Spirals

the being - 1

~~~

It has been over a week since my last note was taken. I am typing late at night again with a shaky hand because of the voyage I have just returned from. I remember entering about an hour after returning home from school and not leaving until well past dinner. I believe that I am beginning to get a lead on when and why they come, and I am starting to think that I myself may have something to do with their appearance.

The spiral began with me already underwater, sinking slowly towards the bottom. I could breathe, though somewhat shallowly, but I could not move that well, so I let gravity take its course. The water around me was not white like last time; it was a deep, murky blue, and the surface was far above me. I felt it growing harder and harder to breathe until I felt my back hit a soft surface and a cloud of sand swelled around me, and when it settled, I forced myself to sit up and instantly spotted a small being sitting directly across from me.

Here you find yourself again.

The voice was elderly and sleepy, droning almost. I opened my mouth to speak, but water came rushing in, so I shut it promptly in confusion and simply listened to the being in front of me. They were blurred, as if their image was unnaturally refracted by the waters, and I could only make out their billowing clothing and their slouched position.

These waters seem to accommodate us well. Even with your place in the ethers, you always remember to visit the endless sea below.

I thought to myself, who is this?

I don't know, they replied, to my surprise. I've been here for some time. It is a relaxing dwelling place. Deep within the waters, feeling the ocean shifting around you, feeling it regulate your breathing, regulate your movement, clearing your mind... it is all I know, and I am fine here.

I thought, I do not think I could live long down here.

They replied, Possibly. But it is nice to stay at least a minute. I get very frantic being left alone all the time, so it is really nice to see you again.

I remembered vaguely being in a similar situation some time back, but I did not remember what happened after that, and I noticed that my body was beginning to relax and that my mind began to drift and that my eyes began to close, until falling asleep became incredibly tempting.

It has been a while; it would be nice if you could stay for some time.

The subtle, decisive manner in which this was said caught me off-guard. I became immediately aware of my surroundings, and I realized that, as my consciousness sunk, my body did as well, descending rapidly beneath the sand until my head was under and I could see nothing.

I thought, frantically, I need to wake up, I need to wake up now.

Then I was standing in a freight lift.

A lit screen sat on the wall that was in front of me. It displayed children playing in a pasture. No sound came from the TV. The LED glow from the screen was the only form of light that I could see; even the elevator shaft, exposed on every other side, had no form of visible lighting within. A small, mechanical hum began somewhere above me, and the elevator rattled before starting its descent. The motion was much more noticeable and rapid than the last elevator; I genuinely wondered whether, if I jumped, I would float or, worse yet, ruin the path of the elevator.

The screen in front of me switched to a video of a child sitting alone at a table, engaged with a book in which a majority of the pages were flipped back. Soon, other children began filling up spots around the table, and the reader closed their book, tensing, smiling uncomfortably.