𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙜𝙤𝙙𝙨 | 𝘣𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘨𝘰𝘶 𝘹 𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘢 𝘹 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 |

the view from upside down

the room you were in was dark, foreign. it took some time for you to get used to the candles around you being the only source of light you had, and the faint smell of incense clouding the small area.

"where... where am i?" you rubbed your eyes, trying to shake the hazy filter they seemed to be embedded with.

"well, you are where you need to be" a female voice replied, "but from what i can see, it's not the best place to be in, is it?"

startled, you pushed back from the table you were sitting on and got up from your chair – how peculiar, you could have sworn you were sleeping a few minutes ago – trying to make sense of the features on the woman in front of you.

there was something familiar about her; it terrified you.

long fingers shuffled the cards she was holding with dexterity, and you found yourself seated on the chair once again, staring at her from across the table. you couldn't discern anything about her other than that: her hands and the cards.

she looked like your mother, the girl you saw down the street two days ago, the first woman to ever exist. she was hauntingly similar to every person you could think of. the woman carried herself with an air of certainty and mystery. over her head and covering her hair was a black hood that extended down and under the table. you couldn't see her eyes, but you weren't sure you wanted to face them, either.

"who are you?" you broke the silence

"does that matter?"

"does it not?"

"only if i don't know who you are, either" she smiled, pulling out a card, "ah, the fool"

"and do you know who i am?" you continued, leaning towards her in your attempts to grab her attention.

"someone ambitious. someone strong and carefree, and sometimes childish. you don't know what you want to do or who you want to be yet, but that's okay. you're too young for that, anyway"

confused, you stared at the card in front of you, "what are you talking about?"

"and here's the hanged man. you got yourself in quite some trouble, didn't you?" she pulled another card from her deck, laying down next to the first one. "what a shame. how are you ever going to surpass this obstacle?"

"what obstacle? what is all this?" you asked, breathless. your voice was barely higher than a whisper.

"you. this is you, see?" she pointed at the fool, "and this is your friend who will help you get in and out of the situation you're in," her finger turned to the dog next to the man in the card. "and this," she went on to the other one, "is also you"

"why is he upside down?"

"well he got himself in trouble, didn't he?"

"how do i get myself out?"

"you untie yourself"

"how?"

"you ask too many questions. this is not the place nor the time to answer them"

"but i'm hurting"

"your love is hurting you?"

"it's eating me alive. if i could rewind time i would have never met them. they consume my soul with every breath"

"yet here you are, upside down. my, my, how did you ever get yourself in this position? here, i'll tell you a secret," the woman leaned forward, signaling for you to do the same, "you will never be in this same position ever again. enjoy it while it lasts"

baffled, you subconsciously scoffed, pulling back and pressing into your chair, "how can i enjoy this?"

"you're upside down, child. enjoy the view with the sky at your feet"