Falling.
The feeling of falling into an endless void struck me abysmally.
I didn't panic. I was used to the descent. For months, every time I closed my eyes in my quiet apartment, the ceiling would dissolve into a sea of static, and I would plunge into the Visions. I would have the same kind of dreams each night with a strange precision of the other world. I was a spectator, watching the life of a person through his very own eyes. But I would beg to differ after all this month I have gathered a hefty information about him and his life that he is no longer a stranger for me now.
Tonight, as usual the falling stopped with the whole world spinning around me as I met the ground.
"Get up shad!" the sound of Jude's shouting echoed in my mind as the harsh blinding sun rays hit my eyes.
"Thank goodness..." I felt vale whisper, as the coldness of the dark depth of the void rooted deep inside my bones melted away. I finally opened my eyes as jude brushed the mud covering my forehead with his bare hand. Wait mud?
I usually wake up in the bedchamber or the training ground when this guy stops to take a break.It's the first time there has been a exception.
I find myself groaning as I get up anyway. Wait, groan?! Get up?! Me?!
It took me approximately half a hour for the realization to sink in. I'm already back in Shad's personal room thanks to jude's help.
I've never once had a dream where I could control my own abilities this past months.
It wasn't just my movement that kept me unable to talk or walk for the past hour, although my usual equilibrium getting disturbed terribly did have a part in it; but, the sudden shift in the air was fairly palpable. It feels like I was living in a tight-lidded box and it just unlocked, or a soundproof glass room where the door finally creaked open. But it still feels too real.
"Does it still hurt?" Jude asked, worry etched on his features.
"Yeah, it hurts a lot," I lied, feeling the surreal way my face muscles and mouth moved. Truth is, my body is just fine. The splitting headache that hit me when I opened my eyes went away just as suddenly as it came. But I lied anyway, just so I could get some alone time.
"A lot?" Jude repeated, looking at me with surprise and doubt in his eyes. That's only natural; Shad getting hurt badly enough that he complains about it is almost impossible. I guess I might've overreacted, but oh well.
Shad is on good terms with most people. But one thing is for sure, of all people Jude knows, Jude cares for him the most. Jude is a year younger than both me and Shad.
Me and Shad are the same age. We are turning 25 this year.
"Yeah, my stomach hurts like hell," I said in reply to Jude, whose expression turned more doubtful than surprised now.
"But you got hit on your head."
Well, shit...
"Well, I can't remember exactly..." I mumble softly, knowing Jude would understand what I said even if I whispered from two miles away.
"You got knocked out mid-battle! I was worried sick. Thank the heavens you are safe and well."
"I'm not well at all. My stomach is having soul-rending period pain right now, believe it or not."
"What's... soul-rending period pain?"
I deemed it unnecessary to put in the effort to explain my thoughts to Jude. "I meant... it's burning."
"Oh," Jude nodded calmly. "You did hit your head hard then."
"Pardon?"
"Take some rest. I will ask Emily to prepare your food."
I slumped onto the soft velvet of the bed as Jude left. This is, by far, the weirdest dream I've ever had.
Everything is so weird. I wonder if Ari is home yet. She did say she'd be late tonight. Did she forget about the paracetamol again? Oh, shit, no—I think I forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer… She's going to kill me.
I snapped back to this reality as Emily creaked the door open. She held a tray in her hands, which were burned to a ghostly white. She looked shocked, her eyes wary as they moved over me. I cocked my head slightly, and she flinched. Why is she afraid of me? No—is she afraid of Shad?
"Do you want me?" I asked, trying to copy Shad's unpredictability, and regretted it a heartbeat later.
Emily just stood there dumbfounded for a moment, then quickly strode off after leaving the tray on the bed.
I'd never thought Emily was capable of feeling such trivial emotions; she'd always seemed simple, quiet, and kind of dumb.
The food was surprisingly normal: chicken curry and ripe dates with a bread-like pastry I had never seen. It looked plain, each piece having six edges with a white center. I soon changed my opinion of the food being "normal." The center was thick and moist, tasting like mascarpone cheese. And the edges... the edges tasted unlike anything I've ever had before. Such fluffiness, such savoriness—a worthy competitor for chocolate!
As I helped myself to the newfound delight, a knock sounded on the door. Once. Twice. I started, "The door is open—" but an older-looking man entered before I could finish. His waist-long, gray-white hair made him seem old, but he couldn't be older than fifty-five.
"I heard you were affected badly in the battle. How do you fare now?" he asked. His voice was musky and thick despite his neat upbringing.
"I'm well now," I said.
"Have you felt any pains or faced any problems yet?" The man started striding closer to the bed.
"I did, but I'm fine as wine now."
Despite my protests, I felt him inspect my body after placing his leather bag on the bed. He must be the doctor, then.
"Drink a spoonful of this after a meal once a day, just in case," he said, handing me a small glass bottle covered in parchment papers and bound with string.
"Shall I start now?" I asked, taking another bite of the ethereal bread.
"Sure." He then started lecturing me about precautions for five minutes straight. It was Jude's order, I was sure.
I took the last remaining piece of bread and was about to bite into it as the guy finished talking. But suddenly, the bread was... gone. It was right here, pressed by my fingers in my very own hands. Where the hell did it go?
I started searching the bed and the floor in case I had dropped it. Just then, I heard the doctor cursing aggressively.
"These damned grimbles!" His face was a contortion of annoyance.
I followed his gaze and... my soul almost left my body. In the open window at the corner of the room sat a grotesque animal. It had the ears of a fox and the posture of a squirrel, built like a mix of a fox and a cat—or maybe a puppy. The sharp teeth and talons looked like they could cut through anything. It gave a horribly feline smile as it devoured my bread. The most unsettling things were its eyes and... wings. The midnight-blue eyes bored into my soul as it glanced sidelong at me. The wings were short but wide enough for gliding; they looked similar to a bat's wings, but they harbored the translucent skin of the creature, with blunter edges and thicker membranes.
"Frien! There's a grimble here!" the doctor shouted. But the grimble just narrowed its eyes at me and vanished. It was so fast that it was almost impossible to tell if it had jumped, ran, or just flew away.
[==============]
I think it's midnight now. There is no way of telling the time here, but it's been long. Jude checked up on me again after dinner and took me to the bathhouse. It is already past my real-life bedtime. I need to sleep to wake up from the "sleep" in the real world.
I am starting to get afraid. When I wake up from this, I will be sure to breathe a lot of real oxygen and go to a psychiatrist. But the problem is... I can't sleep. For some reason, I've been in this bed for at least three hours, but I still can't fall asleep.
The headache is the torment of Tantalus. How did it come back? I can't deal with this anymore. I want to go back. I miss Ari.
[==============]
I Didn't wake up in my world the next day.