Welcome to Gaia! ::

As she stepped through the door a light humming noise came to her ears. A feeling of nostalgia swept through her. How strange.

The door swung shut heavily with a thud. It was dark for the briefest of moments before orange faces began to light up all around her. But they weren't normal faces no, they were faces. Pumpkin faces that smiled, scowled and frowned. But they gave her a happy feeling and a sense of calm. In fact, she kind of laughed at a few of the sillier looking ones.

A tug of urgency made her feet move forwards, pumpkins lighting the way in an obvious path. But she didn't mind as long as they weren't leading her to certain doom. In fact, not leading her to certain doom would totally be ok with her. For a time it seemed as if the pumpkin lighted path would not end, until suddenly she came upon a lone hill. The dry grass that spread across it shifted and heaved as bright orange flowers that bloomed everywhere glowed softly.

For a moment everything was silent. Still.

Ganximei then noticed the large tombstone at the very peak of the hill. How strange of a place for this to be. Curiosity got the best of her and slowly she made her way up the hill. Step by step. Her legs felt a bit heavy for some reason. Was it dread? Was this her tombstone? Was she dead?

Someone had placed flowers here against the stone. Leaning forward, she brushed them aside to read the inscription. "Here lies...Shing?" Ganximei blinked rapidly as the name suddenly had meaning. Shing, he was a boy like her thought not like her. Tall, white hair. Deep brown eyes. She stretched out thin fingers, aiming to trace the name carved into the stone when suddenly...

....

A cool pond and small feet submerged in it. She sat on the edge of the koi fish pond, watching the little fishies as they nibbled at her toes. A small giggle because they tickled sometimes.

Suddenly there was a splash, she squealed as water hit her in the face. It was a bit refreshing but even still it was quite the shock to such a quiet afternoon of contemplation. She looked up with a slight scowl, brows furrowed. What she found in front of her was a ball half submerged in the water, the fish curious nibbled on it slightly.

Then a boil ran up. "Heeeeyyyy!" It was the new one to the compound, she didn't really catch his name upon introduction day but that did not matter. She clenched small fists as he came to a stop at the edge of the pool. An oh s**t I'm in trouble look coming to his face. "Ah-ahahaha I'm sorry did you get wet?"

Was it not obvious? "Yes." A short reply, how dare he splash her, even on accident! She might not of been the most social of the children but that didn't mean he could splash her accident or no accident.

"Well I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to on purpose it just kind of flew out of my control." Taking his shoes off, he waded into the water to retreive the ball. "I hope the fish are ok that probably wasn't pleasant for them either." He waded back to her, he was so much taller. His hair fully white, how was it his was all white already? Deep brown eyes, she was having a hard time staying mad the more she looked at him. He had a charm about him that just oozed from his being.

"I'm Shing, lets be friends ok?" The offering of friendship was a shock to her, not many chanced friendship with her because of who her parents were. They were too afraid that if something happened they would get in serious trouble. But his wide grin and offered hand to shake was....accepting. He had to know but still?

Slowly she took his hand. "Ok...." Her voice was strained. A friend.

"Good! Now come on lets go play some ball with the others!" Before she could protest he was dragging her away from the pond. Both of them barefoot, but she was fine with that. He treated her nice enough and wanted her to participate in the game. It was a first and for that she was happy.

......

And then it was gone.

A sense of loss and longing overwhelmed her as she was finally able to brush her fingers against the name. The sound thumping noise just barely audible through the soil beneath her. The heart! His heart?

She needed it. For her Goddess.

Ganximei began to dig, down down down. It wasn't that far honestly. And soon she was brushing the last of the dirt aside and there was the heart. Glowing, beating. Her hand reaching, she grasped it firmly. It was still attached but she remidied that with a few snips. And as she pulled it out it slowly began wind down. Its rhythmic beating now gone. It was silent.

Holding it carefully in her hand, she opened her bag. Placing the heart tenderly inside and closing it back up.

No, no, no, no, no.

She could not end here. She had to get back. Had to fulfill this task. Get the blessings. Become a Goddess. Ganximei kicked her legs, tried to pry his hands from her with her own nails. Nothing seemed to work.

Until she remembered the scissors.

Grabbing them from the pocket she had stashed them in, she drew her arm back. Bringing it forward with as much force she could muster. Stabbing them into the hole of his chest. Where his heart had been.

He shrieked. Wailed. Moaned. Screamed. Agony. Clenching the scissors in his chest, he finally released her. Reeling back and doubling over in what appeared to be excrutiating pain. She had stabbed him in the heart. Like before.

In one instant he was gone. Dust. As was the water she had been drowning in. Gone. All gone. Rolling onto her side she coughed up what had gotten down her throat. Leaving a small puddle on the now solid again floor. She felt like she had been laying there an eternity as the memories whirled around in her mind. Her body shook violently.

Then a light. A glorious light that for a second she believed was merely imagined. Until she began to crawl towards it. The light was coming through a door. She hauled herself up off the floor, leaning against the door's frame for a moment. Glancing back into the darkness, she swore she saw him. The scissors still embedded in his chest as he stared balefully at her with sunken grey eyes.

She would come back for him. When she was a Goddess she would return and take him from this dark place. Make his grey eyes brown and joyful again. This she promised herself as she stepped through the door and left the darkness behind.

Closer and closer, her heart pounding. "Don't gooooo..." Don't go? Oh she really really wanted to go. Like now. Ganximei was shaking when all of a sudden she spotted a piece of paper to her left. She grabbed it, reading what was on it with wide, horrified eyes.

"A...C...E...G?! What does it meaaaannn?" She groaned, turning back to see that the figure had gotten closer. s**t s**t s**t. Again she tried to jiggle the door open. As if doing so would actually work.

Distance: 45

Now she was outside, great! It was better than that stuffy and bright room and hallway. Taking a few tentative steps, she smiled lightly at the trees. They seemed to be watching her. Or were they staring at something....else?

She turned to look behind her, if she could go pale she would have as her heart sank in her chest. The creep was still coming! Did he know the code for the door too? Crap!

Taking off like a shot, she ran through the trees. As fast as she could. Still a bit disorientated and scared. The sound of snipping scissors in the fog. "I will take your heart since you took miinnnneeee...." The taunting, she had to do it! Her Goddess tasked her with it!

Bursting through the thin under brush she found herself at a bridge. There was no time to be afraid of a rickety old bridge.

His disfigured body and blank, grey face filled all of her vision. She could not look away. Those eyes. His eyes. Stop looking at her like that!

Ganximei screamed as a twisted hand shot out, grasping her throat as the sound of the rusted scissors rang through the air. She clawed at his hand, trying to remove it. Kicked her feet, trying to get him to let go. But nothing worked.

This was it. It was the end for her and there was nothing she could do. No body could help her. She was helpless against him. Weak. How could someone so weak be a Goddess? She still had so much to do. To find what she was looking for!

A thudding noise mixed in with the metallic noise of the scissors. It was a familiar noise, only rapid and panicked. The sound of her own heart beating out of fear, her body paralyzed. She couldn't even scream anymore.

"Don't worry. It only hurts once and then it'll be allllll over." His voice was strange. While there was no emotion on his face his voice had a sick sound of satisfaction to it. And then the pain, unimaginable pain in her chest. She couldn't remember a pain like this ever. Snip, snip.

Then she fell. Her lip body falling against the frail wooden planks of the bridge. Arms falling out to hang over the edges. The pain was gone now, her head turned just slightly as she stared blankly out at the horizon. The image of the figure walking away in the corner of her eye. She could not watch as he took her heart.

Ganximei let out a slow sigh before darkness took over.