Chapter Two
Hush child, the darkness will rise from the deep, And carry you down into sleep…
You grow tired of ignoring the pit. And so, one day, or maybe it's the night, you take one hesitant step on the topmost stair. Nothing happens. World doesn't cave around you. So, you take another, and then another and then another. By the time you can think of why, how and where you're going, you're already at the bottom stair, and a dark corridor waits for you up ahead.
~~
You crawl. You are not strong enough to stand and cover the darkness that stretches before you. So, you crawl along the wall, humming to yourself. When you tire, you stop and wait for the fruits to appear in elaborately carved bowls.
Ripe pomegranates that have opened up to display their bountiful red seeds… Apples the color of darkest night… Bananas that are silvery blue and taste of vanilla…
You eat and start your journey again. No matter how far you crawl, the shadows don't end. The pit you came through has disappeared.
You've crawled a long way in this twisting, turning maze that is perhaps never ending…
~~
"Once upon a time…"
"Why do your stories always start with once upon a time, Father?"
"Well, those are the best kind of stories, little sparrow…"
"Mother says stories are a waste of time, Father."
"Your mother doesn't know the things I know."
"Will you tell me, Father?"
"I will. When you grow too tall for me to carry you around, I will tell you all the secrets then, little sparrow…"
"Do you promise, Father?"
~~
You come awake with a scream trapped in your throat and the sounds of gentle laughter ringing in your ears. It makes you ache, that dream…
It makes you want to remember things that you forgot to save yourself. It makes you want to remember the time before your mother took your hand and guided you to your prison.
What were you like? Before you became this-this barely human, animalistic thing - what were you like?
You ponder over the question for a very long time, trying to find a scrape of memory in the void that is your mind. You give up when your eyes water and your head starts to pound.
The bowl has appeared to your left.
You pounce over the peach and almost swallow it whole.
After all, you are easily distracted…
~~