Light fell on the dark gray carpet like a spotlight, leaving every corner of the play room in darkness. The daycare was quieter than usual, and less happy than before. Toys and picture books riddled the ground.
Some of the kids watched a movie on the tucked away TV.
Jackson sat on the scratchy carpet, playing with a pale blue airplane. He didn't smile, but he enjoyed it.
Soon, a guardian led all of the kids outside to the playground. Jack didn't want to. The guardian kept calling his name, but he didn't hear her. The lady grabbed his arm and pulled him outside, blocking out his erratic crying.
He sat on the mulch, wiping away his tears. Though he wasn't the only kid sitting instead of playing, he didn't talk to them. Alone, he sat beside a fallen mountain bike next to the encroaching forest.
When he closed his eyes, everything faded away. It would be okay.
A whistle blew, and toddlers ran by Jackson and the other sitters and back inside.
Jackson opened his eyes to a gray sky. He breathed in the misty air and felt the cold wood beneath him. His mom stood at the recess door with her purse.
Something settled in Jack's head. The timeless horizon tangled into a short line of mazes. The endless future faded.
I can't bring myself to call him "me". Because I left a long time ago. Not on purpose, but because he forgot about me. But it wasn't his fault. I just slowly faded to the point of becoming an instinct for him. Not a memory, just a habit. Never having an answer for why... until now.
I sat in a bath of shimmering blue liquid, still in torn black clothes. My hair frizzed from the rising vapor. The plant that attacked me cuffed my waist and arms, holding me to the ground.
I stared up at the domed ceiling of the manor: the marine Pupil, the golden Iris, and the diamond Sclera. Rain slid down the clear surface.
Jackson tried to save me by cutting the plant with my dagger. If only he knew it wouldn't work. He knew the manor existed... he just couldn't see it. The plant wasn't an enemy; it came from our mind. To take me away. If he could only see the manor and realize who I was to him, it could've been avoided. But he vanished.
To him, it had only been a week since that happened.
But it's been thirteen years—my only escape being to relive my capture. But I don't blame Jackson for it; he was only four years old.
YOU ARE READING
Heaven Gilded Zarcroft Hybrid
Teen Fiction[CANCELLED AND MOVED] "Were you able to get out of bed this morning?" he asked, staring into the water. His voice was soothing, with the rasp of a fire. "I..." My breathing spiked. "I don't remember. I think so. I'm here now, right?" "But did you ha...
