A.P.O.L.A.K.I.

/06/ - Surprise Visit

He was starting to get used to this dream where only the brightness was painful and there was no accompanying sound. But tonight, it suddenly changed. The brightness intensified, accompanied by a noise emanating from the source of the raging glare.

His knees trembled as he covered his face with both hands. He couldn't scream and found it hard to breathe. No matter how he moved, he couldn't reach any of the door handles.

He wanted to escape, to break free, but he couldn't even take a step forward. It was blinding. It was dazzling. Every touch of the light on his eyes and body was blinding.

"Listen to me!"

The sound from the light became clearer now. Slowly, the brightness dimmed, and the place changed its form. It became more sinister, more menacing, more like a demonic presence.

He glanced around. He was alone standing in the middle of a circle surrounded by seven closed doors. But now, he noticed something new. Hanging on each door was a mask! There were masks painted white, blue, yellow, and red, with two holes for the eyes.

In a few moments, the surroundings darkened further. The brightly lit room from earlier now resembled a dark coffin. There was not a single ray of light, and the suffocating silence prevailed.

His chest tightened again, and he wanted to scream. But it seemed like his mouth was locked shut and refused to open. Even his hands and legs suddenly felt aflame. He struggled and silently endured the pain. It was heavier than the light and the brightly lit room. Until he heard a voice from above. Sharp, angry, and even more terrifying.

"Poor you, person framed by belief. There's nothing darker and denser than inside the long, box-like bed. Peek at the back of the small mirror. That is where the roar of the lion and the chuckle of the wind come out, along with the farewells of nameless souls. Someone's eyes are closed, his lips locked. A little light peeks through the hole in the metal sheet, covered by a heavy iron door to keep it from being blown away by the storm. Wake up, person living by the candle's flicker, serving as a thread in the forming necklace of jasmine."

The twist brought by the darkness intensified. The air was slowly diminishing. He wanted to leave. He wanted to escape. But how could he escape when the darkness seemed like a blinding, locked room!

"Cedric!"

His eyes suddenly opened as he felt a slap on his left cheek. He was currently gasping for breath, his entire body tensing as he lay on the bed. His room was fully lit—contrary to where he came from. And the atmosphere wasn't the same as what he experienced in the void.

Above him were at least three people. Darwin, the most familiar face, his twin—perhaps the one who dared to slap him and repeatedly called his name to get him out of the void. Another man, wearing a black collared shirt and tinted eyeglasses, stood in front of the door. Cedric noticed a small button behind the man's right earlobe. As far as he knew, only blue brackets were entitled to have such a contraption, not a yellow or orange bracket citizen like him and Darwin.

And then... the third man. He was one of the persons he thought wouldn't visit him and his twin, especially now with what happened in Manelapolis.

"Daddy?" Cedric muttered softly while looking at the third man who was sporting a black suit with a dark-blue neck tie. He hadn't seen him for a long time. But it seemed like the harshness of life didn't affect his father's system. William's face and physique showed no sign of aging.

William moved a little closer when he noticed that Cedric was finally awake. Why would his father fly here from the capital without any prior notice, by the way?