Viridian

Chapter 28

"Everyone's mind is different," Cato explains to me through the darkness. "Our job is to figure out what yours looks like."

"Looks like?" I ask, opening my eyes. I am in a clean white room, sitting on a cushioned white leather couch, Cato standing in front of me. The room looks more like a therapist's office than a testing room, but then again, maybe that's not unusual for mind training.

"Yes," Cato continues. "Our minds are greater than you could even imagine— it would take centuries for us to fully master them— but to make it more comprehensible, we imagine our minds as various settings: a restaurant, a library, a museum."

"I don't understand."

"Lay down," he sighs, pulling up a chair towards the couch. "And close your eyes." I roll my eyes, earning a growl from Cato, but do as he says, lying back on the cool leather.

"Imagine where you feel most comfortable," Cato explains.

"In bed, no bra, fuzzy pajamas," I state, earning a deep chuckle from Cato.

"That's not what I meant," he laughs. "Think about where you feel most... at home. Where your mind is at rest and you can just exist." I rack my brain, trying to think of a place where I truly feel at peace. "You're thinking too much," Cato explains.

"And you're distracting me," I growl, frustrated, taking a deep breath, trying to settle my mind. "A kitchen," I state. "I feel most at peace when I'm baking."

"I should've guessed," I feel him smirk, even with my eyes closed. "Now imagine that kitchen. It can look however you want...," Cato's voice fades away and I feel a glow of heat, such as that of the sun, on my eyelids. I open my eyes, suddenly standing in a kitchen, Cato at my side.

Where am I? I ask, Cato.

Your mind.

I look around. It is a homely kitchen, like that of one you would see in a cabin. The walls are a warm oak, the floor made up of various stones, matching the stone of a large pizza oven, currently cooking various loaves of bread, in one of the corners, next to the stove. Despite the feeling of coziness, the kitchen is actually quite large, with a large wall of white cabinets.

This is what your mind looks like. Cato explains. Within these cabinets, lies everything that has ever happened to you within your lifetime. The ingredients are the events and you are the... dessert. He growls with more than a hint of lust.

Behave.

He laughs, continuing. As you grow, the wall grows too, adding more cabinets with more ingredients. One cabinet for each year of your life. One ingredient for each event.

I look over the wall of white cabinets.

So, this is my life story.

Yes and no. He shrugs. This is simply your perspective of reality, not reality itself— and your mind is not purely your past. It holds all of your dreams and your thoughts... everything that could be as well as what is, lies within this kitchen.

So if the cabinets hold reality, or rather my perspective of reality, where is the rest of it? I ask him.

Everything here has a meaning, Adhi. Cato tells me. Everything here is placed specifically because of something you did to make it so. Look around and tell me what you see.

Bread. I say, breathing the sweet smell of home as I turn towards the pizza oven looking structure.

Good girl. Cato praises. How many do you see?

I don't know. I mutter looking at the loaves. I can't count them, I— I don't know why. There's not an insane amount of them... so why can't I count them?

That is your knowledge. Cato tells me. Important lessons you have learned and are still learning. That is why you can't count them— why they are never done cooking. I turn back towards the rest of the kitchen, looking around at what else there is.

What's in the fridge? I ask, walking towards it.

Fantasies. Cato chuckles, stopping me in my tracks. Wanna open it?

Pass. I state, feeling a blush spread throughout me.

Are you sure?

Yes.

Perhaps I'll open it for you then. He challenges.

No! Suddenly my eyes burst open and I am back at the couch, Cato's hand falling from the top of my head as I sit up starkly. I pant, a faint headache coming to rest at my temples as my eyes adjust to the new surroundings.

"Good," I hear Cato, blinking away the static in my eyes.

"Good?" I ask, calming my heart rate.

"Yes," he continues. "You just kicked me out of your mind. Not many people can do that, especially on the first attempt." I look at him, confused and out of breath. "Adhi," he says, scooching his chair closer to me and taking my face in his palms. "Breathe. You did good, Princess."

________________________________________________________________________________

So... I almost made this a smutty chapter but it didn't flow with the rest of how I was writing this particular scene and I'm not one of those Wattpad authors who uses every excuse to put sex in their books lol... so... yeah. There WILL be more mind training scenes that will prolly have that in it, just not this one. Oh! If you like this book PLEASEEEEEEEE check out my other book. I just uploaded the first few chapters and yeah, i'm really excited about it. Think Hunger Games meets Narnia? I don't know, that's the vibe I was getting lol. Anyways. Love you, thank you for reading!

 - Nicole Winters