Once, lived a mere twelve-year-old girl named Emelda that has the ability to see the unseeable. Only her parents noticed her uniqueness, yet they just let their daughter be.
Day by day, more people are getting a concerning disease. More and more people are forced to lay deadly on their bed. More and more of them are getting weak, that they were not even able to stand by their own feet, their faces differ from their usual self and words that came out of their lips are left incoherent. From the highest among the respected man to the lowest of the sinner, every rank of society was not to run away from it.
Although it got through around the world, it is questionable that not all among a family gets it. Not the pure children, not the mentally disabled people, and not the immobilized. Thorough researches were done, yet no one knows why it happens. What is it? Why now? Why not all mankind affected?
On the day Emelda’s father were affected, she came across an unknown boy, about her age right by her father’s side, standing and just staring at her resting father with such a deep gaze. She took a slow step to approach the boy. When she asked the boy, who he was, the boy just looked at her with wide eyes. “You can see me” he softly exclaimed. “Of course I can. Now tell me. Who are you and what are you doing to my daddy?”. Emelda then asked cautiously.
Flabbergasted were to describe the boy’s reaction as it was the first time after a while since he died have he talk to a living human. “It’s Tony. You do not need to worry as what I’m doing would not be for long. I’m only doing a favor”. Tony said in response. He then quickly walked out of the room and disappear from Emelda’s sight. Emelda was left bewildered by the sudden existence of the pale and lanky boy. Tony’s response was stuck, deep in her mind as it remained incomplete and confusing. His name was the only thing that keeps floating in her mind. All she knew was that she had to find him again, and so she waited for him.
Emelda never leaves her father’s side as she took care of him while her mother care for her little siblings. Eventually, after a whole lots of waiting and wondering, Tony decided to make an appearance at the same place right by her father’s bed. “Oh, thank goodness. You’re back!”. Emelda exclaimed excitedly. Tony just look at her, eyes filled with amazement and disbelief, and lips sealed tightly as if it was glued together.
She then continued, “I need to talk to you”. After contemplating, Tony decided that it wouldn’t hurt to talk to the girl. Emelda leads him to her room and wasted no time to ask him right away, “What are you doing to my father?”.
“I merely weaken his body. You do not need to worry so much”. He sighed.
“The thing that is striking the world right now, it’s your doing?”. She asked in a wavering voice. Slowly, Tony nodded his head signing a yes in response.
“W-Why?”. Her word came out as a stutter.
He looked directly into her eyes and whispered softly, enough to reach her ears. “To save the world”.
“What do you mean to save the world. Favor? Their lives are on your hand. I do not understand still your intention but whatever it is, you need to stop. This is nonsense and is so wrong”.
With face turning red as he started to become furious by the thought that will came out through his cracking lips. “Those people that I attacked are those who should perfectly know what’s right and what’s wrong. Those people were given the choice, yet they chose to ignore their responsibilities for this world. Our world is getting weaker day by day because of us humans. The world that we share with other living things. Although those people knew what they are doing to this world, they chose to put a blind eye on it. Pollutions and climate change were all mainly caused by the human’s activity. So yeah, I’m doing a favor by decreasing the human’s activity to at least lessen a bit the destruction done to the earth. Open your eyes. Now, the sky is clearing, meadows are blooming, you should be able to feel the brisk air filing your lungs and you could even see the fish swimming giddily through the river clearly as the water is getting to look transparent. It’s helping. Polluting the earth where it destroys the life of other innocent living things are also wrong. Everyone knew it yet so little cares. They knew, but they still do it anyway just because it does not affect their lives”.
Speechless and appalled, it took a while after Emelda could voice out a question. “Why would you care, Tony?”.
With teary eyes, Tony could only mutter. “I died because of it. I had a severe asthma ever since I was a wee lad”.
Her gasp was the only thing that could be heard as silence came through in between the two youth for quite a while. He then continued after he was able to hold himself together. “Now, there’s no need to dwell on it. Everything will return to normal soon, and your father will be okay”. Right after the reassurance given to the girl, he vanished from her sight, being one with the whistling wind, living the girl on her own as if he was never there.
“I guess the only thing I could do now is to wait until the time comes for everything to be better” she said joylessly as she felt helpless. Deep inside her, she understands why Tony was doing all of this. She was left to continue living happily with her family as she knew that everything will be fine.
-Written by Najwa
