Artificial

Chapter 2: Trial One

     The darkness disappaited and in front of me was my old house, before we moved to the one I was living in. I don't remember why we were supposed to move. All I remember is that from my moms words is that the reason was urgent. The sky was grey and gloomy like it would pour down raining in a matter of seconds.  I took a couple steps towards the house, tons of questions were going through my mind as if they were running a marathon. What trials did I have to endure? How can my choices decide eternal happiness or suffering? Why did I have to do this, after all the stories of a greater good saying that if I live my life in one course I could either go to someplace good or bad? There was no mention of trials.

"I guess no one can really tell their story after their dead." I mumbled to myself.

   I knocked lightly on the door with its white paint chipping and the door knob so rusted, it seemed it would disinagrate if  I delicately laid my pinky finger on it. I didn't have to knock again or try the knob, the door slowly creaked open like a horror movie. The suspence to know what was waiting for me behind it was nerve racking yet exciting at the same time. I walked in and the house looked like no one had lived there in years, there were cob webs on the stairs and from what I could see the furniture was covered in white sheets.  I turned around as I heard the door creaking closed, as the door locked behind me there was a faint click. The dull atmosphere that once filled the house changed.    

    It was brighter and more inviting just like it was when I was a child. I heard the patter of little footsteps rushing down the stairs and I see myself no younger than five years old rushing down the steps. She stops right in front of me.

"Please help me!" She pleads.

"Whats wrong?" I asked mirroring my panic, I don't remember this happening when I was little.

"Mommy and Daddy aren't home and theres a monster in the crawl space." The panic I had before calmed down and I remembered I was terrified of the monster in my crawl space, which just turned out to be a pile of clothes in the darkest corner of the room.

"Okay lets go check it out." I extended my hand and she took it.

" Do you know who I am?" I asked as we were walking to my old room.

"No but, if youre willing to go up against that creature I admire you." She smiled up towards me her light blue eyes twinkling in admiration of her older self. I laughed a little causing her to smile wider exposing her two nonexistent front teeth.

    As we entered my room the walls were painted a baby pink with butterflies hanging from the ceiling they were pink, blue and purple. My bed was perfectly made with all white sheets and a few rose colored accent pillows, above my bed was a sheer blush colored canopy. Toys were scattered around the room a doll house here and a stuffed animal there. I remember how long it took me to pack up everything in my room, the thing that took me the longest to pack were the butterflies. I wrapped up each butterfly so carefully as if I was tending to a live one. Even though they were glass, they kind of reminded me of live ones if you make the wrong move when holding one and it will break.

    She squeezed my hand tighter as we approached the crawl space on the side of the room, now that I look at my room from a larger perspective everything seemed so far away from this crawl space. It seemed to me like even the things in my room were scared of that area. She let go of my hand and I walked to the door kneeling to place my hand on the knob twisting it slightly, then as if someone was on the other side it twisted completely and opened.

"Here you'll need this." She said handing me a flash light, I took it and headed inside. As I did half standing half kneeling movements into the space I could still see her at in the doorway watching me carefully. I mimicked what my parents had did to show me it was just a pile of clothes. As I pointed the flashlight to the corner it was there and it did creepily look like someone was facing the corner shallowly breathing.