Project Fantasy

Chapter 8

Ren took a breath. "I'm not going to tell you everything, but I'll give you general answers." "Alright," Star responded. She thought for a moment about what her first question was going to be. She thought back on the conversation she and Mark had back in the Land of Wonders. She remembered what he told her about DID, all the pieces that had to fall into place to get it. She finally looked up at Ren. "Could you explain to me what DID is exactly?" She asked.

Ren sat up as he heard the question. He looked down for a moment, figuring out how to form his answer. While he was thinking, he spotted a twig next to him. He picked it up and studied it. "Alright," he started. "Let's say this twig is our brain." Ren began to slightly bend the twig, but not enough to break it. "If you were to experience something stressful, your brain would 'bend' a little at the pressure. After some time, though, you would be able to release whatever stress you had, and you wouldn't break your twig." Ren released the pressure of the twig, as it went back to its original shape.

"When you experience these types of stresses where the twig doesn't break, nothing significant happens. You're still you. You still have your memories and personality and everything, right?" Star nodded. Ren looked down on the twig again. "Now let's say that you faced a type of stress that was too much for you. You couldn't handle it, and no matter what you did you couldn't release the pressure of the stress." Ren snapped the twig. "What happens is that eventually the twig will snap, and now we have two parts of the same twig." Ren held out one broken twig in each hand. "This is what DID is. It's when you have such a large and intense pressure that your brain can't take it, so it snaps. And now we have two parts of the same brain. This break is what created Amber and I. We were the result of the twig snapping." Ren looked up at them. Star was completely intrigued by the explanation. "You got that so far?" Ren asked. Star and Mark nodded.

Ren continued to look at them as he spun the twigs in his hands. "Good. Now because the twig snapped, there will be certain memories and characteristics on one twig, but not the other. I remember the event that caused us to snap, Amber and Lilac don't. Amber has a fear of men from the event that caused us to snap. Lilac and I don't. You get what I'm saying?" "I think so. Each piece of the twig, or the brain, holds different things, like memories. But if you're all from the same brain, why do you guys act so differently?"

"You just said it. We each hold different memories, so our personalities are shaped based on the memories and experiences that we remember. It's also why Amber is six while Lilac and I are adults. Amber didn't grow up like Lilac or I did."

Star pondered at the information for a moment. It was a lot to take in, but she felt that it was a good explanation for her to wrap her head around. While Star thought, Mark had a question of his own. "How did you know that you had split with Lilac? When I talked with Amber, she seemed confused anytime I would talk to her about Lilac." Ren looked at him before answering. "It took a while before Lilac and I noticed that the other existed, but once we did, we were able to exist peacefully with each other. As for Amber, Lilac and I know about her, but I know the most about both of them."

Mark nodded and looked at Star. She seemed content with the information and promptly sat up. "Well, we've gotten to know you a good bit now Ren, but I believe it's time to head home now," she declared. Both Ren and Mark nodded in agreement as they both stood up. It was finally time to go home. All three of them were silent as they began their walk. Star made a comment about the long walk, but soon got impatient with the silence. After they walked about halfway, Star decided to engage in some small talk with Ren.

"So Ren, what was it like when you were first created?"

Ren looked at her. "Well, it took a good while for me to realize that. For the first few years, I always thought that this body only belonged to me. You know, how normal people would think."