Disclaimer: Don't own the characters.
Rant- I'm on a roll! I'm in a creative mood again so yee-haw! Thank you reviewers, I love you three! (Yes, I'm slightly hyperactive from a chocolate milkshake). This chapter is a slow one, but you can't always get fast paced ones.
Chapter 5- The missing puzzle pieces
"And what is misfortune, Lacie?" the annoying old hag asked. Jiri was many things, but patient was definitely not one of them. They had been at this game of questions since forever now and Lacie had grown bored.
"Being stuck here with you," the young woman responded wittily. She ducked her head down as the hag attempted to slap her upside the head. Jiri began pacing and muttering curses under her breath.
"Tenacious child, if I did not know better I would think I was being punished for some unknown crime being stuck here with you," the woman turned her angered gaze at the impassive girl who looked at her blankly.
When the argumentative troll turned back around, Lacie stuck her tongue out to which the woman replied creepily, "I know all, I see all child."
The tongue was rolled back into its cushy layers as quickly as possible since who knew what the hag was capable of. Jiri continued her rambles of how she was doing Lacie a favor by checking in on her, causing the young woman to roll her eyes at this self proclaim of good will.
As far as Lacie knew, this woman loved to think highly of herself, and if you said otherwise you were automatically the most asinine creature in this realm. And what did you know Lacie was the only person in this dimension and she thought Jiri had vanity issues, so she must be rock stupid by Jiri's standards.
Lacie tried to stifle a yawn, but the restrain was futile and she gave in to her body's urge. Seeing the girl grow tired sent the old woman into a new round of hysterics and Lacie finally grew fed up.
"You insolent brat, here I am trying to help you and what do you do you sit there and-" the woman was cut short in her speech as she turned around to find Lacie's previous spot vacated.
At first, she stared dumbly at the open space where a warm body had once resided. She shouldn't have been surprised since Lacie tended to wander off on numerous occasions, but did she not realize how drastic things had become in the real world? Did she not care that people were suffering?
Jiri tried to will herself to remain calm, but she could feel the tremors in her body begin. Her scrunched up hands began twitching and a muscle within her left cheek began pulsing faster and faster. Finally, she decided to forget remaining rational and released an ear-shattering battle cry, "Lacie!"
Lacie could hear the old woman's shrieks for her to come back, but she chose to ignore them. She placed her hands over her ears and shut one eye closed as the woman's voice grew louder and more raspy in pitch.
How much screaming could one small, ancient creature be capable of?
Lacie giggled and twirled in the gravity-free darkness of this strange, magical world. The older woman had told her this place was called the Abyss. Apparently bad people were sent here and she had been one of them.
Lacie scrunched her nose up, recalling the woman's harsh words about her being a devil child. This was the main thing about the woman that aggravated her- everything was about misfortune and sentencing. He did an unspeakable evil so he is sentenced to the Doom Day's Gate of the Abyss, she brought misfortune on her fellow man so she is sentenced to a week of no food in the Abyss.
Misfortune, misfortune, misfortune!
He is sentenced, she is sentenced, your cow is sentenced!
How much time did this woman have to be looking into other people's lives and explaining how their existence undermine the overall good rationale of current society and all those lovely facts. Blah, blah, blah!
Apparently, when the woman wasn't nagging her, she was off pestering some other poor fellows Lacie knew where not.
Lacie tried to keep her disdain of the woman hidden, but often failed miserably. Personally, she spent half the time in the old woman's company wishing Jiri would just take a hint and leave. In fact, Lacie had spent the whole time during one visit from Jiri asking how to make people disappear; when the woman discovered she was the person Lacie was referring to she was not pleased needless to say.
The young woman spent most of her time questioning what age-old rivalry did they have in the past that the woman spent her free time harping on her.
And it was always over the exact same things- "Child, have you remember something yet?" "Girl, is anything making sense?" "Do I need to give you a recount of what I told you before?"
Lacie threw out her hands and released a groan, how many times did she have to tell the had she couldn't remember a damn thing before she got it? Maybe Jiri was an amnesiac and wasn't aware?
No matter how hard she tried to recall her past, it was a murky mess. It was like a million scattered images that did not connect. Perhaps she was missing a few pieces of the puzzle that would connect the images, but no matter how hard she tried she always ended up blank.
For a while, she had lived alone in this realm in a peaceful slumber. She knew not how long she had drifted mindlessly in this colorful vortex, but it was a pleasant sleep. And then she was awaken by that ratty, harping, annoying old windbag who preached about the death of these things called Baskinsons or something nonstop. The woman's nonstop accusations continued until Lacie saw red. Finally, Jiri accused her of bringing about the fall of the Baskinsons, to which Lacie had told her that birds should be seen, not heard.
The old woman's vacant eyes stared at her ominously for a while, and Lacie tried to return to her serene dreams of a meadow somewhere with colorful flowers of all shapes, shades, and forms. And it had been a marvelous dream, her long hair was flowing around her by a gentle breeze, and she was seated on the moist ground picking up small flowers with red stems and blue petals. She was just about to pick a normal looking flower that resembled a rose with golden petals when Jiri had shaken her awaken with vigorous effort.
At first, Lacie had been startled by the woman's sudden appearance. She had not seen another creature that had a shape similar to hers and she couldn't lie if she said she wasn't interested in the old woman. And then the sermons began.
Originally, Lacie didn't know who she was, she recalled these strange memories that involved flowers and a white substance Jiri had informed her was called snow, but nothing else made sense. Jiri was the one who rechristened her with the name Lacie, and now the girl felt that since she had a name she must be of some importance.
She held some gratitude for the woman that gave her a name and some sense of companionship, because for as long as she could remember she was always filled with a blank hollow feeling in her chest as though something was missing. The woman had begun to teaching her about another realm that was filled with light and was on the other side of their current location. Jiri had called the place Earth and had explained there were others who were human who resided in that realm; while they were trapped within this realm called the Abyss. For some reason, Jiri hated the Abyss and claimed it was an unholy paradox of nothingness where only the truly deranged were sent. Lacie could see why someone like Jiri was sent here because she seemed to have a few screws loose in her head. On the other-hand, she wished desperately to recall what she had done to be sentenced here? That was the other thing, Jiri continued saying that she was forced into leaving Earth, while Lacie had been sentenced here. It was like Jiri felt superior whenever she compared herself to Lacie, and Lacie had to often restrain herself from voicing her personal dislike of the old woman. Something about the wretched woman just made her skin crawl!
She tried to like Jiri, she really honestly tried! But something about being called inferior and the bringer of misfortune just made it hard to like the person making the claims. Lacie often questioned whether she should make her claims known out-loud as well- "Well you, my dear wretched witch, are a deranged being who loves to antagonize others out of boredom and is a champion at harping!"
One day, she swore, one day she would announce this to Jiri strong and proud.
Lacie continue drifting and began to cross through the color rays to watch the patterns skim across her purple skirts. She enjoyed watching the different arrangement of colors turn her clothing and skin different shades. She released a happy giggle when the color ray had switched to blue and her arms had developed an aqua sheen.
A breeze drifted through the Abyss and she placed a hand over her bangs to keep the wind from blowing it out of proportion.
Apparently, wind also blew on the place called Earth. A pang of sadness hit her whenever she thought about Earth. All those people and places she would never get to see, but why be upset when she had her own world to reside in.
She never understood Jiri's dislike of this place. There was a strange calmness in this realm and though there weren't any beings besides her there usually, she enjoyed spending her leisure time dreaming. She enjoyed the freedom the Abyss gave her, she wasn't trapped to a solid floor below her and could wander off to wherever she pleased. Although, unlike Jiri, Lacie never left this dimension, she had tried before, but something would always pull her back and keep her trapped. It was like a hidden restraint had been placed on her.
She would try to approach one of the vortex jumps and it was like a hand would grab her around the waist and yank her back. At first, she struggled against the unknown force and would then be pushed down by an unknown weight. When she finally admitted defeat, the weight would leave and she would try to spring through the vortex once again. This process repeated itself until she finally grew bored of fighting an invisible enemy.
She had stopped her mindless floating through space to ponder over who, or what, was so determined in keeping her trapped. She leaned back and placed a finger over her lips, allowing the lack of gravity to keep her moving even when she wasn't exerting effort.
Why am I trapped here by myself?
What is the reason behind my existence?
Is there anybody out there who is looking for me?
These questions continued to mull around in her head, and no answers were coming to light. She didn't understand Jiri's determination to make her recall an unknown past, she had attempted to drift through the sea of forgetfulness but had never found the light at the end of that tunnel.
While drifting she collided into something behind her hard and she jerked around to see what she had rammed into. And of course, as luck would have it, she was brought face to face with the decrepit Jiri.
"Have you recalled anything, Lacie?" the woman asked curtly.
Lacie ran a hand through her hair and shrugged, "My answer is the same as it was the last time you asked, nothing is resurfacing no matter how many times you explain the past."
Lacie gave her a mutinous glare and cocked a hand on her hip, willing the woman to try arguing with her. There was just something irritating about this woman that was bothering her more than normal. Jiri returned the glare with a look of apathy, did she lack the capability to understand annoyance?
"Let's begin again shall we." Jiri blandly stated, there were no questions asked, everything was done according to her rules.
That was another thing about Jiri, she refused to give up! If she had some goal set, then she would use any means in order to obtain it.
Lacie groaned before flailing her arms around, "I've had it! No more, if you repeat that damn story to me one more time I swear I'll scream!"
"Like you aren't already?" Jiri asked irritated.
This set Lacie off more and she raised her vocal chords higher, "Well then let me make it loud and clear- Leave. Me. In. Peace. Now!"
She drifted off and said over her shoulder, "Besides, you refuse to give me more details about my past other than I was cast into this dimension because I was never meant to exist. So why should I trust someone who obviously holds me in great contempt?"
She began to skip across some small debris that drifted through the dimension, "Look I'm happy you're fascinated by me, but understand that I need more information besides why I'm such a horrific being if you hope for me to warm up to you."
This last statement was said in mock sweetness, she didn't truly care if Jiri tried to win her friendship.
A sadden expression graced Jiri's usually stern face, "Child, I harbor no ill will towards you, I simply wish for your happiness."
She watched as Lacie continued to skip across the floating debris, she noticed the girl had begun humming some tune. But then again, Lacie was always the type to sing. Lacie could be bleeding- she would sing a song about flowers. Lacie could be burnt at the stake- Lacie would sing about white, puffy clouds. Everything seemed to be a game with Lacie, and sometimes Jiri had to remind herself that the girl was an amnesiac or else she would try to strangle the girl.
"Look I know that by my nature, I tend to impose myself on you without thinking through my actions. But please know I-" she halted her speech to a complete stop when she heard Lacie begin singing a new song.
Oh the girl always sang, yes that was usual. But it was usually songs she had made up and did not involve around anything in particular. This song, however, Jiri remembered hearing when she would wander across the Baskervilles land some evenings about 100 hundred years prior.
That sad mournful song that spoke of death and salvation. Perhaps, unconsciously pieces of the girl's fractured memories were slowly rebuilding? But she had to proceed with caution since Lacie had proven adamant on being free to her own devices.
"Lacie?" she asked hesitantly.
The young woman stopped her playful skips to stare at the woman curiously, since Jiri was not one to address her in such a meek manner.
"I haven't heard you sing that song before, did you just create it?"
Lacie continued gazing at her curiously before nodding and twirling around to stop near Jiri. She hid her arms behind her and smiled brightly, "Yes, it just came to me awhile back."
"Really, how?"
Lacie tilted her head and gazed upward as though trying to search for a sign. She shrugged, "I'm not sure, I just heard this rhythm in my head one day and then the words just flowed out of me as though I've sang them a million times before."