Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The colors of the rainbow ❯ A short story ( Chapter 1 )

A short story.

 

The end of days seems close sometimes, but when is it they not? All you have to do is turn on the TV or read the newspaper, its all there; murder, burglary, rape. No wonder so many people jump to their deaths, or where they pushed? You never know, but what is unfortunate is that a time comes when you simply do not care. And that is the world that we live in.

I cannot tell you how I got here, but the fact is that I am here. Standing on the edge of the world, barely balanced on my toes. Trying to peer through the veil of rain to get a glimpse of what is beyond it, beyond the edge, in the darkness. It is horrifying as I realize that there is a similar void inside of me, maybe not as huge, but its all the same as it sucks all of me inside of it until nothing but a shell of skin and bones remains. But it is not what matters, what is important is that after all that happened I have these crazy thoughts, should I jump or rot away in this prison?

It all started a couple of days ago when I met this girl.

 

xXx

 

It was another one of those rainy days on which you just want to crawl under a blanket and sleep. Unfortunately I still had a term paper to write and what a better way to battle drowsiness but to drink coffee.

There is this cozy coffee shop a couple of blocks from my apartment and so with umbrella in hand and a notebook I make my way there. By the time that I open its front door, the place looks almost empty, as it is past eleven o'clock and most of the population probably hit the bars.

I enjoy the quiet atmosphere and decide to settle at the corner table, which is conveniently placed by the window, so from time to time I can glance outside and become more motivated as if I will not finish this I might as well end up there, on the street.

It seem like hours have passed since I got here, but I have yet to start the first paragraph, when a girl comes in.

She looks a bit shaken, wet, and cold; shivering in her thin coat, water dripping from her loose hair. Her eyes are a strange hue of blue, or maybe it's green. I keep on staring at her unable to turn away and she just stands there for a couple of minutes, looking at the menu, unsure of what she wants. Then she turns and our gazes meet.

As if I was jolted by lightning I take a rapid breath and turn away, feeling a blush creeping on. But she does not stop staring at me now and if that was not enough, by the time that she makes it to my table realize that I am holding my breath. Now you must know that I am not attracted to women and even a few regrettable relationships with guys did not make me wonder along that avenue, but there is something about her which I cannot put into words, so memorized by her I am.

“You really should breathe, or you'll turn blue,” she states and the spell is broken, she moves a chair to sit across from me.

 

xXx

 

Now please do not think that I am too judgmental, but she is a real toon. I mean who really talks about magic or even believes in it. Sure when I was a kid, I believed in it for sometimes, but it was a longtime ago, and I do not anymore. Although apparently Nina, as she introduced herself, does believe in magic, aliens, Bigfoot, ghosts I can go on and on, but frankly she just mentioned magic. What is it really?

I hear her go on about people not believing in, what they see from the corner of their eyes, ignoring intuition, the gut feeling, the unexplained and then she says that the end is coming. Where did that come from, who's end, the worlds? I try to tune in, to listen to what she is saying, because all the while that she talked I have been wondering of why am I exactly listening to her, did I even invite her to sit here, and if any of this stuff really going to help me write a term paper, probably not I decide.

“So you see” she says, “its all about how you view this world and for me, unfortunately, it's a prison, although it can be a wonderful place for some people,” she reassures me.

“Do you understand?” Nina asks, as she nervously twirls a lock of her hair around a finger.

No, “Yeah, some of it,” I say, trying to sound convincing. She looks at me blankly, probably disappointed, I think.

“Well I probably should not expect you to, nobody does anyway.”

I hear hopelessness in her voice and immediately feel guilty. What does it cost me to listen to her, she probably needs a friend or a psychiatric institution to be locked up in, but that is really not my place to say.

She is quiet for a minute and then asks if she can finish my coffee.

“Go right ahead,” I say. It has gotten cold anyway as I do not think that I need any caffeine anymore today, tonight to be more exact, to keep me awake.

She grabs the cardboard cup and finishes it in a gulp.

“It's not even that great,” she states.

“What?” I ask.

“The coffee, silly”

I look at her for a second and then decide that this is it, either I am going home, or I will go crazy if I have to spend more time with her.

As I begin to get up, Nina leans over the table and grabs my arm. Her hands are soft and cool; a shiver runs up my spine. I cannot help but wonder why is she really here, talking to me. I mean she does look nice in her white blouse and ironed knee length skirt, designer shoes. It's not like she has to go look for company with her looks, but why me? And why say all the crazy stuff about magic and life being a prison, I would not think that many people would fall for that, she even said so herself.

“It's not what you think,” she says then as I jerk my hand but fail to free myself from her grasp.

I stop moving but do not sit back down. I wait for her to finish what she started.

“I,” she utters and takes a deep breath, trying to compose herself, “I just need someone to listen, to really listen to me.”

I notice, a now dry, mascara smudges all around her eyes, disheveled hair, despair in her voice.

“Why me?” I ask. “There has to be…”

“No,” she interrupts “they all think that I am crazy and besides I though that you would be able to understand me.” Her hand is still holding mine.

“I am sorry, but I do not” I say as I walk away. Nina's hand falls limply on the table, her mouth open, but words fail to come out.

As I make my way home, I cannot help but feel a stinging sensation in my chest. Did I really have to be that rude, uncaring? What if I needed somebody's help and they pushed me away? What if she now goes and hangs herself? No, I laugh. It's not my fault and besides even though she looked upset she does not seem to be the type to make rash desitions.

 

xXx

 

I wake up with a scream. Another restless night filled by horrifying nightmares. It all started after I talked to that girl, Nina. Its been three days now but I still cannot get the conversation out of my head and that dream that I had on the first night, I cannot remember it but every time that I try I feel up with dread.

My nightmares are the same every time. As I begin to comprehend my surroundings I realize that I am madly running through the forest. My heart is beating so hard that I think everybody in the miles radius can hear it, and something really does. When I stop and turn around I see only trees and darkness, but when I look closely I see hundreds and hundreds of red eyes staring back at me. My heart stops beating for a minute and I try to remember how to breathe. As my sanity returns I start to flee again. I run and run until my legs get tired and I have to search deep down inside to find strength for another step. Every time that I look back I see them, my fears and nightmares hot on my heals, never loosing the trail. And I start again, running in no particular direction; everything looks the same in the darkness, just trying to get away, to escape the inevitable doom. I finally see a grayish opening between the trees a couple of feet away from me, drying up my last wells of strength and courage I make my way there.

As I break free from the forest, I run another couple of feet to make sure that it's behind me and as I look back now, I see them stop just at the edge of the clearing, unwilling to follow me further. I feel a rush of joy hit me and I laugh. Then I begin to wonder where really am I. The grey light does not help me assess the situation, but when my gaze finally travel to myself I begin to shake as I stretch my arms in front of me, they are covered on blood. I hear a shriek erupting from my throat, and I wake up in my bed, covered in sweat.

 

xXx

 

After a lot of thinking I finally remember that night when I dreamed about Nina. She told me that she was a daughter of a fairy king in her past life, but because she committed a terrible crime she was burned at steak and punished to spend her next life here. This world, you see, is her prison because even though in this life she is a completely different person she still remembers her horrific crime, it haunts her, drives her mad. She has no way of escaping for even at night in her dreams she relives that day on which she was burned. She also knows a secret, it was told to her by her grandmother who was cursed by a second sight and foresaw her granddaughter's cruel fate. Nina relayed it to me in that dream, and although I did not completely understand her, I felt it was important enough to bring with me into the waking world.

She told me that in order to truly free myself from this place I first of all must believe in magic, because without it everything would be a meaningless sacrifice. After doing so I must go to the place that she showed me in the dream and then the course of actions that I must take would become clear to me.

So now standing at the edge of a chasm, I wonder if this is how I will end. I recall the headlines on the newspaper from the previous day, “An unidentified body found at the bottom of a cliff, a mysterious smile on the victims face.” This was her way out from her agony, her madness, her prison. But I also remember her telling me that it did not have to be a prison for everyone, this can truly be a wonderful place. And so what if all of us are living our sentences here, paying for the crimes committed in our past lives, can we not make the best of our life here?

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. My arms are lifted at my sides and I feel as if I could simply step of the ground and fly. Everything is possible at this moment. A wonderful sense of joy fills my heart and I realize that it is magic and so I embrace it wholeheartedly. I savor the moment and wonder if I can live in it for the rest of my life. The answer comes to me immediately, I cannot.

So I slowly open my eyes, still carefully balanced on my toes, leaning over the edge, arms spread, as bird's wings ready for flight. And I look, I look past the darkness of the dawn, past the early morning mist and I see the golden rays of the rising sun. They spill in all their glory upon the emerald valley through which twin rivers run, like torques in the stone. I hear birds chirping, greeting the new day and I drink it in, the calmness, joy and the simple beauty. At that moment I decide that no matter what the future holds in store for me and no matter what dreams may come, I want to live. I want to live this life to the fullest, I want to feel alive each and every day, because this is my life, it is maybe the only one I have, the only one I ever had and I want to make the best of it.

And so as you see her advice really did help, it came true, maybe I did not escape but all I had to do was to believe in life, in my own strength and just to open up my eyes and see all the beautiful colors of the rainbow.

The End.