23. Farewell

Prompt: Superb

Since Madeline first slept at Celeste Mountain, each and every single one of her dreams has been completely lucid. All full of detail and vivid.

It got to the point Madeline could not discern reality from dreams until she was too deep in them. That on its own would not have been too bad, if it wasn't for the fact Madeline started to sleep more, and more as the months passed after her latest climb of the mountain.

After she received…

…

…

…

This night's dream began with her waking up in Granny's cabin, but the old lady was nowhere to be seen. The first thing that caught her attention was the forsaken city she could see through her window, instead now she could hear a myriad of muffled voices in the distance, even cars clashing against the urban background common life. So bright and filled with life.

To her surprise, in the distance, Theo was driving towards her in a car. He parked next to the cabin.

"Theo? What are you doing here?" Madeline asked as they walked to each other in Madeline's front yard.

"Hey Mads, are you alright?"

Madeline blinked confused. "Me? Eh, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You freaked us all when you left Oshiro's hotel so suddenly. You looked like you had seen a ghost or something."

A ghost? Did he mean Oshiro? Yeah, he being a ghost freaked her out the first time…or times…but she obviously knew that by now.

"Are you sure you are alright? You can stay at my place a few days if you want. You know, not to be alone. I know you're the loner type, though, so…"

"Your place?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know I'm not the cleanest guy, but I can, like, clean the dust—"

"No, no. I mean, your place, here? You live in the city?"

Theo left a single chuckle. "Uh, yeah, duh. You already knew that, Madeline."

No, this was not right. Madeline began looking around her, at the city, at the forest nearby. Past all of it. This was not right. Why the horizon looked so…foggy?

"But, what are you doing living in the city?"

"I helped build it?"

"No you didn't." The words escaped her mouth before Madeline could fully organize her thoughts.

"There you are! I've looked for you everywhere! Did you miss me?" A too familiar voice said behind her. Madeline's already sensitive skin became as fragile as paper as she turned her head, and found Badeline running at her, eyes replaced by purple empty voids and tentacles emerging from her back at lightning speed in direction to Madeline.

In less than a second the tentacles embraced in a tight hug that gave her an uncomfortable warmth. Madeline sweated hot and cold at the same time. Her airway began to lack oxygen. Badeline worked her way through her own tentacles to get her bare hands in Madeline, until they covered her view in darkness. If the tentacles around her already worked on grilling her. Badeline burned her as if she was made of fire, alongside with some last words.

"You'll never leave my side again."

Madeline jolted herself up from her bed. Face drowned in sweat as she looked around. Everything was still darkness. Her arm instinctively fumbled through her nightstand until she turned a lamp on.

She was in her bedroom in her apartment. Everywhere in the place was a mess as if a storm had, ironically, stormed through. It had been like that for weeks, if not a few months already. The curtains on the window were closed off, but Madeline could note it was still day outside. She looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand.

4:09 PM

She could not even begin to remember at what hour she went to sleep last night.

The worst part of it?

She was still tired.

Madeline let herself fall back to the comfort of her pillows as she swiped off the sweat off her face with her arm multiple, multiple times. She tried to go back to sleep, but her senses were as sensitive as leaves fluttering unsettled. Even with her eyes closed, she could still see the light filtering through the edges of her curtains.

She tossed in her bed, away from it and wrapped her head with her pillows in an attempt to draw away the notion of the light and the urban noises, but her new position was as uncomfortable as it was pointless. Even as Madeline was aware of it, she kept trying growing impatient until the heat on her body just gave her the drop that spilled the glass that was her patience.

Madeline tried another position, then another, then another, until she threw the blankets high in the air in a fit of rage, she stood up from the bed, walking straight to the window, the blanket now on the floor being dragged along the floor by her feet.

Her hands pressed against the curtains, only blocking the sunlight coming through momentarily, before even tinier rays of light filtered through gaps just as small. Madeline tried again, pressing harder over each spot the light came through, to the point she just hit the window through the curtains, and then the curtain itself fell.

The sunlight flooded Madeline's apartment, blinding the red-haired girl. She covered her eyes with her palms as she walked backwards, until her feet stumbled with themselves and Madeline fell, her side hitting the cold wood planks first.

After a long while in which her eyes readjusted to the light, her eyes scanned over the mess that was called her apartment. Who knew how long would it take her to get back on track, even if she started at that very second—only if the stars aligned.

Eventually, her eyes fell over her kitchen counter, where an enveloped laid open with a letter on top of it.

" Kid

I never liked every time you came back to the mountain, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks the same.

Coming to the mountain was a mistake for me, as returning was for you.

Mountains are supposed to be climbed over, not carried. Fire can keep you warm, but once it's gone, don't dwell on it.

As much as I enjoyed your progress and your failure, and your company, it hurt my heart each time I saw you.

There's something this old dumb rock and I have in common, and that is we are not meant to stay close to. Ever. We destroy what we get our hands on, for that is how we can help, but that help doesn't always have the intended effect, such thing is not something the mountain gave me.

Though I can't stop you, I never could and I never wanted to.

Here's one last piece of advice unrequested from an old fool.

Is not about what you get over. Is about how you get over it.

You chose to become strong, dear. All the mountain did was allow you to see it. Now it's time you see it with your own eyes and hands."

Small yet numerous drops dampened the yellowed old paper, joining already dry tear marks. All of Madeline's efforts went to keep her breath steady, leaving absolutely nothing to stop the tears overflowing from her eyes down her face.

This was the fourth time she read the letter, and each time never failed to make her cry inconsolably. Not like she would have wanted someone to do just that. She had seen no one in days.

Except…

Technically, she had neither seen Theo, but he had messaged her numerous times in her computer. So many unread, so many unanswered.

TheoUnderTheStars: Hey Mads! Guess who has 2 thumbs and is living life better than ever?

TheoUnderTheStars: Alex says hi too!

TheoUnderTheStars: She says you're badass for doing archery, says if you can teach her

TheoUnderTheStars: Hey wanna come over my place some time

TheoUnderTheStars: Hope you're doing alright, just know you can talk to me about anything.

TheoUnderTheStars: Hey

TheoUnderTheStars: Hey part 2

TheoUnderTheStars: Wanna facetime tonight?

TheoUnderTheStars: Hey Madeline, I don't know how to say this, but I think you should really come with me to visit Granny. She has not been feeling the greatest last time I saw her.

TheoUnderTheStars: She asked about you again.

TheoUnderTheStars: I'm running out of things to say for your absence.

TheoUnderTheStars: She's gone in her sleep.

TheoUnderTheStars: Me and Alex managed to arrange a funeral…

She said she left a will for us…I'm surprised she…even for Alex even though…only twice…and for me a whole lot of…she said…your part on the cabin…we buried her close to the…next to the entrance of the…after you leave…resort. Right in a spot where a lot of snow doesn't come in…do you happen to know her age or something…? We…

She re-read that last part over and over again, or at least what she could with tears, mixed with the bright, almost blinding light of her screen in her ill-adjusted eyes. Each time the aching need to beat her heart out of her chest with her fist became stronger and stronger.

A few more messages followed before Madeline caught up to the most recent ones. The ones detailing how Theo and her sister left and how they felt.

Madeline felt like shit. With stumbling steps and almost falling back to the floor a couple of times, Madeline dragged her feet back to her bed. She just hovered her blankets over her face, while leaving the rest of her body uncovered. Her eyelids fell like two anvils,

Yet she remained restless for a good hour before she managed to fall asleep.

That night's dream started with Madeline at the edge of a cliff with a withered tree, blackened pink leaves scattered al over brown grass, only humified by a rain pouring down on her. Yet she never became wet.

At the other side of the cliff, a tombstone stood.