Evanescent

Definition:

evanescent - soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing

Epigraph:

“I see now that the circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.” - Mewtwo

Part I: DENY THY DESTINY

Chapter I

January 21st

I’ve never loved my birthday.

Okay, that’s a lie. When I was little, my parents always made sure my sister, Pearl, and I wanted for nothing, especially once a year - our day. I've never even minded sharing a birthday with Pearl, who is exactly three years younger than me. At age three, I believed Pearl was a gift from my parents for my birthday. She is mine, and mine alone. She is my Pearl, and I am here to give her all that I am and protect her with my life.

But now … now I am marked.

I awoke on my seventeenth birthday and, without knowing why I felt the compulsion to do so, looked at my left palm. The black mark stared back at me. Just a circle, yet I knew what it represented.

I didn’t scream. I didn’t even cry - mostly not to wake my sister. But I also knew I was dreaming … thought I was dreaming. It had to be a dream, right? I couldn’t become an Evanescent - Pearl needs me.

At least my parents aren’t here. That’s an awful thing to say - of course I want my parents here! This is when kids want their parents the most - when they're having a nightmare, or when things get scary.

I can only imagine how they’d react to the mark though, the sorrow-filled faces behind their smothering actions. I loved my parents, but there were moments we thought they could be ... a bit much. Still, we miss them. Not so much today though - today, I'm grateful they're not here to bear witness to this event.

Since our parents passing seven years ago, birthdays haven’t been the same. I do the best I can for Pearl’s, and I know she tries her hardest for mine, but what’s a celebration with only two people? We can give each other gifts, but we secretly both know each other's deepest desire: for more friends, for more people in our lives to love and to be loved by. Every year, we hope and we hope that we'll suddenly make a new friend on our birthday.

This is the first year, however, that I don't immediately think about our greatest wish as soon as I wake up - my mind is preoccupied. This mark means I’m only guaranteed one more birthday. Today. I’m not sure if I’ll still be alive on my eighteenth birthday, or if the fading commences at midnight while I sleep. There are so many unknowns surrounding the Evanescents. Who is chosen? Why them? Where do they go? Is it death, or something more? Did we know anyone who was Evanescent?

Rumor has it that once you're marked, people begin to slowly forget about your existence, until one day it was like you were never here to begin with. It's hard to know what is truth when you can't exactly hear it from the source. Even if you do manage to meet someone marked, you'll forget everything they told you anyways.

And now, that's me. I could tell Pearl everything about my experience for the upcoming year, but she'll never remember.

I’m not thinking about that now though. I mean, it’s not really happening to me - I’m not Evanescent. I can’t be. Can I?