Don't Look Down E n d e d (￣∇￣)

Reducio

So sorry for the late reply! Also sorry for the short one.

Corliss swore to herself she wasn’t wandering. At least not when she knew where she was going. She wouldn’t be lost again. She wouldn’t let herself get lost, no matter what.

She noticed the crunch, crunch, crunch of her steps too late. Her feet weren’t on the smooth, wooden brown floor of the Hogwarts classes and hallways. Her feet weren’t following the map she had visualized. Her feet were acting on its own accord.

Now to see where she was going. She saw the vast green ground, accommodating a few little birds on some of its taller grass. She saw the line of dark trees barely in her line of sight—was it the Forbidden Forest? Alright, she had to avoid that. She noticed the bright white sky on top of her, the sun barely visible. She noticed the cool air rushing through her pale face, faint and barely noticeable.

She was on the grounds.

She panicked on the thought of someone seeing her there. Was there any rules against walking here? Was there something dangerous, maybe? But she shook the thoughts away. No, she had read the rules as thoroughly as she possibly can. There is no way she could miss any type of rules possible.

She was about to turn around when she noticed a faint glimmer on the corner of her eye. What was that? She jerked her head to her right, only to see an enormous body of water. It was a shade of deep blue and green, looking so deep it could fit an entire castle inside. It's vastness was what caught her eye. How could something be as big as that?

It was not too long before the pale girl walked to the lake, enjoying every step of the way. She liked being outdoors, especially in this hopeful weather. She liked the sound of her shoes stepping roughly on the green grass. She liked the birds who had come to sing the same happy tune over and over.

She hadn’t realized the other girl there.

“What are you doing?” was what her mouth could form. Her hand twitched to cover her mouth, but she thought better of it. She whole body tightened and straightened. She practically held her breath.

Panic.

Corliss calmed down a little after Fumiko saying everything, though she was still nervous as ever. She should probably do a little bit of meditation, following her mother’s usually wise advise. But she wouldn't do that after a long time, maybe out of habit. She always followed the same schedule over and over again and it was always hard to adapt her schedule with current events and such. Her mother always said, “Adaptation is a skill you would always be grateful for,” but it never motivated Corliss very much. After all, there are more important skills, such as working the best of your ability and multitasking. Adaptation shouldn’t rival with any of those, right?

“Er, not really,” said Corliss, thinking it was a slightly silly question. Why would you ask if someone is lost immediately after you try to introduce yourself? But Corliss herself hadn’t introduced herself yet. She thought it was quite rude to leave someone hanging after a warm greeting. “Um, Corliss, by the way. My name.”

She silently cursed herself. What a way to say your name! Oh, here’s my name. That was my name, by the way, if you didn’t catch that. If there was one insult from anyone to Corliss which was well-deserved, it is this one. “You’re better off without talking at all.”

Corliss, thinking of too colorful ways to insult herself in every way possible, was barely aware of her surroundings. Not surprising, is it? Her previously keen eyes would notice the lake getting slightly darker. She would notice the waves getting slightly sharper. She would notice the very low voice of the squid far below, pondering what to do with the poor girl who had dipped her feet inside its domain. Perhaps the merpeople would wonder, if they were paying attention to the squid’s ponderings, why the squid would even think of drowning such an innocent girl.

It was only a miracle the tentacles of the dark squid hadn’t taken action yet.

“Seeing the lake helps you ease up, don’t you think?”

The lake sure seems nice, I guess. Corliss looked back to the lake. She thought for a moment how deep it is, how lonely some may be. What would be on the bottom? Is it dark, maybe light in there? Is it pleasant or torturous? Is the giant squid laughing at how humans have it worse than itself?

Or is it trying to drown such an innocent girl?

Corliss’s keen eyes noticed the black rope-like... Thing. Saving Fumiko wasn’t the first thought which had come to Corliss’s mind. Instead, she thought about how it would feel in her position. Would it be cold inside or surprisingly warm? Would it hurt for the rope-like thing to wrap itself onto her week leg?

Or would it be a quick death?

Corliss straightened and her mind quickened. Her brain reached blindly for something to say. What would she say? She couldn’t just warn her. She would panic immediately. Her mother used to say, “Panic is a leading cause of immediate death.”

Morbid, yes, but useful. Calmness is a great thing, especially if you want to not die. Yes, maybe that would be what Corliss said. But wait, Fumiko wouldn’t know what she’d be talking about. Corliss would still do it. Confusion is better than panic.

“Calm down,” said Corliss.

It was probably the wrong thing to say.

Yeah, that was the wrong move.

At least panic was better than this. It was all her fault too. If only she just pointed it out. That’s right, you don’t deserve to talk to anyone at all, some part of brain seemed to think. You’re better off, silent at the back of the class, failing at everything you tried so hard to do.

No, it wasn’t her fault. At least, not all of it. Okay, maybe it is. But that’s not helping in this situation. This girl would die if no one saw her. Nobody would notice. Nobody would even remember until the last possible moment.

Let her die, said the irrational side of her. It was her fault she couldn’t understand. She’s better off forgotten.

But Corliss knew it was wrong. It was all wrong. The girl didn’t do anything wrong, it was only Corliss’s poor wording. It could be fixed. Misunderstandings aren’t permanent. The problem is how to fix it without her panicking. What could she say? “That’s not what I meant”?

It even sounded empty to her.

Screw it. Who cares if she panics? It’s better than nothing happening at all. In fact, it’s better than anything else. If they all identify the problem, they can fix it. You can’t save anyone when no one knows why they are in trouble. But Corliss had to pluck up her courage. She can’t sound scared. It would only make the girl even more scared.

But the rope-like tentacle was getting tighter and tighter... Slowly, it pulled back to the squid and—

Quicker.

It was getting quicker.

Eyeing the girl’s leg, Corliss cried in desperation: “WAIT!”

Was she too late?

Alright, Corliss was now panicking. What could she do? She didn’t have the strength or grip to pull the girl out. One part of her realized only she can pull her out. There was no one else on the Grounds, only Corliss and Fumiko. She knew she should try to save her, but at what cost? If she couldn’t save her, she might as well be dragged along with her.

But looking at the girl, half her body already inside the water, Corliss knew she already had her whole life ahead of her. She knew the girl could find love, peace, and even glory. But if she only stood there, she would take that away. Standing there is bound to kill the girl. She would stand there, watching the girl as she drowned. The girl would blame her and no one else. Corliss would be the last face she ever saw. The last face she ever saw would be her killer.

And Corliss would drag her life along, knowing she had killed an innocent girl. A young girl who probably would’ve seen fame and glory in her distant future. A girl who had depended her life on Corliss. A girl who would hate Corliss for the rest of her afterlife. And the girl would pass on, knowing she was killed by a fellow first-year, a fellow witch like her. She was probably a muggleborn who saw a bright future ahead of her. And that future would be snatched away, taken by a person who had stood still, watching her as she sank to the bottom of the lake, forgotten.

Forgotten. The girl would be forgotten. Her life would lead to this moment, all forgotten as it was snuffed away. Like a candle among many others. Blown away effortlessly by a single person. And no one would care. After all, there are many other candles to care for, right?

Corliss was a proud Hufflepuff. If she only stood there, she would be unworthy to go into the common room. Unworthy to be named a Hufflepuff. Unworthy of everything she gained from the Sorting Hat. She would know, for the rest of her life, that the Sorting Hat was wrong.

But did she want that life? Could she live the rest of her life, lying to herself? Saying to herself that she didn’t kill the girl?

No, she didn’t. Not only because she thought of herself. But because she didn’t deserve a longer life than the girl. They both had the chance to live a good life. So what if she was dragged onto the bottom of the lake? They would live a life, knowing none of them had killed anyone else. They would get a peaceful afterlife with each other, knowing the world was kind.

It was only a second before Corliss ran up to Fumiko and attempted to pull her out.

Well, perhaps an eleven-year-old who rarely even exercised couldn’t rival a gigantic squid. She knew from the start she couldn’t rival anyone with strength itself. She knew it right after she was born. Yes, that statement was clearly exaggerated. But that wasn’t important in this particular situation. What could she do now? It’s not like she could bend the laws of physics.

“What do I do?” Corliss said aloud, though quietly. “I’m not strong enough...”