I just read the rules and guidelines of Fanfiction.
I'd never thought I'd ever do that.

Most storybooks Isaac had read started with once upon a time. But how can there be once upon a time when there was no time in the Afterlife?

The Afterlife was just a dark black hole in the sky.

And Isaac himself was just a dark, black shadow living inside that hole.

Not just that, but there was a king of that hole, and evil figure. And not just that, but the king had subjects, the ones who trapped innocent people inside the hole.

And not just that, but Isaac was one of his subjects.

He wasn't one to do nothing when everything was happening.

But what choice did he have, for goodness sake? All he ever did was sit around, and turn people into shadows. Into nothing. Because he was nothing but a shadow, a nightmare and a pile of ashes.

And a boy

A boy

A boy

A boy

So long since he had heard someone call him a boy. So long since he became something a boy should never become. So long since he had been just Isaac.

He passed by Bob several times on this day. The usually talkative Fearling said nothing. He took in nothing. He argued about nothing. Because he couldn't argue about anything. Isaac wanted to apologize for slapping him in the face. He wanted Theresa to apologize for grabbing his heart from his chest and keeping it for her. He wanted Pitch to apologize for taking away Bob's voice. But he knew it didn't matter anymore. Nothing did.

Not until Bob got his voice back.

If he ever did.

Which probably won't happen.

Because Pitch didn't give second chances.

Isaac needed to take a walk.

Isaac found the stairs to the mirror tower, and decided to go there. There was nowhere else to go. Not that it mattered.

He, as a Fearling in a shape of a human, had to climb up the stairs. This was one of the unpleasant qualities a Voice Fearling had. Not that he was a brat, but the stairs were fifty-six steps high. And the steps were very high.

Isaac finally got to the top, panting, trying to catch his breath while listening to the beautiful sound of people's voices.

Wait

Voices.

Katherine was up here, and so was Theresa.

"Give me a reason why I should trust you." That was obviously Katherine.

"I can't think of one." That was obviously Theresa.

"Fair enough."

All he heard next were mumbles.

Isaac got closer.

"It's not like we can just go up to Pitch and…" Katherine mumbled something Isaac couldn't hear.

Isaac got closer.

"Yeah well we can- Wait a minute." Theresa's footsteps became louder. "Well, what have we got here?"

Isaac found Theresa standing right in front of him. "An innocent kid that you should just ignore?"

"First of all, how are you a kid? Second of all, how do I ignore you when you're right here?"

"I'll go," Isaac suggested, brilliantly.

Theresa grabbed him by the collar. "Oh no you won't. After you heard that, you will not escape. If you want to keep your voice and maybe your family by next Wednesday, then I suggest you keep quiet to the rest of the world."

Isaac gaped as Theresa punched him in the face, two, three times.

"Tess! You can't just do that! He's innocent!" Katherine yelled, running to Isaac.

"See, Theresa? I said I was-"

Theresa slapped his hand. "You, shut up. Katherine, he heard us! We can't let this guy go without threatening him, at the very least."

Over the course of years, Isaac had learned that keeping silent was the best and most efficient way to get information out of someone. It was much true.

"Then we won't let him go! We'll make him join us, letting him help us with our plan."

"Not everyone who enters this room wants to help us!"

Katherine pointed to a Mirror. "What's that for?"

"Prophesizing dreams. I already-"

"So why don't we prophesize his dreams? Let his dreams tell us what he's planned for!"

Isaac didn't want them to prophesize his dreams.

Theresa lifted him by the collar painfully and dragged him in front of a mirror. "Now how does this thing work?"

"You don't know?" Katherine and Isaac said at the same time, startling each other.

"No one's ever taught me." Hopeless.

Isaac didn't want her to know.

Isaac turned to Theresa slowly, observing her use-to-be brown hair and use-to-be blue eyes. All he said was, "Some things are not meant to be taught." And it was true. It was so, so true.

Katherine waved a hand in front of the mirror. She poked the mirror. She kicked the mirror. "What's this supposed to be? Some magic mirror from Snow White?"

"What's that?"

Isaac didn't want to explain.

He waved the subject of fairy tales off, telling Theresa to just make the Mirrors work in some way.

She told him to close his eyes and fall

Asleep

Sleep

Sleep…

X~x~X

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Isaac.

And that was all there was.

Dramatic. Eh.

~Alicio