Ashanti

Chapter 5

Esther’s Home
Esther’s fork scrapes against the porcelain plate, producing a high-pitched, grating sound that seemed to pierce through Oliver’s mind. The noise reverberated, growing louder and more intense, until it drowned out all other sounds, and all Oliver could do was sneeze.  When he finally gains the ability to sneeze, he sees himself start to fall backwards, slowly losing both his eyesight, and his ability to move. The last thing he was able to see while in full consciousness was Esther’s stare, he saw her lips moving, but he heard nothing.
Meanwhile, Ashanti watches the both of them conversate, Oliver’s tone of voice went from full of life to without it. Ashanti felt like some kind of inhumane thing was taking over him, but she couldn’t prove it.
“Oliver, what’s your last name?” Esther asks in her preaching voice, somewhat low, but still welcoming.
“Windsor. Oliver..Lamont..Windsor.” Oliver dryly responds, Ashanti tries to rest her hand on top of his, but he twitches, practically shooing her hand away. Ashanti noticed that Oliver’s skin was cold, as if he was some kind of living corpse.
“Is Oliver your real name?” Esther asks, slowly drinking from her  near-empty glass.
“Yes ma’am, I’m named after my fourth great grandfather. Oliver T. Windsor.” Oliver slowly blinks, from afar, his eyes look bloodshot.
Ashanti’s skin begins to crawl from how lifeless the conversation was, yet somehow, Esther was impressed.
Ashanti clears her throat, “Well Mother, Oliver and I were talking the other day and we decided that if we had a wedding we would drive to the reception with one of those fancy cars! Doesn’t that sound fun? We could rent it!” Ashanti watches Esther’s cracked lips slowly form into a smile.
“Which one, dear?” Esther asks, she smiles at Ashanti which brings Ashanti some sort of relaxation.
“I’m thinking about renting one of those mercedes things, what do you think about the 1997 model?” Ashanti laughs, forgetting about Esther’s hatred for that year.
“You will do no such thing.” Esther and Oliver both snap, their heads moving so mechanically that the hairs on the back of Ashanti’s neck start to move. Some towards Oliver, but most of them slightly leaned towards Esther, she felt the skin around them slowly point to the front door after Esther went back to eating. Oliver however, was even more lost in this dream-like state. He continues to blankly stare out the window whilst opening and closing his hands.