The World Without Colour

Chapter Seven

We held eachother only for a moment, knowing we had to race against time. The night was young and we had much to do.
The sacrifice could only be done at night, if we were caught out for time it would be disastrous!

"You won't be able to move properly in the dress" Alex remarks.

I scoff at him. I knew that and luckily I had happened to have a pair of shorts I'd nicked from one of the stable boys . I had an old shirt one of my father's friends gave to me for my tenth birthday, thinking I was a boy.

"Turn around" I command.
I quickly slip out of my dress and pull on the boys clothes. They were ill fitting but would suffice.
I laced up my supple leather boots and looked up at Alex, exhaling deeply. "I'm ready" I gulp.

He takes my hand and leads me out of the room. We quickly trekked down a hall I had happened to not recognize. I'd never been down her on my wanderings.

He seemed to know where we were going.

At the end of the hall, a dark staircase loomed ahead of me. We're going to the attic.

"Victoria?" Layla called from the end of the hall. I quickly spun on my heels, malice laced in my eyes. She glared at me in the dark, her white thin hair falling in waves down her hunched shoulders.
"Don't go child, you might not return" She hisses.

I snap my head back to Alex who pleads with me with his eyes. He needs me, he needs my help but Layla says I might never return, I'll be a living soul stuck in the world of the dead.

I feel torn between the living and the dead.

"We're waiting time, let's go" Alex says out. Layla shivers, aware of her dead sons presence. Had they met like this before?

"Victoria, come back to bed" Layla pleads. She suddenly lurches forward, trying to make a grab for me.

"Run!" Alex shouts. I react instantly and bolt towards the stairs, taking each step two at a time. My chest heaves with my effort but the sound of her cane on the stairs drives me forward.

We burst into a small, musty room with a low, slanted roof. It was not very wide but stretched far back into the darkness.

My heart stopped as I glared at the paintings of Alex. I glance at him but he seemed unfazed by it.

"That's how you'll cross" He interrupts and nods his head to a mirror. It had become dusty through time but I could still see the blurred outline of my self.
Even though Alex was standing beside me I could not see his reflection.

He looks at me expectantly.

"Will I be able to cross worlds?" I ask, hesitation taking over my senses. What if Layla was right?

" I don't know" He admits.

I nod my head, weighing my options. He knew I was having second thoughts.

I flick my eyes towards his. I nod my head. If I didn't help him save Purgatory there would be no place for the dead to wait on judgment. The dead souls would seize to exists and I couldn't let that happen.

I approached the mirror.

"Do you believe in magic?" Alex asks, his boyish grin plastering his usual solemn face.

"Of course" I answer.

I looked back behind me, I could hear Layla's laboured breaths.

"I have to" I whisper to her even though she could not hear me.

I reach out towards the glass and watch my hand plunge behind the glass. I yelped and pulled it back.

Alex laughs mockingly at me and I scowl at him.

I must be brave, I must do this, not just for Alex but for my mother, father, Layla and all tho who are dead and dying.

I take a deep breath, as if I were getting ready to plunge into the ocean. Without second thoughts, I step through the glass.

I feel my self fall to my knees. I quickly used my hands to break the rest of my fall and curiosity filled me as I looked down at the grey, swaying grass.

I quickly scrambled up, suddenly aware of where I was. This is where the dead dwell.

The sky was a long stretch of black, the stars and moon were little dapples of white. Although it resembled the night sky in the world of the living, there was an air of death and sadness surrounding it.

I stood on a crest of a hill, looking down onto huts made of clay and straw, creating a circle. They possessed no real colour, save for the hues of greys and blacks.

Alex suddenly appeared beside me. In this world, he looked natural, as if his colorless self was part of this world.

I look down at my body and bite my lip as I see how unnatural I look with no colour.

"That one there. The heart is in there" He says, pointing his finger at the biggest hut.

I bit my lip. Now was not the time to be second guessing or getting nervous. I glanced up at the sky.

"Lest go" I whisper.

He nods his head and takes the lead. The first thing I noticed was I couldn't see anybody else.

"Where is everybody?" I ask as we slowly scramble down the steep hill.

"In a dream like world, I think . That's why it's best we do this as night, when no one's around and we don't get caught " Alexander answers but he sounded unsure of him self.

How many worlds are there? All my life I grew to know Heaven, Hell and Earth. Purgatory was something only spoken about in strange books that questioned Christianity . Father didn't like me reading them but Mother insisted I saw different views of the world.

A lump formed in my throat as I thought about Mother. What if she's here? What if she's in the dream like world and has no idea I'm here? But Layla said she went straight to heaven, did she lie?

I dared not voice my thoughts aloud. If I knew mother was here I don't think I would want to give my life to Purgatory.

We quickly ran past the small straw houses and into the mud arch that sufficed for a door. Outside it had seemed like a dark abyss but upon entering a light seemed to brighten the room.

Roughly carved pews painted the colour of grey sat empty and alone, creating an eerie feeling. My eyes landed on a black and white dappled altar.

My eyes landed to the clear, pure stone that seemed to have emanate light in the room, lying on the altar.

"Even in death we warship God" Alex mutters.

We stop midway through the aisle and look at the stone. It seemed a sin to look upon a worlds heart.

This stone did not seem colorless like the rest of the world. It seemed to have an inkling of life. The fact that not all was truly dead or dying here rejoiced me in a sense.

"Let's go" I order with a hint of awe towards the heart in my voice.