Where Shadows Reach

The Voice

Meerab focused on the scene in front of her. It was the same room from her nightmare.

She was back here again but this time she was in a light red dress flowing down to her ankles and barefoot for some odd reason.

'Where were her shoes? Why was she walking around barefoot?' she felt being barefoot was the least of her worries but it still bothered her.

While looking around the room, she noted somethings were slightly different from her previous visit here.

Instead of the earlier windows there were french doors with floor length curtains this time.

They were wide open and Meerab hesitantly walked out through the doors , past the single armchair which was empty now.

No murky figures lurked near it.

Beyond the doors she found herself in a sort of enclosed garden with white glowing orbs of light that were floating around. The bushes formed a rectangle around the empty paved space.

The floating lights cast a diffused glow over the plants surrounding the whole area.
These orbs kept shifting the areas of light and darkness as they moved around over the bushes.

They looked so surreal that Meerab was drawn to the bushes. Walking with hesitant steps she approached them.

She noticed that the leaves were in shades of grey and the flowers looked like black roses.

She recalled that she had seen a black rose only once at some flower show a long time ago. These looked similar to them.
Dark petals surrounding an even darker center. The moving shadows made it seem like the blooms themselves were alive with the shifting shadows between the patals.

As she moved closer to the bushes there seemed to be a cold that approached and enveloped her in a light grey mist. A shiver ran up her spine, making her wrap her arms around herself.

She reached out to touch one of the blooms,but just before her fingers grazed them a voice behind her said "Do you like my roses?"

Meerab whirled around panicking as she recognized the raspy voice from her nightmare.

There he was standing several feet away from her holding out a black rosebud. A tall dark form with its face in shadow.
His arm seemed to stretch abnormally towards her as he held the rose out to her.

She watched in shock as the bloom got closer and closer while he did not move from his spot.

There was a dark red liquid dripping out from the center of the rose.

As she watched each drop fell in slow motion and scattered upon hitting the ground.

She was mesmerised by how each drop splattered around in perfect concentric circles.

They looked like drops of blood on the ground near her feet.

Meerab noted that none of the drops touched her dress. The ones that scattered towards her seemingly vanishing before it reached her dress.

When the roses on the bushes started to slowly drip blood fascination gave way to fear and she turned running back towards the open doors, moving swiftly inside her footsteps quickly took her to the door and open corridor beyond.

She heard him approaching from behind and as he drew closer she noticed that a smell like rotting fish assaulted her senses.

Closing her eyes she took off down the corridor, panting and out of breathe she paused.
Suddenly she felt a cold hand descend on her shoulder.

The scream that burst forth from her lips woke her up.

There was no sound coming from her open lips, struggling to breathe Meerab clawed at her neck. Her nail scraping against her own skin.

She pushed away her blanket and got off the bed, the cool tiles on her barefeet helped her breathe a little easier, but she still felt like there was not enough air around her.

Walking up to the windows she opened one wide to let the night breeze flow into the room.
The sweat on her instantly cooled and her breathing was almost back to normal. The night sounds from outside was soothing as she remembered that in her nightmare it had been deathly quiet except for that raspy voice.

Getting a glass of water she sat down on the floor beneath the window. Her heartbeat was almost back to normal but her thoughts were racing.

'What do these nightmares mean? Why does it keep coming back.'
She suddenly remembered it had asked her not to marry. 'Was the thing talking about Murtasim? But Why?'

'Is this my conscience bothering me about the proposal?' Wondered Meerab but then recalled that thing had said that before she found out about Shahanawaz uncle's letter and his last wish.

'How did it know?'