Chapter 5 - EpilogueA Chapter by Aurafiex Lucy struggles with the events of the past week. Epilogue “The choice is yours.” Those words, along with the manic cackling that accompanied them haunted Lucy in between short bouts of fitful slumber. Her room was now dimly lit, a stark contrast to the bright, warm lights she usually favoured, and despite the silk sheets and velvet pillow, she felt little comfort. Regardless, staying in bed was the only thing she could do for the past three days, for the whole incident had left her both lethargic and mentally drained. Glancing at the burgeoning pile of gifts and “Get-Well-Soon” cards from her friends stacked neatly at her bedside, she remembered that she was on sick leave. Their visits too, where they worried over her sudden lethargy ascertained that. They had also let her in on the news that a strange boy from freshman year had killed himself in a manner too gruesome for words. Her friends were so kind, but if they knew the truth, would their words and actions remain so? It was a question that gnawed at her constantly. Clearly whatever it was, that black mist, had worked some kind of magic to warp reality, as per her agreement to its terms. She remembered taking up its offer, taking its icy cold hand in hers as she lay there, bleeding out to a certain death. There was no other way. She didn’t want to die, especially not in a dark room, by the hand of a stranger she barely knew, even it meant relinquishing her precious tome, that which had granted her so much happiness. Through some insidious magic, it granted her a new lease of life. The recollection was still hazy, but she recalled her wounds sealing up before her eyes, leaving only her blood-stained nightgown to remain as a testament to the violence that occurred. She remembered limping as fast as she could through the dark campus grounds, back to her room, her sanctuary, as it stalked her every step from beyond the veil, awaiting its end of the bargain. Thankfully, no one saw her predicament at that unearthly hour. Her last memory of that whole episode was seeing it manifesting once more before her, in a lithe, white haired female figure as it took her precious tome from the bookshelf, where it sat inconspicuously amongst her collection of novels and books before dissipating once more into the darkness cackling into the night. She had no idea why it needed to ask her for permission to take it. Perhaps some kind of seal prevented its kind from touching it without permission. Overall, it made very little sense to her. All that she could remember after that was crying from all the frustration of trying to understand what was going on, before passing out on her bed, her tears and sobs accompanying her to sleep. She drifted between sleep and consciousness for the next three days, as though tethering on the brink of life and death. And now, she was well enough to get out of bed. It was time to return to school. She rubbed her eyes and stretched as she saw the rays of the morning sun enter her room from the window, as though beseeching her to rise. She walked over to the bookcase where the tome had been. It was gone, as though it was never there. She could feel tears well up in her eyes as the thought of losing it, her precious salvation. The book, with its rough leather cover and pages that had the texture of human skin had been her solace, her salvation. She had discovered it in a dark alleyway one fateful evening on her way home, ten years ago, when everyone shunned her for being weird and ugly. Through its worn pages, filled with various incantations of magic lost to the ages, she found a spell to change her fate. Thanks to it, she was able to earn the adoration of all who beheld her with her newfound beauty and charisma. She hadn’t used the book since. After all, she had what she desired, and wanted nothing more. Perhaps it belonged to that demon that had saved her life in exchange for her permission for it to seize it. Taking deep breaths, Lucy regained her composure and entered the bathroom to wash up. Having her own personal bathroom in the university’s dormitory was a luxury held by few, she noted wryly to herself. Gazing into the mirror, she realised she looked the same, as she had always been. Nothing had changed, much to her surprise and elation. Granted, her hair was a little messy, but it was nothing a shower and a good hairbrush couldn’t fix. She stepped into the shower and let the icy cold water envelop her body. The frigid water felt good as it cleansed her, yet she still felt dirty. She remembered him. That stranger, Kevin was his name, was it not? The mere thought of him paralysed her mind with fear. As she spent time lying in bed, the memories of the past week came back to her. The recollection was painful. All those disgusting, shameful things that she had done with this Kevin, a man she barely knew at all. Clearly he had worked some kind of sorcery on her, which had culminated into that one bloody night of violence where she awoke to find herself in a dark room with him attempting to cut her down. She began to cry once more, out of confusion and anger, her warm tears mixing with the cold water. All she could think of was “Why?”. What had she ever done to him? It made no sense at all. After all, she had been brought up on the ideal of treating everyone the way she wanted them to treat her, and thus even in the miracle of her ascension, she made sure to treat everyone with love and respect.
Yet Kevin, whoever he was, must have felt that she had wronged him in
some horrible way, otherwise why would he do such horrible things to her? Lucy got out of the shower and grabbed a large white towel hung on a rack to dry her wet body. She remembered her father telling her that if she was willing to hurt someone, she had to be prepared to be hurt in equal measure. Clearly that was not the case, for she had hurt no one. She tried to make everyone around her happy, clearly that was not a crime of any sort, was it not? It was a shame too, she had learned that Kevin was an outcast, a pariah amongst his peers, as she too had once been. Perhaps they could have been friends, good friends, had they met under different circumstances. After all, they were kindred spirits in a way. The irony of it all was not lost on her. Putting down the towel, she picked up the neatly folded uniform and put it on. She always placed one at that usual spot in the bathroom, to help her in those days where she ran the risk of being late. She brushed her hair and after a few minutes of adjustments to her uniform and tie, she turned around and gazed at the mirror once more. The Lucy that met her gaze was as radiant as ever. Her ruby red eyes shone with the same energy she had a week ago and her cerise hair flowed gracefully in tandem with the morning breeze as she used a hand to flick it to the side. She was still Lucy. No man or demon could ever change that. Despite that however, the book, her guiding light and salvation was gone forever. Now, she knew that she had to find her own way in the world. Smiling for the first time in three days, she picked up her bag and headed towards another day of school. © 2016 AurafiexAuthor's Note
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AurafiexSingaporeAboutHi! I enjoy World of Warcraft, music and swimming. I'm someone who writes for fun. Pardon any typos or mistakes, because I write on my phone(lol). I'm new here, so if you like what you see do.. more..Writing
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