Chapter 4: The Glass Prison

Another trip to the dream world, and what became of Violet after her nervous breakdown last time? Find out in this chapter!

Chapter Four: The Glass Prison

Darkness. Blackness. The abyssal sea of nothingness.

She looks up, desperately searching the chasm for one single ray of light; of hope. But alas, there is no such fortune to be had. The goddess of fortune abandoned her eons ago.

Why? Why am I always alone? the poor little girl wonders.  There is no hope here. No light. No wishes. No dreams. Only darkness, only solitude. The girl sits alone in the darkness for ages with nothing to do. Agonizing loneliness fills her with no one to share her time with. The never-ending loneliness continues for an eternity until suddenly, the girl feels a breeze upon her skin. It chills her, and makes her body shiver. She decides to get up and follow the source of the wind, for it is the only stirring she has encountered in the excruciatingly long period of time that she has spent in this abyss of isolation.

After walking towards the source of the faint breeze for a while, the girl finds herself in a small room. It is pitch black in here as well, so the girl only realizes it is a small room when she bumps into a smooth wall and follows it around in a circle. There does not appear to be an exit, and whatever opening the girl used to enter the room has also disappeared. She rests against the smooth wall, trying to gather her thoughts so as to come up with a plan of escape.  While she is thinking, something soft tickles her nose. She instinctively reaches up to grab whatever it is. It feels small, thin, and soft. It seems familiar to her, but she can’t quite place it. If only there were some light!

Almost as if in response to her feelings, the room appears to be dimly light. The girl is surprised by this development. After being in the dark for so long, her eyes are unaccustomed to the change in lighting. She squints for a bit before finally opening her eyes. What she sees after she opens them confuses her. She is in a small circular room made of mirrors. She can see her whole body in each, and reflections of herself surround her. On the floor, there is but a single violet flower petal.

The girl approaches one of the mirrors and touches her hand to the cool glass. Unsurprisingly, her reflection does the same thing from the other side of the mirror. The girl looks into the eyes of her reflection. It looks just like her in every way. The girl has not seen her own reflection--or anything for that matter--for such a long time, that the very sight of it is fascinating. However, all of a sudden the face of the girl on the other side of the glass starts to twist and contort in a horrid fashion. The reflection screams in agony as her face is sucked into itself. The girl watches in terror as all her reflections undergo the same transformation. The small room fills with the screams of several girls, all with voices identical to her own. The reflections grab and claw at their own faces as if being attacked by something from within. The girl shuts her eyes and collapses to her knees, unable to bear the sight any longer. She covers her ears with her hands, but it is not enough to block out the screams of her clones. Soon enough, the screams are less loud, but not because the girls are no longer in pain. It sounds more like their mouths are being covered, only making them attempt to scream louder. Somehow the muffled screams of the children bother the girl more than when they were uncensored.

The girl herself screams in a feeble attempt to drown out the howling of the others. She screams and screams until she loses consciousness from the lack of air in her lungs. As she falls, she returns to the abyss; to the darkness.

            *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

“Oh , thank goodness, you’re awake!”

“…Am I?” I slowly open my eyes and sit up in my bed, completely disoriented and groggy. And it’s too damn hot in here.  

“Of course you are, silly,” Laura says, sitting in a chair by my bed. Wait, what’s she doing in my room? Am I missing something?

Laura c***s her head to the side like a curious animal. “What’s wrong, Violet? You look awfully confused.”

“Yeah, I am. Why are you in my room?”

Laura smiles and says, “Oh, I brought you back to your room. Don’t you remember? We left class early.”

Suddenly the events of earlier today come back to me. I freaked out in class. Laura escorted me out of the classroom and back to my dorm room. I felt worn out, so I took a nap. Yep, that sums it up.

“Oh yeah, that’s right, I remember now,” I tell her.

“So how are you feeling now, Violet?” Laura asks.

I think for a moment. To be honest, I still feel a little drained, but it’s not a big deal. I’m not freaking out or anything anymore, so I should be fine. I’ll have to take my medicine once Laura leaves. Which will hopefully be soon. If I hadn’t been so out of it earlier, I would have never have let this annoying girl into my room. Great, I think, now she knows where I live. Maybe I should move?

“Violet?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I feel great. No problems,” I say, though obviously not with enough enthusiasm because then Laura says,

“Are you sure? Maybe I should’ve taken you to the nurse’s office after all,” she says with a worried look. I’ve gotta learn to work on my enthusiasm when speaking; never been too great at that.

I smirk and say with an apologetic tone, “Sorry, no can do, Laura. You shouldn’t skip so many steps in the relationship. And the nurse’s office is a little kinky, I mean, we haven’t even had our first date. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Laura makes a very funny looking face that I assume is her shocked face. Then her cheeks turn a little red.

“Hey, come on, Violet. I’m seriously worried about you, you know,” she says with a firm expression.

Yeah, right, I think as I mentally roll my eyes. Okay, that’s not really possible, but you know what I mean. What, does she think she’s responsible for me or something? She’s not my mom.

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head, hun. I’m all good now. You’re free to go, you don’t have to babysit me,” I tell her.

She bites her lip, visibly struggling with what to say next. She then stands up from the chair and shakes her head as if saying ‘no’ to somebody. Oh, maybe to me?

“I’m not leaving yet, Violet. I’m still not sure you’re okay yet. I’m afraid I won’t let you throw me out so easily.”

She’s starting to irritate me now. I told her I’m fine, so that means I’m fine, damnit! Why the hell can’t she just take my word for it? I bet she’s just taking care of me so she can feel good about herself or something. I bet she thinks I’m just a mentally unstable freak that needs fixing. Well you know what? I can’t be fixed! I get out of my bed and stand in front of Laura.

“Violet?”

 “I’m not some damn charity case, Laura. Please get out.” I say firmly, my anger rising.

“T-that’s not what I--”

“Don’t talk anymore! I don’t want to hear it. I already know what you’re going to say. They always say the same things. Look, I don’t need you to fix me, Laura. I’ve gotten along just fine without anybody’s help so far, and I’ll continue this way. Now please, just go.”

Without looking at me, Laura picks up her bag and heads out the door. Before she closes it, she matches my gaze with her big green eyes that appear to be filled with sadness. I’m not sure why, but I get the feeling that her sadness isn’t because she’s feeling sorry for herself, but rather, for me.

The door shuts, and I am once again alone.

Feeling hot, I take off all my clothes save for underwear and a shirt. Damn, it’s unbearably humid, too. I decide not to take my medications. I sit at the desk near my bed and turn on the computer. I wonder what I should do now? Come to think of it, what time is it? I glance at my clock. It reads 5:45. I left Philosophy with Laura around 2: 50. Wow, guess I napped for a while, huh. Suddenly, a thought dawns on me.

“Laura sat by my bed while I slept for almost 3 hours?” I say aloud to no one.

“Ooh, that must make you feel like such a horrible person, eh?” a familiar voice chimes in. Well, I thought I was talking to no one. The voice came from above me.

“Hi, Atum. What are you doing here?” I can tell by the location of his voice that he must be sitting upside down on my ceiling again. Weirdo.

“Aw, so you’re not surprised that I’m here?” Atum sounds genuinely disappointed.

“More like I’m too drained to care.”

I hear a faint pat sound as if someone had dropped a needle on the carpet floor.

I look over my shoulder to see Atum standing right behind my chair, in his usual too-foreign-to be-real outfit. Was that soft sound him landing on the floor? Is he made of air or something?

“Well, I guess that’s better than you being extremely crabby like last time, right?” he says with a smile. What, does he expect me to just smile and agree?

I turn so that I’m sitting sideways on the chair, allowing me to talk without craning my neck over my shoulder. “You’re a weirdo, you know that, Atum? If that even is your real name.”

“Why do you say that, miss named-after-a-flower?” he says this without losing his cheery tone.

“Because you float and keep sneaking into a young girl’s bedroom without permission.”
            Atum looks confused for a second then laughs and says, “No no no, I didn’t mean why do you think I’m strange, I meant why do you question the authenticity of my name.”

“Oh, that?” I say but I already know that’s what he meant. “I knew the word sounded familiar, so I looked it up over the weekend. Isn’t Atum the name of some Egyptian god or something?”

He laughs again. “Ah! Not a bad observation, but I can assure you, I am no Egyptian god,” he pauses and puts his face right in front of mine, “in fact, I am not even from this world to begin with!”

“Come again?” Yep, he’s a weirdo. And crazy too.

“Well, remember how when we met a few days ago, I said I have something to talk with you about? I suppose now is the time to tell you.”

“Well then, lay it on me.”

Atum rubs his head as if he’s unsure of how to say what he wants to say next. He then starts pacing my room. There is no sound of his footsteps as he walks. “Hmm, how to put this…perhaps I should start with something easier for you to grasp…”

My eyebrow twitches. “Are you insulting my intelligence?”

He laughs. “What? Of course not, of course not. I’m just trying to find a way to explain so that you will take me seriously,” he suddenly stops pacing and shouts, “Aha!” which startles me.

“Geez, calm down, I don’t want someone to come knocking on my door, I’d have no way to explain you,” I tell him.

Atum makes a waving gesture as though the very idea is preposterous. That seems to be a habit of his. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, Violet. You’re the only one who can see or hear me,” he says as if he were explaining that the sky is blue to a child.

“W-what..?”

“I’m serious!” he says with a laugh, but then more seriously, “You’re one of the only people who can see things clearly, Violet.”

I jump out of my chair, standing inches away from Atum. “You must be out of your mind. You’re crazier than I thought! What you’re saying makes no sense,” I say, several alarms going off in my head.

“Hear me out, Violet. Have you ever seen or noticed something that other people didn’t? Have you ever seen something odd or out of place and just dismissed it as a simple delusion or a dream? Answer me honestly now.”

I must admit, he’s kind of hit the mark, especially regarding the recent events in my Philosophy class. But, it just seems too ridiculous. This doesn’t make any sense! I must still be asleep or something. But…what if I play along? What is Atum trying to tell me? Maybe I can find an answer to the missing professor mystery. I’m still not ready to accept that Professor Bradford was actually swallowed up by some shadowy being, but I can’t deny that today some new guy had replaced him and no one found it strange except for me.

“…Sometimes.” I answer, withholding the full truth.

“Aha! See? I told you!” he says excitedly.

“Told me what? You haven’t really said anything yet. All you said is that I see things clearly, whatever that means.”

“Oh! Look at me, getting ahead of myself. Anyway, Violet, I what I’m trying to say is, you are a very special person. You possess an ability very few in this world, no, this universe possess.”

I swallow, still not sure how much of this I’m buying. Despite my reluctance to place my faith in him, Atum’s natural charisma and conviction in whatever it is he’s talking about has got me sitting on the edge of my seat…even though I’m standing now. Shut up.

“Violet, you have the power known as a ‘Viola Tertius Oculi’, or what we call VTO for short. It is a power that manifests differently in different people, but basically it allows you to see what lies hidden behind the Veil.”

I’m totally lost. “What on earth are you talking about? What veil?”

He just continues without addressing my question. “Judging by your behavior, you haven’t used your power much, or at least don’t understand how yours works or anything. Hmm, what a hassle.”

“Quit continuing on your own! Listen when others are talking to you!”

“Anyway, that’s enough of that for now. That’s not all I wanted to tell you, I also wanted to tell that I need to�"“

“Shut up, already! Damn, nothing you’re talking about makes any sense. I don’t know if you’re part of some cult or whatever, but I don’t want any part of it! Go away already! Please! Just go!” I’m surprised at how worked up I’ve become.

Atum frowns like he’s been slightly inconvenienced. “But I kind of wanted to say�"“

“Enough,” I cut him off.

He sighs and gently rubs my head. “You sure are easily upset, huh? That emotional imbalance could be fatal someday you know?”

“That’s funny, I could’ve sworn last time I told you that I hate being patted on the head!” I say as I try to swat his hand away, but he easily pulls back in time. Good reflexes.

“I guess I’ll head out then,” Atum says while floating up into his cross-legged position.

“If you would be so kind.”

“Okay, then. Hopefully tomorrow you’ll be in a listening mood for once.”

“Good-bye.”

I blink and when I open my eyes, he is gone. I go back to my desk and peruse the internet for a while. I’m not sure what to think about all that stuff he said. It sounded so ridiculous, but…at the same time, it kind of would explain several things I’ve experienced, especially last Friday and today. I let out a sigh as I contemplate what it means to have that ‘power’ he spoke of. If what he said was true, and I’m not saying it is, but, just hypothetically; then that means that Professor Bradford really was devoured by that weird creature on Friday. But that just seems too weird to be true. And if it were true, then what the freakin’ hell was that weird shrouded creature!?

I decide I don’t want to think about these things anymore and distract myself with the computer, TV, books, and video games. It’s nighttime when I finally realize something strange about the last thing Atum said before he left.

Did he say tomorrow!?

 

Author's Note

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