Fio's Frozen Heart

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Chapter 1

It is a terrible, terrible monster. His body is jet-black armor, and he has twisted insect wings on his back.
And sometimes, the monster comes to this world and EATS people.

This is why we must all unite and fight him whenever he appears.
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As a light spring breeze dances through the plaza, four young girls sit around an open picturebook.
The image on the page displays an eyeless, ebon monster.

It resembles a large insect, yet is somehow uncannily human. The sight makes the hair of all who
see it stand on end.

The children take one glance at the picture and begin to scream with both terror and delight.
The tale of the monster has been passed down in this country for an age.
The picturebook which now entertains the four children is based upon it.
The girls enjoy themselves regardless—huddling close, laughing, scaring one another.
But then comes the sound of light footsteps—thin soles on flagstone.
The four girls look up from the book, their frigid gazes alighting on the source of the sound.
It is another girl, her hair tied back in pigtails.
Her head hangs low. On her neck and wrists are manacles and a collar, a symbol of her status as a
Goat Person.
Goat People.
That is the name for this nation's lowest class of person.
The Goat girl attempts to hurry past the other children, trying not to look at them as she does.
And then...
"Hello."
The leader of the four gently calls out to the Goat girl.
The lone girl's face brightens.
The leader's personality can be a bit overbearing, but she is a good student, and her greeting sounds
both pleasant and sincere.
The Goat girl is delighted.
But as she is about to return the greeting, she falls forward.
Her words are swallowed by cobblestone and shame.
The leader has tripped her.
She looks at the Goat girl and laughs, and her friends soon join in.
Goat People are the lowest of the low; they are meant to be abused without reason or cause.
This idea has diffused itself among the young children.
The leader then speaks:
"We are honored to be in the presence of a Goat Person this day, girls! Now...shall we play Monster?"
Play Monster.
In this game, one child takes on the role of the monster while the others pursue them.
And, of course, the Goat girl is to take on the role of monster.
The other children throw the book at the lowly girl's feet.
The open page shows the dark monster standing by himself.
He is hated. Just as she is.
And so the girl begins to run. She runs and she runs and she runs—for she knows terrible things will happen
if she is caught.
As she flees for her life, she eventually comes to a desolate and aging ruin.
It is her precious, secret spot for play. Though it is typically worn and dirty,
beautiful flowers bloom here at this time of year.
After she ensures the other girls have not followed, she crouches down among the blossoms and
breathes a sigh of relief.
When her ragged breath finally calms, she lifts her head...
Only to be greeted by a surprising sight.
The man-eating monster stands before her with his jet-black body and hideous insect wings.
He waits silently among the colorful blooms.
"Are you...Mister Monster?" asks the girl.
Her voice is a whisper's memory.
He remains silent.
Suddenly, a thought comes to her:
We are the same.
The dark creature is her twin in all but name.
"Are you lonely, Mister Monster?"
She approaches him slowly.
Flowers dance in the wind around her feet.
"I think you are."
Poor Mister Monster. Everyone hates you just like they hate me.
She gently places her hand on the silent monster.
Strangely enough, she feels no fear.
What she sees in front of her is not some terrible brute, but a creature who is alone no matter where he goes.
A creature just like her. This is why she is not afraid.

Chapter 2

Tap. Tap. Tap.
The Goat girl's light footsteps echo across the plaza.
She makes her way for the blossom-covered ruin.
Her secret spot where the monster waits.
"Hey. You."
A voice suddenly stops her in her tracks.
She turns to find the four girls who are always playing in the plaza.
The leader has called to her.
"You haven't been coming by lately. We miss you! Why don't you play Monster with us today?"
A cruel smile twists the corner of the girl's mouth as she speaks.
They want to play Monster with the Goat girl so they have an excuse to cause her pain.
The Goat girl's eyes drop to the ground. She takes a quiet step backwards.
"I'm sorry," is all she says before dashing away.
The children exchange bewildered glances.
The leader's expression twists further. Her mind reels.
That Goat disobeyed me! ME!
Also, she's been in a strangely good mood lately.
It makes me sick.
No Goat Person should ever smile like that.
The leader's eyes bore into the girl's back as she runs.
One. Two. Three.
One. Two. Three.
Red flower. Blue flower. White flower.
The girl's voice echoes throughout the ruin, which overflows with colorful flowers.
She moves around the aberrant monster, dancing ballet on a beat of three.
Only recently did girl and monster meet, yet already they are in perfect sync.
It's as if they are partners—as if they have been dancing together for the whole of their lives.
One. Two. Three.
The girl dances.
One. Two. Three.
Flowers nod.
One. Two. Three.
Wind blows. Petals flutter this way and that in the air.
Suddenly, the girl gasps in wonder, her dance coming to a halt.
Both she and the monster look to the sky.
They see petals soaring though the blue.
"Where do you think the flowers are going, Mister Monster?"
The monster does not reply. He is ever silent, never speaking.
But the girl feels she hears his answer regardless.
His voice is gruff, yet kind.
Time spent alone with the monster is unbelievably precious to the girl.
As a Goat Person, all she has ever known is abuse.
But this lonely monster makes no attempt to wound the girl.
This is why she hides away in the ruin.

It is so she does not have to face a painful reality.
Yet while this is all happening...
A lone figure hides among the crumbling walls, quietly watching the girl.
It is the leader of the children who play in the plaza.
She thought the Goat girl's pleasant mood strange, and so followed her in secret.
And when she came to the ruin, she beheld a most confusing sight.
The Goat girl was dancing by herself. Laughing by herself.
Mister Monster!
The leader watches in silence as the girl turns to empty space and calls to the monster over and over again.

Chapter 3

The Goat girl's bindings garner cold stares as she walks through town.But she does not care.
For no matter what terrible things might happen, she has the companionship of a very kind monster.
Yet another day finds her racing down the street for the ruin where the monster waits.
Suddenly, she comes to a halt.
Smoke tickles her nostrils. Her face clouds. Something is on fire.
Knowing this bodes ill, she makes for the ruin as fast as she can.

I hope Mister Monster is okay, she thinks to herself.
She soon arrives at the ruin.
It is ablaze.
Flames billow from a great pile of discarded junk. Broken chairs. Shattered clocks.
The flames lick at the flowers, threatening to turn everything to ash.
The ruin was meant to be a secret place for herself and the monster, and now it is lost.
"Mister Monster, no!" cries the girl.
She sounds as though she could start sobbing at any moment.
The monster is sitting listlessly in the middle of the ruin.
He's going to die.

But as she leaps into the flames to save him...
"She's here! The Goat is here!"
High-pitched laughter scratches the girl's ears.
She turns in the direction of the voice.
The four girls from the plaza are waiting for her.
Their leader takes a step forward, a lopsided smile on her face.
In her hand she holds a stick, the tip smoldering with flame.
She realizes these four are the ones who set the ruin to burn—the ones who stole her special place.
A black snake worms its way into her heart.
She has never felt such an emotion before.
"You're awful..." she mutters fiercely. "How dare you do this to Mister Monster!"
"Mister Monster?"
The children exchange glances and begin to snicker amongst themselves.
A moment later, the leader speaks.

"Your 'Mister Monster' doesn't exist, Goat. He's just a thing from a picturebook."
The leader had glimpsed the girl's secret.
She saw her playing by herself.
She saw her speak to empty air.
"You poor thing. You must have been so lonely!"
Her words tear at the Goat girl like glass.
"Don't you get it? You made the monster up!"
"......"
The girl remains quiet, her eyes glistening under tears.
But then...
"No. He's here. I know he's here."
She refuses to acknowledge it—she cannot. Doing so would mean her only friend does not exist.
"Are you okay, Mister Monster? You must be in so much pain."
With teetering steps, she enters the flames.
She finds herself entering an empty space.
Flames lick at her legs. Her arms. But she pays them no mind.
Because she can see.
She sees the monster sitting amidst the fire, his body covered in burns.
He is her precious friend.

Her hand brushes empty air.
But to her, it is the monster's cheek.
She crouches down to pluck a single burning flower at the monster's feet.
Hot fire chars her palm.
The pain is an idle thing. Distant. For she knows the monster suffers far more than she.
This is all their fault.
Her gaze rests on the burning flower.
Dancing flames reflect in dull eyes.

Chapter 4

The sun sets.
Darkness falls over the area. The once-dancing flames, now clinging to life, cast an eerie light on the ruin.
The children who started this fire are long gone, returned home to warmth and family.
They had amassed the junk and lit the spark.
The ruin—the secret spot for the girl and the monster—is now little more than a wreck.
The girl stands silent. Alone.
She stares at the monster, who is now a shriveled thing covered head to foot in burns.
Your "Mister Monster" doesn't exist.
The leader claimed the girl's monster was merely a vision.
But the girl never had any intention of acknowledging that truth.
Her monster is here. He is right here.
Yet the children filled the ruin with garbage and set it ablaze all the same.
They hurt her monster. Hurt him.
I will not let them get away with this.
A new emotion, dark and heavy, encroaches on her heart.
She picks up a piece of kindling and sets fire to the tip, creating a torch.
Then she begins to walk.
Her steps are unsteady, as though possessed by some entity.
She arrives at a beautiful house, a dwelling that resembles the magnificent homes
one might see in picturebooks.
It belongs to the leader of the children.
The girl lifts the torch.
Her mind whirls as she stares into the flame.
The leader of the children set fire to her ruin. She burned her monster.
Which means... Which means...
Which means she can destroy her home.
She can destroy what the other holds most dear.
Burn it all.
With darkness urging her on, she raises the torch high above her head and thrusts it forward.
Fire crackles. Sparks fly.
Before her, something begins to burn.
...It is the monster.
The torch never reaches the leader's house.
Instead...
The monster has leapt in front of her, letting the flames strike him.
Almost as though he is trying to stop her.
"Mister...Monster?"
The monster falls face-first onto the ground, his burning body writhing in pain.
"MISTER MONSTER!"
She rushes to him.
"I'm so sorry, Mister Monster! This is my fault! This is all my fault!"
All she can do is weep.
She repeats her apology as she clings to the monster's blazing body.
But then she realizes something...
The blaze enveloping him holds no heat.
Because the monster is nothing more than a figment of her imagination.
Somewhere deep inside, she had known this—yet acknowledging it was a weight too heavy to bear.
Because the kind monster had always been by her side.
And yet...she hurt him.
The monster's hand trembles and gently brushes her cheek.
It is incorporeal. Cold.
Yet she imagines warmth anyway.
He's so warm...
It is a strange warmth,
one that makes her feel the darkness which had overcome her heart is beginning to fade.
The monster's body quietly burns in the gloaming.
It twinkles. It shines. Finally, it turns to ash and begins the long ascent into the sky.
"Goodbye, Mister Monster."
I had so much fun.
I had fun dancing with you.
I...fun watching flowers...in the wind.
I...fun...you silently...my side...
And...
And...
The girl realizes something.
As the darkness that had encroached on her heart fades away, so too do her memories of the monster.
The monster has taken all of her twisted feelings with him.
"Thank you, Mister Monster."
Her memories dim, then fade. Soon the girl does not understand why she is crying at all.
Yet she continues to repeat herself. Goodbye. Goodbye.
She does not fall silent until the final speck of ash has vanished into the heavens.
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The junk sits in a pile in the ruin.
The beautiful spring blooms are gone.
She is sad her secret place was laid to waste like this, but she is a Goat Person. It is to be expected.
She repeats this to herself as she begins cleaning up the junk.
"There we go," she says as she lifts a broken clock.
Suddenly she stops.
Her heart catches in her chest.
Beneath it, she finds a small flower still in bloom.
The rest are blackened ash, yet this one alone remains.
It shines brilliantly in the dark.
A strange feeling suddenly bubbles up in the girl's heart.
I miss you.
I don't know who you are...
But I miss you.
We'll play together when I see you again. We'll be even better friends.
Bewildered by the sudden well of emotion, the girl falls to her knees beside the flower.
She begins to pray.
She does not know the name of whom she misses, nor what they look like.
But whoever they are, they have given her such warmth.
And so, she prays she might one day see them again.

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