We meet again [Elisop]

Chapter 1

Oletus Manor. A familiar name and yet so distant. It was the place of many encounters, loves, sorrows... So much had happened there. So much had been left there. Nevertheless, maybe it was for the best. In the end, what happened in that mansion was only the cradle of their growing unhappiness over time. Then one day, everything came to an abrupt end. One of the survivors, Aesop Carl, also known as "The Embalmer", woke up one morning on his bed, the one that was in his house before he went to the manor. It took him a while to figure out where he was. Just the day before, he was in the old room that had been assigned to him, the greenish wallpaper and weathered wooden furniture was the scenery he had seen every day for the past two years. Until now.

Everything was as it was when he left home. His bed was perfectly done, the items on his desk were arranged as they should be, and his makeup box containing his various tools and chemicals was sitting on his nightstand. It was almost... a dream. Or maybe a nightmare in this case. Unfortunately, the truth came quickly to him. In front of the mirror in his bathroom, the scars on his body, which he had acquired along the way, were there. Even after washing and rinsing many times, they would not go away and remained stuck to his skin. It was the only evidence that showed his past there was real. He was out of that hell and had to accept it even though it might be hard to believe at first, the psychological wounds were not going to fade away any time soon.

The first thing he did when he returned to the real world was to look at the calendar. To his surprise, only one month had passed. How could this be ? But looking back, there was no logic to the mansion. Despite the years that had passed, their appearance did not change and the weather in some places was just strange, such as Leo's Memory which was covered by snow all the time. He didn't know what kind of witchcraft had been used, but only about thirty days passed. He then went outside to see if anything had changed, it was rare for him to set foot outside but the situation he was in required it.

He came across his neighbor, an old lady living alone with two cats, who reminded him of a hunter who always walked with a black cat at the manor. When she saw Aesop, the first thing she asked him was how his trip to this strange region called Oletus went. He was a little surprised, a trip ? So that's what she thought ? He spent the rest of his day revisiting the quiet little town he lived in, the stores were still the same, there was still that child feeding the pigeons in the park in the afternoon. Nothing had changed. He decided to do some shopping before returning home to fill his fridge. 

Once he returned, it was almost time for dinner, so he started cooking. He prepared a few simple dishes and placed them on the dining table when he finished. They were never short of food at the manor, and sometimes they were spoiled on certain occasions like Christmas or Halloween, but this time was different. Tears streamed down the young man's face, for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, he finally felt free and alive. This living nightmare was now in the past. That day was the first time he felt so happy and grateful to be born and alive. 

However, the first week he spent in reality was sometimes very cruel. He occasionally woke up at night because of bad dreams and would cry at times, afraid that it was all a dream and that he would be back in that dreary room the next morning. Time passed slowly... A month passed... Things had improved a bit and he had decided to try to open up to the world a bit more. He was talking to his neighbors more, although he still had trouble feeling comfortable, it was still progress. One of the biggest changes in his life was when he left his job as an embalmer. He went to the place where his mentor, Jerry, had taught him everything. 

This place now gave him the creeps. He got rid of all the medical equipment and completely rebuilt the whole building. The wallpaper, the floor, the facade, he left nothing undone and replaced absolutely everything. He transformed the place into a florist store. He was particularly fond of flowers, especially yellow roses, a souvenir of his late mother. One of his few friends at the manor who was a gardener taught him a lot about them and he thought it wasn't too bad as a conversion. A few weeks passed and his new business was flourishing. He had trouble interacting with customers at first, but that awkwardness slowly disappeared. He loved his new job, his new life.

Everything was going well. Yet he felt a void in his heart. There was a person from his past at the manor who still haunted his mind. A young seer the same age as him who answered to the name of Eli Clark. He was the only one he could really consider a friend. He was always there for him in times of trouble and Aesop did everything in his power to return the favor. Their friendship was special. Or so he thought. As he watered the flowers in his store, he sometimes wondered what his friend was doing and where he was. Was he back home too ? Was he reunited with his fiancée, Gertrude ? He had no way of knowing, he didn't know in which area he lived, it may even be in another country. But if it was possible, he would have liked to see him again...

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Damn, here we go again for the 3rd time ! God, I spent so much efforts on this one really. Also, I felt so proud of Aesop while writing this- Welp, hope you'll like it ! I'm planning to make this hella sad and full of angst btw :)