The Suffering World

The young, ragged boy climbed up the stairs rapidly, escaping from the world's grasp and his family. His stepmother banged on the door, and the wood creaked in agony. The boy leaped out the window and onto the street, running hard until he arrived at Cherrie's house, the only safe place. He rapidly banged on the door until it opened. When Cherrie saw him, he dragged him inside.

“What are you doing here, Crush?” Cherrie asked worriedly while looking around the front yard for Crush’s parents.

“I just had another argument with ‘the monster,’” Crush said sarcastically. 

They hung out playing games and talking about nothing, trying to ease the tension. Crush then heard four knocks on the door. They stopped playing the game, and Cherrie went to get the door.

“Stop! Don’t open the door!” Crush shouted as he ran in front of Cherrie, sweat falling from his face.

“Why? It’s not like your stepmom is at the door or something,” Cherrie said jokingly, trying to push Crush away from the door. After a while, another four knocks came from the door, and Cherrie finally shoved Crush away. Cherrie turned the doorknob, and with a soft click, the door swung open. A sudden bang reverberated through the entire house. Cherrie and Crush both froze in shock, their eyes widening in disbelief. Cherrie's hand instinctively reached for the wound in his heart, and his once radiant smile slowly faded. Crush, overwhelmed with horror, took a step back from the door, tears of anguish and sorrow streaming down his face. As Cherrie collapsed to the ground, a bittersweet smile graced his lips for the last time. Crush ran straight towards his stepmother, angered by what she had just done, and stabbed her in the heart. 

“How could you kill him! He was my only friend and the only one who cared about me!” Crush yelled as his stepmom died. Taking his real mom's necklace, then picking up Cherrie—

“Crush, did you just seriously kill me off?!” Cherrie yelled as he peeked over Crush to read his story. Crush choked on his coffee and slammed the computer lid down, panicking.

“You weren’t—supposed to—read that—It’s not—finished yet,” Crush said, still choking on his coffee.

Cherrie huffed in frustration, "Fine! Next time you hear four knocks on the door, I'll be sure to step aside and let you get shot," he muttered, crossing his arms and turning away from Crush. With a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, Crush lightly nudged Cherrie's arm before returning to his story.