𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙊𝙣𝙚 • 𝙇𝙤𝙨𝙩 •

❝She wasn't looking for a knight, she was looking for a sword.❞

•••

I was a prisoner. A captive of my own mind. My relentless thoughts held me hostage when all that surrounded me were the dead pleas of my naive self. They became the impenetrable barriers of my dark, sinister cell, daunting me. Every day, I stay, trapped. Trapped from the normalcy I envied of others that lived their lives with zero hindrance. Trapped from a thing called freedom, that seemed to intensely dislike me, avoiding me at any given chance. Trapped from feeling the highs of my teenage life; I had only experienced the lows. 

I hated that my thoughts were able to repress me. All I sought was liberty from my mind, wanting only to be myself; April.

Abruptly, the shriek of a siren slices through the air, lively conversations perishing until all you hear is the eerie silence of the lifeless roads. Like today, yesterday, and every other day before that, at eight o'clock in the evening, the busy streets empty, along with the grocery stores, public transit, and all other workplaces. 

Only security guards and upper-class citizens with ties to the governor were authorized to stay out after the siren blasts, though, strictly for business and other working matters that I did not know of.

Subtly, I saunter through the camouflaged alleyways of the neighbourhood with my head down low. There was simply one place I yearned to go: away from the judgmental gaze of society, my eyes blind to any latent consequence.

A melodic breeze encircles me, composing a soft lullaby, warm and tender. Taking a long steady breath, I open my eyes and see peace. The noble lake lay leisurely below the secluded cabin, standing strong amidst the blanket of trees scattering the forest floor. 

A tranquil silence trails behind me as I sit on the wooden planks of the lonely cabin's veranda, knees tucked into my chest. I watch the sun caress the lake; tender ripples turn still; wind halts in place; trees sway in song no more. Everything before me slowly freezes, all things coming to a pause. Solely I can move.

My breathing grows toiled, my hands and knees drop to the trembling platform beneath me. I see Darkness reach his clawed, crippling hand out towards me. Petrified, my eyes dilate as I skitter backward, my back connecting with the walls of the cabin. 

Darkness had always worn a mask to disguise his true intentions with feigned affection; manipulation at its finest. I had fallen into his trap far too many times, seeking comfort against all will. It was like a never-ending search for treasure: in the end, what were the chances you would ever really find it?

He would slither his way into my head, fueling me with hollow promises and gifting me with perpetual pain. Repeatedly, he'd show me all my faults, leaving me to waver among everything I was once so sure of. He left me questioning my worth, putting me in a chokehold I'd try, try, try to escape. Darkness is my mind. Darkness is my redemption. Darkness is my demise.  

Without notice, a firm, yet delicate hand on my shoulder causes Darkness to swiftly disappear, the world around me revving like an engine. It feels as though I've reached the finish line of a race like I'm viewing my surroundings for the first time. My arm retreats from the touch on impulse. 

Trepidation conquers all thoughts and feelings of my corrupted mind. Looking up, I'm greeted with a pair of emerald eyes searching mine with intensity, my breathing shallow, my eyes penetrating.

The boy held only an ounce of emotion, looking mostly like concern. Without so much as a word, the stranger sits down beside me on the creaking deck, staring keenly into the lake. I take this chance to dully observe him.