I was past that now. Or was I? Had I merely buried my feelings to keep myself from pain? Keep myself from truly realizing that I could never actually "see" Jack? He was just a made-up character. He was fake. He didn't exist. He was…
Amazing. Isn't that right, Jaq?
My own subconscious was working against me. It just wasn't possible! It couldn't be! I shook her head back and forth in denial. NO!
If I couldn't do it then, when I really wanted him, how could I hope for it NOW? When I'd buried him years ago!
My thoughts were stopped short when I saw my hands. They were so…not real! They looked they were made of…
Clay.
The thought hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm not real anymore. I'm in THEIR world. Made of clay, like the models…
I felt her face. Made of soft, malleable clay. It kept its shape like normal skin, but it was clay all the same.
There was a small pool of water on the cobblestones outside the gates. It was dark, so I decided to risk it. I looked into it in amazement.
Normally, I never wear makeup, but obviously some had been applied on the journey, for my eyelids were a rather fetching shade of plum purple, to match my flared-sleeved shirt. My lips were as black as pitch, and looked very good with my dark brown hair highlighted in red, black, and purple. My fingernails were now an interesting swirl of purple and black. My black, short skirt looked very gothic with my knee-high lace-up combat boots and black stockings. Apparently, word never got to the makeover specialist in the tunnel that I wasn't a Goth.
Or was it just the effect of Halloween Town?
Oh well. Perhaps it was for the better. Now I wouldn't stand out so much in the town when I investigated.
Or so I thought.