Being a kid who got picked on a lot, I resented my peers a lot, drawing them as characters who get beat up by the hero, or imagining them dying in fire... Well I still remember the story about dying in the fire quite well. I imagined a girl who was so obssessed about makeup, when her apartment was caught on fire, she didn't want to escape without her cosmetics, causing her untimely demise. It was supposed to make fun of the "other" girl, but now I remember it, I just imagine someone shipping me and the imaginary girl, like those memes on Twitter.
This story was reworked a bit when I created an skeleton OC based of this story, I wanted to portray makeup in a better light, but I never showed it to anyone due to the lack of content. But with my sudden inspiration burst in probably an unideal timing, I finally can share this!
Warning for character death by fire/smoke
From Annie's earliest memories, she had always loved makeup. When her parents moved their eyes away from her, the carefree toddler quickly picked up the vibrant lipsticks and eyeliners, doodling all over her face. Knowing how much she loved painting on her face (and the fact it was too difficult to stop her anyway), her parents bought face paints and cosmetics for Annie, slowly teaching her the basics of makeup. And as she got more clothings, she learnt how to match them into the perfect combination, developing the perfect look. Her skills developed more and more, yet her love for dressing up never faded.
Despite the worries of her teachers and peers, her love for makeup was not caused by her insecurity of her appearance, but her awe for the endless possibilities of her face. She saw herself as a blank canvas, a medium to express her feelings. Makeup is an artform, that's an idea deeply rooted in her passionate heart.
As she grew up, she was faced with a grim reality: living isn't exactly affordable. It was like the difficulty stepped up a few levels the moment she became an adult, saving up money for essential items was already hard, how could she spend money on nonessential ones like cosmetics?
Nevertheless, she had a dream. There's a set from a well-known cosmetic company she had always wanted every since she had laid her eyes on it, even under the tough financial situation, she did not want to give up. She worked harder at work, rode bicycle instead of going on public transport, and ate cheaper meals, just to save as much money as possible for her favourite cosmetics...
And finally, her hard work paid off. From her shopping bag, she took out a box wrapped in a pretty pink wrapping. She gently removed the packaging without giving it too many tears, and she looked at the cosmetic set in her hands, her eyes shined in hope and joy. The next morning, her co-workers were greeted with a beautiful woman, her looks not too flashy, but eye-catching regardless. Was it because of her new makeup kit or her luminous happiness that made her shine so beautifully?
It was like fate is pulling tricks on her
In a seemingly normal day, she returned to the street across apartment complex she lived in, only to find out the building is on fire. Neighbours gathered outside the gates, mumbling in distress. Annie stood still, processing the view in front of her, but it did not took long for her to start moving again. The people catches a glimpse of a woman in office attire running past them, they watched where she was going, as they realised her very destination was inside the burning building. The neighbours yelled, "MA'AM, DON'T GO THERE! IT'S DANGEROUS!" Annie's steps unfaltered, she had only one thing in her mind that moment:
"I worked so hard for this, so don't take this away from me!"
She avoided the fires and obstacles on her way, somehow she was able to reach her own apartment. She opened the door to her bedroom, sighed in relief when she saw her box of cosmetics unharmed. She cradled the box in her arms, rushing out of her apartment door to escape from this fire. However, luck was not on her side this time. As she hurriedly reached the lobby, she was met with a thick layer of fog and raging fire all around. It was so hot... and she could not breath... As she attempted to go the other way, debris collapsed from above the ceiling, blocking her path and nearly crushing her. Annie was completely blocked, the panic she was feeling only sped up her lungs breathing in the smoke. She collapsed onto the floor, it felt like her skin was melting from the fire, and yet she held the cosmetic set tight despite being unable to protect it from the blazing heat.
"If only I can continue my passion just for longer..." Her sight slowly blurred, fading from the shining inferno, into the dark, dark nothingness...
...
She felt a strength grew in her, her exhaustion was no more. She felt like she was surronded by debris, and yet she felt strong enough to move her body. She struggled her limbs, climbing up with all her might.
It did not took her long to see the light again. With her head popping up from the ground, she was surprised to see it was night time already, how long did she pass out for? All of a sudden, she heard a blood-curdling a scream. Her sight shifted to the origin of the voice, noticing a woman and her child in front of a grave, looking back at Annie in shock and terror.
"Zombie!" The child shouted as he pointed at Annie, whose torso was still under the ground. Before she could ask anything, the mother shiftly grabbed the child's hand, running away together. "Z...zombie?"
"You are definitely a skeleton, not a zombie..." A new voice was heard behind. "Wait, are skeletons just zombies without flesh?" A girl, presumely around her age, walked to her view as she eyed Annie curiously. She reached out her hand, "Do you need help?"
"Me? Skeleton? What do you m-" As Annie pulled her right arm out of the dirt and reached for the stranger's hand, it had finally hit her. Instead of soft flesh under peach-colored skin, what's left of Annie's arms was dry, ivory bones. She frantically looked all over her body, left arm, chest, shoulders, they were all bones.
The skeletonized girl froze in shock, "Wait... Am I dead...?" The stranger nonchalantly replied, "Considering your state right now, I would say yes..." She then glanced over the tombstone behind Annie, which she didn't even notice. The tombstone wrote, "Annie Lam (1979-2004)". "...For many years, in fact!"
The skeleton shakily moved her hands to her mouth, "I...if I have been gone for this long... then...", her voice trembled as she spoke, "My life... my home..."
"Even my cosmetics... they are all gone?"
"C...cosmetics?!" The stranger's face became dumbfounded, that's something she could not imagine hearing, like what kind of people would care about something this trivial first??
Annie adruptly started brawling, her cries so loud perhaps they can be heard from all corners of the cemetery. It was like streams of water were about to come out of her eye sockets despite not having the ability to create tears, not even the calm stranger was able to stand this.
"HEY HEY HEY STOP CRYING FOR A SECOND", the stranger shouted out, temporarily silenting the crying Annie. "I don't really know what happened to you, or why you got resurrected, but I believe not enough time had passed for your belongings to be thrown away... Maybe y'know, someone kept them safe?"
"Or maybe... um... You might get a lot of trouble if you walk around this street alone looking like this... so maybe you can stay in my home first..." The stranger awkwardly asked, "I've got plenty of makeups you might like... it's not like I like doing makeup anyways... So maybe you can use mine for the time being...?"
Annie stared at the the kind stranger with her glimmering eyes(?), completely still for a moment. And in the very next moment, it was like a water balloon exploding, Annie bursted into tears (if she could) as she pulled the stranger into a tight hug, letting her feelings pour out. "Th...thank you..." Her voice trembled with emotions.
Socialising isn't exactly Ivy's strong suit, but it was not like she would want to let this lost person alone in the streets, especially the fact she's a skeleton. "Never thought animated skeletons are real, but that's pretty cool nonetheless!" Ivy thought to herself as she accepted Annie's hug, placing her hands onto her skeletal back. She couldn't help but imagine, what kind of chaos will happen next?
Names may be changed in the future, but I think this story is kinda neat! I hope you guys enjoyed it, now I will go eep.