You and me
White Lily stared at the black, empty space with no expression.
There was no surprise.
There was no discomfort.
There was no fear.
There was nothing...
She dropped to the floor, lying on her back staring into nothingness.
The darkness was terrifying.
But also comforting.
"Hiding was never your thing, come here."
She knew he was here.
Out of the shadows, came that cookie that caused great evil to her and her friends.
He said nothing, he was strangely silent.
He lay down next to her and they watched the darkness.
Silently, together.
White Lily decided to break that silence.
"Are we in my mind or in your mind?"
She asked, without hesitation.
"This space is created as a bridge between yours and ours, so both are correct answers."
He said, exhaling.
White Lily knew who else was in "ours".
"You brought me here to torture me, lie to me OR deceive me?"
He could have smiled, he could have lied, he could have told her that was why he was here.
But he didn't.
"No, I just want to be here."
White Lily looked at her enemy and sighed.
"That doesn't make sense."
He didn't say anything.
"But I know what you meant.... I haven't forgiven you yet."
Shadow Milk just clenched his fist.
"I know."
"But it's nice to have a friend around."
Friend... They were friends.
Shadow Milk closed his eyes, going back to the moment they first saw each other.
Not in the tree, not in Beast Yeast.
At the Blueberry Yogurt Academy.
She, a curious student who wanted to summon the first principal.
He, a beast who disguised himself as a child and told her he was a quarter of the power of the real headmaster.
It was not a lie.
Every time she went to sleep, he could interact with her and they would both play.
Hiding, trapped....
It felt right, right...
As if... As if he could finally be a child.
Shadow Milk was never a child.
He was baked into adulthood like the rest of his friends.
None of them knew the magnitude of their roles....
They thought they were ... Games ... That it would be fun.
But time passed, and they matured ... And they were disappointed.
Their virtues consumed them, their soul jam terrified them, the cookies pushed them and ... The witches abandoned them.
But, at that moment, with her, he finally had someone who treated him like a child.
His friends found out, and like the nosy kids they are, they joined in the games.
It was the first time since they had been created where....
Mystic Flour laughed so loudly.
Silent Salt danced awkwardly.
Burning Spice jumped with excitement.
Eternal Sugar stayed awake.
And Shadow Milk... He felt truly happy.
The beasts wanted to know more about the child who had made them feel... Alive.
What they saw infuriated them.
A girl so talented, who wished to spread her knowledge, being the target of ridicule and beatings from her envious peers.
A friend who was naively unaware.
And with teachers who refused to open the doors to her true potential.
She could be better than them, than the teachers themselves.
She could change the world if given real guidance.
But no, they decided that this blossoming talent should go to waste....
For they decided they were not going to let it.
... The academy was torn to shreds.... Everyone blamed her, not knowing that she was only following the words of her friends....
She got so angry with them, she didn't want them to destroy those who hurt her.
At that moment she realized...
She reminded him... She reminded them of what they were.
Stupid cookies who blindly believed that others should be taken care of.
A thought so damaging that it bothered them....
"You know? In all this time, in which I know the truth.... I realized something..."
White Lily stood up, sitting up and not looking at Shadow Milk.
"You... The beasts... They were freshly baked cookies.... Right?"
Shadow Milk was frozen.
"After having the little talk with Gingerbrave about the baked cookies.... Funny how you were the age of a childand had to rule..."
Shadow Milk sat up too, he wanted to look at White Lily.
Look at the look on her face... But he didn't dare.
"... Long ago you told me that your creator abandoned you.... Now I see you meant the witches..."
The shadows surrounding Shadow Milk swirled around him, evidencing his tower of unspoken feelings.
"I see the truth now... That's why you pushed me, isn't it? Because you wanted me to end up like you."
Shadow Milk could take no more.
She turned around, summoned his staff and pushed White Lily to the ground.
"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!"
He repeated over and over again, willing her to shut up.
He didn't want to listen anymore.
He was Shadow Milk! The beast of deceit!
HE WASN'T GOING TO LET SOME STUPID COOKIE TELL HIM WHAT HE-
"You're crying..."
.... what?
He touched his cheek, it was wet, indeed, he was crying.
White Lily grabbed both cheeks and looked at him.
"You wanted to turn me into something like you? Because you couldn't stand that someone who thought like you was successful..."
Shut up...
Shut up please...
"You lock yourself in your lies so you won't face the truth, because it terrifies you..."
...
...
"Because if someone who thought like you.... Like all of you... Succeeds in his mission... It would mean..."
"That we were definitely the failure."
Shadow Milk stole the words from White Lily.
A deafening silence settled in again.
Shadow Milk stood over White Lily.
He just looked up, longing for something.
Perhaps waiting for his creator.... His mother, would show up and give him guidance.... Or at the very least, hug him.
He knew that wasn't going to happen, but he wanted to lie to himself one more time.
White Lily looked at him, not with pity, not with annoyance, not with satisfaction.
But with understanding.
"So many years torturing yourself? So many years suffering in confinement..."
White Lily's hands were warm.
"The witches loved you.... They loved you so much... That they didn't want to kill you... Not you, not the rest."
That was... He didn't know if it was true or a lie, his mind was already too tired to try to think.
He could only think of one thing, he looked at White Lily and asked her for the only thing that would give him and his friends peace.
"Kill us."
White Lily was not surprised by the request.
They both knew the beasts wanted their eternal rest, they wanted to leave and never come back.
"Please... White Lily, kill me... I can't stand this existence anymore, I won't stand another millennium here.... Kill me... Do what the witches didn't do..."
Shadow Milk stepped back, giving White Lily room to sit up.
And she knelt down to plead.
"Have mercy on us and end this existence."
White Lily looked at her friend.
And smiled, truly.
"This will kill you.... And me too... But... We both know... That we are ready, I promise you, that when the time comes.... We will be set free."
Life and death are complex things.
For someone who fears death.
Will seek to live forever.
For someone immortal who suffered.
Death will be the most merciful act there will be.
They were both ready.
They were ready to die.
They just had to wait.
Shadow Milk looked up at the sky and saw a star.
... He wondered what it would be like to be one...