“Pfff, heh. Any other day, my ass...” I scoff under my breath. I can’t even be angry. Everything just... broke.' This whole thing just happened way too fast. All I can seem to do is stare while hovering above my unmoved form. My body collapsed under the heavy weight while blood pooled out of my head from hitting the cement of the street's walkway.
If only this was a dream, but this feels too real. I doubt even a lucid dream could mimic these senses, scenes and the feeling of pain passing to numbness and nothingness that transcends into turning me transparent. If it were a lucid dream, it would be a BAD one. One, where no matter how attentive nor how distracted. You can't control how anything in that dream's presence went. Even if you wish it to be as such, the impending doom will crash and hit you all the same.
Just like how divine intervention can beseech the punishment or gift depending on how the eyes of its beholder commence. Though with what has struck me to die, I must have made the wrong move somewhere. As if saying I can no longer exist in this world.
Though it has come this far, I may have small regrets and big wonders. Unsure of how my life got me here and leaving all but wonder,
'Would it have gone differently, if I listened to my mother?'
‘Would it have made any difference if I didn’t fall asleep? Or made it home faster?’
‘Or was reading while walking, a turning point in my doom?’
“Well regardless of my thoughts, maybe I’ll never know” I speak my last words out knowing no one could hear me anyway.
I huff out as if the illusion carried with me till my eyes started to daze out..
? ヽ( ̄д ̄;)ノ=3=3=3 ヽ( ̄д ̄;)ノ=3=3=3
A ringing noise filled the dark forbidden room, forcing the dazed eyes of mine to flutter open and closed abiding the abyss of the darkness sealed by the curtains and time. I shifted in place making my sheet and blankets tangle around my body, groaning as I stretched my arm across my mattress toward my nightstand, tapping and patting the surface to find my phone. My hand eventually landed on the vibrating noise. “My phone.”
I picked it up sluggishly and held it up to my ear while answering with my eyes closed.
"Hello?" I spoke softly with a drowsy undertone. Waiting for a brief moment for an answer that did not come. Making me feel a sense of confusion wondering who called. Pulling the phone away from my ear to stare at the screen's 'Caller ID' to see who it could be. My eyes flinch at the bright screen that flashes,
< Mother >
From a glance, I noticed that beside my mother's 'Callers ID' there was a muted icon. Why does she always mute herself? I couldn't help but bring my hand up to my face with a deep breath as I pressed the speakerphone button while I moved my pillows to support my back as I sat up against my bed frame. Getting ready for the conversation at hand as I spoke once more,
"Well, good morning to you too Mother..." I murmured under my breath then continued louder with confidence, "By the way Mother, you have yourself muted on your end." I said as clearly as I could.
"Oh, sorry dear. Phones these days... must have miss-clicked." She tsked while her audio kept going in and out as if she was moving her phone around while talking.
"Anyway Myden! I'll ignore that sarcastic murmuring I heard... and I'll get straight to it, I called because you must come visit today." She changed topics on and off with half-scolding and pure seriousness on visiting.
With the ongoing darkness of my room, slowly my eyes kept fluttering shut and forced back open as a yawn escaped my lips. 'I feel way too tired to deal with this right now... I'll just refuse and set a new time to see her.'
"Sorry, Mother I don't know if I can-" Before I could even finish speaking she snaps at me,
"OH, FOR GOODNESS SAKE MYDEN, DON'T START WITH THIS AGAIN!" She paused, to take a deep breath followed by a tsk to continue.
"I know it's your day off, what could possibly be your reason now? HUH?" pausing again to dramatize, "For one you have NO friends, NO Lover, and sure as hell don't have a pet."
'sheesh, she really has to hit me with all that huh..'
"Okay, okay... one ouch. Two, how do you know I don't have a pet?" I spoke with a mischievous tint glowing into my eyes.
"Myden... this ISN'T a time to be a SMARTASS." she scuffed under her breath as if in disappointment, "If you did have a pet I'd have heard something on the other end of this call..."
"and even if you did, I'd wonder why you haven't shown them off. Plus you're too busy with work to even take care of them."
"Sheesh mother, you really know how to drive someone into a corner." I flinch slightly, thinking about her facial expressions and her scolding eyes of disapproval. Which only intensified when she spoke up once more,
"Now you can't say 'I can't come'. Don't use your laziness as an excuse, it makes you look pathetic." Her voice went from normal to mimicking me and processed back to normal making me feel dejected.
"There are no excuses. This is important, you must get here soon! Don't take too long either! You must show up!" she prepped her voice in a more cheerful yet demanding tone continuing,
"Do you understand this? For once LISTEN to me. I’ve always been right about these things, Besides, it's urgent!"
"Fine, you win mother!" I paused feeling slightly drained from losing while raising my arms in an 'I surrender' pose and continued,
"I'll see you today at some point okay? Happy?" I sighed, while my eyes started to sting with slight tears reminding me of how tired my body felt. I yawn softly, while rubbing my eyes hearing the rest my mother has to say.
"Come before the afternoon reaches... You have to make it here on time! Please, Myden don’t do this to me today. I beg you."
"Okay, okay got it..." I said sluggishly
Before I could say anymore she let out a grunt of disgust and hung up the phone on me making me just sit there dumbfounded.
I collapsed back down on my bed while my whole body reflexively stretched slowly being pulled back into my bed sheets making the yawns release.
"What time is it even..." I grumble under my breath.
Then looking at my phone once more to see it's 6:45 am.
"Jeeze, the least she could have done is let me sleep a bit longer." I sighed and thought about sleeping for another hour or two. However, before I could think any further my eyes fluttered shut and my subconscious overtook me.
????????????????
< It felt like nothing but a blink, even when I knew I closed my eyes. My senses feel dulled and unmoving as the very embodiment of surroundings warped the lights to dim, the colour palette dyed the new forming room in red, orange and yellows warm yet very distant hues. The scent of wax and incense fluctuated its smell into my nose making my body feel dizzy till the abyss of nothing solidified all the shapes to form as a whole. Clearing the vision before me is like an ending of a sorrowful ballot that ended with death. The flickering of candlelight filled my eyes as I took in all the imagery reaching out as I felt my legs slightly quiver as if my body just transferred from a feather to a bolder. Unconsciously, when I reached my hand out it ended up gripping onto the wooden chair that appeared when I looked down.
'This low-key feels like a loading screen before the game lobby appears.' Passed through my thoughts.
I couldn't help but look beyond the chair I was gripping onto like a lifeline. As I looked nothing every detail like how the chair was neatly tucked into the matching set of its beautiful dark walnut wood table with minimalistic decoration with a vintage table runner, where it's fabric long in length stripped across the table with its floral design swishing around with leaves and vines that pulled my eyes to look in the middle where an untraditional -Crystal Ball- you would typically see in a tarot readers hut.
However, the more I stared upon it, its form shifted, elongating into something more like a crystal tower. It rested on a soft purple base, casting a glow that clashed against the muted floral runner like a secret begging to be seen. Just begging to be stared into. It felt like it was beckoning me to move my limbs closer. Just one step I unconsciously took forward and shivers sprang down my spine. I paused and used all the strength in my body to look up towards the ceiling because my instincts were screaming that I must get away.
As I managed to look up I could see these crystal-like beads embedded in string shaping them as Stars, Suns and Moons that hung from these faint glowing shapes that no matter how much I looked I couldn't see what they resembled. My eyes entranced with such wander encircled it as a whole. However, as moments passed the Heat of the room seemed to intensify while those flickering flames seemed to be moving, making my eyes switch to look and dart all around this seemingly enclosed circle of a room. Finding the layered fabrics upon the walls defined the feeling of being trapped in a bird cage that held a Phoenix.
The candles that lined the room from the floor to the shelves engraved into the wall held a varied assortment of colours ranging from gray, black, brown, purple, green, red, pink, orange, gold, yellow, white and silver. In some of the areas there were all kinds of herbs and odd strings wrapped around some of the candles, weaved through parts of the shelves. ‘I’m unsure what it is but I can’t help but notice a white substance.’ I followed its traces seeing that it encircled the entire room without fail.
‘Is this what they call a ‘salt circle’? I believe I heard about this type thing from my mother… Was it my mother?’ my head swirled with the thought slowly making me feel dizzy as my brain started ringing causing an intense pain erupting forcing my legs to go limp, crumbling my body to the floor. I tried to pull myself together, kneeling while tears burst down my face, my arms flailing towards my head, clumsily covering my ears with my hands trying to put pressure where the pain erupted in my head.
It’s as if my brain was being invaded; tampered with as someone was attempting to purposely set off a volcano known as my head. Where lava rises and falls, it acts for the heat of the flames that increase in volume, faltering the temperature melting the wax and the herbs in its rein. Consuming all and anything entering its range. Soon the air filled with smoke, and sweat dripped down my body mixing with the tears of my pain. Suddenly the dim room was nothing but a white void that stung my eyes forcing them to close shut tightly while crouching further down to the floor unable to handle this set of reality.
Clip, clop, tap, clop, clip. The sounds of heels entered into the room,
“Oh dear,” the voice paused as a snap rang throughout the air. “Our candles seemed to like you, my love.” After she finished speaking the Lights dimmed where the Heat, Pain, Tears and Sweat all disappeared as if it weren’t real at all. Slowly, I reopened my eyes to see the very room it once was; however, only the black candles remained lit.
My eyes squinting and eyebrows pointed in a frown with the confusion of what happened, the lady spoke once more,
“Oh? You noticed the candles,” she said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “The flame of the black candle means they’ve chosen you. That’s rare… and not always comforting.” She voiced out excitedly; “However, no matter how rare, this in other words can also mean you need them the most” She spoke as a matter of fact, with a slight singing hum, till she tilted her head looking at me. While she pauses slightly, she snaps her fingers and glasses appear on her head. A slight spark beneath the glasses appeared then were gone in a blink of an eye. She mumbled very low “must be seeing things” as she snapped her fingers again and the glasses were gone.
After the lady seemed to be distracted, I prep my legs and arms in a stance readying to stand up. Yet the lady suddenly appeared right before my eyes, no sound, no moment, no proof of existence.
I couldn’t help but gasp in shock while my inner scream combined with my gasp, as I began falling backwards.
“Oop, did I scare you dear?” Her gentle tone slips through the gaps in her fingers as she covers her mouth, as if she too was shocked.
My heart couldn’t stop racing the more I looked at her, something didn’t seem… right.
Her hand full of calluses and small wrinkles reached out to me as my body laid propped up by my elbows so my head couldn’t reach the floor. I hesitatingly looked towards her hand to her face with suspicion while the tremors shook my body to an odd vibration.
‘Why is my body like this?’ Adding to the confusion, ‘Do I take her hand? What if somethin-‘ before my thoughts finished my hand grasped around hers and she pulled me to stand. My legs buckled as if I were about to collapse but the lady wrapped her arm around my waist to keep me stable and turn me in the direction to get towards the chair behind me.
Once we got closer, the chair was dragged back as if floating in the air. My stomach got butterflies and fatigue only grew. As my throat tightened up feeling like I was being choked, I croaked out in a small voice, “Thank you…”
The lady smiles and hums as she says, “Oh, we have a sweetheart who’s polite.” Pausing as she walked towards the candles behind me. I tried to follow her but my body almost went limp and falling off the chair.
“Oh dear, don’t be silly. You might want to stay still.” Her joyful gentle tone dropped to a tense foretelling as if she knew everything and anything all at once. Which drew my attention and made my body freeze and not try to move again. “We love a good dear who listens.” Her tone became cheerful as you could hear her movements as if skipping and humming.
“It would seem, you have some problems, our lovely.” She loudly mumbled as if she was inspecting something while trying to piece information together.
“Problems?” I question in a whisper,
“Indeed, many. as the black candle says dear.” She responded “you need protection… hmm binded? Mm I see, I see” she started mumbling faster as if spoken in a spell.
‘It doesn’t seem like she's talking to me..’ chills settled on the back of my neck.
“Miden” the lady clearly says my name making my body shiver deeply.
‘Stay still… stay still.’ I clench my hand onto my pants and close my eyes. ‘Something isn’t right…’
Clip, Clop, Tap….
I could feel a presence beside me, a gentle voice turned sinister.
“It would seem WE scared the Lovely Sweetheart…” a distorted tsk could be heard as the steps walked further away as a jiggle sound was made.
My eyes suddenly opened , directing my head towards where the jiggle noise came from across the room where there was a noticeable entrance way with dangling bead strings.
‘How didn’t I see that earlier?’
‘What even is this place?’
Just as I was calming down and my heart felt light. The jiggle noise appeared once more.
“Good, dear, finally woke up.” The lady’s gentle demeanor returned as she came back into the room with a teapot set and placed a cup in front of me.
“I believe I forgot an important thing.” She sighed “I’m sorry dear, I shouldn’t have said your name without introductions.” Her gentle eyes pierced into me as she opened her mouth “I’m Gràva.” She smiles and dimples appear on her cheeks. “I know the black candles were right… I made it too awkward. Right sweetheart?” Her eyes glowed with a pink tint as she spoke sweetheart. Sending shivers down my spine making my words fall out as if I were going to be sent on fire,
“No no… I’m just s-shy.” I tried to speak clearly but clearly failed as I stuttered… making me curse myself… ‘fuck…why am I like this?’
Her eyes instantly changed back to her hazel eyes. As she spoke, “I see, so that’s how it is dear? It’s been a while since WE had a visitor like you.”
“Like me?” I ask out of confusion,
“Human.” She clarified as she sipped her tea and kept it in her hand.
“HUH?!? E-Excuse me?” I asked in a panic ‘why does she seem so serious as she said that.. does that mean she isn’t human?’
She looked off to the side,
“Oh, black candle said that could startle you… it would seem I must apologize once more.” She then looks back towards me.
“I should explain properly right, dear?” The tea cup tapped the decorative plate that engraved a Yellow Begonia placed in the center.
Slowly my mothers voice rings through my mind ‘-Begonias in any stance will always mean to beware. Myden never forget that. Mother knows best. Blah blah blah—’
“Why don’t you take a sip,” she paused,
“You must be suffering from such an unquenchable thirst.” She tapped the table as a 3-tier serving dish with desserts on full display.
“You have come quite far after all.” Her tone changed followed by a smirk. Her eyes tinted red around the irises sparked the suspicion.
“T-thank.. you for the offer.” I picked up the tea cup and a bitter aroma lofted to my nose, a twinge of citrus tickled my taste buds. ‘Is that a hint of folar I smell teasing me?’
Right when the tea was being lifted up to my lips,
‘DON'T DRINK THAT MYDEN!’ my mothers voice rang through my head dilating my eyes, everything was a blur and out of focus. My cup lowers as my body swayed left, almost falling out the chair as the tea spills onto the table. Snapping back I shook my head as soon as the cup then dropped out my hand and everything became normal once more. As my confusion settled in my glaze, I couldn’t help but panic while stumbling on words,
“I- uh… um I’m sorry I-I have no idea what just happened…” my body began trembling ‘oh no oh no… what have I done now…’
“You may want to calm down, SWEETHEART.” I flinched while looking up to see her complexion of a typical mid-aged woman become dark as a shadow. Her eyes became a vibrant hue of green with a smile that extends beyond humanly possible. My heartbeat picked up so fast I felt… leef I, I wonk… I… I think I might faint..
The shadow looked as if it could devour me whole, ‘is it just my own delusion? or does it look like she’s getting closer to me?’ The table slowly bit by bit disappeared into the mass of darkness that even the shadows previous form combined spreading across the entire table making it all disappear. ‘?od I od tahW’ My eyes go wide as my legs go numb and can’t move.
‘Is this how I die?’ I felt as if I couldn’t breathe or as if my organs just stopped working while all that was left for me was to stare into the abyss.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
The heat of the room began to be unbearable surpassing the flame of before. The candles grew grander and fierce as if they were to burn the skin off my BoNeS. For a moment it felt as if I could hear the SmAeRcS screams SmAeRcS of voices surrounding me but underSTOOD none all the same. niaP Pain niap cries out of the eyes that can’t shut desolc.
‘Whooosh’
The sound of a wind brushed my earlobes and everything settled. No Movement, No Heat, No darkness. The room itself had completely disappeared, and all that once was and all that is; is gone into the yellow hue formed like a cube.
‘Is this what death is?’
The wind intensified not just in sound but in feeling too. As it blew, it pressed and pushed past my ocean blue dyed hair.
‘Somehow this makes me feel good.’
‘Peaceful.’
My eyes closed and I leaned back, while the warm tenderness that felt like the rays of the sun allowed all my muscles to be relaxed. For a moment all and anything that caused pain felt, nothing, but an illusion.
It was like my consciousness was no longer wary as my eyes dazed into a daydream frolicking in flower fields and rolling down hills.
Drifting off the waves of energies, frequencies, ether. High to low vibrations prickle into my ears to tickle my mind. Be it low or high the sounds are relentless but continuously bound towards me.
‘What are these noses?’
‘They are all different like a Static? Buzzing?A chirp?’
‘I don’t know’ while I look around trying to piece together the odd ambiance.
The sky in the cube turned dark,
‘What is even happening anymore? Where am I?’
‘Who am I?’
‘I feel like I’m slowly forgetting who I am and that in itself makes me anxious.’
The frequency then got louder making my ear feel a vibration; an undeniable sensation then it happened.
“.yeh elttil eno”
delbmuj Jumbled delbmuj up words I couldn’t understand I started in the direction I felt it from but couldn’t respond unsure if it were real or just an illusion of my mind.
“?ELTTIL ENO” The voice got louder but not clearer.
“I don’t understand…” I mumbled out, while feeling the need to search around.
Just as I stood, everything came up to me at once with an influx of voices.
“Little one” “Little one” “Little one”
“Little one” “Little one” “Little one”
“Little one” “Little one” “Little one”
“Little one” “Little one” “Little one”
“Little one” “Little one” “Little one”
“Can you hear us?” “Can you hear us?”
When all the voices implanted it made me feel so overwhelmed as they all spoke over one another while repeating.
“Dear?”
One voice pierced through the rest making them all settle down with that one word it ended in silence.
“I can hear you… but who are you?”
I ask out of curiosity, not knowing if that’s a rude question or not.
“Hmm, we are the candles. It may seem like esnesnon nonsense esnesnon but you have entered a place, normal morals shouldn’t be ‘able’ too. It’s dangerous here, you can get lost and never return to the world before your dream.”
The voice spoke as if I was no longer dreaming but transported to another realm of being.
“So… this isn’t a dream?” I couldn’t help but answer.
“Mmm, well to you it is but at the same time it is not.” The voice spoke in tongue as if to trick me.
“But that doesn't matter, I suppose. But this is the only time we have to say this. Our dear, don’t trust just anyone in this subspace, not everyone who looks the same will want to help you. Some just want to devour you.”
“Don’t forget who you are. Remember.”
The voice started to fade off as if they were disappearing.
Then a voice I know all to well appeared,
“MYDAN!”
“M-MOTHER?”
It all came back to me and my heart started to ache.
‘How can my mothers voice be here? Where is here?’
As my mind spiraled out of control with all the unanswered questions.
The darkened sky then became blue and the voices became nothing but static once more.
‘Where am I supposed to go now?’
With my mother calling my name ringing over and over in my mind,
‘MYDAN!’ ‘MYDAN!’ ‘MYDAN!’
‘MYDAN!’ ‘MYDAN!’ ‘MYDAN!’
“I KNOW, I KNOW,… I REMEMBER.”
‘MYDAN!’ ‘MYDAN!’ ‘MYDAN!’
‘MYDAN!’ ‘MYDAN!’ ‘MYDAN!’
“Please… stop, I promise I’ll remember…”
‘MYDAN!’ ‘MYDAN!’ ‘MYDAN!’
I looked across from where I’m at with nothing but that voice. It made me notice a path; ‘Is this the path I’m supposed to follow?’
‘I suppose I’ll have to follow it to know where it’ll take me.’
Right when I took a step,
*Ding*
My head shakes in a baffled motion then looks down.
‘What the fuck?’
I took another step,
*Dong*
My eyebrows knitted together in pure confusion,
‘Does this mean it’s the right way or the wrong way?’
I then step two more times which follows with,
*Bing*
*Bong*
‘… I wish, those… What were they? Candles right?’
‘I wish they would have told me what these meant before disappearing.’ I sigh.
Welp I can't go back and I can't wake up so I should stop wasting my time and just go no matter what noises are being made.’
With my mind resolved I stepped forth and kept moving.
*Beep* *Bonk* *Blonk*
‘Three steps.. three new sounds.’ I note mentally as I do it once more In the same rhythm.
*Ding* *Wonk* *Flonk*
‘Hmm, new sounds again?’ I look with a sense of amusement and confusion.
*Bing* *Bong* *Foop*
‘The more I focus, the more the path below my feet seems… different.. I must keep moving forward.’
*Dong* *Zong* *Plop*
‘I hope there’s no trap… those darn candles…’ sigh… ‘what were they thinking?’
*Beep* *Bonk* *Blonk*
‘I can see them now, they are different squares the more you look and pay attention the more you’ll notice the slight glow when stepped on.’
‘However the more I look before me now. There is none left for me to step on, what do I do now?”
I looked behind me wondering if I went the wrong way; to only see extending arms reaching me from the abyss of darkness. They pushed me forwards and I fell, my eyes closed on their own, my body shakes, hitting me like a splash of water after falling into the ocean my skin felt drenched.
Just as I stopped falling I felt like I was sitting once more,
I open my eyes to see I’m in the very room I had left with the darkness now smirking before by face, it’s breathe and stench paraded towards me, as my eyes felt like it was crying thick with tears but as I look down drops of red is leaving its residue onto my clothes.
‘Fuck’
The fangs and the multitude of teeth rows met my view.
Clip, clop, tap, clop, clip.
*Clank* *Swoosh*
In a blink of an eye, the swift noises behind the black mass impaled it with a sword.
Just as I saw the tip of the sword was it yanked back out allowing the black goo to pour out all over me till it vanished like glass.
*Clunk*
As everything cleared up a young lady sheathing her katana with a heavy breath as her shoulders shook up and down.
“I’m sorry I’m late, dear.”
Her voice was breathless but sharp. Sheathing her katana, the metal hissed like steam. Even if it's dim lit, she glowed like a promise. I didn’t know her, but she looked like a younger, yet safer version of Gràva before the monster.
After everything was put away, she took long strides towards me and kneeled beside me and touched my forehead. A bright light overcame my eyes for a second as all the heaviness on my body was released and cleansed.
“This should do for now dear.” She looked at me with her eyes filled with pity and a hint of something unknown. She then held out her hand and without thinking my own hand grasped upon hers.
She smiled as she raised slowly and helped me stand alongside her while guiding me behind the cleared area behind the chair I once sat on.
“I’ll have to apologize in advance, this won’t look too pretty, dear.”
“We don’t have much time after all… or something else may go wrong.” She paused and let go of my hand and lightly placed it in the middle of my back briefly as she looked me straight in the eyes and a black sheen glowed with each word.
“I pray upon me and the candles your protection shall be guaranteed and so mote it be.” As her touch could be felt leaving my body as I saw her grab a knife and slit the palm of her hand right across dripping blood onto the floor.
Not much later all the black candles in the room levitated and surrounded us in a circle with a symbol appearing on the floor looking like a constellation of the sky.
“The black candles can imply you need protection from negative forces, need help banishing others negative forces away from you or help release a binding off you or bind another to leave you alone.” She looks me in the eye while explaining in a serious expression filled with concern.
“Now… let me see what filth has set into your roots.”
Her eyes flared bright.
“Oh… OH… HoW is yOuR Third EyE ChAkRa like—“ her eyes flashed as her head twisted sideways contorting in a terrifying manner. My right eye twitched with fear.
She gasped. “NO… No. No. No—HOW do you have THAT?”
Her hand reached for my chest—and passed straight through me.
I looked down and I saw an odd rectangle sheet with unknown words written.
I look back to see her face paler than a ghost.
“Am I disappearing?” I asked, only for her to freak out,
“YOU HAVE BEEN SEALED…”
“WHEN YOU WAKE, SEEK FOR THE ONE BECKONING YOU TO VISIT!”
“YOUR FATE ONLY LAYS WITH THEM!!” She frantically screamed louder near the end of her speech. As everything began faded, to only hear one last whisper,
“I’m so sorry.”