A Personal Wonderland

Eerie eyes glinted. No pupils, no irises, only a dark, endless abyss where eyes were supposed to exist - so why do I feel so paranoid?

Nevertheless; time to press on.

Click, click, click; my footsteps rang through the halls of this... labyrinth. Eerie silence surrounded me, all noise heard was made by myself: my footsteps, breathing, my pulse, they echoed, bouncing throughout the seemingly endless twists and turns of this maze. Ebony and ivory, arranged like a chessboard, mirroring my every move, my every mistake, from below. The colours of this place... they shift, the floor was the only aspect of my surroundings that remained constant throughout, well, the tiles and this horrible feeling still lingered. I could taste it, the peril, feel the pulse in my throat, vessels fit to burst.

Tearing my eyes away from the staring reflection, I looked to the walls, pupils dilating under dim lightings, card sets, all of them the same suit: hearts. Now the wall itself was a deep turquoise, in complete divergence from the scarlet that painted select spots, 'painting roses, to please the Queen.'

Stop. Focus. Anything could pop out, at any time, even just around the corner: ghosts, demons, anything. Only small lanterns provided faint incandescence, leading the way...

Further into the labyrinth my feet carry me. Trying the entrance hadn't occurred to me, open or closed; turning back now was not an option... Not anymore. I stopped. Dead at a cross in the path, this path that up until now had been singular, dictating my every turn, was no more, the freedom of choice left to me contained me, confused me. I took a breath, deep, heavy, so used to constant guidance that I'd grown dependant, incapable of rational thought, without the instruction of inanimate barriers.

Bestowed upon me, a decision, a dilemma, weighing me down; unrivalled force, pressing downwards on my shoulders, on my mind. Cogs working so tirelessly that... Snap! My mind ran off, dragging me, kicking and screaming into an inescapable state of disorder, doubt lingering overhead like a black mist.

Nevertheless, time to press on.

Choosing right, though perhaps, I was wrong. The path changed. Music began to play, quietly, yet it strayed so far from an acceptable key that it grated against me, a ringing echoing through my mind Ricocheting around me, travelling in circles, a carousel.

The colour of crimson oozed from tilted tins. Eyes - having returned to haunt me once more - appeared to blink, at least... it seemed as such, there was no way to be certain, the motion seemed so quick. Such occurrences succeeded only in amplifying the ever present feeling of paranoia, laced through my mind, stitching through my memories, and distorting my perception. If I turn back, I could come to face my deepest fear, a monster? The truth.

The truth behind the labyrinth. Behind myself.

Fear is something, that as a human, I would deny. Concealed behind self-pride, convincing others, myself, that such fears don't exist. That the monsters aren't real. Though they are. Monsters are anywhere, can be anything, a mask, a painting, a doll, a shadow... human.

Limitations are non-existent in the human mind, no binding chains, holding back the things you could imagine.

That which you can Experience,

When you're surrounded by white walls.