Demo

Erika was lying on her bed, her face buried in her pillow. Next to her were many pizza cartons, salad bowls and other food packagings. Since she locked herself in her room for two weeks now, since she left the hospital, she more or less only ordered junkfood from smaller restaurants. Her room was completely messy, with clothes, papers and other stuff spread all over the floor. There was only a small path left that lead to the bathroom. Only her window was opened a little bit so she wouldn't suffocate from the bad air inside her little home. Her pillow was completely dirty from days worth of tears Erika had cried into it. Erika herself looked no better. Her clothes were dirty and crumpled and her hair was greasy and stood out into all directions. The only somewhat clean part of her body was the area around where her left shoulder had been, which she cleaned out of fear of an infection. It was altogether a very, very depressing sight.

A few centimeters away from her bed, her phone was plugged into the wall. Suddenly, it vibrated three times. Slowly, Erika rose her head to reveal her dirty, teary and devastated-looking face. She turned her head towards her phone and grabbed it with her remaining right hand. Motivationless, she unlocked her phone.

„158 missed calls and 68 new messages“, said the text box that appeared in the middle of the screen.

Angrily, Erika shoved her phone back into the pile of old packagings next to her bed and buried her face in her pillow again. Why were people so eager to reach her? Probably just to mock her, now that she had an obvious disability. She remembered how she went back to this room after her hospital stay. That day, she encountered a group of freshmen girls, who looked disgusted by Erikas appearance. „Fucking vegetable“, they called her, thinking she wouldn't hear that. But it was a fact. Who would even want to be seen with her? The 'one-armed bitch', as she heard another student say. They were all correct. She was a walking embarassment to everyone. Erika knew that.

She sobbed loudly. Erika started to remember the time before the accident. Before she lost her arm. Even though it was only a bit more than a month ago, everything seemed to be so distant. The happiness. The joy. The friendship. The love. It was all gone. All the beautiful hours she spent with Koume, the walks. The small trips. The taking each other out for dinner. It was gone. She lost Koume, and therefore everything. Thinking about her, Erika started crying silently. She did this so much during the last two weeks. During those two weeks, there was nothing for her but sadness and pain. And the certainty that she herself was at fault. She alone.

She had been unable to dodge that shell, the shell that cost her an arm, and much more. It was her own incompetence that lead to this. And now, she was a disappointment for herself and others. It was obvious that her friends didn't want to have contact anymore, and even her girlfriend was no exception. But she couldn't blame them. They were all correct. They deserved better. Now, she felt miserable. But she deserved to feel that way. She was convinced. This was how it should be. There was nobody to blame for all this but herself.






Koume threw her phone into the corner, frustrated. Why wouldn't Erika answer? Why? Did anything really bad happen to her? What was the reason for all this?

„WHY?!“

She struggled to keep her emotions under control. She felt anger, frustration, sadness and fear. Why did Erika isolate herself? There was only one way to find out.

Getting onto her moped, she thought about the situation. Was it her fault Erika didn't answer? Did she do anything wrong? What if she was the reason for all this? What would happen next?

Arriving at Erikas home, Koume knocked on the door. There was no answer. She knocked again. And again. And again. Eventually, she started to knock harder. And even harder. Suddenly, she heard a faint sob.

„Erika? Are you in there?“, she asked loudly, hoping to get a response. No answer. „Erika! I know you're in there! Please open the door. I was worried about you!“

Then, she heard a voice from behind the door. „Fuck off!“ It was obvious Erika was crying.

„Erika! What's wrong? Please tell me. And please open the door.“

„No and no. Fuck off.“

„Why? What did I do, Erika? Did I do anything wrong? Please, tell me, I beg you!“

She was trembling and her voice started to break.

„Go away. You don't have to waste your time with me.“

„I am not wasting my time. None of the time i spend with you is wasted. Please, let me in! I just want to talk! Don't you understand? Erika! Erika?“

„They all only want to talk, don't they? The freshmen only wanted to talk, too. Now go away!“

„What freshmen? What happened? What did they do to you? Tell me! Please!“

As she was saying this, tears started forming in her eyes. She didn't expect that. There she was, her once so strong girlfriend, apparently broken. To find Erika, the emotionally strongest person she knew, in such a state was simply too much for her.

„GO AWAY!“

Erikas sudden outburst caught her off guard.

„LEAVE ME ALONE! Don't waste your time with a fucking vegetable like me! You deserve better! I am irrelevant!“

„You are not. This is not about me. This is about you. Now open the door, or I'll kick it in!“

After that, Koume heard slow steps behind the door. Then the sound of a key being turned inside a lock. Then, finally, the door opened. When the door swung open and Koume saw Erika, her heart skipped a beat.