Playing Pretend

Kiepfri. That was the name she chose. Why, she never knew. She just chose it. She had originally never given needing a name a thought. But when she infected that skeleton… when she started talking to people. Almost every time they asked her what her name was. She didn’t know. She didn’t care. But… that was nothing new. Being a parasite, she could not feel. But she had to fit in. She had to survive. So, she thought one up. Well… that’s a bit of an overstatement. She finally had enough of having explain her lack of a name, so when someone asked her what her name was, she just said “Kiepfri”. At first, she thought about changing it. But… she felt a sort of… weird attachment to it. Kiepfri… it was unique. Like herself, she supposed.

Kiepfri walked along the quiet city streets. She kept her gaze to her feet, but she occasionally looked around, just to make sure she was paying attention to her surroundings, or to steal a glance at the stars. She heard the rattle of keys and Vinegar whistling a cheery tune. ‘So it’s that late, is it?’ She thought. But she didn’t turn around and hurry home like she ought to. Instead she continued walking down that street, listening to the sound of her feet hitting the ground. She continued walking until she reach the forest. The forests here were odd. The were shades of blue and purple at night, pink and white in the day. She walked to a clearing and sat down, grabbing her shades and setting them beside her. This revealed the soul of her host, cracked and drained, but still alive.

The soul resonated weakly with recognition of the place. But of course it recognized this area. This is where they would sit with each other long ago. Kiepfri had no idea why she returned to this place. It was better off left forgotten. But… it just didn’t leave her mind. This was where she first came into existence and found… her. She was a sweet child. So kind. So brave. So naive. So STUPID. When the child found her, she was a young parasite. Just created, actually. The child (who was not a child, but around 20 years old) took pity on the small thing and brought her to their home. The parents screamed at the child for bringing such a dangerous creature into the house, and the child was forced to put her back where she found her. There was not going to be some hot pink starfish thing with sharp teeth and tentacles was staying in that house. But… the child never abandoned her. In fact, the child may have been the reason she survived so long. The child would come and hang out with her. At first, Kiepfri thought she enjoyed the company of the child. Until she realized she didn’t.

In fact, she didn’t feel anything. Just a strong need to find a soul to feed off of. Trust her, it’s not like she didn’t try. She didn’t want to be “the bad guy” and feed off of a living soul. But she was getting weaker by the day. Finally, she decided on something. If she won’t feel anything, then what did it matter to her if someone got hurt? It was survival of the fittest, the weak fail, the strong succeed. And she would succeed. That’s what she decided when she got ahold of the child’s soul.

That was why she got the journals and folders. So she could keep tabs on others and decide their worth to her. She had profiles on everyone in the city. She had a folder that had the files of those she could possess if something happened to this host. Another folder contained those who were threats to her. Fresh and Error… those two were HUGE threats, Fresh more so. She had already killed two other threats… she’d kill others. They would receive no mercy from her. She had a feeling Fresh or Error wouldn’t show her mercy, either. Not that she expected it.

They may expect it from her though. Outside, she acted like a shy, kind young lady who enjoyed drawing and taking notes. Using whatever information she can get from casual questions that are to be expected in petty chat to learn more about the person and write it down in her book. “It’s funny, really…” She murmured as she rolled a blade of grass in between her thumb and forefinger. “I say I don’t play games… yet I play pretend everyday.” She leaned her head into her hand, dropping the grass blade. “I act like I mean no harm… I act like I am genuinely curious… I act like everyone’s friend… when I’m really not.” She gripped her head. “The worst part…? I can’t feel remorse for what I’ve done… for what I’ve been doing. I’ll never know the joy of spending time with someone dear to me…I’ll never be what everyone thinks I am.”

“… but that doesn’t bother me, of course.”

Kiepfri stood up, the crunch of leaves sounding as she put her weight onto her feet. She reached down to grab her sunglasses, placing them back over her eyes. “…see you later.” She said. She then spun around and walked away from that little clearing for the last time, ready to play pretend again tomorrow.