//------------------------------// // Two: The Letter // Story: Can Time Stand Still? // by xXSheltieXx //------------------------------// Temperance rubbed her temples roughly, her cheeks stained with burning tears as she sat on the bed, wiping the tears from her eyes. She wanted to talk to her daughter, she wanted to apologize, she wanted to undo everything she had done to her daughter that was so twisted. Black Booth checked on their son, his sleeping form containing a smile that was so happy and innocent, so gentle, peaceful, serene. He knocked on his daughter's door on the way to his bedroom, but heard no reply. He could've- no, should've- knocked again or opened the door by force, but he decided to leave Neon Feathers be. That is, if she were actually in her room. He walked into his bedroom, changing into his night clothes and laying in bed. They'd finished their argument at 10 o'clock, and were settling into bed. His thoughts swam from his wife to his children and how everything had started. He recalled that Temperance was never too fond of their daughter, ever since she walked and talked. Neo had begun trying to fly from the moment she could walk, getting her tiny hands on anything and everything, tracking mud in the house and messing everything and anything up. Temperance was never fond of her behavior, and never approved of it, but she also had never raised a hand to their children, not once; the only thing she ever raised was her voice and two beautiful children who she cared very much about. Flash Feathers slept soundly, dreaming of flying with his big sister and touching the clouds, maybe going even higher, maybe to space, the heavens, or somewhere even higher than that. He slept gently, his horn faintly glowing as his dreams morphed and melded with lovely peace, quiet snores droning on as he giggled and chirped. Black Booth sighed and fell asleep quick enough, ready for a new tomorrow. Sadly, however, one without his one and only daughter. But in his dreams, he held his daughter as a child, flying with her through the skies and teaching her how to go as fast as possible without getting hurt. She smiled and laughed, and Temperance always waited on the ground with towels, water, and a happy smile, greeting them with hugs and kisses and words like, "Be careful!" or "Don't overdo it!" echoing in their ears. Temperance Feathers-Booth rubbed her cheeks, trying to stop the redness and puffy tears from continuing to burn her skin a darker color as if she were sunburned. She stood up and walked into her bathroom, splashing water on her face. She looked in the mirror and saw her daughter's face looking back at her, only Neon's face was bloody and beaten, tears streaming down her face, but a smile still adorning her face. The red wine in her system made Temperance see such things so heavily. Her arms began to depend on the edge of the sink to hold the rest of her body up, as her legs seemed to have lost all courage and strength. Her face became red as she watched her daughter smile through all of the pain she was obviously experiencing, smiling through every horrible word, every piece of hurt, and the slap she'd given her only hours before. Her daughter was both physically and emotionally wounded, but she smiled the entire way through. Temperance realized that her daughter had been a hundred times stronger than herself, maybe a thousand, being able to take her closed hand on her face, the constant nagging from her mother, and the wounds she'd suffered from school and stupid tricks. "Stop it!" Temperance growled, tears welling in her eyes. "Stop smiling, Neo! Come back here so I can wipe that smile off your face!" She called to the reflection that was her own, but looked like her daughter, calling her by her nickname. "Neo, stop it! Come back so I can hug you and tell you how much I love you!" She growled as tears streamed down her face. "Neo, I mean it! Stop smiling! I'm sorry, come back! I never meant to say those things, I never meant to slap you like that, just come back here, please! Neo! Neon Feathers! Please! Please... come back to mommy...." Temperance reached out to the mirror, trying to grab her daughter who only got further and further away, soon becoming nothing but a small speck of black in an unreal plane of existence. She saw herself in the mirror once more as the wine wore off, making her shake her head. She looked at the counter, pulling out scissors, pulling out long chunks of her hair and cutting mercilessly at her long locks, black flakes floating down to the floor. "Look what you did, Neo! Your hair... your hair is so beautiful... mine's like hay compared to your silky locks! And your skin is so perfect and beautiful! Your face is always clear and I have to wash mine every single day to keep pimples away! You... you were everything I'd ever wanted in a daughter. Everything I wanted to be was you. You were perfect." She murmured, snipping her hair at an angle to even it out. "You never cried when you got hurt. Whenever I got hurt... pricking my finger or cutting my finger while cooking... I tried not to cry and all you did... you got bandages, and you kissed it. You were braver than I ever could be. You smiled even when you were sad or didn't want to." Her eyes shrunk as she came to a broad realization. "You were the perfect daughter and I pushed you away like you were nothing." She held her face in her hands, crying into them with gusto. Black Booth woke up and picked her up, carrying her to the bed with a sigh, tucking her in and wiping her tears away, laying her down to sleep before falling back to his loving family dream, a dream that he'd cling to for almost two decades. His dreams were of his daughter, and his wife dreamed of Neo and her passion and strength. All three dreamed of what they had just lost. In the morning, Temperance knocked on her daughter's door. "Neo, I'm sorry about everything yesterday. Neo, come out, please, I need to talk to you." She frowned with a sigh, rolling a curl in her finger. "Papa, is Neo coming out of her room?" Flash asked as Black Booth held him warmly, standing behind Temperance. "Neo! Neon!" Temperance's voice got louder. "Neon Feathers, get out here this instant!" Silence. "Neon Feathers, this is your last chance!" Silence. "Neon Feathers, open this door right now!" Silence. Temperance reached up above the doorway, pulling down the key and putting it in the door handle, twisting and unlocking it. The trio was so quiet, if one listened hard enough, they'd hear a spider spinning its silk delicately. The window was ajar, the curtains fluttering in the cold breeze, frosted with snow and ice. Everything was in order and most of Neo's things were gone. The drapes were filled with shards of cold ice, and her bed was covered in flowery crystals. Her trophies were gone; everything she'd hung in her room was gone. Her dresser drawers were empty and barren. Her walls were a sad and hollow mixture of white and brown from tearing off papers. Her mirror was on the floor, and her bed was made. It looked like she'd gone to sleep on the bed more than a thousand times, her body's imprint there even still. Everything was quiet and serene, save for the drapes that shivered in the cold. Temperance and Black Booth ran inside, calling out Neon's full name in worry and anger. Flash jumped up onto the rolling chair, moving the mouse on his sister's computer. "Mama... papa..." He murmured. The three looked at the screen and read it closely. Dear Mother, Father, and Brother, I have not been the perfect daughter you have so craved for so long. I know now that I will never be good enough to make you happy or content. I know this is better, me leaving you with Flash. He'll be a good boy and make you so happy you'll forget about me. Please don't look for me or cry, because it won't bring me back from wherever I'm going. Mother, I know I wasn't the genius you wanted, and I turned out to be the athletic girl who played with snails and rocks instead of dolls and skirts. I'm sorry I couldn't be the daughter you wanted me to be, and I know it is all my fault. Maybe if I had listened to you more, I could've made you proud of me. Happy. Maybe even elated. I had to look up that last word because I'm no good at words or anything, and I know you know how bad I am with every subject in school except P.E. Father, I know you loved me just the way I was, and I remember when I was little, you taught me how to fly like a bird and how to live off of the land that stretched out so far around me in each and every direction. I love how you never expected much of me, but I hated it too. I'm just thankful that you loved my own love for flying and running, but I'm not the smart, studious daughter you might've wanted. I had to look up that word too. Pretty stupid, huh? I know I'm a failure, so even if we see each other, don't say I'm not- because I am a failure. I can barely spell without Word's spell check and those stupid red and green lines and the weird blue bar by some words. Brother. You're going to have to be strong. Smile everyday. I'll know when you aren't smiling, and I know how to get you to without you ever knowing I was there. You're probably too young to understand that I was ever even real. Hopefully, you'll think of me as an imaginary friend or something so you don't think you ever even had a sister who loved you someone like me in your life. I cleaned out my room so you can use it for work, dad, or maybe mom can turn it into a study for Flash. I threw all of my trophies in a bag, and I'm selling them for the money so I can just be alone for a while. I don't think I'll be coming back, so please don't wait for me. I cleaned up my room and took most of my clothes with me, and some canned food and water bottles, so you don't have to worry about me starving, but you guys probably wouldn't care if I died out in the snow, am I right? Everything in my room should now look like a guest room, but I left the window open because I couldn't figure out how to close it from the outside. That shows how stupid I really am, doesn't it? I cleared out everything with me in it. Every website I've been on no longer has a Neon Feathers there, and all of the pictures, including the ones in the house, I've blacked out with a black marker I took from dad's office. I guess this means goodbye, right? I keep typing questions, but I'll never know the answers. I bet mom's celebrating on the inside and dad's just relieved. I hope Flash grows up without me anywhere in his life... he doesn't need a stupid older sister to keep him back in school. I just want you guys to know that I love you but I can't stay. Signed, Neon Feathers Your Daughter Neo Me No One The only thing that could be heard for a long time was silence and sobs of sadness and regret. Search parties scoured the lands far and wide, looking for the girl with the most beautiful of wings and the most gorgeous of hair, but with the dumbest IQ one could find. Records showed that she sold her trophies and some of her old clothes for a bit of money, but she came into the stores quickly and left even faster. No one knew where Neon Feathers was or where she went, but that's because they thought the wrong way. It wasn't where she went, but when. Or maybe it was both.