Shadows

[3]

I slump down underneath her window. She has already released the lanterns, and has seen that I am sat with her.
"You don't mind, do you?" I ask,
"Of course not." She answers, "It's nice that someone else my age appreciates me."
"People don't like you?"
"No. I dropped out of school because so many people ignored me." The girl says.
I look up at her.
"People ignore me too. They love my best friend, and love her work. Even when it isn't hers."
"Don't worry. Life is never what it seems. You could be a really successful worker in the future, and she might be barely getting by. Then people will realise that it was your work they liked, not hers." She pats my head gently,
"I'm not saying that I don't like her, I really do like her because she's an amazing friend.... I think. I just wish people would notice that I write stories as well and that there isn't just one author in the class." I sigh.
"I'm Lucia."
"I'm Nala."
We both remain silent for a while, watching the beautiful calm of the lanterns flying away and lighting up the howling void of cruelty that is this world.
"It's funny," I smile, "I feel so comfortable talking about my problems with you, who I've only just met, than I do with Bella, or even my mother."
"It's because I'm a stranger." She explains, "If a friend tell people your secrets, the pain is unbearable. If a complete stranger tells people your secrets, it's not so bad because you haven't learned to like them yet."
"Are you saying that you will tell my secrets to people?"
"No. It's up to you to decide who gets to know what goes on in your head." Mila reassures me. The mud is getting my leggings wet, and my red and black checked shirt is collecting stray blades of grass. I shiver in the cold of the sky's tears.
"Come inside, you look cold." Lucia says. She opens the door and gestures for me to enter her sweet, warm house.
I smile and thank her, getting up and starting to walk to her. She smiles back at me.
But then she disappears.

And she is gone.
So is the rest of her world.
I have woken up again.
"Nala, Bella's here." Kiki tells me,
"What, why?" I ask,
"She said that you were being her twin in Riley's film today." She bounds off downstairs to entertain my friend.
Now I remember.
I get dressed in the outfit we agreed on: a plain black t-shirt and leggings, with a denim jacket and our matching scarves. We have to dress similar because we have been cast as the creepy twins.
When I go downstairs, Bella is waiting in the living room.
"Hi!" She smiles, "Are you ready?"
I nod.
"Let's go. Bye, everyone!" Bella grabs my wrist, her nails unknowingly digging deep into my skin, and waves goodbye to my family,
"Bye." I say to them as my friend pulls me out the door.

I walk along the path on my way home. We had a successful day of filming Riley's film. And now I'm going home. I don't want to see anyone else right now. I just want to see Lucia. But I can't see her.
And I feel empty.
Today, a lot of people from our school came running up to us. They showed Bella the story I wrote and asked if it was hers. She changed the subject and showed them something else, but the people still congratulated her on creating 'her story'. She didn't tell them it was my work, not hers. She let them believe it was hers. The people went away thinking it was all Bella, and that I'm useless.
That was my last straw.
I have no use in life now.

Bella POV.

I fall asleep, my head comfortably resting in fluffy pillows.
I've had a great day! We had a very good time filming Riley's movie, then some people came over to congratulate me and Nala on my story! Well, to be honest, it was Nala's story, but they congratulated me and I wasn't going to be the one who burst their bubble. This could really help me if I change my mind and want to become an author when I grow up. I want to be an actress right now, but maybe when I'm older I'll change my mind and want to be an author. It could help if people think I created stories like hers.
My eyes close and the dreams approach.

"Bella! Wake up or you'll be late for school!" My mum calls to me from downstairs.
I open my eyes and put on my glasses.
Once I have brushed out my dark hair, I put it in a ponytail and get dressed.
I finish getting ready and run out of the door. My friends have already left without me, probably thinking that I'm ill.
When I get to school, I barely made it in time.
"Oh so you and Nala are not bunking off." Millie raises her eyebrows at me when I get to school,
"Huh?"
"Nala isn't here yet." She explains,
"That's weird. She's usually really early." I frown,
"She'll probably just be off sick." Laura says as we go in to our classroom.
Our English teacher looks sad, like she has some bad news to tell us. When we sit down, she does the register. Nala still isn't here yet.
She's never been late before.
"Ok, uhm, class, I'm going to tell you something and you must all remain calm. This is very sad news, it could even be scary, but please stay calm." Our English teacher says. She pauses and takes a deep breath.
"Nala Rose has unfortunately gone missing."
I inhale a quick, sharp breath.
"Her parents say that she was walking home alone from a park and then she never came back."
There is a knock at the door.
Miss Scaley enters.
"Hi, miss, I just need to take Bella."
I follow her in to a staff conference room. 
Nala's mother, brother and younger sister are there. So are the police.
"Bella?" One of the police point at me. I nod.
"Ok. I'll get straight to it: do you know anything about Nala's disappearance?" They ask me,
"No." I answer.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure. I don't know anything. We were walking home together, then we reached my house and I went inside and she walked home alone. I don't know anything about what happened." I reply blankly.
If I'm honest, I'm still processing the information.
"Ok. This will become a joint questioning." The police say, "What does Nala look like?"
"Curly brown hair that reaches a little above her shoulders. Very dark brown eyes. Kind of pale, but also kind of tanned. She usually wears a black hoodie and black leggings, sometimes with a red saggy beanie." Her brother, Siddy, answers,
"Did she have any distinguishing features?"
"Not that I-"
"Yes." I interrupt, "She always wears a purple, pink and blue bracelet I made her on her left wrist. Never on her right. Always her left."
"Tell me more about this bracelet."
"It has the same colours as the bisexual pride flag. I made it for her two years ago, when we were twelve, for Christmas. She put it on her left wrist and only took it off when she went to sleep. She never ever ever wore it on her right wrist. Always the left wrist." I wipe away a few tears,
"Any hobbies that she could be caught by us tracking her? Maybe, graffiti? That could be tracked."
"She loves to write stories. But I don't know if that can be tracked." Her mum says,
"Did you notice anything different about her?"
"Yes." Kiki lifts up her head, "She stopped smiling."
"What? No she didn't." Siddy frowns,
"Yes she did. She didn't look happy when she smiled. She fake smiled but not real smile. Except from that time she talked about that dream she had. The one with the lanterns. Remember?" Kiki prods him in the ribs.
Siddy looks thoughtful for a while.
"Hm. I do remember."
"Tell me about the dream, young girl."
"She was suddenly very happy one morning. She said that she had a very good dream. She said that she was walking through a mud-bank that was next to a lake to reach a small wooden house. There was a girl in the wooden house drawing decorations on lanterns until she had a lot of them. Then the girl opened the window that Nala was sat underneath and threw the lanterns out of it and they flew up and away. She said it was pretty and peaceful to watch. She smiled when she talked about it. A real smile not a sad or fake smile." She explains. Hm.
I never noticed that she didn't seem happy when she smiled.
I guess a smile can convince people that you're happy but can really hide a thousand problems.
I guess I was looking but not seeing.
But it wasn't just me.
It was everyone.
Nobody saw Nala.
They didn't care about her, they didn't know she was an author, they didn't know what to think about her.
They just knew she was there.
Maybe with some emotions hidden behind eyes that always see the world from the outside.