Esper stood in-front of a large tree. It was odd. It wasn’t blue and the leaves were so small. Very odd for a tree. Cocking her head, she stared at it intensely, trying to decipher the meaning of its existence. But she couldn’t focus. The world was bright, so very bright. Why was it so bright here? Her eyes hurt. She looked around, trying to find the hole that the sun was shining through, but there was no hole. There were no walls, no chasm, no blue trees. It was just… empty. An empty sea of green grass disturbed only by the existences of herself and the tree. How strange, she thought looking at it.
Moving closer, she saw the branches sway in the wind, which gently grazed her back. They wove up and down, as if to greet her. So the girl raised a thin, skeletal hand and waved back to them. She didn’t want mama to scold her for being rude after all. A rustle escaped from the tree, different from that of the wind shaking the leaves. Something was in the tree, hiding, watching. She looked up towards it, the sun in her eyes.
Esper groaned as the sour smell of vinegar assaulted her nose. Groggily, she opened her eyes and stared at the bleak ceiling not far above her. The light from the pot had mostly dissipated, but a faint hue remained. “What an odd dream,” she mumbled to herself, the words slurred and dry. Her mouth felt sticky and sore. Stretching, while still laying down, she let out a fresh morning yawn. It was time for her usual morning routine and then off to work. The thought made her happy, papa will be so proud when he gets back and sees what a good job she has been doing, she thought to herself sleepily. Suddenly her eyes shot open. The necklace!
Her hand latched onto the locket still dangling from her neck. It was still there. Esper rubbed the top of her chest where it had made an imprint into her skin overnight, she must have been laying on it. Jumping out of bed in excitement she threw the musty blanket to the side. The daylight hours would be here soon and then she could finally look at the necklace. She had been very patient, but it did gnaw at her the whole night yesterday. Esper ran to the table, the floor releasing another sad groan, as she passed, “Sorry!” she called out to it and slipped on her only dress. But that was alright, because it was also her favorite. Checking the chain again to make sure the necklace was still there, she happily felt its cold weight. She wasn’t sure, but didn’t it feel just a tiny bit colder and heavier today, she wondered? Oh well, she had just gotten up and was still sleepy.
Taking the well traveled, two step path back to the bed, this time being more gentle with the old floor, she climbed on the side to reach the sheet she had thrown against the wall in her sleep and quickly made the bed, like papa had shown her. “Never leave the house until you’ve made your bed!” she said aloud, poorly mimicking a deep masculine voice. She wasn’t sure why he always said that, but it must be important, so she did it. Stopping for a second she looked at the ramshackle construction of the bed and wondered about how big it felt to sleep in now. She remembered the times they would all fall asleep on it together every night, it had seemed a lot smaller then. Her stomach rumbled, time for breakfast.
There was still a good amount of the blue mass left in the pot. The water had separated and floated on-top of the remaining gelatin where it rested, coating it with an oddly oily sheen. It didn’t glow anymore and it was cold. But it was food; in a manner of speaking. Esper took the large stick that she used to stir and mixed the contents back together into a homogeneous consistency and took her unwashed bowl from last night, filling it up again with a large portion of porridge. If today was anything like yesterday, she would need her strength, she thought to herself, still half-dazed. After eating alone at the small table she took the bowl with her and went outside into the street. The air was as warm, dark and moist as always, so she was rather pleased with the cool tingling the necklace left on her skin.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Turning right this time, she walked down past the last few houses, her eyes darting through the bleak into the few windows and crevices they had. But there was nobody there to be seen. She sighed. Another clearing opened up in-front of her and a slight vibration ran through the earth, she could feel it move up through her feet and into her bones. She slowed down and began taking half steps, sliding her feet slowly forward in the dark. A cold droplet of water splashed on the top of her foot. She bent down and placed her hands in the small running stream of water. It was frigid, absolutely icy cold like always. The current wasn’t very strong, but it was noticeable. She dunked the bowl inside and washed it off in the running water; watching as some of the goo began to glow for a second before being swept away.
Breathing in deeply, she inhaled a deep scent of earthy, wet air and exhaled for a long time. The smell was crisp and nostalgic. Looking around to make sure that she was alone, she placed the bowl down on the ground and took off her dress. Dipping a toe first into the cold water she then jumped in, submerging herself entirely in the stream. Esper’s feet quickly touched bottom and she stood up on the tips of her toes to keep her head out of the water. Blood rushed to her face and core and she had to fight to keep her breathing under control. Her body screaming at her to get out of the ice cold water. Steadily she breathed in. Steadily she breathed out.
Repeating this several times soon caused her tension to release and the ability to focus her mind on something other than the cold came back to her. Once the initial shock was over, she began rubbing the grime off of her body and face, submerging her head several times in order to work her fingers through her hair. Though it never seemed to get any easier to work through no matter how many times she ran her fingers through the tangles. Her fingers grazed the necklace, which was bobbing in the current and for a moment she was afraid it would wash away and clutched it tightly beneath the water. But after realizing that it was still securely there, she relaxed and finished her routine by submerging her head one last time, swishing several mouthfuls of the cold river water in and out of her mouth.
Esper reached for the stony embankment and climbed out of the icy water, gasping. The contrast to the dank, warm air was an odd sensation and she shivered as her feet planted themselves onto the pebbles beneath her, several drops of water splashing down. She shook herself several times and flipped her hair around, working her fingers through it to squeeze out as much moisture as she could. Once she was reasonably dry, she picked up her dress from the large rock she had rested it on, shook it a few times and slipped it on. The rough wispy fabric clung uncomfortably to her still damp skin and so she picked and pulled at it for a while until she felt it stop sticking. Grabbing the bowl, she headed back towards her home. Walking sure footedly through the still bleak night.
The daylight hours would be here soon, so she had to get on her way now. Once she uneventfully reached her home, she opened the squealing door and stepped inside the still pungent room and stopped for a moment. Her eyes fell on the light-less spot where she knew the sad floor was. She would have to cross it to get to the table. A firm frown molded her lips and she thought for a second, finally opting instead to put the bowl down here by the entryway, to spare the floor the pain of being stepped on. She nodded to the floor, sure that if it could, it would nod back at her. The coil of rope felt rough and coarse beneath her fingers, though it felt lighter now than it had last night. With a well deserved grunt, she picked it up and hung it over her shoulder. “I’m off!” she called into the dark room with a smile and closed the door tightly behind herself.