2.1

I don't know who I am, nor where I came from. I don't remember when I first appeared. All I had ever known was the white void that surrounded me. It reminded me of the purity of a child, which somehow felt like a fading, yet nostalgic feeling. That shouldn't really make sense though; I didn't have any memories, so how could I feel nostalgia? I don't know whether I am conscious, or whether I am controlled. I feel like I have independent thoughts, but could it be that someone was controlling them? I don't know if I have emotions, or if I can experience pain. What exactly is my purpose? How am I able to conceptulaise? I didn't have vision, so I didn't know whether I had a body. I didn't have any method of problem-solving, so I didn't know if I had logic. Not only that, but I didn't understand why I had the ability to ideate notions such as "purpose", "emotions" or a "body": I had never experienced or visualised any of those things before.

If anything, my constant thinking generated more questions than answers. Perhaps I would be happier if I couldn't think at all. What even is happiness? The feeling of being validated, or perhaps the feeling of having your emotional needs met? In that case, I must be the unhappiest being in the universe: I have yet to meet another being like myself, or to meet any other thing besides myself at all. All I felt was the harrowing depths of loneliness. Perhaps meeting another conscious body wouldn't even quench that loneliness. Maybe, if I was surrounded by many consciences, I would try my best to conform my own to the ideologies of another's, in order to create a forced atmosphere of camaraderie: Anything, in order to mask this feeling of loneliness.

As I sat there thinking, I heard something.

And it was terrifying.

"Are you able to hear me?"

My jaw reflexively snapped to reply. My spine felt cold, and my brain rang in my skull as he spoke to me.

"Yes, Father,"

I don't remember having a mouth.

"You are the angel, Eve,"

"Yes, Father,"

"You don't have a conscience. Nor the ability to think. Nor the ability to do anything: For I have not bestowed that gift unto you,"

"Yes, Father,"

"Watch what he does. You have exactly 2 years to do so."

I didn't know what I was meant to do. But, I had this burning desire. He's going to die. I think... I couldn't really understand what was going on - my brain was making so many connections that it hurt.

"Eve, you don't have the ability to feel emotions, and you never will."

"Yes, Father."

I had no emotions. In order to operate within the human world, however, I would need to understand them. The fact that I, a perfectly logical being, am unable to grasp emotions, and to think that they all happen subconsciously within a human's brain, is quite beautiful, yet quite frightening, too. A human may experience sadness, causing them to cry or feel pain: an unpleasant sensation. A human may also experience happiness, which is what many humans strive for. Humans are very complex creatures, I thought.

Humans also did wrong, as categorised by the seven deadly sins:

- 1: Lust. The strong passion or craving for something, often sexual longing.

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- 2: Gluttony. The excessive consumption of food and drink.

- 3: Greed. The excessive pursuit of material goods.

- 4: Sloth. Excessive laziness or failure to act and utilize one's talents.

- 5: Wrath. The strong anger or hatred toward another person.

- 6: Envy. The intense desire to have something that another has.

- 7: Pride: An excessive view of one's self without regard for others.

If I were to interfere with the course of actions of any one individual in the human world, it would have grave consequences. Humans tend towards evil, mixing these fundamental sins to produce outcomes that may contradict what they themselves believe. Therefore, if I were to speak to humans, it would disrupt the natural flow of good and bad will, causing adverse complications. Because of this, I was strictly forbidden from interacting with them and forming emotional bonds with them. God had not deemed me worthy to care for another.

"Go." God commanded.

It felt quite surreal. He had spoken to me so many times, yet it felt like I didn't know the sound of his voice.

And so, upon his command, I left the void.

2.2

I have now been given the title, Eve. I have wings and a body that, despite being fairly substantial, seems quite flighty to use. It felt like a natural extension of my thoughts. If I wanted to move forwards, my limbs would move accordingly so. I was so excited by this idea of having the ability to "touch" that I moved around, trying to grasp as many different things as possible. To my own embarrassment, it seemed I didn't have the ability to touch. I can't see my reflection in the window, either. It was such a shame: I felt like I might be quite beautiful.

However, I had this crippling longing to be near someone. A very specific someone.

I first met him sprawled across the bed, looking tired under the warm summer heat. The sweat from his hair trickled down his cheeks and soaked into the bed, highlighting the pores on his forehead. His room seemed to be a complete mess, with clothes thrown everywhere and tissues in all four corners of the room. His room was a pale grey, lacking any sort of vivid tones or imagery, and with the curtains drawn, it might as well have been a cavern.

"I'm so bored... I actually want to go to school, for once,"

He let out a wide yawn, looking like a toddler in his oversized long sleeve t-shirt and long pajama bottoms. He slowly rolled over on his bed and picked something up from underneath it. A book, perhaps?

No. It was a Nintendo Switch.

He was rather skilled at the game he was playing; a first-person shooter game. He masterfully moved his fingers to evade the enemy shots and simultaneously positioned his aimer to efficiently execute a kill. Rather impressive.

Following this, he got up and went to his desk drawer. He pulled out a large bag of chips, slowly nibbling at them as he sat on the bed. As he did this, he thought of the multiple scenarios that he could be experiencing once he got to school. Perhaps he would meet a couple of cute girls, who would pay attention to him, and follow him around school all the time.

When he got up for the final time, he walked to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and washed his face. He moved down the flight of stairs as silently as possible, but as he headed to the backdoor, he heard the gentle sound of the flute playing.

"So, you're actually up..."

A judgmental comment was thrown at him.

"Hey Ayana, good morning," Asahi replied to his little sister.

"You mean afternoon? Haven't you got your first day of high school tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I do, so I thought I'd just waste away today, considering I won't be able to do that for a while,"

"Why don't you try and do something useful? Maybe try playing some music or learning a new language?"

"Come on, you know I'm not going to do anything like that the day before school,"

"God, you can be so bloody annoying. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and just leave, please."

He didn't hesitate. He hated having to be near his sister.

Entering the garden, he took up a watering can and started to water some of the dying flowers. No, he wasn't especially environmentally motivated, but he felt that even if he was feeling groggy, he might as well give the helpless flower a chance to revive itself.

I found his actions quite peculiar. Such a simplistic, mathematical way of dispelling one's guilt was rather amusing to me.