In a certain town there lived a girl who was trapped in shadows of darkness. Her name was Suicide. Her parents, Depression and Anxiety, always told who she was and was not allowed to be. Her mother, Depression, continuously whispered in her ears day and night. They forced her to stay small and silent. Her father, Anxiety, was overprotective. He kept her inside and forbade her from speaking to anyone or connecting with the outer world.
At the same time, there lived two other girls in a faraway town called Light. These girls were called Happiness and Peace. They were age-mates of Suicide. Despite Suicide’s wish to befriend them, she was never allowed to visit the town. She was always overwhelmed by her parents’ voices, and so she had no voice of her own.
To make matters worse, sleep was never an option in their house. Her parents’ voices echoed in her head day and night. They kept her under constant watch and ensured she never approached Light Town. On top of this slavery, Suicide had been taken out of school at a tender age by her parents. They were very mean to not let her live her life at school where she would have likely met many friends, learned about the world, and made her own decisions.
“You see that teacher, she doesn’t even like you.” Depression’s heavy and cruel voice whispered constantly in poor Suicide’s ears.
“See, your mother is right. The teachers think you’re stupid,” Anxiety’s sharp and tense voice added.
Their words sank her life into sandy shores, pressing her down until she felt she could barely breathe. Poor Suicide was haunted by restless thoughts and questions swirling inside her head. But one day, she finally gathered the courage to approach her parents.
“Mom and Dad… Why did you name me Suicide?” She threw out her burning question.
“What else did you expect a child born from Anxiety and Depression to be called?” Anxiety responded with another question.
Before she could answer, Depression guffawed out loud and jumped into the conversation. “Don’t tell me you expected to be called Hope. Come on, my child, you know you don’t deserve that.”
Suicide sat frozen as their words echoed endlessly. They were drowning her deeper into her own thoughts. Truly she had no one to reach out to except one quiet and lonely friend of hers. The only friend her parents allowed her to have was called Loneliness. She was a neighbor who lived in the same compound. Loneliness often came over and sometimes even slept beside her. Her presence diminished the lonely feeling Suicide often had after her heartless parents’ actions and words.
Across the street lived a fellow age-mate of Suicide and Loneliness by the name of Death. Suicide’s parents always encouraged her to be friends with Death, but she feared him. She often insisted that Death didn’t like her. But the actual truth was that she never felt comfortable around him the way she did with Loneliness. Still, she couldn’t say this in front of his parents. Loneliness visited Suicide every day. They always played together. One day, Suicide was open enough to express her pressing worries to her friend.
“Why don’t you have many friends and why don’t you visit Happiness or Peace? Did your parents forbid you as well?”
Loneliness looked into Suicide’s eyes and replied softly, “Because someone like me can only be friends with someone like you.”
A few seconds after their long eye contact and sobbing, a knock was heard at the door. Loneliness, who seemed a bit confident and was used to such a sad life of theirs, went to check.
“Who’s there?” she asked.
“It’s me, Death, I would like to play.” A thundering, threatening bass voice was heard from outside. Suicide rushed to the door in a hurry and with fear.
She then whispered to her friend, “Please don’t let him in. Though my parents insist we play together, I feel unsafe and sad each time he is close to me.”
Heeding her friend’s concern, Loneliness shouted at the door to turn away the unfamiliar and unwelcomed friend.
“We are tired and already finished playing. Perhaps go and play elsewhere,” she lied.
“But no one wants to play with me,” Death worried with a trembling voice.
The two girls, who were standing by the door, exchanged sad glances. They didn’t say another word and didn’t open the door either. They simply wanted to make the uninvited guest to go elsewhere. Death always felt unwanted and misunderstood. Unlike Loneliness, who was always welcomed with open arms, he remained an outcast to many of his age-mates.
The next day, Suicide’s parents found Death sitting alone on the roadside. His head was bowed, and he seemed deeply sad. They approached him.
“Why are you sitting here all alone, child?” Depression asked while touching him by the shoulder. Death lifted his head and his eyes glistened.
“I don’t even know the reason for my existence,” he answered, wiping tears from his cheeks. “Nobody wants to be around me, maybe I should just die.”
“Why don’t you come with us?” Anxiety felt pity for him. “You can play with our daughter Suicide,” he offered.
“Are you sure about that?” he asked excitedly with a flicker of hope that had entered his voice.
“Yes, my child,” he replied.
When Suicide saw her parents arriving with Death from a distance, she rushed to her room and locked the door. Her mother, frustrated by this reaction, began to scold her.
“Your friend came all the way here. Why did you run off? Do you think you are special just because everyone wants to be your friend?”
Her father’s voice cut in: “Open this door right now, or I’ll break it down.”
Fed up with their constant gaslighting and manipulation, Suicide finally opened the door and spoke back.
“Why do you always decide for me?” she demanded. “Why should it be up to you who I talk to?” Tears welled in her eyes and melted her chubby cheeks. Her voice grew weary. “I’ve spent my whole life listening to you, doing everything you said. Can’t I even choose my own friends? You’ve always hated Happiness and Peace from Light Town – so why Death?”
“You don’t get to question us,” her mother snapped. “We gave you life. You will do as we say.”
In the corner, Death stood motionless, feeling more unwanted than ever and guilty for causing such a scene.Wwith nowhere left to go, Suicide stormed through the door and out into the world. She was hurt by her parents’ words. After all, what caring parent would dictate how their children live their precious lives?
As if to prove the French saying “le malheur ne vient jamais seul” – misfortune never comes alone – the clouds broke and rain began to pour as she ran with all her might away from her cruel parents. Tired and desperate, she suddenly stopped in the middle of nowhere and amidst the heavy downpour and stood still. She let her tears flow with the rain.
Back at the house, Death felt compelled to find her. Yet Suicide’s parents stayed behind, held in place by pride too vast to chase after their own daughter. They were certain she had nowhere else to go, and that eventually she would come back to them. But Death searched for her, calling out her name until he found her in tears amidst that heavy thundering rain.
“Why can’t you be friends with me?” he pleaded. “No one else wants me, but I am easy to be with. I am peaceful.”
“I would rather be alone than have you as a friend. No offense!” she replied. “People like us deserve better, we need to leave this town.”
“What about your parents?” he asked with a voice that was tightened with worry.
“I love them,” she said, “but I have to let go. I must leave everything behind.”
Death watched in silence as the only person he wanted to befriend so badly turned toward Light Town. She left everything behind; her parents, her friend and even her name. She walked the entire way alone. After arriving in Light Town, she renamed herself Hope. She did all the things she had never been able to do. She crafted a new identity and learned her own worth. Her parents never called, not once. But still, Hope befriended Peace and Happiness, and together they lived happily ever after.
