The days here were so… cold. She almost couldn't and stand it, but she still had more than three years to go.
The weather recently had been rather violent; today being the fourth of a particularly nasty blizzard. Comes with the territory when you live in the mountains, she supposed. At any rate, classes had been cancelled because the professors couldn't get through the roads, and none of the students could really leave, either. So Sarah huddled inside her dorm room, drinking hot water and curling up in a blanket. She stared into the madness outside. The power was down. Her peers were playing some ridiculous game in the hall. Her roommate was sleeping in. What could she do to pass the time?
'I have reordered time…'
What? Where had she heard that before? And why think of it now? The words, the voice; It was a vivid memory, but she couldn't place it for the life of her. She furrowed her brow. The voice too… she knew it from somewhere… 'Isn't that generous?'
KATHUNK! The door jolted abruptly, and Sarah's heart jumped up into her throat. "OW! Sonuva… I think you broke something!" the muffled voice echoed through her door. She sighed in agitation, swallowed her heart back down and looked out the window again.
Who had she spoken to about reordering time? Had she seen it somewhere? In a book? No, she recalled the voice clearly. A movie then?
THRUNK. Impact by something hard was causing her hollow door to reverberate; this was annoying. Even her sleeping roomie was tossing at the disruption.
She left the comfort of her blanket and stomped to the door, flinging it open. "Hey- do you really have to do that out here?" She tried to ignore the biting chill of the hallway. She'd put a bath towel at the crack of the door to keep it insulated and was now painfully aware that all her hard-earned warmth was escaping rapidly.
"Sorry. Just bored, ya know?"
Apparently they were playing mattress wrestling, or mattress wars. Something that involved tying mattresses around yourself and barreling into someone else at high speeds.
"Can't you take that into the basement?"
"But it's cold down there!"
"It's cold in here, too."
"Yeah, but the floors ain't concrete."
"Then go into the lounge, or something."
The one arguing with her scratched his head, "Yeah… yeah, I guess we can do that. Sorry."
She didn't waste any more heat on a reply; she just closed her door and tackled her blanket. "Ugh, not the same…" she whined to no one. Using her toe, she felt for the dial on the heater at the foot of her bed and clicked it on before opting to fall asleep. What a crummy winter.
It was dark, but warm. Where was she? She wondered, but already knew. She just couldn't think about it, or she'd forget again.
Firelight flickered at the end of the stone corridor, up a flight of stairs. The orange shadows danced on the far wall, and she assumed the source would lay at the height of the stairwell. She took a step when something whispered.
…Time…
She spun in full circle. Who had said that?
…I can be cruel…
"Hello?"
…You cowered before me…
"Who's there?" She was at the foot of the stairs, but her breathing seemed much more labored than it should have been. When had she started to sweat?
…Sarah, beware…
She took a step, and another. Anxiety welled up inside as she slowly rounded the spiral.
…You can have everything…
Just a bit further…
…Just let me rule you…
A fireplace! She could see it! But who was there?
…Do as I say…
A wooden door, wide open. Beckoning her on.
…Just fear me…
Legs. Someone was in there! It was him! Who was he? He was the man saying all these things, the man who'd said them before, but who was that?
Love me!
These words were frantic, and she sprinted up those last stairs. Before it's too late…
STOP!
The figure flashed briefly across her line of vision, but she couldn't make anything out. She was at the landing now, and she out stretched her hand. She wanted to reach... to touch… but…
With a thunderous finality, the door closed before her.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.
Sarah bolted upright. Someone at the door.
Groggily, she scurried up and stumbled across the room, fiddling with the handle and opening it up to glare at whoever had interrupted her dream.
"Aunt Kristen?" Her short, plump, red-nosed aunt was sniffling in the hall, all bundled in layers and shivering like a wet dog.
She was a bit dumbstruck. "Erm… what brings you here?"
"Sarah." Her breathing seemed shaky and nervous. "I, ah, I came here to bring you news. Nobody could reach you by the phones, you see, or you'd have been told a while ago, and I… I am so sorry to have to tell you like this, to have to be the one to tell you, but someone had to and I was closest to you and I'm really not sure how to put it into words…"
Sarah's breath hitched. "What's wrong?"
The older woman seemed to look at the floor and inhale sharply, "Oh God… how do I say this?"
"Just say it." The suspense was driving her crazy.
"It's your parents. And Toby. There was an accident in the car and…"
Sarah looked at her expectantly. "And…?"
"Sarah, no one made it."
The myriad of hypotheses flooding her mind came to a grinding halt. "W-what?"
"I'm sorry."
She looked at her aunt in disbelief, "They're gone."
She nodded.
"As in dead. You're sure? How do you know?"
"Your uncle saw them himself. He identified them. It's true, Sarah."
She was feeling numb. "Oh. Okay."
"Will you be alright?"
I don't know. "Yes, I'll be okay."
"Would you like to stay with family tonight?"
"N-no. Thank you. I need to be alone."
"Well, if you're sure." She went on a little more about something Sarah didn't really hear. Something about a service, relatives. Sarah could only nod on, pretending to hear. When her aunt finally left, Sarah wasn't sure what to think. She didn't know what to feel.
I need to feel something, don't I? Why aren't I... sad?
She stood in that doorway for twenty minutes before the chill finally got to her. Moving felt so foreign after standing still for so long. She closed the door, laid back in bed.
The silence echoed loudly, and a little bit – just a little – Sarah wanted to be dead too.