unpampered spirits

christopher woke up that morning with an aching head. clearly hung over from partying all night. he rushed over to the comfort room to dispose involuntarily whatever it was he injested.





he washes his face at the sink and pauses to take a deep breath while letting the water run and drain down what he just threw up. a red but pale face looks back at him. the mirror seems to show him a very unfamiliar side of chris; a side he had always welcomed, but never progressively stood up for.





he pauses to find himself thinking about thoughts he had always wished would go away. he stands up straight and goes to the kitchen. he opens the fridge as usual and drinks a couple bottle of beers for breafast. and maybe... just maybe... he might get drunk and not think about it again.

and it has been like that for as long as everyone can remember. nobody really knows his story. everytime somebody asks him, it's either he gives a nervous laugh or an angry stare. his friends know the reason, but most have forgotten the exact details. but for him... the memories are still vivid. he still remembers his everything.

he steps out of his house everyday, find a ride to town and get drunk as usual with his usual circle of friends who are only too apathetic to see that he was not alright. and for a long time... christopher disappeared. that was when everyone panicked. this is where our story begins...

"he always seemed to have nothing wrong with him" says jade; his partner in crime. she always seemed to know everyone. she always thought she was right. she was scanning through old scrapbooks and photo albums. there, the distant smile of christopher seemed real enough to touch.

"does he have anyone he might have gone to?" asked hazel, the concerned yet forgotten friend. everyone hated her because she always wanted to talk things out. people didn't like her because she was always the first to get drunk and first to leave. jade, sweet and stain turn their heads away from her and ignore her.

"what really happened?" asked sweet who was scratching her head in confusion. she was always the pretty one and the one who every one wanted to be with. stain turned his head to her and started his version of christopher's story.

"he loved her before. she was always there. every single day. but he fell in-love with someone else" he started. stain was always half-right with his stories.

"girl or boy?" asked lyris, the youngest of the group. she was the one who knew everything, but was as closed as a clam.

"ha ha! what a question!" said jade. she slammed the books shut and joined stain and sweet laughing. lyris simply looked back at hazel who was clearly insulted by their ignorance.

"does he have anyone he might have gone to?" asked lyris who noticed the question was left unanswered. jade paused to think and eventually lied down in despair and speachlessness. her eyes were staring at the ceiling.

"pour me a cup of coffee." stain told hazel. she stood up without a sound or any form of violent reaction. lyris went with her and talked things over.

"how could this happen?" whispered sweet who was devastated by his disappearance.

hazel came back with a cup of coffee in her hand while lyris brought the sugar and cream. stain snapped his fingers and hazel passed it to him.

"did anyone check his house?" hazel asked who was busy attending to the refreshments but still keeping her mind on the topic. jade rolled her eyes and ignored the question. stain just gave an arrogant laugh while sweet remained speachless. she had noticed everyone ignoring her every question.

"since when did this happen?" asked lyris. jade sat straight up from lying down and lit a cigarette.

"i don't know. he last called me a week ago. but that was all i heard from him." she said and she blew smoke from her nose.

"well... what did he say?" asked sweet who stood up and sat next to her. she needed to hear this.

"well... i was drunk. i could barely remember. all i do remember is him saying that he'll be fine." she said. she rested her head on sweet's lap and tried to close her eyes and survive the hang over.

"where could he be?" lyris asked herself. everyone sat down to think. hazel had a clue where he weant... but she knew that as soon as she opened her mouth, everyone would discard everything she says whether it was the truth or a hunch.

"have we tried looking near the beach? he might just be there" said hazel. jade opened her eyes to think and sat straight up again.

"can you please shut up? that is such a stupid idea! why would he go there? he would most likely go to a place where we never would think to find him!" she screamed at hazel. lyris sat beside hazel and carressed her back as hazel swallowed her pride and kept quiet. she obviously felt insulted, but tolerated it.

"jade... just stop being so hostile." said lyris who was trying to comfort hazel.

"who are you to dictate me?" she barked. "get me a glass of water!" she demanded from hazel. she stood up and did it anyway. although she didn't know anymore why, but she kept that circle of friends.

"jade. stop being so harsh." said lyris who was noticing the tension getting hotter by the second.

"you're just my little sister!" she said. hazel who was inside the kitchen heard the screaming and backsassing.

"i'm going guys." said hazel who everyone ignored.

"there you go. you always leave whenever we need you most!" shouted jade. hazel seemed insulted by her remark when in fact... all of them made her want to leave. lyris only softened the impact of their incessant insults.

"what do you need me for? you don't listen to me!" she said and stood up. she aimed to storm out of the room and leave them for good. lyris held her arm in a desperate attempt to not make the situation grow worse.

"who would want to listen to you?" said stain who gave an insulting laughter. lyris felt hazel's arm stiffen and it grew hotter. her fists were anticipating a punch but she was well aware about her dignity and she respected all of them.

"stop it." said marie. stain's girlfriend. she came in from the door behind hazel. everyone turned around in surprise. her eyes were sore and swollen.

"love" called stain affectionately and kissed her cheek. she rejected the kiss and sat down with hazel who was now sitting at the counter; trying to recover herself.

"you sit here and think that this will help christopher." she began. she was about to begin the sermon that would make them behave rationally again.

"christopher's gone and the best you can do is speculate where he could be? jade... you were too drunk to realize that chris was trying to commit suicide. stain, you were too busy making hazel look like a fool to realize what he was about to do. and sweet, you were too busy having fun with those boys to realize that he sent 10 messages because he needed someone to talk to!" she pointed out. jade, the overconfident spawn of the devil refuted.

"and where were you? you think you're so innocent!" she screamed. silence struck the room as marie's eyes bursted into tiny bitter tears. she kept her posture straight and firm, "i was with my mother. she died that night."

jade took a step back in embarrassment. hazel didn't look around to see if any of them were surprised. she wasn't. she knew about it. but she never told a sould since...well... nobody cared what she said.

"i'm sorry marie" came out lyris' quiet voice.

"do you know where christopher is?" asked hazel. marie turned around to face her and nodded.

"where is he?" asked hazel.

"where do you think?" said marie. hazel pondered around for a few minutes in silent contemplation.