Chapter 3: The Counseling Room

Everything dissolved before me. It all swirled like a vast whirlpool, sucking me in with it. Next thing I knew, I was in a large high-ceilinged room with humongous tall pillars supporting it.

There were a lot of other people in there. Teens, mostly. They formed a line. And I was at the back. They seemed to be moving forward. I squint my eyes to where they were all headed.

At the far end of the line was a woman sitting on a grand mahogany table. The woman had a wise face and pale blue eyes that looked like they could read thoughts. It probably would not be clever to lie. But what intrigued me was that behind her, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I wondered if I could find the end to that passage. It looked as if it would never end. It was scary. But to my horror, that was where all the people who passed the lady were going. Well, I could see why not. Because it seemed to be the only way you could go to get out of this place.

The line moved slowly. So that gave me time to take in my surroundings. I realized that nothing in this room produced light. But light was definitely present. It was certainly odd.

Then I took a look at the people. They looked as clueless as I was. Though some were chattering and laughing. Some were making friends. I figured that I should be making friends too. The guy in front of me was sort of kind looking.

He had extremely contrasted dark curly hair, pale white creamy skin, dark green eyes, a straight athletic nose, wide jaws, full red lips and gleaming white teeth. He looked athletic.

He somehow looked very familiar, as though I've known him my whole life. I figured that the whole 'Have we met?' thing would be a great conversation starter. And so I did.

'Hello. I'm Lucas Raphael. You can call me Luke. Have we met?' I said cheerfully.

'Hi. My name is John. John Nathan. No, I don't think we have. But you look incredibly familiar,' he said, grinning and giving me a handshake.

'Where do you think we are?' I asked.

'From what I've heard, it's some kind of counseling room. A place where we get judged,' John said.

'Judged for what?'

He shrugged. 'Everything, I guess'

'Let's ask people'

'Let's'

And so we did. After probably fifteen minutes of continuous asking, we finally settled for the information we had: The dark tunnel led to a place, we would be asked a question that would decide our fate and not to worry.

A pop sound came from behind my back. I was in this room long enough to know what that meant. Someone new arrived. I looked behind me. Standing behind me(a little dazed and confused looking) was the most beautiful creature I have ever set my eyes upon(for as long as I could remember. And that was not much because everything about my past is quite hazy).

She had glowing gold skin, dark brown eyes, plump red lips, wavy dark shoulder-length hair, a pear-shaped body that truly illustrated its curves and long slender tanned legs that made me want to think inappropriate thoughts.

I could not help but grin at her. She did likewise, showing me white teeth with razor-sharp fangs that horribly reminded me of vampires. I shuddered. She must have seen it because she glued her lips together and blushed.

'I am truly sorry if I have scared you. My teeth are…dentally enhanced, you might say,' she said with a smile. Her voice was deep and sexy and it made me swoon. How attracting this girl was!

'Are you okay?' she asked, giggling.

'Y-yes,' I managed to say.

I realized that John was next in line to sit at the table where the woman sat. To be honest, I was a little worried about him. But somehow, I knew he was going to be alright. When he was next, I wished him luck and after he thanked me he stepped forward and sat.

'Ooh. Your friend is so…yummy,' Rose said dreamily.

I could not help feeling a little pang of jealousy. But it did not matter. I felt that I was already taken. But I'm not so sure by whom.

'You're not so bad yourself,' she added, winking at me (I felt a little better).

Rose gave me a gentle push forward. So I was next. I felt slightly edgy. What if I couldn't answer any of her questions?

I sat down (rather hesitantly) and did not dare to look straight at the woman. So I just looked hard at the table.

'Lucas,' she said in a warm and friendly voice, 'I have been expecting you.'

This made me incline my head and look straight at her. Her face was not at all how I expected it to be. Her face looked kind and graceful. I felt bad for thinking that she was cold looking and mean. She was not at all like that.

'Can you tell me why I'm here?' I asked.

'That is for you to find out yourself,' she said, 'you are part of a prophecy, Lucas. And you will embark on a quest that most will fail. You will find what is most important to you in this quest. Surprises of all sorts will ambush you to keep you going or to keep you away.'

'But why me? I can't do this thing on my own. Can't I get some kind of help?'

'Your friends will accompany you on your journey. They will stick with you to the very end. And my young hero, you must remember this: Quarrels do not last forever'

'Got it…What would happen if I fail?'

'Alas, I do not know the answer to that. Now please, there are people waiting for their questions to be answered. Behind me is the Tunnel of Faith. To those who do not have faith, will never find the exit. It will be dark. Just keep a hand on the wall and walk alongside it. Remember to have faith. The tunnel can lead you to insanity. You will hear screams and shrieks which is rather disturbing, so I advise you to be as brave as possible. Good luck, young one'

She smiled and gave me a gentle nod. Now, I just have to go into the tunnel. I stood up and thanked her. I looked at the tunnel. A chill ran up my spine. I trembled at the sight of it. But I think I can handle it.

I turned to Rose and gave her an encouraging smile. She had to go in too. Even though she looked highly capable of handling things by herself, I didn't have the heart to leave her to go into the tunnel by herself. An idea struck my mind.

'Rose,' I whispered, 'I'll wait for you in the tunnel. It would be too dark to see each other. This is why we are going to hoot. Got it?'

She bit her lip and nodded. She looked a little hesitant.

'What's wrong?' I asked.

She sighed. For a moment, I thought she did not want to go with me. But that was not it.

'I overheard your conversation,' she said, 'the woman said that we had to have faith. What we're about to do isn't very faithful.'

'Oh. No, it's not like that. I just want to go with you.' I said.

At this, she smiled and giggled and blushed.

Then I absent-mindedly held her hand and kissed it gently. Her skin was so soft. It was like kissing a baby's bottom.

At this, she went as red as her luscious lips.

I let go of her hand and waved her goodbye. I slowly walked toward the huge mass of empty darkness and took a deep breath. I realized I was hesitant about this. I glanced behind me. Rose was already sitting down with the woman and deeply immersed in conversation. I sighed deeply. It's all going to be okay, I thought.