Myths have circulated throughout the timeline of centuries about a place where the boundary between reality and fantasy has been blurred and broken. As the years progressed and science was used to explain any supernatural encounters, those myths became nothing more than distant fairytales. However, such a mystical place does exist. Whispers carry on the wind beckoning anyone to come forth and fall in its tantalizing clutches yet again.
Only one person has ever crossed that delicate line, and only she has returned with a bitter taste in her mouth. Every possible gift that could be bestowed upon her did not satisfy the naïve girl. But she has since grown, and every touch, smell, and taste that used to dance across her in vivid remembrance has faded into hazy nighttime visions. On the other hand, he who poured his heart into pleasing her by being insurmountably generous still remembers her glowing face every day and lays nostalgic, a broken man.
Little children dance along the ground above him; their tapping tunes forcing unwanted regrets back into his mind. Only, one sits alone on the forest's edge. Perhaps the curtain shall be ripped one last time…
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Rena shifted uncomfortably on the fallen tree she was sitting on as she stared at the entrance to the forest. The lush grass halted at some invisible line, and, as if by magic, large foreboding trees thrust out of the ground touching the sky therefore blocking any sunlight from streaming through. She inhaled with parted lips, the air rushed in cold and sharp. The temperature seemed to have dropped, but she didn't mind. Mothers ushering their children back to the car—music to Rena's ears. The incessant shrieks of young, ignorant children snapping twigs and crunching leaves was the most irritating noise she had ever encountered.
The trees bowed to the wind as it howled in a ferocious tantrum. Her hair whipped violently around her face, stinging whatever flesh it came in contact with. The leaves seemed to be whispering to her, coaxing Rena forth.
Absurd, she thought to herself, Whispering leaves? What am I? Some helpless romantic poet?
Yet again, the wind blew, this time her name was shrieked as though the caller was suffering from some unimaginable torture. Rena stood up in shock before slowly approaching the edge of the forest. The force tugging on her seemed even more impatient at her slow advance. It screamed louder and more violent, but all she could hear was her heart beating wildly within her.
"Rena!" Was that the wind? It sounded so different; concerned and hasty. "Rena, you psycho, what are you doing out in this weather?"
She turned around, shoulders stiff, until she saw her friend, Sarah, jogging towards her. "Oh, it's you."
"Who else would it be?" Sarah clutched her sides and put on a pained smile. "Running and this weather, not a good mix." Rena shrugged as she guided her friend back to the fallen tree. "Anyways, what were you doing? You looked so dazed."
"Just silly fairytales." It felt as though someone had stabbed her with a white-hot shard of glass. Rena doubled over and fell to the ground as she gripped her stomach.
She could hear Sarah's terrified voice calling her name and Rena could feel her body trembling. But something was there, something that was calming her. The sound of the wind had died, but the whispers remained. Rena's mind felt fuzzy and confused, for in her mind she saw masked faces, twirling dresses, and a man in the center of it all smiling with jagged teeth. Music hummed in her ears and a warm silk enveloped her body until she felt as though someone was holding her, moving her. But then the vision began to fade, the dancers wailed in despair, and the man in the midst of it all vanished. The music was replaced with a repetitive, high-pitched beeping that stung her ears. Rena shifted as an attempt to switch back to that exquisite fantasy, but it only made her more aware that her body was being constricted by a rough fabric. She opened her eyes to slits as she adjusted to the brightness of the painfully white room.
"Rena…Are you okay?" The room shifted making Rena queasy. "Do you want me to fetch a nurse?"
She sat up, eyes still reduced to slits. "No. I'm just a little dizzy." Rena paused and felt for her friend's hand. "What happened?"
"I don't know. Neither do the doctor's." Sarah caressed her hand as a mother would. "You just started screaming and you fell to the ground. Scared the shit out of me." She breathed with a laugh.
Rena finally opened her eyes to find a teary, red-eyed girl staring back at her. "You think you were scared…" They shared an awkward laugh. "But seriously, you won't believe what I dreamt about. It was a ballroom dance, there were masked people swirling around me, and there was him…" Sarah's eyes grew wide and her face turned pale. "Are you okay?"
Sarah nodded hastily before turning to the window. "This man…what did he look like?"
"Amazing," Rena sighed while kicking the blankets off and removing the IVs. "His hair was wild, golden, and silky. His clothes glittered with a light that would make the moon envious, and his eyes—"
Sarah threw up the window to cut off her friend's story. Rena shrugged and joined her at the window. Down below, an ambulance was pulling it, its lights flashing.
"What do you say to getting a bite to eat? I'm sure they could use the room." Sarah said gingerly while heading towards the door.
Rena chewed on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. Rarely anything disturbed Sarah, but now it was as if she had seen a ghost.
"You sure that you don't need the room?"
"Nah, I just need some fresh air."
"Then do you want to go back to the par—"
"No!" She cleared her throat uneasily and lowered her voice. "I mean, I would rather just get some food."
Rena checked her watch absentmindedly. "Shit. It's almost six." She looked apologetically at Sarah. "I'm gonna have to take a rain check on the food. I haven't even started the outline for the English essay."
"Ooh." She tsked. "That took me three and a half hours to do. Good luck."
Rena shouted goodbye as she ran out of the hospital. The icy wind bit reproachfully at her nose and it rushed down throat causing her lungs to contract painfully with the effort. Just a few more blocks, she thought, and I'll be in my warm apartment. She rounded another corner, still too proud to stop and catch her breath. Almost there, almost there. The street was eerily quiet. The only noises Rena could hear were her feet hitting the pavement, her breaths rattling her chest, and the wind screeching in her ears. She shook her head. The air isn't screaming, she chastised mentally, the wind can't speak. Yet it continued repeating her name; but, this time, it seemed more patient, gentle. She looked to her left where the voice seemed the most distinguishable and noticed that she was passing the park. Rena ceased running and stood frozen staring at the forest's edge. An ominous pulsing was beating in her mind—no, just a heartbeat—Goosebumps crawled over her skin—it's just the cold—Rena stepped down the curb and began to warily approach the ghostly voice resounding across the swaying branches. Something soft brushed her cheek. It felt like heaven's breath was caressing her tenderly. She turned as it flew away and saw that it was nothing more than a white feather floating with ease on the harsh currents.
Rena…It whispered…Don't hesitate…Prickling shivers washed down her head, exploded on her arms, and slithered down her spine…I have brought you a gift.
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It gets better, or at least I think so. Since this is just an intro I let it stay pretty short, but the chapters are going to be longer.
And Rena's friend Sarah is, in fact, THE Sarah (Williams). Yippee for complications!
Read, enjoy, review.
