky and I bled out from countless injuries, the only proof of my existence was my will. The flame within my soul echoed throughout every lost corner of the world as I stood there.

Then, I jumped.

I jumped out into the open air, thousands of feet above ground, to fight what I knew would be the greatest battle of my life.

- January 8th, Miami, Florida. Exactly One Year Before The End of The World.

A group of girls form a blockade in the hallway just outside their classroom. Murmuring to one another, they attempted to decide something important quietly. "So, which of us is gonna be the one to tell him?" 

Following this question was a period of dead silence, only broken by another girl pointing at a purple-haired girl in the group. "Shouldn't Charlotte do it? I mean, she did it last time right?" 

The purple-haired girl's eyes quickly shot up and sharply glared at the one who'd called her out by name. Immediately she stomped her foot in protest. "Why should I have to do it?! I mean isn't this kind of stuff the teacher's job anyway?"

"Normally it would be... but he's... you know... no one would choose to go up to him."

Gritting her teeth, Charlotte pulls something out from her pocket. "Here! We'll draw pocky sticks to decide!" 

Biting off the end of one stick, she then flipped the rest upside down and made every girl in the group pick. Once they'd all taken one, she took the final stick for herself. By pure chance, she'd ended up with the stick which had its tip bitten off. All of the other girls around her laughed with one saying, "Maybe you two are being pulled together by the string of fate!" 

"String of fate my ass. Fine! I'll do it." 

Despite detesting the idea of being forced to speak to that boy, she readied herself anyway. She'd lost, and without a doubt, she wasn't going to draw this painful process out any further than it had to be. 

She walked closer to the classroom door, there was palpable anxiety with every step she took. Clicking her tongue, she steeled herself. The task itself was quite simple. All she had to do was tell the boy that his original field trip paperwork had been denied. He'd missed a few crucial signatures that were needed.

"Simple, easy. Shouldn't take more than a minute or two.", Charlotte mumbled to herself. 

Twisting the doorknob open, she marched forward toward the boy's seat. Not a single other soul was still in the classroom other than that boy. Not a single distraction from her mission. 

"Hey, excuse me-" 

With a woefully unexpected speed and ferocity, the boy launched up from his seat. With his right hand, he covered one of his eyes and with the other, he pointed at Charlotte. 

"Who dares to enter the domain of the Dark King! Lest you forget, it is I alone who stands unparalleled as the peak of human potential! What business does a puny girl such as yourself bear with me?" 

"Puny... You're my height if not shorter..." 

"Potential is far more than a mere physical attribute, it also encompasses the quality and makeup of the man!"

"Well, anyway, the teacher wanted me to tell you that-" 

"Hold your tongue girl! Is this something you should be saying so openly aloud?"

"Wha-What does that even mean?" 

"The Union of Holy Justice has ears everywhere! If they hear even a whisper of something they don't like, they'll be here within moments! Do you even know what you could've done? No, you clearly haven't a clue! I cannot mingle with such clueless individuals."

Grabbing his bag, the boy fled the classroom in a rush, leaving Charlotte standing there in disbelief. All she could do was look back at her friends and watch as they held back their laughter. 'Annoying'. That was the sole thought on her mind as she thought about that boy. Of course, the odd boy and I were the same person. So it's better to say, as she thought about me, Veri the Pretend Dark King. 

Just before she had the chance to walk out of the classroom, Charlotte spotted something shining on the floor. Looking down, she'd found my phone, lying there all by its lonesome. Unable to overcome her good nature, she picked it up and put it in her pocket. 

At lightning speed, I'd evacuated the school building. With my head slumped low, I marched my way down the sidewalk. The sun's light was fading as the sky proudly displayed a wonderous myriad of orange and yellow hues, but even still, I kept my head down low. School had been finished for quite some time now, I'd only stayed for so long due to having to make up multiple tests. In hindsight, perhaps that too was fate, or it could've just been my unwavering dedication to laziness. 

My entire body felt exhausted, though I nearly always felt this way after a day at school. I deeply didn't want to walk home, but went I tried reaching into my pocket to order a ride, I found my pockets to be empty. I could've done a lot of things, but instead of being proactive, I resigned myself to walking. 

This isn't the bellowing epic of a hero in the making. This also isn't the grand tale of an empress returning to her former glory, nor of humankind overcoming evil. This is one of the many lost tales, those stories that slip through the cracks. Though unlike many, this tale is likely better off forgotten. This is the story of a pathetic boy who struggles hopelessly and in his struggle, attains everything that both this world and the next have to offer.