Meika's Unbalanced Balance

There was a girl who discovered the secrets of life, and she hated it.

Her name was Meika, and she had a brother.

They were twins, born to a pair of scientists in their later years. They had never expected to have children. The boy was first born by several hours, which made him the heir to their career. His parents coddled him and praised him and let him run wild over their laboratories while they worked furiously to further his interests.

Meika was not her parents' favorite. She knew it from the very beginning-- even before they had taken her out of the hospital, they paid more attention to the baby than to her. They kept letting her cry until he stirred, but she would be ignored all day as they gave him hugs, held him in front of mirrors, and praised his strength for being born first. She didn't mind so much-- it did not pain her to be ignored by people who were obviously busy and unfocused on anything but his welfare, who thought nothing of leaving her unattended in her crib or letting her cry when she needed food or changing. However, it hurt deeply when she heard them speaking about her behind her back with pity and concern-- how thin she was, how quiet, how frail. It always made her feel like some kind of old car that just wasn't worth fixing anymore; like a bad investment that just wasn't going to pay off no matter how hard you tried.

She grew up quietly underfoot while they cooed over his every action-- the doctor's visits where they bragged over his healthy growth rates, the tutors hired to teach him equations before he could talk, the little chemical set he got for his third birthday that nearly burned down their house-- everything but herself. It wasn't until high school that anyone even took notice of her existence at all-- she'd always been an introvert who preferred to watch rather than participate in class activities (except gym). She'd never gotten into any sort of trouble until she started dating one of the boys from the football team-- a big-eyed boy named Momosuke who was sweet enough that it didn't bother her too much when he seemed more focused on getting into bed with her than paying attention to what she said during conversations. He helped bring some color back into her life by bringing out a personality that had long since withered away into depression and apathy; once he started paying attention to what she liked doing instead of just what he liked looking at, things began to get better between them. He was an avid reader himself, and dragged her into several book clubs along with other clubs around campus where they would try new things together while still enjoying time alone together between classes and study sessions.

They didn't make it through their sophomore year together before breaking up-- neither wanted any sort of serious commitment after spending so long alone before finding someone else willing to be with them for longer than a few weeks at most. Meika had moved back home after that breakup because living alone in an apartment near campus had started feeling lonely far sooner than she'd expected it too... but instead of picking up with research work again once back in familiar surroundings, she found herself distracted by thoughts of Momosuke during most waking hours instead of thinking about ways to improve on existing pharmaceuticals or working on new experimental models for genetic mutations in cells. Her father noticed this change immediately; he saw it as a sign that something had gone wrong somewhere in his daughter's relationship with Momosuke-- but instead of bringing this up directly with Meika herself, he ordered one of his assistants to start checking police reports online for crimes committed near Meika's apartment building and anywhere else she might have been seen around town by herself recently... then waited patiently until several weeks had passed without any such crimes being reported before summoning Meika into his office for a stern lecture about "that boy" who'd apparently turned Meika's head so far around that she couldn't think straight anymore-- who'd somehow convinced her that "he" was worthy company for an otherwise intelligent young woman like herself.

That night after dinner, as soon as everyone went upstairs for bedtime rituals and sleep preparations, Meika slipped away unnoticed from the house and went next door where Momosuke lived alone after graduation thanks to having skipped two grades early on during elementary school; unfortunately for both students involved in this relationship (and their respective families), neither student planned on continuing their education past high school graduation due to other extenuating circumstances within each family's situation at home... mainly involving money (or lack thereof) since both parties were only children born late in their parents' lives who could help turn small fortunes into larger ones through future marriages arranged between families capable of doing so if given ample time to grow and succeed on their own merits first.*