It has been eight years since this girl put on her first mask, a mask to hide all of the betrayal, torture, pain and suffering and her own mind. This girl can be found in the corner of any dark room, crying in silence behind her kitsune mask. The mask is in the form of a kitsune mask, a white base and crimson red flowing over and under, outlining the eyes and the mouth and the ears. Time has worn down this mask, cracks and breaks have formed along the edges, a clean 3-lined scratch has made its appearance diagonally over the mask, clipping the eyes and the mouth. She has whispered that those scratches represent something but she won’t say what. Those that get close and try to console her see her disappear into thin air. No one knows who she is. No one knows if she’s even real. Most think she’s a ghost or an illusion but someone here has told me that they believe she is real.

What a fool, saying he can save her.

Only a fool would believe she was real.

She’s here again in the same corner. The boy thought to himself. “Hey…” he said in a weary voice. “You seem a little sad, do you want to talk about it?” The girl shook her head lightly, the faintest of movements. He sighed. This was not how he wanted to start this. It was way too hot in this room with him wearing a baggy tank top and black jeans. The room that they were in was about the size of a standard bedroom with a bed in one of the corners and a desk just beside the bed with an old computer that was covered in dust. There was a window with its blinds down right in the middle of the far wall, this room hadn’t seen the light of day in months. Picture frames lined the walls but they, too, were covered in dust. This room is seriously a mess. Serves me right for being lazy. He really didn’t like the state of the room but what worried him more was the girl in the far corner opposite of the bed, a girl with a fox mask that seemed to disappear any time someone tried to get too close. He wanted to change that. He felt the need to get close to this girl, a need that kept growing stronger the more he sat in this room with her. After a while he spoke again. “Do you mind if I sit a little closer?” he asked in a soft tone. She hesitated for a second and nodded, pointing her finger a few feet away from where she sat against the corner. Taking this as an opportunity he sat up slowly, keeping his eyes on the floor and not at her. He had tried that before and she disappeared before he sat back down. This time was going to be different. Walking with slow and calculated movements he shuffled his feet along the dark brown hardwood floor, careful to make too much sound. Once he reached the wall in which she was sitting, he sat down ever so slowly to make sure she didn’t get startled. At this she seemed to relax slightly. Something must of happened to her to make her flinch at sudden movements… He didn’t want to think about that, it made him sick to his stomach to think that this girl may have been abused. He tried to reach towards her ever so slightly and she instantly tensed up. Quickly realizing his mistake, he retracted his hand and placed it beside him on the floor. Sighing quietly, she relaxed once more. He dared to look over to her slightly and trace his eyes along the mask. It was more worn than he had thought, the cracks were deep and the scratched along the entirety of the mask were sizeable, leaving deep gouges in the white and red frame. He hadn’t realized that she had turned herself to face him while he was admiring the mask and he almost jumped back when he came back to his senses. “Whoa- i’m sorry… I didn’t mean to look creepy… I was jus-” She cut him off, holding one finger up, silencing him. “Stay still” She said in a weary voice. He had no idea what she was going to do but he did not object and sat still. Slowly she moved over to him until she was only a few inches away from him. He took a small inhale. She smelled like cherry blossoms. Wait. Illusions can’t have a scent… he was bewildered. She looked up at him and motioned for his hand. After a second of disbelief, he complied, raising his hand up ever so slightly. She took his hand and instantly all of his doubts of this girl being an illusion were swept away. He could touch her. She lifted his hand up to her mask before nodding slightly and releasing his hand. He hovered over the mask before he reached for the side of the mask, so unbelievably wanting to just take it off and see this girl but he resisted and gently touched the mask with his fingertips, running them over the scratches and the cracks. The mask was incredibly smooth despite the damage. He traced along the crimson markings lining the eyes, up and over and down again. He traced the lips of the mask and was in awe. The girl sat there patiently, unmoving. After a minute of him touching the mask, he let his arm fall back to his side on the floor and she leaned forward slightly, as if she was trying to get to something. She shook her head slightly as if fighting something, then she spoke. “I can’t. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She seemed so broken. She seemed so hurt by something and his heart ached seeing her like this. She looked back at him and she slowly raised her hands and cupped his cheeks. Slightly startled by this, he tensed up and his eyes frantically searched the mask for anything to tell him what’s happening but nothing answered. She slowly leaned forward and pressed the mask’s forehead to his and suddenly his mind was filled with fragments of something. This… are these fragments of her memories? He thought to himself, his own voice echoing in his head. Flashes of her past were flying by. Her getting bullied, Her getting betrayed by so many, Her mental torture and anguish, Her own suffering and pain, and then… this moment. This moment that we are in. My room except… the window is open and light… she is no longer there. Is this what she wants me to do? His voice echoed again. Yes. Her voice echoed back. All of a sudden the image was gone and his vision returned to this girl and the mask. She let go of him and started to stand up. She walked over to the window and turned around and motioned for him to come closer. He stood up very slowly and dusted off his pants before walking over to the window as well. She tilted her head towards the blinds. She wanted him to open them and let the sunlight in. He hesitated for a moment before opening them quickly in one smooth motion. It was blinding. The light permeated the room and he shielded his eyes slightly. The girl had started glowing and fading, her hands were on the sides of the mask, The window opened abruptly and with power. Wind spun around the room, whipping the dust off of all the surfaces and her hair was waving in the wind. “I’m sorry I have to leave you like this but… I know you will find me again. You have a strong soul. You will find me again…” She started to fade even more and as the light got more intense, she took off her mask. Her blue eyes with tears in them and brownish red hair and soft pink lips that seemed to quiver were the last things he saw before she disappeared into thin air. The light died down and so did the wind and then… there was nothing. No girl. No dust. Just him in the room looking out to the forest that ran just beside his house. He had a feeling he would find her again. Before he turned out of the room, he saw a small glint of something on the floor, a small golden bell. He walked over to it and picked it up. Something inside him told him to ring it and so he did. The chime of the bell bounced off the walls and a few seconds later, another bell sounded, faint but there. This was how he was going to find her. Every time he rang the bell, he got a response and somehow he knew, she had the one to match. With determination in his blood, he set out the door on a mission to find the girl with the mask.