BORN FROM A WISH Epilogue
The moist fog stained the window; she wiped it nervously with her hand, feeling the cool condensation on her palm.
"I can't remember my name…"
Shifting in her seat adjusting her skirt, she cautiously thumbed the handle on a small silver pistol.
"I stare out this window, in the empty Heaven's Night Club; I gaze out at the fog, watching as it grows thicker by the hour. How long have I been sitting here? Minutes? Hours? I can't even tell anymore."
"When I woke up, I was all alone. The town's empty, abandoned. Everyone's gone… is it because of those monsters?"
"What do I do now? I'm so confused, why can't I remember anything? The last thing I can remember is dancing, dancing late at my job and then falling asleep here in this couch."
Leaning back in her chair, she rests her head back, staring upward. "How long have I been asleep? It looks like time itself has forgotten this place, the town has been closed off, and most of the buildings are run down and boarded up. What happened, where did all the people go?"
In her mind she wanders off, and hears it. It was a sound on the edge of her hearing, a toll, almost like a bell, sounding off in the distance. Something was calling her, something deep inside of her. "I have to do something. If I just sit here, I'm going to lose my mind. Those monsters will get me; they'll kill me, if I don't find a way out of here.
So do I fight and live? Or do I sit and rot away?"
And there was that emptiness, that piercing pang in her soul. "In my heart, I can feel it. I know it's true. I have nothing left to live for. Maybe I should just cock this pistol and…" She paused. "But, I'm scared to die. I'm so afraid of pain. I don't want to be here. I have to escape somehow. But how?"
Quickly she leaps to her feet, the heels of her designer boots clicking on the hardwood floor. "I have to find someone. I don't want to be alone anymore… But is there anyone left in this town?"
Curls of wispy mist billow around her, as she moves down the empty and haunted streets. Her arms folded around her svelte and trim frame, keeping her warm in the chilled air. The fog engulfing her vision, she sees only a few dozen yards in front of her. Her eyes carefully scanning the sides of the streets, picking out fenced in homes built closely to the road. A residential area, many of the once cozy homes boarded up.
"It feels like this town has been abandoned for years, how long have I been asleep?"
Passing a two story Victorian, a shadow in the first floor bay window catches her eye.
"Is there a living person in there?"
Filled with hope, yet still cautious, the young woman approaches the spacious double doors. Pausing she grabs the heavy iron knocker and pounds on the door, twice.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
Turning the handle slowly she pushes the door open, the door suddenly slams shut. A small yelp escapes from her mouth, as the young woman regains her composure.
"Ah… is somebody there?" She lightly taps with her fist. "Open up, if your there…"
Silence.
"Hello?" She knocks again.
"Stop it. You're disturbing me." A deep voice sharply responds from inside the house.
Putting her hand over her chest, the young woman let loose a sigh of relief. "Whew, thank god. I finally found somebody. Can you open the door?"
"…No. Go away."
"But why?"
"Is it really necessary for me to answer all of your tedious questions?"
Irritated, the young woman responded with a defiant tone. "Y,yes!"
"… Oh, I didn't know that. Interesting." The voice continued. "Look, I want to be alone. You locals just irritate me."
Gripping the door handle tightly the young woman tries the door again, it doesn't budge. "Please I just want to see another human face."
"… Hmmm, really?" The voice responded, dismissively.
"Yes! Do you know what's happening? Do you know what happened here in this town? There's no one here… just monsters."
"Yes – I - know… But so what? It has nothing to do with me. Besides, no one here means there's no one to disturb me."
"What? You mean you want to be alone in this insane asylum?"
"Yes, exactly." The voice paused with an evident sigh, the young woman turned to leave. "But how can you say that it is this town that is insane? Perhaps it is you who are insane, or maybe even both of us… hopelessly insane."
She stood still deep in her thoughts.
"Now" The voice continued. "..are you satisfied? Would you leave me alone?"
A flash of enlightenment struck her. Something fit into place. "M, my name is… it's M, mar… Mar… Maria. What's your name?"
Silence.
"Hello?" She knocks again.
"Ernest, my name is Ernest."
"Hemmingway?" She shot back?
"…I didn't know you were a comedian." The voice paused. "Now go away…"
"Ernest?…" Silence again. "I'll be back later."
Cleverly Maria left the front porch steps back peddling around to the rear of the house. She found an open window, giving her access to the first floor of the two-story Victorian.
"Ernest forgive me, but I can't be alone anymore. I have to see another human face. Maybe once you see I'm not a threat or a monster, you'll let me stay."
Standing in an empty living room, Maria gazed around a dusty linen covered chamber. Several small pieces of furniture were the only occupants of this place. Time itself had seemingly forgotten this home; it barely held any traces of habitation at all. Maria slowly traced her way across the floor, stopping at the mantle over an old slate fireplace. There placed with care gathering ages of dust and grime was a faded but once highly regarded picture framed in antiqued silver.
The picture held the image of a young child, gold auburn hair pulled back in ponytails, a joyful happy face, and a teddy bear, a blue teddy bear in her arms. Her clothes appearing a bit dated, but her smile seemed warm and overpowering burning through the ages of soot and grime now overtaking the photograph.
Picking up the framed picture, Maria gazes into the little girl's eyes. "She seems so happy and so loved… But where's Ernest? Is he alone here?"
Walking from room to room, the house appears more and more empty and haunted, dismal, and abandoned. Cobwebs, covered furniture, boarded windows, are all that find her on her quiet and somber search of Ernest's home.
Climbing the stairs; leading to the second floor, Maria kept in deep thought. "Who is Ernest? Where is he?" She had yet to see a shred of his existence anywhere in the dust-ridden first floor. The hallway at the top was equally abandoned. One door was slightly ajar.
Pushing it open, Maria finds herself in a bedroom, dressed with faded wallpaper printed with animals, a small faded bed is still neatly made with worn bed clothes gathering dust sitting timelessly upon it is a blue teddy bear with a missing eye. A small closet full of old moth eaten dresses fit for a young girl opens up in the far corner, as Maria curiously inspects the room.
Glancing behind her, taking notice of an old cracked mirror, she pauses. Staring at herself. "I look so much like her…" Maria frowned. "Like who? Who is it I look like?"
In the background of her image, for a brief instant, for only a moment, Maria swore she caught a glimpse of a small skirt and a bob of golden curl in the mirror. Turning suddenly, half startled, she searches around the room.
"Hel, hello?"
A small girlish giggle echoes down the hallway.
"He, hey wait…"
Maria followed the sound of small footsteps down the hall, through an open narrow door up another set of narrow steps up to the attic. The scent of moth balls, and must curled in her nostrils, old furniture and covered belongings littered the storage space.
"Is, is there someone up here?"
Searching the attic for many minutes, Maria became convinced that whoever she followed must have either escaped her pursuit or never come this way. Standing in front of a large gable window that had been smashed and boarded up sometime in the past, Maria's eyes took notice of an old faded piece of paper, barely visible, lodged under a rotted floorboard. Picking it up reading it, it appeared to be a letter.
"To My Dearest Daddy"
Carefully Maria Opened it.
Daddy,
I love you, I'm sorry I was bad. I know you didn't mean to hit me. Please don't be mad at me. I hope you like your present. I made it myself, I only went in the attic because I hid it there. Don't be mad at me daddy
Happy Birthday, Love
Amy Porter
"Amy Porter?" Maria paused. "I need to find Ernest." Putting the letter in her pocket, returning downstairs to the second floor, Maria sighs. "Ernest, where are you?"
Moving solemnly down the hallway, she pauses at the only door seemingly locked and closed; under it a dim flickering light could be seen dancing odd shadows from the dusty cracks. It appeared to be the door leading to the master bedroom.
Gently Maria knocks on the door. "Ernest?"
To her surprise a deep voice replies.
"What are you doing in here? I told you to go away…"
"I'm sorry, but I didn't want to be alone out there. Will you please forgive me?"
"What do you want?"
"Do you know a little girl named Amy?"
"… Why are you asking me that?"
"This letter "TO MY DEAREST DADDY"… It's from a girl named Amy Porter. You're 'Daddy'?"
"…Yes." The deep voice seemed surprised. "Where the hell did you find that?"
"It was in the attic, under an old floorboard."
A long pause followed, Maria fiddled uncomfortably, not sure what to ask next, until his voice broke the silence.
"No…now I see… What a fool… Now… when it's too late, I finally understand why. Why she was there…" Ernest's voice cracking. "Why she was holding my present in her hand when she… when she fell… Or, was she pushed? I can't remember anymore…"
"Ernest, Amy… Did she…? I'm so sorry I didn't mean to remind you."
"There is no need to apologize. You didn't remind me. I've never forgotten, that is why I am still here. But I never knew she had written me a letter… All this time and… I never knew…"
Ernest's voice paused, seemingly collecting its thoughts and his composure behind the closed bedroom door.
"Some things we forget and some things we can never forget… It's funny… sometimes I'm not sure which is sadder. It's been many years, but I still…"
"Ernest, I'm sorry. I didn't know…"
"No, it's fine… what happened… I was unable… Anyway, Maria, that letter?"
"Yes, I'll slide it under the door…"
"Thanks. Hey, Maria…?"
"Yeah?"
"You've done a very kind thing for me…"
"Well…"
"I must admit I was surprised you noticed me in the window, and could hear me at the door. I didn't think that would be possible since…"
Pausing once more, Maria puts her ear on the door listening closely to Ernest's words.
"Since we've been talking, I've realized why this was. Now I feel so sorry for you…"
"What are you talking about?"
"Maria, I want to help you… If you'll let me. It's time I stopped feeling sorry for myself, and actually did something about what's happening here. But that means facing some truth, some painful truth…"
"What do you mean? You're talking about the monsters right?"
"There was a time, when I used to care about things like that. I used to have somewhat of a purpose and a meaning in my life, I used to help people. I had almost forgotten what that was like…"
Ernest's voice drifted away, for a moment it grew quiet. "Maria, in the apartment next door, there is a bottle containing a white liquid. I don't know exactly where it is, but I know it's in there somewhere. I must have it."
"You...want me to get it for you?"
"Please..."
"Why don't you just get it yourself?"
"If I could, believe me I would but I'm just… Let's say I'm very limited…"
"...It's white, you said?"
"Yes, you can't miss it. It's rather obvious. The door should be open."
"How is this supposed to help me?"
"I can't say for certain. I'm not even sure if it will work, just don't ask me anymore questions, do this for me."
"Well, okay…" Maria suspiciously replied. "I suppose I don't mind fighting for an impossible cause anyway. It beats just giving up and doing nothing."
Speaking over her shoulder, Maria turned to leave.
"Ernest? Is this supposed to be some kind of miracle? Are their really such things as miracles?"
"…Miracles? Well…, Maria, there is God, and then there is… Silent Hill. I suppose it all depends on where you put your faith, be it good or ill."
"Yeah, maybe that's the problem."
"Who, Silent Hill, or God?"
"It doesn't matter…"
Ernest's voice paused. "I happen to know a little about God and a little about this town. Out of the two of us, I'm the only one originally from here, you know."
"You're the only one? How do you know that I'm not originally from here?"
"It's a wild guess but…"
"I'll be back with your… eh liquid"
"…thanks."
Leaving the empty house, mind swirling with thoughts and questions, Maria re-enters the dismal swallowing fog. Maria found the next house unlocked and easily accessible. With cautious nervous steps, she enters the house next door, it's empty, dusty, with mouse droppings and cobwebs. Searching around step after step inducing groaning floor board after groaning floor board, she enters a room riddled with occultist markings. Plastic sheets hanging in broken windows blow slightly in a cold breeze.
Just as Ernest had said perched atop an old dusty dining room table was an old glass vial of white silky fluid. Next to it were several other items of interest. An old open book, and a paper with charcoal sketches on it. The book and the paper were written in an undistinguishable language, some diagrams were labeled in measurements, but one phrase written in English was recognizable.
"To bring the spirit back to the flesh."
A brisk cold breeze blew through the house, a strong presence was in the room with her. Pocketing the liquid Maria quickly made her way
back outside through the mist to Ernest's room.
"Uh, Ernest… It's me Maria. I have the bottle you wanted."
"Thank you Maria. That's the only item I couldn't get myself. By the time I found out about it, I could no longer leave this house."
"Okay, well what does this mean now?"
"It means I can leave this place, I can do more than just sit here endless day after day, remembering her soft golden curls, the sound of her laughter and the softness of her footsteps in the hall."
"So now, you can leave your house?" Maria asked. "I'm not sure I fully
understand."
"You see, now I am free. My pain no longer holds me, my guilt and self-loathing, I can let go of it all now… Instead I can help others like you, or like the other one that's coming."
"The other one?"
"Yes, I knew you would know something about that….you know he's coming don't you Maria?'
"I… I don't… know…"
"Anyway, you should leave him alone, Maria. That would be best, trust me."
"Yes, but will..."
"I should go now, so long…" Ernest's voice interrupted.
"But.. .wait. There's still so much I don't understand."
"Maria, the dark gods are here."
There was a long pause.
"…I'm not sure "God" is the right word." Maria replied.
"You can feel it can't you? It's planted in you, after all you were born in this town, even though you're not originally from here."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"Do you believe in God?"
"Not really."
"That's fine then."
"Ernest, can you open this door at least?"
"I've never allowed anyone in here before. Inside are many bad memories. Besides it's a dead end. You won't find anything useful in here."
Getting nowhere, Maria changed her tone "So... What if I had said I believed in God?"
"That man James, he's a done a bad thing…"
"James?" Maria's mind suddenly filling with images and thoughts. "How do I know that name? Yes, I know… He's done something, something horrible…."
"You know just like I know. You can feel him; hear the dark whispers around you. He's coming here; you were brought here for him. He's looking for the you, that really isn't you. You're a just a reflection, but there is always a choice, allow him to suffer through this by himself. Perhaps that would be the better way…"
Holding her head in her hands, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I know…" She sobs. "I know… Somehow I know it all… But still I'll make it work; I'll make him love me. He'll forget all about her, I'll become her for him. He'll love me, and we'll be together..."
"… It's beginning." Ernest's voice interrupted.
"I don't care what you say! We were meant to be together, I won't let you tear us apart! NO! I WON'T. I love James!"
"I'm so sorry…" Ernest replied. "But I won't sit back and let you take that man with you. Unlike both of us there is still a chance that one might be saved."
"Because, you think he's a good person?! Or worthy or forgiveness?" Maria scathed. "Do you think you know something, I don't!?"
"You're just a dream born from a wish." Ernest paused. "The dark…"
"Anyway, that's just what you think." Maria cut him off. "Who the hell do you think you are anyway? You don't really know anything. And I've had enough of this talking through doors!"
With a sudden heave Maria forces her way through the bedroom door. With a thud it flies open. But the room is empty and bare; only dust and sheet covered furniture lined with dust and grime occupy the room. Not a single sign of disturbance or footprint in the soft dust was visible in the dim light.
"Ernest? Where are you?" Maria's heart began pounding. "What's going on? Am I crazy?"
Empty. A cold chill pursed up her spine, her anger subsiding. Feelings of loneliness and abandoned assailed her again. "Am I all alone? Who was I speaking too?"
A small table remained, the only item in the room to rebuff the onslaught of dust that had overtaking the chamber. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling as she approached the table, there was no sign of disturbance in the room, the chamber was dark, small shards of light broke through the boarded up windows.
There were several items on the desk. A book, written in some foreign language possibly Latin, a large black burning candle burning with a sickly sweet incense, a carved stone goblet, a ivory handled knife, and the vial of white liquid that she had brought Ernest. Neatly placed off to the side, a small scrap of worn paper caught her eye written in faded blue ink.
You'll live again
No one shall sever
Here you are young
Once more
Together…
"So this is your secret." Maria mused scanning the contents of the table. "What is all this? Is this how you plan to help… It doesn't matter.
Not anymore…" Leaving the mysterious contents alone, Maria's eyes found one last point of interest in the empty room. An old faded news article neatly folded lying on an old desk collecting dust with the rest of the room.
LOCAL CLERGYMAN COMMITTS SUICIDE
The local congregation of The First Methodist Church of the Brethren is in shock this holiday weekend asking themselves the question "why?". Why a man who meant so much to his congregation, and so much to the people whose lives he seemingly touched would take his own life.
The body of beloved Reverend Ernest Porter was found hanging in the second story study of his home, late Friday evening. Police officers on the scene discovered his lifeless body strung up on the rafters of his 19th century Victorian ceiling. A single word was carved into his oak desk with a pen knife, his daughter's name, Amy.
An apparent suicide, detectives are still investigating the case. According to reports the local minister had become reclusive and his behavior increasingly erratic following the tragic death of his seven year old daughter, Amy Porter.
Though the investigation into his daughter's death has officially closed, questions still abound as to the details of the accident. Leaving many to question the dark thoughts and intense pain hidden behind the warm smile of a tortured widower; who died broken-hearted and alone.
Glancing downward from the yellowing crumbling article in her hands, her eyes scanning the desk holding the items. Moving the bowl, rubbing dust, her small fingers find the grooves carved into its top so many years ago. Running the tips over them, she traces Amy's name with her fingers.
"…N, no…" Stuttering Maria gasps in shock. "It can't be. If you're just a… then what am I? Who am I?"
You're just a dream born from a wish
Ernest's words hung in her head like the lingering tone of a bell.
Standing perfectly still Maria stared in absolute silence, catatonic. Her mind melding, and twisting. Her thoughts and feelings reaching out connecting to the darkness, to the town, to him…
Yes indeed she could feel him now, feel him strongly. The one she had been made for, the one whose deepest wishes had willed her into existence. There paths were closing, quickly. But was this what she truly wanted? Were her feelings truly her own? But in the end did all that really matter?
"I… am nobody, and I'm…all alone…"
Deep inside her, she knew she had no meaning, no purpose for life. She had no mother, no father, no family, no childhood, but she did have him. It was all she could strive for and hope for. In that man, that bad man, she would find happiness, she would find meaning. She would have a purpose, she would be alive and real and she would be loved.
It would require a lot to acquire him, to tame his love. She would have to seize it from the other 'her'. She would have to kill the other 'her'. It would be worth it though, the love of that man, that bad man with the kind heart. 'She' lived heavily protected deep in the heart of that man, and he guarded 'her' like a fortress. She would have to break that man, draw 'her' out, and kill 'her'. Then, and only then would his heart be truly free.
Walking down the narrow streets down the roads, his will guided her, his thoughts were like voices in the lake-valley that now talked to her, leading her to the Rosewater Park. She made quick time, guiding herself through the dense mist, in the back of her mind she could almost feel his presence approaching.
But the warnings of Ernest kept repeating in her thoughts. "Leave him alone…" They kept telling her. She knew that something more than her own free-will was dictating events, she could feel the flow of the current pushing her towards this meeting of fate. "Am I just a puppet? Are my feelings really my own? Do I even have a choice?"
Pausing, Maria pulls out the slender silver pistol. "If what Ernest said is true, how can I truly know any decision I make is really my own free will choice?" Contemplating for a long minute, she puts the pistol to her head. "There is only one answer, only one real choice… I can't bear to be alone anymore." She hoarsely mutters aloud as she cocks the pistol. "I choose to end it right here…"
A tear rolling down her cheek she clenches her eyes tight staring out at the rolling waves overlooking the walkway at Rosewater Park. Suddenly the sound of footsteps echoes in the thick fog, Maria freezes lowering the pistol. They grow closer, with a free hand she wipes her face, then the footsteps stop.
"M, Mary?..."
Gently turning dropping the pistol over the side, into the water, Maria turns to face James. With bright blue eyes, she gazes into his face.
Taking careful notice of his features she saw a tall man in his early to mid thirties with close cut brown hair, dark eyes, and a grave face. His expression; sullen eyes, a furrowed brow, and narrow lips, seemed to carry the weight of a lifetime of grief and tragedy, but there was a spark behind it, a resolute stubbornness that seemed to defy any idea of surrender or capitulation.
"No... You're not." James hung his head dejectedly.
Staring at James, he was everything the dark powers had promised her. She desired him, more than her own life; whatever her life was.
"Do I look like your girlfriend?" She answered coyly, her heart stirring within her chest.
"No..." He responded. "My late wife. I can't believe it. You could be her twin. Your face, your voice... Just your hair and clothes are different."
"My name... is Maria."
THE END
