"Don't die because some things hurt you. Keep living to find the things that help you wash that pain away."

"Why won't you just let me die?"

"Because I want you to keep living,"

"Who are you anyway?"

"That's a question you can find the answer to by yourself,"

"Why am I so important to you?"

"You'll find out sooner or later,"

"What will it take to let me escape from this cruel world in peace?"

"Find me,"

"..."

"Is there something wrong?"

"...Challenge accepted."

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A fourteen year old teen got up groggily from his bed, placing his cold hand against his forehead as he closed his eyes.

"Another dream with her in it…" he mumbled to himself. He got out of his bed and walked over to his closet, opening it up slowly. He saw the nuse there, tightly tied around the top metal pole where his clothes were. He sighed, taking his black sweater and throwing it onto himself, ignoring the rope. He then walked to his nightstand to get his phone. Upon opening the drawer, he spotted the sleek and obsidian black pistol laying on top of his phone. His hand started to tremble a little as he pushed the gun to the side, picking up his phone and quickly shutting the drawer. He took slow, deep breaths to calm himself down as he put on his shoes, rushing downstairs.

"Find me,"

He stopped halfway down the stairs, the girl's gentle yet slightly worried voice ringing through his head. Running a hand through his hair, he reached the hallway and walked towards the kitchen. As he looked for something to eat, he opened a cabinet, only to be surprised when three orange bottles fell to the floor, the contents inside them spilling onto the floor. The boy groaned, picking up the pills and putting them back into the containers. After returning the bottles back to their original place, he slammed the cabinet door and went to the fridge, grabbing an apple and walking out the door. He made sure that his feet were stepping on the concrete sidewalk instead of on the dangerous, car filled road.

"If she wants me to avoid death to find her… then I will," he said to himself, biting off a large portion of his apple. He then sprinted down the street, throwing away his fruit.

"Are you aware of where you're going?"

"All I hope is that I'm going somewhere," he replied to the voice. He heard the female giggle in response.

"Don't get lost now, that would be a bad thing,"

"I can always just die to start over the day though, right?"

"If you want to go that way, no one is stopping you. Besides me, of course,"

"I think I would know that by now," the boy replied, his tone sounding a tad bit annoyed. The girl's voice didn't reply, making him think that she didn't want to continue the conversation. That was fine with him; all he wanted to do was find her and get this hunt over with. He stopped when he reached the town's plaza. He checked the time by quickly turning on his phone; it was 1:30.

"No wonder I felt a bit hungry… I mean, I did only take a bite from that apple I brought with me," The boy shrugged. "I died of hunger before, so I honestly don't want to waste time eating," he said, walking through the crowd of people around him.

"Well, it looks like my three hour search has brought me nothing," the boy complained, walking out of the plaza. Glancing at an analog clock on a light post, he confirmed it to be somewhere around 6:00.

"You know what would make this easier?" the boy asked as he lifted his head up to look at the sun setting sky, anticipating that the girl would hear him talking to her. "If I knew who you were and what your name was." Just as he suspected, the girl replied.

"So you want clues now? You could have asked for them a little bit sooner," the girl said. The boy groaned.

"Can you just give them to me now? It'll make my life less complicated than it already is," he said.

"Alright, I'll give you one today and the next one when you ask for it again," she said.

"First name starts with A and ends with E. Last name starts with L and rhymes with sea. You know who I am, and I was born in November. If you know that much about it me, it'll surely help you remember."

"... That's it? That could be anything though! How the hell do you expect me to get anything out of that?" he shouted, causing people to stare at him.

"I never said that it was going to be a good hint. You just have to live with what you get," she replied. The boy just sighed.

"Whatever… the day is ending soon," he said."I'll be seeing you soon," He then walked towards his apartment building, shutting the door behind him. After locking the door, he walked upstairs to his room and went on his computer.

"There's got to be a way I can find this girl…" he muttered, typing the keys quickly. During his name search, he confirmed the name to be Alice Lee. But the name to him didn't sound familiar at all. Maybe he heard of that name before, it did kind of ring a bell in his head, but he couldn't really put his finger on it. He heard the giggles again.

"Is there something wrong?" Alice asked. The boy didn't say anything as he walked downstairs towards the kitchen, opening a drawer and pulling out a knife. Pointing the blade at his neck, he smiled.

"We just need to talk."

He ended up in a white room, no walls, no ceiling. Just a plain white room. He was laying on the floor, feeling a bit dizzy. He sat up, turning his head to spot a girl in a white shirt and a black skirt. Her hair was long, stopping about halfway down her back, and it was a perfect shade of chocolate brown.

"I think this is the first time I ever saw you… you know, in person," he said. The girl didn't say anything in response. Her bangs casted a shadow over her eyes.

"Does my appearance seem familiar to you?" she asked. The boy shook his head. Alice sighed.

"It seems you have forgotten who I am then…" she mumbled. She looked up. "... Why do you always want to die? Is there a specific purpose?" she asked. The boy laid back down.

"There… are two reasons. One, I always thought that the life I live right now was futile. There was no point in living in this world if there's always going to be something out there that will hurt you. The second reason is because of someone who sacrificed her life for me," the boy said. Alice let out a small gasp, her hand flying over her mouth. The boy continued this sayings, oblivious to her reaction.

"I… don't remember how old I was at the time, but it was probably about three to four years ago. I mean, I'm fourteen now, so I can't recall my age so clearly. But the situation was something I could never forget. At my school, there was a code red, and I was in the library at that time. We all got under the tables like we would practice in the drills, closed the blinds, and locked the doors. Unfortunately, the intruders got in anyway, armed with guns and knives. About twenty of the students in our school either got injured or died that day and two teachers were taken to the hospital. I was lucky to be one of the survivors, but I was literally speechless. While the raiders were making their escape when the police came, my friend protected me from an attack from them. The knife went through her vital organs, causing her to cough up a lot of blood. Once she fell, they just ran away, and was just standing there with eyes widened. I dropped to my knees, sobbing loudly as I held her dying body. She gave me one last, genuine smile before her eyes dulled out, lifeless," the boy explained, wiping the tears streaming from his face.

"That's the second reason why I wanted to die. To meet her again. She was my greatest friend, and to see her die because of me, I couldn't stand it back then. About a year after that incident, I dropped out of school, ran away from home, stole my parent's bank money, rented an apartment, and committed suicide. And that's when I met you," he said. He turned to look at Alice, surprised when he noticed that she was hugging her knees, crying. She then noticed his stare on her, wiping away her tears with her arm and smiling.

"I-I'm sorry for crying, I just found your story to be very sad. I'm sorry to hear that," Alice said. The boy walked over and reached a hand out to her.

"Don't worry. The grudge is still here, but I hope it'll get better," he said. Alice's expression turned shocked, but she closed her eyes, reaching out for his hand. But, before their fingertips could even touch, she disappeared from his sight.

"Today's the new day. I'll give you another hint," Alice's voice said. Her tone sounded mournful and sad, as if she was at the verge of crying again. This confused him, but he listened to her hint anyhow.

"I'm found in a place, cold and grey. The atmosphere is sad as the dying trees sway. People come over, depressed and upset. I'm sure you'll find me this time, so don't fret. I always waited because I know you would come for me. But I'm sorry you had to find out who I am like this, Riley."

"I'm so… so sorry…"

Riley woke up, panting heavily with eyes widened.

"No… it couldn't have been…" he muttered. He let out a long groan of frustration, not believing what he had just heard earlier.

"All this time… it was… her…?!" Riley got out of bed, grabbed his sweater, got his phone, and rushed downstairs to get outside. He ran as fast as he could possibly go, looking everywhere for the cemetery. He arrived there in about thirty minutes flat, trying to find the right place. He stopped running when he looked at his surroundings. The only place where there was a large oak tree, swaying to the wind. And in front of that tree was a stone slab that was half buried in the ground, the name of the girl he just discovered printed clearly on it's surface. He felt tears fall down his face as he dropped to the ground on his knees, crying hard.

"N-No wonder… i-it really was h-her…" Riley said, choking between sobs. "No… why… why…?!" A ghostly figure appeared in front of him, and he didn't bother to look up this time. He already knew who it was.

"Why won't you just let me die… ?"

"Because then my sacrifice would be vain."

"Who are you anyway?"

"Alice Lee, your best friend."

"Why am I so important to you?"

"You're important to me because your life is more valuable than mine."

"What will it take to let me escape from this cruel world in peace?"

"No one can escape the evil clutches of reality."

"..."

"Is there something wrong?"

"...Yes."

"What seems to be the problem?"

"That no how many lives I lose… I-I'll never be able to be with you again…"