Twisted Stories

Reflection

Jamil Viper had been a servant for as long as he could remember. He remembered when he was 7, when he and Kalim had been playing as innocent children do, he was scolded for not letting Kalim win. It had hurt, to be told that he was exceptional, but told in a way that felt like a slap to the face

"We know you're smart Jamil" His mother had said, "but please, the entire family could get in trouble if you show you're smarter than the heir. We'd be out of a job. Just don't win so much and we'll be fine. You understand, right?" He had nodded, of course he understood. The Asims were close to royalty, and the Vipers were nothing bu the dirt they treaded on. That's how it was portrayed to him at least

And now here he was; Jamil Viper, overblotted, but at the same time he was nowhere. It was more of an abyss of his consciousness really. At least, that's all he saw when he opened his eyes. His body felt like it was falling, but he was floating. Jamil felt empty, growing increasingly tired as he watched the battle through the eyes of his overblot

Is this how I die? It would be nice to...

No, I can't. Who's going to take care of my family if I die?

They can care for themselves, it's how they functioned before I was born

But I can't! It's not right

This conflict kept going, even if he bore no physical expression. He saw Kalim crying, fighting, he said something about being friends, about how he had no idea of the silent suffering Jamil went through. Why...why did he feel so conflicted when it came to this white haired boy? Jamil wanted to be friends, at one point...didn't he? When did that want end?

Viper knew when, it was when he was told that he needed to hold back on his true potential, that Kalim's happiness mattered more than his own. That's the moment when his want to be friends turned into a hatred. Is this how he wanted to lead his life? To always be in someone's shadow, to have a strong hate that he can never be happy?

Jamil kept floating in the abyss, it was quiet. A nice, relaxing quiet. But, in that quiet he found a new feeling: sadness. He was no stranger to anger, sometimes happiness (even if it was fake), but sadness was something he experienced only once before. This time felt the same as before, it was still because of his worthlessness compared to Kalim

Because no matter how hard I work, how much I prove my worth time and time again, I will never be better or on par with that damned Kalim. He was born with everything, I'm fighting to earn a fraction of it. Why? What did I do to deserve this? Is it part of some vast eternal plan set by the Great 7?

Jamil drowned into the abyss, as he drowned in his emotions. He started falling, he heard yelling and crying from somewhere. It was dark, but he somehow opened his eyes despite how heavy they were. It was blinding at first, Jamil thought he had died at first, but his eyes adjusted. He was in the dorm, being held by a crying Kalim

"Jamil! Jamil...please...be ok! You're my best friend, I love you, I don't want to lose you!"

Jamil just let himself be held, holding an emotionless expression on his face. He felt tears slowly trickle down his cheeks, but otherwise, he felt nothing. He was simply a husk, until Kalim saw his opened eyes and smiled

"Jamil! Oh thank the Great 7!" Jamil was squeezed with the most heartfelt and warm embrace. Others would've felt overjoyed, but unfortunately that was not how the viper's heart worked. He felt nothing at all, just a hole in his heart