「 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚏𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 」- 𝙻. 𝙻𝚊𝚠𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚝 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝙸𝙸 - 𝙿𝚘𝚜𝚝-𝙼𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚖

H.H.S.A Guidebook for New Inhabitants
Originally published in  803 A.D by V. Atticus
Edition 34
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2. Inhabitants of the Halfway House are unable to 'die' by any means, as their bodies are completely self-sufficient. You will continue to exist until the anomaly in your soul is repaired. At that time, your physical form will Crumble and you will proceed to the full afterlife.

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☥ ☥ ☥

[ ( L ) Day 1, AD ]

I was staring daggers at the back of L's head as he peered through the second story windows at the misty world below.

"Wow... this place is fascinating. Beautiful, really."

Choosing to ignore his banal statement, I continued down the hall without looking to see if he was following. I was still reeling with shock, and couldn't look at him in the face just yet.

The world outside of the Halfway House has always put me ill at ease. The world beneath it's powdery blue skies evokes a feeling of cold uneasiness that sinks deep into my core. As far as the eye could see was a vast, endless forest of evergreen trees coated by fog. Covering the ground, stretching far past the horizon. On its own this would be pretty unremarkable, were it not for the daffodils. Sprouting up everywhere were unnaturally large yellow flowers taller than the evergreens, with spiralling stems as large and thick as a pipe. They're meant to symbolize rebirth and new beginnings, something that doesn't match at all with the eerie feeling they give off. A feeling not unlike the kind I got from being with L.

Normally I wouldn't be giving a new Inhabitant a tour so quickly after their own death, but L's obviously no normal Inhabitant. Not to me, at least. The patience and understanding I'd usually give newcomers was gone, and I all I wanted was for this to be over with as soon as possible. If he really was so great, he could handle the shock. Besides, I figured that his manqué giving him the cold shoulder was the least of his worries right now.

I've come to the conclusion that I hate L. His attitude and lack of acknowledgement for my identity as A was nothing less than insulting. Shouldn't he show some more remorse in the presence of someone who was driven to suicide because of his institution's cruelty? Shameless. That's what he was, I decided.

He may have only been seventeen or eighteen, but it wasn't as if he had no power. He was regarded as an adult, just like me.
I met him once when I was alive, a few months before my suicide. He'd told me that at my rate, I'd never reach his level. That I lacked drive. And now I have to escort him into the afterlife as well? It was nothing less than insulting.

The footsteps behind me stopped. I looked back, and he was staring out of a large window with wide, luminous eyes.

Out of nowhere he asked,
"What were to happen if I jumped out of the window?"
"You can't." I replied flatly. "Even if you were able to break the glass or walls, they'd re-form before you could jump."

"Really? That's interesting... What about the roof? You mentioned one earlier. What if I jumped off it? Theoretically, of course."
"You'd black out when you reached the layer of fog and come to in the room you arrived in. Go ahead and try if you want to waste both of our times."

L thought about this for a moment, seeming satisfied. He left the window and began to pick at the walls of the barren hallway until it crumbled off. He watched, fascinated as the bits he broke off floated upwards and returned to their previous position.