Darkness: an absence of light; a time of darkness. This is what I feel all the time.

“Kevin!Kevin!” I can hear my name echoing around this strange chamber. I can’t see anything. I yearn for the feeling of warmth again. Only one girl can make me feel that way.

“Kevin!Kevin!” This girl……I always hear her in the tiny recesses of my memories. She’s always screaming my name….like I’m dying.

“Wake up!”At her voice, light fills the chamber, and I see her. Her face sharpens my senses and brings me back to reality. She’s bending over me, her hair lustrously tumbling down.

“Kevin Woo! Goodness! Don’t ever scare me like that again!” She flips her hair back and the delicious smell of honey sweetens the air. It takes some of the numbness out of my arms and legs. Her sparkling eyes glittered with the remaining tears of her previous emotion. I feel the need to comfort her, and though I have no idea who she is, she gives me the feeling like we’ve been together for decades.

“What happened?”I ask hoarsely. Those two simple words hurt me; hurt my head, my ribs.

“You were hit by a car, but you’re obviously fine now,” she explains. Who is this strange girl who acts like she knows me but I don’t know a thing about her?

“Who are you?”I manage to get those words out. As she laughs, the birds stop to listen to her melodic harmony.

“Don’t try to be funny, Kevin. You could never forget me. Stop playing around.” She stands up, evidently unconcerned anymore, “Say it. Say it again, oppa. Say it just one more time.”

“Say what?”I’m completely confused. This place feels familiar, but I can’t remember anything about it.

“Say you love…“, her voice abruptly cuts off, like a radio losing connection.

“Are you satisfied, Kevin Woo? I hope you are, after all the trouble I went through to retrieve that memory.“ Another voice fills the room. The chamber has turned pitch black again.

“Satisfied? What do you mean you had to retrieve that memory? Who are you?” That voice made me even more confused than before.

“Oops! My boss said I should ease you in. I guess it’s too late for that. I am going to turn on the lights so don’t be too surprised when you see me. I’m not the prettiest of the demons,” says the voice. I can’t even tell if it’s a female or not.

The lights suddenly burst on, but apparently you couldn’t even see if it’s a female or not. The horns stick out of the gnarly bed of hair are long and unkept. I can’t bear to look at the face, in fear of losing my sanity…if I had any. Fortunately, I had been warned.

“Who’s your boss?” my voice is slightly recovered now, “It would do me a great favor if you could explain everything.”

“Everything? I can’t explain everything in one day, but I can try to. I don’t know if you noticed, and trust me, this is the first time this has happened in Anstranu, but you are dead. Dead as stone, lacking in life. You are completely devoid of any possible sign of life. You are definitely-“

“I get the idea, thank you! I’m dead according to you, but this doesn’t make sense. I don’t remember dying, and frankly, I don’t remember anything.”

“Hmmm……interesting. Boss has given me the most important mission in the history of demons. I’m only 1,000 years old. Forgive him for sending someone so young, but I’m very friendly. Now, where should I start? Right, you died after saving the girl you loved in a car crash. This girl had so much love for you that you are trapped in her memory. All memories are kept, and I went to the Chamber of Memories to retrieve it on my boss’s orders. Well, I shouldn’t say memory. It’s more like she trapped your spirit forever inside her mind and you don’t have the desire to leave her mind either. She loved you so much that instead of following the traditional steps of death, you stayed in her memory. If you don’t even try to let go and set both of your minds to ease, you will stay trapped in this cage forever… and might just lose your ability to-”
“WAIT, so that memory…the girl is the one I died for? Then why was I still alive or is that something else?”I’m bewildered, but I am determined to find out everything, everything about this girl and our history.

“That was a memory, but its ending was changed to match her desired ending. She wants to believe you’re alive, and you want to too. Boss sent me because he wants me to persuade you to give up this miracle you wish for. If you are dead, there are no exceptions, “the demon said matter-of-factly.

“I don’t want to give up though. If this girl is willing to give herself to me and allow me to remember things I’m not supposed to, I will try my hardest to achieve what she wants.” I am firm and bold when I state these words, but I actually have no idea where they came from.

“You don’t even know the girl’s name and you want to risk your spirit’s existence. You really are foolish,” the demon scoffed. I’m really growing to hate this demon.

“Risk my life? What are you talking about? I’m already dead aren’t I?” I wanted to help this girl but this was uncalled for.

“Who said anything about risking your life? That’s not important. This is what I was trying to tell you before you interrupted me. You lose your ability to live multiple lives. When a person dies, he or she goes to Anstranu and their spirit drifts until it finds a new kind of life and the cycle starts again after he or she dies. The spirit allows you to live many “lives”. If you keep staying trapped in a memory, your spirit grows weaker and you won’t be able to live another life,” the demon said in frustration.

“If I can live in my previous life, then wouldn’t it be better for me and the girl?”I don’t understand why this demon keeps interfering in my plans.

“That’s the problem. You can’t live a previous life in which you have already lived in. Your only alternative is to move on. I am here to tell you that.”

“This girl needs me right now, and you are here, telling me to give up?” This demon is really bugging me now.

“THIS GIRL’s name is ____. If she knew what is going on, she wouldn’t want you to go through this pain. If the spirit is destroyed, your entire flesh that you had in your body will disintegrate……very slowly. Your spirit might not be in your body, but mark my words; it will still hurt very much. Let me take you through Anstranu, but you should rest first. Even spirits become tired. When spirits don’t find a suitable life they want to carry out next, they stay in Defmhi. There’s something you humans call an inn in Defmhi. The limit of the nights you can stay there is a century. Then you have to move out. If you stay any longer, you become a demon. A demon is required to serve the Boss until the rest of its….death. You can stay there. It’s actually a very nice place. You’ll love it.”

Apparently, the demon had a special liking for Defmhi. I had so many questions. Did you stay longer than a century at Defmhi? Is that why you’re a demon? Who is the Boss? The demon suddenly grabbed my arm and snapped me back to reality. A thing I learned today: demons can fly super fast so it feels your face isn’t on your head anymore. When we arrived, I admit I was surprised. Defmhi looked like paradise. It had hot springs, swimming pools, arcade center, vending machines filled with junk food, and everything a boy could want. The only thing off was that everything was gray. Literally spirits were everywhere, and they looked like ghosts, walking through things and looking miserable though Defmhi looked pretty awesome to me. I still have a little human in me, I suppose. Then I look down at myself and find that I look like all the other spirits: gray, transparent, and very out of fashion.

“Find who? Is there like some kind of crazy badass goddess who can help me out of this mess?” I was becoming hopeful.

“Goddess? No, we’re looking for _____. I just received a message from the Boss that she died already,” the demon said nonchalantly. Apparently, he couldn’t tell that this was very serious and important to me.

“Hold on! You just said ____ died? How?  Then why were we looking through Anstranu and Defmhi?” I realized that this was just a really stupid dream. I would wake up soon and everything would be normal, and I would remember everything.

“Ask one question at a time. She died of depression because you died in a car crash. We were looking in Anstranu until now because I just received the message from the Boss, and I didn’t know before. Duh!” The demon was probably a female, judging by her “duh!” which was what every girl said.

“We have to go find her. Just hop on this….uh… sturdy ‘raft’ and we can locate her using this tracker. It will beep if she comes close to our proximity,” the demon explained reassuringly after seeing my skeptical expression, but she didn’t sound very sure herself. We started talking to pass the time.

“Before I forget, I wanted to ask you something. How did you become a demon?”I asked. I was curious and temporarily forgot Daphne for a moment.

“I’d rather not talk about it,” the demon said dismissively. I looked at her like a mom staring at her daughter, persuading her to tell what grade he got in science class. The thought made me wonder….if I didn’t remember anything, how would I know how a mother acts, what a girl wants, and everything about a family that I don’t remember? I suppose it’s what all spirits know in all their lives.

“All right, I’ll tell you. Not all demons are made. Sometimes, when two demons love each other very much, they, ahem, marry and produce a child, the child is immediately a demon and has to work for the Boss. Do you understand? It’s very complicated, isn’t it?” the demon said sarcastically.

“Also, who and what is the Boss? Why do demons work for him? What makes him so special that he has the power to control everyone else?”

“The Boss is a demon… like the rest of the demons who work for him,” the demon was now picking at his gray fries and burger. (Defmhi also had an awesome hot dog stand and a vending machine that gave out burger, fries, milkshakes, and fries. The only thing was that it was all gray!)

“He’s a demon? Then what makes him so special?”

“You’ve never heard the legend, have you? The Boss’s real name is Demonon. The word demon comes from his name. He was the first demon ever. When Gahdka, the creator of the universe, made the first man and woman, he also created the first demon. Demonon was created by the darkness of light and the stars of the sky. Demons are always pictured as cruel, evil, and dark creatures. In fact, demons are wise and have been around since the first human was born. We really aren’t that different from normal humans, except for the fact that we’re ugly and dead. Demonon is immortal and he chooses his most trusted followers to become immortal too. That is why it is such an honor to be chosen by him. My family was so proud,” the demon puffed out her chest smugly.

“All this time, I don’t even know you’re name. What is it?"

“Demons don’t have names. It is customary for demons to be unnamed, so that we can recognize each other just by faces.”

“Then what do I call you? I don’t want to be disrespectful,” I was reluctant to just call her “It”.

“If you insist, call me Demon #7,901, the 7,901st demon to be chosen by the Boss.” At that moment, the tracker started beeping.

“____ is here! She’s near! We have to land and talk and……explain?”I was so intent on finding her, but I hadn’t thought about what I should say when I met her,” what should I say?”

“I don’t know! She’s your girlfriend,” the demon was flustered. We landed with a slight bump. Scratch that. The “bump” was a humongous crash on the ground, spraying sand and mud onto my face and clothes.

“Sorry about that landing. I need more practice. I’m still very young, you know,” the demon said. Yes 1,000 years old is very young. I guess it’s young for a demon.

I walked uncertainly to the girl, ____. She looked exactly as she had in my memory−naturally beautiful.

“I don’t know who you are, but I have flashes of your face all the time. Are you the one that’s supposed to explain everything to me? I don’t understand….. I don’t remember anything about my previous…life. Am I dead? Is this all just a dream?” She was just as confused as I was.

“Demon #7901, is this why all the spirits look all gloomy? Do they get flashes and glimpses of their previous life, but there is no one to explain to them?” This explains why all the spirits are gray and dull.

“Well….yes, that is the reason, but we don’t have enough demons to explain to trillions of dead people,” the demon explained.

“Excuse me, I’m still very confused. You look like the boy in my glimpses, but every flash is always the same scene and the ending is always the same,” ____ sounded close to tears…..if dead people could have any.

“Oh yes, I forgot to mention something. If the Boss agrees, he can choose some couples that love each other to live in Defmhi like they did in their previous life,” the demon cut in.

“What!!!! You could’ve mentioned that before. ____, let’s go ask the Boss to allow us to be together in Defmhi. Everything would be the same,” I said excitedly. I hopped on the raft and dragged the demon with me. I turned back, but ____ hadn’t moved an inch. She was biting on her bottom lip. I somehow remember she used to do that when she was thinking.

“Oppa? I’m still very confused, but I don’t want to live a life where we kind of know each other but we can’t remember any memories we had before,” ___ said carefully, like she didn’t want me to be mad.

“___-ah, moving on is such a typical thing to happen in stories. I really doubt the characters are actually happy at the end.”

“Have you ever noticed that maybe the author had experienced something and regretted what decision he had made before so he wants his characters to make a different decision? Maybe the author wanted his readers to make better decisions in life because he didn’t have the chance to correct his mistakes.”

“_____-ah…. this is a big decision to make. Stop. This is so cliché. We shouldn’t just move on when we had a history and can have a great future ahead of us. How can you just give that up?” I had imagined that she would be happy to be together with me. I didn’t expect her to jump into my arms, but I had expected a bit more enthusiasm.

“I want to stay here. If we find another life, we will forget everything, and we can start over without knowing each other. Isn’t that better than holding on to what isn’t worth holding on to anymore?”

“Our love isn’t worth holding on to? We actually remember each other because of our love. What if we meet each other in our next life again? Will this just replay over and over again?”

“So what if this replays? We should just be happy that we had so many precious memories. Despite how many lives we have, those memories will always be there, whether we think about them or not.” I’m starting to think she’s right, but it still sounded a little cliché to me. Giving up everything to start something new? That only happens in movies and books.

“I think she’s right,” the demon says out of the blue. I glare at her so she can get the idea that I wasn’t happy with her outburst.

“I do agree with her, though. I mean, I get treats for completing my mission, but in this love drama, I have my popcorn and this is the ending that is right. I can feel it,” says the demon. That was easy for her to say. She wasn’t the one making the decision of her “deathtime”.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m staying. I’m not going to come with you to see the Boss, whoever that is. I might find another person that I love in my next life, and you might too. You don’t have to hold on to everything you have just because you’re afraid of losing it. You’ll always make more memories whenever you lose some,” ____ said wisely. Maybe this was why I loved her in our previous life. She was beautiful and sensible.

“All right, I’ll consider moving on. Before that, though, I want to stay at Defmhi for a while. It was nice reuniting with you again though we will have to break apart again soon. Demon #7901, we should go back.”

“Hop on! We have a long way to go! This time, the landing is definitely going to be smoother. I guarantee it!” the demon said cheerfully. It was completely useless coming to find Daphne. She didn’t even agree to stay with me. Maybe this was a lesson or fate. While we were flying back to Defmhi, I was thinking. At least for a while, I would stay at Defmhi, play all the games in the arcade center, go to all the waterslides, and swim at all the swimming pools. I would find another life and maybe find a girl that I would grow to love. Perhaps I allowed Daphne to leave me because I found that love was the most beautiful thing we can ever find in all our lives.

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A/N:mmhmm i know, except i wrote this in 7th grade, and i just copied pasted without editing it, so...ya...i was kind of bored

AND THIS WEEK WE GET OUR LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCES TO SCHOOLS!REALLY STRESSED!

anyways, u kiss's album "collage" is AWESOME!yup, i got it already!<3

anyways, BYE BYE! PYONG~