FtF Anthology 2022

Prompt 9 (Utopia of Nightmares)

It wasn't the first time she had walked this path, it wasn't the first she had seen the unending white walls that stretched far out before her. It wouldn't be the last time she walked the long hallway, that much she knew for certain. It was a certainty that she nor anyone else could deny for any purpose or reason. 

As her bare feet slowly padded across the linoleum tiles that made up the ground, a small echo danced through the empty hallway. It bounced off the walls and sng all around the young woman before fading into the bright nothingness. Even the air that filtered through the hallway and into her lungs had been silent, like a whispering moth that had landed unknowingly upon your shoulder. 

Everything was peaceful.

The young woman had stopped keeping track of time, her footsteps, she stopped counting it all quite some time ago. It was a futile attempt since the hallway seemed to be never ending. You could walk it and be lost within its walls, fated to never escape the torturous prison it had become. Everyone that had entered never returned from their ill fate, forever to wander the white abyss surrounding them. 

Sapphire blue eyes slowly turned away from their infinite destination, something new having caught the attention of the silver haired young woman. A strange occurrence seeing as the hallway was not supposed to end in any way or form. It was meant to be a prison for those who didn't fit the norms of society, for those who were born different. The white prison was created for those that caused problems for everyone else whether they meant to or not. 

She seemed to be one of those people. 

Her feet completely stopped, her head turning towards the object that had snagged her attention. 

Wood the color of pale ash swirled with vines of pure silver. The light refracting off the smooth metal made it appear as if it were glowing. The very sight captured the young woman's attention, having completely enthralled her. Never had she seen anything so magisterial in all her short existence, but how the doors appeared there was completely alluding the young woman. Her mind swirling with questions that she doubted would ever get answered. 

Standing in front of the doors, the young woman could feel a pull towards them. It was as if some invisible force was calling out to her, coaxing her to reach out for the door knobs and walk in. It was a power that urged her forward, fueling the curiosity that already simmered deep within her. Though, she fought the urges and curiosity, she found it nearly impossible not to give into them. 

And give in she did. 

Reaching out, her delicate hand wrapped around the ornate silver door knob. Her hesitancy attempted to stop her, but the curiosity that burned in her like a raging wildfire eclipsed that hesitancy, blotching it out completely. 

Turning her wrist, the knob turned along with it. The click coming from the door almost startled the woman enough to quickly jump away. The echo of the click had become deafening within the silence surrounding her, but that deafening sound could have been her heart pounding within her ears as well. The unnerving feeling taking over her felt nearly overwhelming, especially since she didn't know what lie beyond the doors she had just unlatched so easily. 

With much curiosity and determination, she yanked open the doors as fast as she could humanly do. An unrelenting light brighter than that of the hallways blinded her, hiding whatever was within the room that now stood open before her. However, it was the sounds that followed her opening them that started her the most. They painted a small picture of what may be around, but she honestly thought it to be a trick of her mind, lost deep within the silence that captivated her. 

"Ah, so you have found me at last." 

A voice so serene mingled with that of bubbling water and a gentle wind. The breeze, gentle and warm, escaped from the room and danced around in the hallway as if it owned the very location. It was a comforting feeling, the way it moved across her skin in a warm caress and wrapped her in a false form of safety.