Chapter Text
“I’m so proud of you, Vanessa,” your mother smiled at your sister, who was beaming. Your mother then turned to you with a scowl. “Why can’t you be like your sister?” You sighed. Here it comes. “Excuse me, young lady? What was that?” Before you could reply, your mother continued, “You do not disrespect your parents that way. You’re 19 years old! While Vanessa is working hard, you haven’t even started college yet!”
‘But I—’ your mother grabbed your wrists to keep you from signing.
“No,” she said firmly. “I don’t care what you say. There’s no excuse for this behavior. Besides, you know I don’t know that hand-waving stuff.” You flinched at her words.
She let go of you and walked out of the room, Vanessa following her.
You flung your bedroom door open, which hit the wall with a huge thud. You heard your mother yelling at you as you closed the door. You threw yourself face first on the bed. You thought that as long as you laid there, you could suffocate and die and no longer put up with your family.
It was only a minute before instincts kicked in and you came up for air. You rolled over onto your back, closing your eyes. You wished that once, just once, that your family would understand. But no.
You began to shake. Your anger disappeared, quickly replaced by dread. Tears streamed down your cheeks. Deep down, you love your family.
An old idea came back to you. You walked over to your desk, produced a pen and paper from one of the drawers. You scrawled out a note, which explained what you have committed yourself to. After you were finished writing, you slid your closet door open, and shrugged on a jacket. You made your way to the front door and walked outside. You could still hear your family’s voices from the other side of the door.
They never noticed.
*******
You were standing on the bridge that overlooked the nearby river. The moon and the stars were reflecting in the water. You leaned over the railing on the side of the bridge. It was a long drop that will certainly kill you. You’ve thought this through many times, heck, you’ve even played it over and over in your head many times, like a sick, twisted fantasy. You’ve also came out here before with the intention of ending it right then and there, but something held you back.
But now you’re here again. You’re sure you’re going to do it this time.
You slung one leg over the rail, and then the other to where you were sitting now. You took in a deep breath and then--
“you know, I’m pretty sure that those rails aren’t for sitting on,” a low voice said from behind you.
Startled you turned around only to be greeted by a…skeleton? It was hard to tell from where you sat.
“it’s probably best if you get down, before you hurt yourself.” He extended his hand towards you.
You turn around and tried to ignore him, but when you saw the drop again, the fear came crawling back. You were honestly sick of this, not being able to commit. You let out a sigh. You turned around to let him help you down.
When you were safe on the ground, it was easier to see what the newcomer looked like. You were right, he was a skeleton. A short skeleton, whose height barely reaches your chin. His eye sockets were hollow except for a white dot in each one, which you assumed were his eyes.
He shoved his hands back into his pockets. “my name’s sans. sans the skeleton.” He winked. “what’s your name?”
‘My name is—’ Sans was looking at you expectantly. You stopped, realizing that Sans might not know sign language. Your parents usually made you write on a whiteboard, because they refuse to learn sign language. You made a face, totally at a loss without anything to write with or on.
You made a gesture towards Sans saying that you needed some paper and a pen.
“oh no, go on. i know sign language,” he even signed as he spoke.
You smiled and signed your name.
“that’s a nice name. so you’re deaf?” he said, still signing. But corrected himself. “ah wait, but you heard me from the rails, so you’re mute?”
You nodded. ‘Yeah, you actually don’t have to sign while you speak—my hearing’s perfectly fine, actually.’
“cool,” he said, shoving his hands back into his pockets. “so anyways. why are you out here this late?”
Your body suddenly tensed. There was no way you were going to tell him you were about to commit suicide. You felt like he was looking straight through you with those white eyes of his.
‘To look at the stars,’ you quickly signed.
“and that’s all?” he asked.
‘Yes.’
You thought that his expression had darkened for a moment, but you couldn’t be sure. “so, anyways. i’ll walk you home to make sure that you’re safe,” he offered.
Your thoughts drifted back to your family and what just happened. You refused to go back there, but did you really had a choice? Then you remembered that you could just put yourself up at that new hotel in town. ‘I’ll be okay. I actually have a room at a hotel—’ a loud growling sound interrupted you.
Sans grinned. “it sounds like you should grab a bite to eat before heading back. that’s cool. i know a good place.”