Poppy Tears Become Her

Somewhere between realities...

We approached the enchanted gate. The small, twisted trees that formed the arch were matte white and smooth as a bar of ivory soap. They appeared entirely symmetrical and their many branches formed perfect little swirls. As we got closer, I could feel the air change. It was hot, thick, and carried a strong but sweet fragrance. Initially, I was overwhelmed by it but quickly became comforted. It felt almost akin to being loosely wrapped in a sweet-smelling, velvety quilt.
I was sure I would be far too tall for the petite entranceway and was surprised when I found that I was a perfect fit. I wondered silently to myself if I had accommodated the size of the gate, or it, me. Time seemed to slow as I passed through to the other side, and I could feel the world around me shift. Something felt very different here.
The first thing I noticed when I emerged was a small, rose–coloured fairy to my left. It appeared to have been waiting for something, which I assumed to be us. The creature wore clothing made of crocus petals and was accessorized head to toe in bells that jingled the sweetest tune. Its wings were quite small but fluttered more rapidly than those of a hummingbird. It looked at me with a smirk painted across its face and mischievous delight in its wide, entirely black eyes.
"Stargazer, Esme," it sang in a melodic voice. I assumed that must be us, but to be honest, I was having trouble recalling our names.
"We have been awaiting your arrival," the fairy stated as though we had arrived late to a party. I turned to Esme as if to silently ask her if she had forgotten to pass on my invitation, but she appeared even more lost than I was.
"Hurry up," the creature nagged, losing patience.
"We are already late."
We started away from the gate, blindly trusting the small, pink being. It was only then that I began to observe the strange world around us, and what a strange world it was. The air seemed to be a sort of shimmering, deep-purple mist that filled the place like smoke in a bottle. It tasted of sour blackberry candy and liquorice and seemed to swirl about itself playfully. The lack of translucency hindered my vision quite terribly, and the stuff was thick enough to choke on. Despite partial blindness and a growing sense of nausea, I still managed to pick out some of the more obvious details from our surroundings.
It seemed to me that what we were venturing through was some sort of forest but with elements of an old woman's sitting room. In place of solid ground, there was a silk scarf that spread across the entirety of the world's surface. It's pattern ebbed and flowed, never remaining the same for more than a meter. The thin fabric dipped with every footstep, but always corrected itself within seconds. Pastel-coloured trees with the same symmetry as the entranceway sprouted from the makeshift floor, none bigger than an average house plant. Miscellaneous objects such as stuffed-teddy-bears, old photographs, and teacups hung from their small branches in bounty like ripe fruits. I cast a look back towards Esme to make sure she was still following and saw worry brimming her bright orange eyes. Had her eyes been orange before? I was unsure. I slowed my pace and took her hand gently in mine.
"Where are we," she whimpered, noticeably uncomfortable with the sheer newness of our surroundings. It must not have been much of a help that the trees had begun to grow taller and thicker around us without my noticing. It seemed almost as if they were trying to close us in. Oddly, this did not disturb me in the slightest. What did scare me was how secure I felt in this place, after all, I was no more familiar with it than she was.
"Stargazer, something about all of this doesn't feel right," she mumbled. I realized that she was most likely whispering out of fear that our guide would become aware of her woes. I glanced up at the small, pink being ahead of us and found that it was already looking directly at me. The corners of its thin lips curled up gradually.
"Care for a bite?" it spoke in a voice as smooth as butter. In its hand there appeared a platter of the most appetizing truffles I had ever seen. They were golden brown in color, like perfectly cooked marshmallows, and appeared smoother than the wing of a butterfly. Each was topped with a flawless, blindingly white custard swirl and was peppered with what looked to me like stardust. As my face was drawn closer and closer to the platter by the mere smell of the things, I swear I could hear them whispering to me.
"You know you want to," they said.
"Don't mind if I do," I growled hungrily as I dropped Esme's hand and reached toward the platter.
"Stop!" Esme cried in horror. She moved with cat-like reflexes and grabbed hold of my wrist. I looked over at her, my eyes pleading.
"Never eat the food," she uttered under her breath. The fairy spat daggers at her through it's black hole eyes and I saw Esme shrink in horror, like a turtle into its shell. I knew she was right. Somewhere in a distant memory, I could recall being told that one should never accept food from a fairy. Unfortunately, my urges were growing stronger by the minute and I could feel my sense slipping away bit by bit. What was left behind, you ask? Euphoria, freedom, recklessness.
I looked up into the creature's eyes and felt no fear, but rather kinship. The same black emptiness I saw staring back at me lived somewhere deep within my soul, and it was ravenous. I reached up with my other hand, took a truffle, and popped it into my mouth eagerly before Esme could stop me. Fireworks.
Before I knew even what I had done, the whole tray disappeared down my gullet. More fireworks. I could vaguely make out Esme's voice somewhere behind me, but I could not find it in myself to care. I looked back up into the fairy's eyes, and we were no longer similar. We were one and the same. It was me and I was it. It felt as if the string that had attached us before had gained a life of its own and tied us two into a knot until there was nothing left that we didn't share. In fact, I felt as if I was one with that whole world. I felt myself in the trees, the teddy bears, the mist... the scarf. I was no longer a measly vessel, here, I was life itself. At that moment, back in my now seemingly insignificant body, I felt a tap on the shoulder.
"Stargazer?" Esme whimpered meekly. I could hear her voice from every angle. I was the world around her. I was everything.
"Stargazer?!" I knew she did not belong here. She did not embrace this world, and so we could not embrace her back. She could not stay. I would not let her stay. She was but a blip in my ever-growing cosmic existence.
"Carole!" I heard her yell as I opened up the scarf beneath her feet and let her fall into the abyss. I wondered to myself who Carole was. The name seemed vaguely familiar but I could not seem to place it.