Chapter Six

I could feel the rain plopping down on my face as if my windows had flown open from the winds of the storm. Perhaps it did, as I do not recall leaving the window open. My mattress was in sharp contrast to my soft body, and it felt as I was lying on a carved-out rock, molded to hold a body. Even the thick and seemingly weighted covers couldn't spare me from the winds whirling dangerously outside. I felt sympathy for anyone who had no home to protect themselves, for I think the winds were so strong, they could take a person's breath and leave them to fall dead.

I pulled the covers around me even tighter and began even harder to dream, for it was my only comfort. I dreamed that I was in my childhood, holding on to the many arms of all those who loved me, never to be lost again to the clutches and fangs of isolation. A smile rose to my face as the gloom began to seep out of me. It's as if the golden light of bliss from the goddess Reinon shined her light on me and gave me eternal closure. Tears intermingled on my lips with the smell of rain.

A presence seemed to be upon me, watching me, but it was as if it were a calm presence, not unlike the spirit of ancestors protecting. I had always managed to stay a distance away from thoughts like these, beliefs that could not be proven, or at least until before I found this book. Could it be that I am at such a faltering and low point in my life that I am to believe that a book could mask my pain and take me within its essence and continue my existence peacefully? Despite Miles's passionate warnings, I do not truly know if such things exist, and so I think it'd be better if I continue my life it was meant to be lived.

I heard the door drag open and footsteps fill the floor downstairs. My eyes shot open, and an ocean wave of disease rolled and crashed against me. I went searching for my knife under the pillow, but when I laid my hand against the cold and rough mass, there were no pillows to be found.

My panic fueled me and my movements, as well as sights, were hazy in the darkness. The footsteps took fast strides up the stairs as if its legs were long. I try to take a look around to confirm if this was really my house, and no longer did I see the plain, waxy white walls nor the wooden décor (with its sometimes-exhilarating smells of candles, pieces of candies in golden paper, and a small painting of my grandmother.)

The footsteps came to a stop next to the door. It felt like my fear was rolled up into one and I was to explode. The door tore open, and I saw a leering, hungry look in its iris that was an irritated red. The whites of their eyes were an ancient gray. It seemed that everything froze and returned into silence. There were no more winds. It walked over to me with what seemed to be a slow lurch.

So, I threw my head back sharply, almost enough that I thought it would snap off, and threw my hands to my face, wailing at the horror that I was facing. A creeping knowledge had begun to weigh upon my chest and sent uncomprehending shivers through all the bones in my body. The sweat dripping onto my hands was the last thing I could understand happening before the feeling of me closing my eyes took hold. It was a mercy.

***

I woke up as early as I could muster at 7:00 am and though I dreamed of saving her, I was attacked by the idea that we had no idea what we could do to help her avert her attention from that book. It was almost helpless to help someone that would not help themselves, but we couldn't just give up on her.

Everything seemed ominous, with the day seeming to be night and the stillness of the trees and birds despite the hectic winds of the night. We must wade through our feelings of trepidation and anxiety to save a friend from delusion and the confusion that comes with supernatural beings and inanimate objects. It could cost them their soul.

Gathering myself up from the bed, I walk to the kitchen, and though I am someone who likes the feeling of hot water taking away the dirt of last night or for breakfast to be in my stomach sitting comfortably, the urgency of today holds no comforts or peace. A persistent knock on the door broke me from my thoughts and I finished dressing. I open the door to find Margery in a flowing light purple dress with short puffy sleeves. She looked as if she descended from the skies to earth. An unreal beauty.

Near to her is a carriage was waiting, with horse's troubled braying. Neither of us said a word as we settled in our seats. All our fears burrowed into our hearts deeply, stilling our tongues and keeping our eyes drawn on any traces of Vanity's house that would pop up and lead us inevitably on our journey.

That moment soon struck and I called out to the coachman, perhaps a little too briskly, to pull over and stop. We then waltzed out the car sedately, looking at the comfortable house. It would have been a normal setting, even comforting, but the apprehension marred my first time seeing the home.

"Don't go in there…" A voice begged. It rode on the wind. I stopped in my place and put a hand on Margery's shoulder, and then steadying her when she almost trips. The energy around the house felt charged and dangerous, almost as if waiting for a climax, someone to disrupt it.

"Did you hear that ?" I stared at Margery, hoping it wasn't a nervous thought.

"Hear what ?" Her face contorted in worry.

I didn't respond, but it felt as if there was a tingling sensation in my head. I kept looking around and straining my ear so that I may hear the voice whenever it came.

I read fear when I turned around to face her with intense eyes. "Something tells me we're not alone here."

Her eyes went wide. "What do you mean?" She questioned, as she began to tremble.

Then, a cacophony of voices rained down, urging us away from this patch of land and that only misfortune would meet us at the door.

The feminine voices all bellowed, "You will meet the same fate as your friend if you continue." They were all worn and of steel.

Then as it was just reaching its climax, the voices passed along into silence. We both said nothing as our thoughts were confirmed. At this, I was lost on how to approach our plans, as she was already gone. Margery began to whimper and covered her eyes, sinking to her knees in the ground.

"W-we failed! I knew we should've had gone here when we had the chance."

In absence of a working brain, I found there was nothing I could do in my guilt, only to comfort her and pull her in a hug. She buried her head in my chest and wailed loudly.

A glare of light struck near us and suddenly everything was unseeable. I couldn't see the trees, the grass, and not even the sky. But in front of us was a figure calmly overlapping the brightness. She wore a loose-fitting robe with golden symbols dancing up and down the edges of her sleeves. She had bright hazel eyes and a nest of beautiful thick hair.

Her demeanor seemed as if someone who was here before and had a wiser presence. Before I could see her face, I could feel the air leave my body and my eyes rolling back into darkness.