--- [Arthur’s perspective]
“Rock, paper, scissors!” – Arthur and Alice
“Hehe!! I won again!” – Alice
“Don’t you think this is a little unfair?” – Arthur
“Unfair? How so? It’s all up to chance!” – Alice
“…” – Arthur
I don’t really know how it happened, but we started hanging out.
Alice wasn’t who I thought she was.
At first, I thought she was just another spoiled rich kid, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
As we continued to hang out, we learned more and more about each other.
I remember clearly the day she opened up to me.
We were playing rock, paper, scissors, just we always did, then she suddenly asked me something I’ve never been asked before…
“Hey Arthur… We’re friends, right?” – Alice
“Uh… I’ve never really had a friend before, so I’m not sure…” – Arthur
“…” – Alice
“…” – Arthur
“Anyways, I just want to tell you something. Something I’ve never told anyone before.” – Alice
“Okay… Go on.” – Arthur
“When you look at me, I can tell you’re hiding something. You’ve never said anything, but I can tell you don’t really like me. Maybe it’s because you’re lonely, so you tolerate me because I’m better than nothing. Or maybe… Whatever, it doesn’t matter why… I just want you to know, whatever image you may have of me, it’s not true…” – Alice
“Uh… I… Uh…” – Arthur
“I think we’re more similar than you realize.” – Alice
When she said that, my first thought was that she had gone mad.
We were total opposites.
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She was as privileged as you could get, while I was hated by God himself.
But…
The more she continued to explain, the more I understood what she meant.
“We were both born with passive specialties; so-called ‘blessings’… Yours makes anyone who touches you get into an accident, while mine makes me unnaturally lucky. Your life has been hell as a result of your specialty. Although I’d never say we’ve had equally bad lives, I think we could relate to each other’s experiences more than anyone else in the world…” – Alice
“Explain…” – Arthur
“I was born into a loving family; both of my parents were great. They didn’t have much, but they worked their asses off every single day to bring food to the table. They did their absolute best. For me, and for each other. However, from the moment I was born, they noticed something was different about me. I never got sick, I never got hurt, and I never ever lost in a game of chance…” – Alice
“You’re not exactly helping your case here…” – Arthur
“Just let me finish, okay…?” – Alice
“Fine…” – Arthur
“When I was about three years old, we travelled to a large city in the middle area. They scraped together everything they had for us to make it there. When we got there, the first thing they did was bring me to a casino. With me there guiding them, they won and won and won. They’d win a bunch of money, get kicked out, then do it all over again at another casino. After just a few days, they had already earned enough for us to live off for the rest of our lives. But the money got to their heads… They got greedy. Being rich wasn’t enough for them, they wanted more.” – Alice
“…” – Arthur
“The money corrupted them. It’s like I was no longer their daughter. I became a tool for them to use and abuse. If I didn’t do everything they told me to, they’d hurt me. They quickly moved on from gambling, and got into investment. I told them what to invest in, and without fail, they’d win big every single time. But it’s not like it was just my parents that were exploiting me… I… I’ve never had a real friend before.” – Alice
“You’ve… never had a…?” – Arthur
“No… All my life, I’ve constantly had people try to make ‘friends’ with me. But it was never because they cared about me. They all just wanted something from me… Some wanted to be my friend for my wealth, others wanted my luck all for themselves. I’ve never had a real connection with another human before… No one sees me for who I am, I’m just a tool to them. There are times when I forget I’m even human…” – Alice
No matter how skeptical I was at the beginning of the conversation, I couldn’t deny it any longer.
She was right.
What she had gone through was eerily similar to what I had gone through, even if the circumstances where completely different.
She was the exact opposite of me, yet also the exact same…
I was the only one who could relate to her, the only one who saw her as a real person.
She was the only one who could relate to me, the only one who could touch me.
We were the only people in the whole world who truly understood each other.
It was like our souls bonded on a deeper level than I could have ever thought was possible.
She was my other half, and I was hers.
Her family however…
Did not like that.
Just like everyone else, they feared me.
They didn’t want me anywhere near her.
Not because they were afraid I’d hurt her, but because the more time she spent with me, the less time she could spend making money for them…
They’re truly disgusting people…
They wanted me out of the picture, and with their wealth, they had the means to do so…
They turned to The Reapers Guild, and hired someone to assassinate me…