Destiny is Bullshit and Friends are too

    The day of one’s birthday was special. There was a chance, when you were young, that your destiny would be found.
    Today, when Lilac turned thirteen, they would learn what life had in store for them.
“The oracle learned of your destiny,” the man told them gently taking Lilac’s hand and leading them to the sacred tree. Kneeling beneath it, they tried to suppress their excitement. Who wouldn’t want to know about their destiny, after all? They wanted to know how their life would go, and they wanted to know what would happen to them in the future.
    “You will be a man of greatness,” the oracle said, her voice soft. “You will go down in history, you will be a savoir. You will be a hero to all that hear your name. Your actions will go far beyond what is expected of you...”
    A hero! Lilac never expected that they’d be a hero, but their expression brightened slightly at that announcement.
    “Your death will save many. One action and the price of your life at the cost of freedom.”
    Death?
    Lilac was destined to die?
    “No!” they announced suddenly, sitting upright from where they should’ve been kneeling. Their voice was rough and their pronunciation sloppy. They’d tried their best to learn to speak despite the multitude of issues, but even now it was difficult. They wanted to say so much more, but they stopped.
    The priest that had brought them here looked down with a disappointed and almost angry expression. “You have not only disrespected the oracle, the sacred tree, and yourself, but you want to speak out against your destiny?” he chided.
    Lilac withered under the stares of the only other people in this section of the gardens.
    “That is your destiny, and it is your job to fulfill it. It is the reason you exist,” he continued, hauling the child up to their feet. “Do you want to have a pointless life?” he snapped.
    Lilac shook their head, trying to stay on their feet despite the fact that they were practically being dragged.
    “Then you will learn and you will listen.”

    “You shouldn’t have said anything!” Pomegranate chided. She sat in front of her best friend, a frown on her face. “Wouldn’t it have been easier not to say anything?” she asked.
    Lilac glanced up, frowning. “I don’t want to,” they slurred, the words just a repeat of what they’d said in the gardens. They felt shameful, just as they knew they should. What sort of fool rejects their destiny so openly?
    “I know you don’t want to but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to want to. You’ll be a hero!” Pomegranate announced. “Everybody will remember you! Don’t you want that glory?”
    “What’s the point of glory if I’m not gonna see it?” they demanded. Their voice was shaky and far louder than it should be, their hands working automatically to sign out what they were saying too. If she couldn’t understand their speech, she’d understand their hands.
    Pomegranate rolled her eyes. “You’re gonna be a hero! Who cares about seeing the glory? You’re still going to have it!” she insisted.
    Lilac’s breath hitched. They felt like they were going to cry. “Get out of my room,” they signed.
    Pomegranate paused. “What? Why? I’m just trying to-”
    Lilac shoved her slightly. “Get out,” they repeated, their mouth firmly shut. They didn’t need to speak with her. They didn’t want to.
    The shove hadn’t hurt. Their words? That hurt more than Pomegranate cared to admit. “Don’t be a jerk just because I don’t want you to live a useless life! I’m trying to help you!” she shouted, bolting out of their room.
    Finally, Lilac was alone.
    They wanted silence, and there it was. The only thing to disturb it was their own shaky breaths as tears streamed down their face.
    They were a terrible person for wanting this, weren’t they? How could they be so selfish?

    Lilac could only take so much of this. They’d gone quiet for the past few months, finding speaking hard with all the pressure. They felt like they were being crushed.
    Today was when they’d turn fifteen. Two years had passed since their destiny had been presented to them.
    Two years and the promise of death loomed, feeling close enough to choke them.
    They could go through with it, die in however destiny said they should. They’d be a hero, wouldn’t they?
    They didn’t want to be a hero. They didn’t want to die for the sake of other people, no matter how much they’d remember them for it.
    Lilac would rather live a useless life than one out of their control.
    Slowly they got out of bed. They didn’t bother to change out of their favorite pajamas. Why bother?
    If they were going against destiny, they’d go against the rules too. What did it matter? They were going to be a disgrace no matter what they did. They searched around their room for something, anything that would help them with what they wanted.
    Nothing. Fine, they’d just have to go find something else that would work.
    It was too early to be up and much too early for a student like themself to be wandering outside of their room, but they just needed to find something sharp.
    Finally they found something. A pair of scissors.
    Perfect.
    They picked them up and headed back to their room, flipping the light on and standing in front of a mirror. They looked at their reflection, shaking their head and watching the long, wavy stands shake about.
    Hair was meant to be kept long and up in a bun or two, as was part of the dress code.
    Lilac decided that their first act of rebellion would be this.
    Shaky hands worked to cut down each strand of dark purple hair to less than an inch. It was barely enough to see, much less to do anything with. It was silly, they supposed, but until the day came where they could leave this place and create their own destiny...
    Well, this would have to do.

    “What did you do to your hair!?”
    Lilac recognized Pomegranate’s shrill voice anywhere. She sounded furious. Honestly, they were a bit worried about the whole thing. In the moment they’d felt so powerful, as if their life was in their own hands.
    Now? Well, now that they were at the mercy of everybody else they felt awfully scared.
    “What does it look like?” they signed, trying to ignore how their best friend went red in the face.
    “You can’t even do anything with that! You can’t put it up, you can’t decorate it... Nothing!” she exclaimed.
    Lilac paused, as if considering it for a moment. They then nodded. “It is up.”
    “There’s nothing to put up! It’s too short! What is wrong with you!?” she demanded.
    Lilac rolled their eyes. “Why are you so mad?” they asked. They didn’t speak, though. What was the point? They didn’t want to, so why would they? Besides, Pomegranate could understand them when they signed.
    She’d scoffed. She’d shouted at them, making them promise not to do stupid stuff like that again because they’d get in trouble.
    Lilac had refused.

    It was amazing how quickly a friendship could fall apart. Pomegranate didn’t think she could trust them anymore. Lilac didn’t mind. They didn’t want to be trusted. When her next birthday came and her destiny was chosen...
    Lilac almost wanted to laugh.
    “We’re outcasts now,” they signed. Lilac had no friends, not anymore. Pomegranate was not their friend. They were, however, stuck together.
    Who would want to be friends with somebody who refused their own destiny? More importantly, who would be friends with somebody destined to follow darkness.
    “I hate you so much,” Pomegranate hissed.
    They watched her for a moment before turning and beginning to leave. She knew what they wanted, but she hesitated.
    Soon, she followed.
    “We shouldn’t be here,” she hissed, noticing how they’d jumped a fence to get into the gardens.
    They simply ignored her.
    When it came to the little hiding spot he’d grown fond of, they sat down to listen to her worries. When she almost seemed to cry, they wanted to comfort her.
    “We could trade,” they’d offered. She could be the hero she’d always wanted, and then Lilac wouldn’t have to worry about saving people.
    For their offer, the last thread of their friendship were shredded.
    “You’re a coward,” they told her. How could she refuse this offer? They were giving her all she could possibly want. All the fame and glory she’d insisted was meant for them... Instead of the cruddy destiny she had, didn’t she want theirs?
    “You’re destined to die, forgotten and alone like the rest of us,” they signed. “How’s that for a destiny?”
    They could see just from her expression that she was furious. They didn’t expect her to strike Them. They backed off, jumping out of the little hiding spot and into the main area of the gardens. She just kept it up, not relenting until he’d fallen over.
    Lilac couldn’t help but chuckle despite the pain. They slowly sat up, getting to their feet. “I’m not going to sacrifice myself for anybody. When I die, it’s going to be for myself and nobody else.”
    “You’re such a selfish asshole!” she shrieked. “You never used to be this bad! What changed?”
    “Destiny’s a bitch, isn’t it?” they signed, smirking at her enraged expression.
    She struck them again, right across the face. They stumbled, blood filling their mouth. They spat some of it out into the dirt path of the garden, wincing slightly at the shimmering white tooth they also spat out.
    She sure could pack a punch.
    “I’m going to kill you someday,” she hissed. Deep in her heart she knew this was true. Her destiny promised it. Fitting, then, that her turn to darkness would lead to her killing somebody she once called her best friend.
    Lilac grinned, showing off the gap she’d made. “Is that a threat?” they signed. “Or a promise?”

    Their nineteenth birthday had come and gone, something deep in their chest warning that something was going to happen soon. It had been like this for days, and at this point they were sick and tired of it
    The ground shook and they sat upright, startled. What was going on?
    They hopped out of bed, grabbing their favorite brown cloak and putting it on.
    Something deep down told them that now was the moment. A dark being was coming, and if they didn’t do something that evil would destroy this place.
    If they wanted to fulfill their destiny, now was the time.
    They would not. They pulled their hood up, preparing to run. Somebody latched onto their cloak, and they turned to see the glowing red eyes of Pomegranate. She was furious, and he could just sense the magic.
    This was her destiny, then, and this was theirs.
    Lilac grabbed her arm and twisted it as far as it would go, making her stumble. They grabbed the back of her head, slamming it into the ground before making a run for it.
    Pomegranate wasn’t about to let them go this easily. She was going to kill them. She got to her feet and gave chase, dark energies flowing through her veins. It was an amazing feeling.
    The sky darkened and lightning struck them, making them fall to the ground. She stood over them, ready to finish the job. How could they come back from that, after all?
    The lightning left scars on dark skin, yet instead of what you might expect from it, the lines formed a strange pattern across their back. The very same dark energy that struck them down fueled them, letting them get to their feet.
    Pomegranate stumbled back, and they had no mercy with their attacks. A sharp disk appeared in their hands, and they griped the handle tightly. It was familiar, in a way. It felt natural. They lunged at her, and the two fought. In the end, Lilac stood over her. Deep down, they knew that killing her would save this place, save all of them.
    Killing her would fulfill their destiny.
    They backed off. “Maybe next time you’ll kill me,” they said, the words slurred and raspy. Their first words in years.
    “You’re ruining it! You’re ruining both of our destinies!” she shrieked, trying to get back to her feet. They kicked her over, a gap-toothed grin coming to their face.
    Lilac didn’t say anything to her, they just pulled up their hood and ran. They ran far away from this place until the dirt turned to sand and there was nowhere familiar in sight.
    They'd evaded their destiny, hadn’t they?
    The fact left them feeling almost empty inside.
    Empty but proud.