Black and White - Opening

C o b b l e s t o n e s a n d an U n w a n t e d V i s i t o r

Monday, 17:36

I had successfully made it through the afternoon classes, only dozing off once, and was now scuffling my way home. Luckily, the school was within walking distance. Unluckily, that distance sucked. It usually took me almost 25 minutes to make my way home. That was at a decent tempo. Today it would probably take me half an hour, at the very least. I took off my black leather jacket and swung it over my shoulder, thinking about how nice it would be to own a car, AC included. My parents weren't exactly poor, so we could probably even afford it. I sighed. The only problem that always remained was my ban. Apparently, my parents thought it too dangerous for me to drive, with my psychosis and what-not. So, they asked me to hand over the keys shortly after I got my license. It really only was bad timing, seeing as I had been going through a phase of obvious exacerbation at the time. Other than my hallucinations I was completely normal.

I roughly kicked a cobble stone out of the way. It skipped over the street, and fell down a drain. A soft clank sounded from below as it reached the bottom. I took in my surroundings, looking over my shoulder. I could hear steps behind me. Of course no one was there. The only thing moving was a black cat up ahead. It crossed the road, stopped midway as it noticed me, then continued walking. I wasn't superstitious. For all I cared, black cats could cross my path all day, crossing roads from left to right and from right to left. They could walk towards me or away from me and I would still refuse to believe they brought anything with them but flees, let alone luck. Be it good or bad.

I kicked another cobblestone. It bounced right into a lamppost. Barely noticeable, the light was on even though it was the middle of the day. Curious ... I spent the remainder of my way home pondering over the phenomenon of light. On a bright day, a luminous streetlamp changed nothing. Most people probably wouldn't even notice it. In contrast, a light in the dark could

make the difference between someone bumping their head on a post or them walking around the obstacle in question.

I kicked a cobblestone and it bounced right back as if hitting an invisible wall. I could have sworn I heard someone let out an outraged 'Hey!', but it was better to ignore the voices.

Finally, reaching the white Victorian style house I called my home; the many thoughts roaming my head came to a rest. I quickly walked up the stairs that led to the front doors. Bouncing on my heels, I rang the bell, then remembered no one was home. "Crap." I proceeded to rummage through my backpack in hopes of finding the key. A defeated sigh escaped my mouth. Not there. The sun was burning down and nearby laughter could be heard. I walked around the house and let out a little relieved chuckle as I saw an open window on the second floor. It was profoundly embarrassing, but, seeing as this wasn't my first time, I managed to climb up and inside.

Loudly yelling "I'm home!", I waltzed in the direction of my bedroom where I faceplanted onto the bed. A few seconds later, I was out like a lightbulb.

When I regained consciousness, I felt as if I had been buried alive. There was a layer of coarse darkness pressing down on me. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see. There was a sound as if of falling sand. A ringing in my ear, I tried to fight my way out. When I finally broke free, an unbearable lightless struck me, so blinding that I had to shield my eyes. White sand. White sand as far as my eyes could see, glittering and shimmering like millions of tiny diamonds. I let it glide through my fingers. My awe turned into horror when I felt the grains cut my skin. No rose without a thorn. Hurriedly, I tried to stand up, sinking deeper the harder I tried to escape. I tried to run, but my outstretched hands slammed against a wall of glass. Sand was falling. Time was falling. A drop of red blood fell, and the snowy rose was stained in scarlet.