Hey! You! Yes you! The shining boy! Why the heck are you shining so much huh? It's already hard as is living here, and now you are trying to make us blind?
I – I am sorry!
Are you new here, boy?
I – uh, yes I am! What is this place and who are you? What is your name?
Woah, woah a newbie asking so many questions at a time? Now this is new! You asked what this place is right? This is the borderline of mortal realm and immortal realm! This is the place where anomalies reside, who are neither humans or animals and nor gods. We call this land , Darkland. And I – I am someone who is tasked with protecting this world. And I don't have… a name…
Did your parents not give you one?
Parents? Dear, there are no parents for people who live here. And I am an entity which was born by itself!
Born by itself?
Yes! When the prayers of humans who were trapped in darkness, was too desperate, when the sadness and pain was too difficult to bear for the mortal realm, when the fear of those humans grew too much, and when the mortal realm's guardian could no longer bear the burden, that's when I was born. I was born from the sincere and desperate pleas of humans, the heart wrenching sadness and pain which they couldn't handle was thrown out onto this land, and as time went by, those emotions hardened and took the form of me! To be honest, humans are really pitiable creatures but that doesn't justify all their wrong doings. Now enough about me! What about you? Do you have a name or place to go?
I don't remember my name. I just remember that there was a beautiful place which shined bright every moment, and then I made a mistake and after that I was thrown out here. It seems like I was not needed there….
Well…. It doesn't matter either way, now you are stuck here with us, so how about I give a name?
A name?
Yes! How does Theodore sound?
Theodore? Which means a gift of god?
Yeah… This place was getting too dark, and… well.. you shine so bright and that's why you are a gift of god to us! Gosh! I am speaking rubbish!
Theodore…. I like it…. How about I name you Leticia?
Leticia? What does it mean?
I don't know…. It just sounds pretty.... just like you….
Oleander's pov
The past few days went by quite peacefully, but… I kept remembering my past… I don't want to remember the things which happened in my childhood. I am trying to forget everything, but those memories just keep coming back. The pain and sadness of that time. I try to forgive my parents, I try my best, but the past is like shackles. No matter what I do…. I can't escape…
And the girl from my dreams, she keeps telling me to remember everything soon, but I don't know what it is that I need to remember. Or maybe… I do know, but I don't want to recall anything painful.
I have this birthmark, it looks like a butterfly, but it's wings always seemed, like as if its are broken, but for a few days now… I have been noticing that those wings are getting attached to the body. Uh… how should I explain this, before the butterfly had broken wings but now it's as if it was never broken. It's as if the butterfly is returning to it's former glory. But it's just a birthmark how can this happen?....
Claire's pov
I've been thinking about this for a few days and I've come to the conclusion that whatever I did was terribly wrong. No matter what, I shouldn't have decided things on behalf of her. I shouldn't have listened to Theodore or that handsome masked man!
But in my defence, I would say that it was all their fault! They showed my that stupid glimpse of past and… there Oleander looked so…. Free, happy and comfortable…. It was my first time seeing her so… free from restrictions…. It was as if seeing a caged butterfly fly beautifully in the sky… just where it belonged….
Claire's pov
I hate oleander's parents! They are horrible! Their daughter is suffering so much…. But they say she's overreacting!
Yesterday we were all having dinner on the dining table, and Oleander looked pale, as if she's malnourished, and yet she didn't eat anything and went upstairs saying things like, "I am not hungry" and "I have work to do!". I and her sister were really worried about her, but do you know what her parents said? Her mother said to her 'husband' that she feels as if oleander is overreacting, and it's making her lose appetite seeing someone leave table in the middle of dinner. And oleander's father said that she's right! That those are anything but just some nightmares. I felt so angry but it was not my place to meddle! In the beginning I thought that she lived a happy life but now … I'm starting to think differently…..
Isabella's pov
It's been a whole week since Oleander and her friend Claire came to visit us. Things have been hectic since then. Mom and dad are worried about her and are not taking care of themselves, that's what they themselves are saying but their situation couldn't be any more opposite than their words. They are laughing, having fun and doing all kinds of things while their own daughter is suffering. And in the other hand oleander's complexion is getting worse with each passing day. Claire's trying her best to cheer Oleander up, but I guess she has her limits too. There are dark circles around her eyes. And as for me, well, I a trying to get to the root of the problem. It's keeping me pretty busy to be honest. That's why I couldn't meet with Oleander much. But the truth is, I kind of don't want to face her. The way she looks right now makes my heart ache. I am bound to show my weak side to her if I face her right now, and you know there's an unspoken rule to not show any kind of weaknesses to your younger siblings. I have to be strong for her. No matter how scared or worried I am, I can't tell her or maybe it's more like I shouldn't . If she starts thinking that she is being a burden to everyone by making us worried, then I won't know what I will do. I mean I am already helpless as it is, and on top of that if she were to feel guilty because of me then I won't be able to forgive myself.
The only conclusion I've reached so far is that the package is the main culprit. When I asked oli ( short for Oleander) to open the package for me, she got scared and refused. But according to my theory, not opening the package was her biggest mistake.
That's why I am going to fix it….
Oleander's pov
It's a different type of nightmare this time, I'm being chased by another other worldly creature. I'm in a school filled with students but none can see or hear me or the creature. Is it okay to call these things ghosts? No! I don't think so! These are creatures from some other land. I think they are made from human fear and sorrow.
While running away from the creature I noticed that the place suddenly changed. The school was nowhere to be seen and I was now standing in the middle of a beautiful forest. There was someone else aside from me. A person. It was coming closer. It was one of those creatures. She was a woman wit a disturbing face and presence. Her gaze was filled with pity and sympathy. She felt familiar, a bit too much than I would like. It was as if I e know her for a long, long time. Suddenly her body started getting distorted. The sound of bone cracking and twisting, and the skin being pierced, dulled her voice. She wasn't screaming nor was she in pain.
But rather sad, not for herself but for me. She mouthed a few words. Those few words were enough to shatter my world….
I woke up, crying hysterically. But, I don't know why I'm crying! It hurt so much as if I've been pierced by a dagger. It hurt so much, but I don't know the reason. I remember a familiar feeling and pity from someone. But who? I don't remember….
A few days have passed since the incident. I still get choked with emotion whenever I try to think about that dream. And in the other hand Isabelle keeps pestering me about how we should open the package to get to the root of everything. But I don't want to….
A few days ago…
3rd person POV
Oleander and Claire went to a ice-cream parlour to ease some of their tension.
As Oleander and Claire were enjoying their day, there was something unknown following their every move, listening to every story… in fact it had been lurking around Oleander for quite some time now, but now it was Claire's turn. It was unclear as to why this being was targeting Oleander and her loved ones, but it was clear that it didn't had any pure intentions….
As time passed, oleander's nightmare's decreased a bit, but she would often get a feeling that she's not alone, that she is being followed constantly and whatever followed her, pried in her every move. On the other hand, Claire kept experiencing strange things, as cliché as it may sound, but she was gradually losing her things but then finding them in a completely different place, she would wake up at night to someone's laughter, sometimes it's crying and sometimes it's guttural screams. Whatever it was, it was surely not pleasant. Will oleander and Claire be able to free themselves from this never ending cycle? Or will they be stuck in this never-ending loop hole and gradually perish? It might be safe to assume that this story is going to be a boring cliché, I mean what else do you expect from the writer, when this is how the story is progressing? But, let's wait till the end and see for ourselves, whether it will be a boring cliché or a will it be a amazing new plot? So, dear readers will you please bear with me till the end?
Claire's Pov
At the same time….
I can't sleep . I can't sleep at all. The noise keeps me up at night and the fear at the day. The sound of screaming, laughing, crying and growling. I can't sleep. Because of the presence. The presence. The presence of something inhumane. Now I understand how oli must've felt all this time. She must've been terrified beyond measure. I feel bad for her and ... for myself…..