Simon The Simple

Chapter 11: In Full Bloom

Simon writhed restlessly, the stone's chill seeping into his bones. Yet, despite the discomfort, slumber took him, and a comforting heat blossomed within. Beads of perspiration traced his brow, yet he was enveloped in serenity, a vision slowly materializing in his mind's eye.

In the void, a cascade of golden tresses emerged, heralding the presence of a figure. A visage of warmth turned towards him, her smile radiant. Their hands met, her touch soft. "Susan!" he exclaimed with a large smile.

"Hello, I am Susan," she replied.

Confusion laced his words, "Yes, I know... but where are we? Is this the initiation ceremony?"

Her locks took on the luster of molten gold, illuminating the darkness. "It appears we may be headed to the same destiny." she spoke, the radiance of her hair intensifying.

Confusion filled his mind as he stroked her face and hair. "Susan... your hair—it shines like the sun! What is happening?"

"Having a friendly companion would be a comfort." she murmured.

Recognition dawned; these words echoed from a memory. His fingers traced her face, "Of course I will be your companion, I love you." He ensured. She smiled warmly in response. With a gentle nod in affirmation, her hair began to blaze like a celestial body, "Susan! Your hair—IT BURNS!" Panic tinged his voice as her brightness escalated, rivaling the sun's own glory. Alarm surged within him. "SUSAN!"

Pete lingered on his porch through the night, his gaze fixed on the tower. As a brilliant golden light sharply erupted from its pinnacle, his eyes sparkled with excitement. "He adores her!" He hollered, "He truly loves my Susan!" he stood abruptly, emotion welling up as he dabbed at his eyes. The radiance overwhelmed him, prompting him to shield his eyes with his hands. "I can't even bear to look at it! He must love her so much!" He sobbed with joy.

In Malary's chamber, a flood of light as piercing as the suns rays jolted her awake. "My god, he's achieved it, just as his mother did!" she proclaimed, rushing to the window, yet the glare was too intense to face. "His love must be profound, for the light is blinding!"

The students were roused from their slumber, drawn to their windows by the commotion from the other dorms. The night sky was ablaze with light, mimicking the brightness of daylight. "Holy shit! Lover boy did it! It's so luminous!" Trevor shouted, squinting against the glare. "Too brilliant to gaze upon!"

A sensation of ascension gripped Simon. 'What is this? Am I lifting out of my body?' He wondered, his eyes fluttering open to find Susan, her back turned in his cell. Her blonde hair glowed brightly, illuminating the once dark chamber. Her silhouette stood gazing out the window.

"Susan? Why are you here?" he questioned with concern. "The headmistress forbade your visit. You could get in trouble." But there was no response, only silence. "....Susan? How did you get in?" He began to approach, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "Hello?"

Yet, as she turned, her face was not as he knew it—it bloomed like a flower at its peak. He gasped, his eyes filled with terror. 'Her face! It's a flower!' Startled, Simon plummeted to the ground, his hand brushing against another—his own. He turned his head slowly, and there lay his body, ensnared in deep slumber. 'I stand outside myself,' he realized, witnessing the rhythmic rise and fall of his own chest. Glancing downward, he noted a golden tether protruding from his stomach, linking him to his corporeal form that lay dormant.

"You mistake me for another," an elderly woman's voice intoned from the flower. "I am not Susan, your beloved. I am Everlast, the eternal bloom."

Panic laced his query, "Have I.... died? Am I dead?"

A gentle laugh came from Everlast, "Fear not, Gilda. You've traveled to the astral plane so that we may converse."

Puzzlement threaded through Simon's tone, "Gilda? No, that was my mother's name. She departed from this world when I was an infant. Why do you appear as Susan?" His voice carried a firm edge, "and your face—is a flower."

Everlast clasped Susan's hand over her heart, "I manifest in various forms, and now I've chosen this one, for it is known to you. Your love for Susan is evident, yet it is not the reason for our meeting" Her petals furled towards the window, "Your affection for Susan, although genuine, was not the catalyst for my bloom."

"What then has awakened you? Have I successfully completed my Everlast trial?" Simon's voice was laden with the weight of his destiny.

"Yes, but my awakening was spurred by a potent karmic tie, the essence of another soul within you. It appears I was mistaken; you are not singular in nature. This flowering echoes the sentiment of a past bloom. You are, in fragments, Gilda herself."

"I'm at a loss," Simon confessed. "I don't understand."

The entity's petals unfurled further, conveying its own bewilderment. "I share your confusion, young one. My blossoming has been a recurrent event, yet in this instance, I was forced open by a formidable force—your mother. It appears you are now conjoined within a single vessel, living a dual existence. The mechanics of it elude me."

"How could that be? I have only known myself as I am," Simon expressed, perplexed.

"You have been embodied by Gilda. Each revival is distinct, a unique occurrence, but this one mirrored the previous one," Everlast declared with conviction. "You are experiencing a rebirth, inhabiting a new form. And now, you have catalyzed my bloom once again, across two lifetimes."

From afar, Simon's ears caught the cacophony of panic rising from the academy below. Simon's guard, Gary, stumbled down the tower's staircase, his vision swallowed by an endless white light.

"Have I lost my sight?" Pete murmured, rubbing his eyes in astonishment, as the world around him faded to a soft white. 'The intensity of his love has rendered me sightless!'

Cries of alarm filled the air. "I'M BLIND!" the students wailed. Trevor collapsed, his world reduced to an endless expanse of white. "What's happening? ARE WE ALL BLIND?!" The halls echoed with the sounds of fear and confusion. Loud screams pierced the women's dormitory.

Malary sank to the ground, a realization dawning as she opened her eyes to nothingness. 'Oh my goodness, I can't see anything.'

Jeremiah Aelius found himself enveloped in blindness, seated upon the floor of his bedroom. 'The lad's affection is undeniable; his love for her has been declared to the world,' he mused into the endless expanse of white. 'Will my sight ever return? In the future, I will counsel the public to avert their gaze,' he contemplated, reassessing the decision behind the Everlast trial's proceedings.

Amidst the chaos, Simon's voice rose in alarm, "What's happening? Is that screaming, I hear? Did someone fall?"

Everlast's voice was soothing amidst the turmoil. "Fear not, for this is temporary," it assured. "This bloom is nourished by the love of two unions—Gilda and Clive - and you and Susan. The brilliance of such love is overwhelming, a light too potent for mortal eyes, yet it shall soon fade."

The tower's guards' cries reverberated through the stone walls, "I've been blinded!" Their pleas for aid filled the air as the tower shone with a light rivaling the sun's own brilliance.

"You can not stay in this astral plane any longer." Embracing Simon firmly, Everlast bid farewell. "To encounter you once more has been a delight... Gilda Simon. I wish you all the best as you navigate this second existence. May the paths before you diverge from those once trodden. Susan is indeed blessed to have your heart. I will inform the Historian of your success and leave you a gift upon your sight's return."

Simon gazed into the luminous heart of the Everlast Flower, his feelings a tangle of awe and apprehension, captivated by this celestial visitor that was both familiar and mysterious. Simon felt his consciousness begin to merge back with his physical form, succumbing once more to sleep.

Upon awakening, Simon was greeted not by the familiar contours of his cell but by an unyielding white haze. He, too, was blind, his eyes having remained open during the astral encounter, now overwhelmed by the relentless glow.

The guards, now sightless, had crawled down the tower's steps in a desperate search for assistance. As the hours unfolded, Simon remained in his quarters, yearning for the moment his vision would return.