Chapter Four

“What are you talking about?” Riley asked, unable to break free of his gaze. He smiled, and took another sip of coffee.

“You have been dead, Riley. I see you going through the motions. I see your lifeless laugh and your hollow smile. Your body goes through the motions, even tonight. But your soul is dead. Your spirit is asleep. It’s time to wake up again. It’s time to breathe again.”

“What is the point, Reidar? I escape… I recharge. I return to this world and the hopelessness crashes in all the harder. It suffocates the life I bring back with me.”

“Your solution is to let your soul retreat to your escape completely, and leave your body in this world?”

“It is the only way I know how to survive. People admire my ability to deal with surprises. They don’t understand that I am never surprised. They do not understand that I sometimes wish I could be as disillusioned as they are; that I wish I could let go of reality, and lie to myself; give myself false hopes.”

“That would truly destroy you. You are not made for false illusions and pretty lies. Nothing but the  ugly truth will suffice.”

“I wish the truth were not always ugly.”

“I know you do. This is why you need to come back to life. It’s time to wake up your soul.”

“Either you have a penchant for speaking metaphysically, or you are about to do the impossible,” Riley couldn’t help a smirk. Reidar retorted with a knowing smile. The coffee cup slowly went to his lips again. He sat the cup down without a sound and turned his entire body to face her. “What do you remember about me, Riley?”

She bit her lip, trying to remember. She had become a master of repressing her escapes. It was the only way to deal with the let down when she had to return to the real world. She never talked about her escape. She never mentioned it, nor thought about it, outside of the actual escaping. It was far too difficult to concentrate on the real world when her mind kept dwelling on the dream.

Reidar caught her gaze and his eyes pierced hers once more. Images began jolting through her with a blinding, searing pain. The old forest. The ancient trees. The underground. The secret passage. The other world. The people. Faces, houses, places, flashed before her inner eye with increasing rapidity. Her body began to tremble and tears began to stream from her eyes. The pain was unbearable, but she could not break the gaze, nor stop the image transfer. Finally, Reidar broke the connection. Riley was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. Softly, he reached his hand out, and brushed her cheek. An instant warmth spread through her, calming, soothing, numbing. She stopped shaking and fearfully looked up at him again, her eyes squinted, for fear of another onslaught of pain.

For once, she was met with warmth and love. “I’m sorry love. I had to hurt you, to make you breathe again. Do you remember now?”

Riley closed her eyes. A few last tears trickled out. She nodded slowly. She remembered… memories slamming into her like one wall after the other, in a slow, steady, painful rhythm. Her breathing was laboured, and she was sweating. “I… remember,” she gasped.

Her eyes closed, her mind went back to what she had tried so hard to forget…

Reviews

[Jamie Lee]

Aha! I was wondering what the purpose of that bit was where you described how a 'normal' person would be startled when she was in the kitchen. Nice foreshadowing--I knew it must hold some meaning.

You keep using the word 'piercing' to describe his gaze on her--there might be some other synonyms you could use for this word? The chapters are short enough to remember these small word choices that you might consider changing it--but then again that might be me being a nazi.