Paradise Among Metal

Chapter 9

Lucy screamed.

The teenage boy chuckled.

"Sorry I startled you."

"It's okay, I'm just surprised."

The boy cocked his head.

"Surprised? About what?"

His brown eyes shone with kindness, unlike most teen boys Lucy has met. Although she doesn't remember where she met other teenage boys....

"Everything, I guess," Lucy replied. "Where did all this color come from? Am I in Paradise? Who are you?"

"Well, first off, you're not quite in Paradise. You're in your own mind. Your mind remembers the colors from Paradise, explaining the colors. I don't know where this garden came from, though."

"So you're imaginary?" Lucy asked him. He shook his head.

"No. I'm real, but in another place. I'm here because I'm in a state of deep meditation."

The boy looks around at his surroundings, his brow furrowed.

"This place seems so real, yet it's not. But it is. Meditation is strange."

He looked at Lucy and held out his hand.

"I'm Aradhya, by the way."

Lucy took his hand and shook it. To her surprise, his hand felt like cool water.

"I'm Lucy. Nice to meet you, Aradhya."

"I've known who you are for a while."

Lucy stared at Aradhya, her eyes wide.

"B-but how?"

"The same reason I'm here: meditation," Aradhya explained. He pushed a lock of his dark hair behind his ears.

"I haven't had the mental clarity to come visit you in a visual form until now. But I've been following your journey here in a spiritual form for several months. I've wanted to meet you for a while."

"Why?" Lucy asked.

Aradhya took a deep breath.

"I don't know why I've been following you, honestly. This place just appeared in my mind one day while I was meditating. As time went on, this hospital became more and more tangible, and I noticed that whenever I went, you were always there. I've always wanted to say hi to you and just get to know you. I have a feeling I keep seeing you here for a reason."

He paused, then spoke again.

"Just think of me as your guardian monk."

"Guardian monk?" Lucy asked.

Aradhya nodded.

"Yep. I live in a place called India, and a few years ago, my parents sent me off to a monastery to become a monk. At first, I was sad and angry at my parents, but over time, I learned to appreciate the monastery. It's in a beautiful location, and meditation is an amazing thing. As for why I consider myself your guardian monk, however...I don't really know."

He sighed, his gaze flickering between Lucy and the floor.

"I've always felt a need to..." His brow furrowed. "Protect you."

Lucy was silent. She'd never imagined having an invisible guardian. The feeling of knowing she had someone who cared was new. It felt an awful lot like...colors.

A question formulated in her mind.

"How did you tap into my mind and extract my memories?"

"I have no idea," Aradhya replied. "I just knew instinctively how to do it."

Silence filled the greenhouse. The rain pattered on outside.

"I saw what happened earlier," Aradhya said, breaking the silence. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Lucy replied, sighing. "I'll get used to my friends' absence. Life will move on, regardless."

Aradhya got a stormy look in his eyes.

"Anyways, don't trust the medicine the doctors give you. I sense bad things in that medicine. Don't trust the doctors, either. I have a feeling they're not real doctors."

"How is the medicine bad?" Lucy asked.

"Do you ever feel sick here?" Aradhya asked.

Lucy shook her head. "Only when I wake up from a surgery or they give me medicine with bad side effects."

Aradhya nodded, deep in thought. His form flickered, and the greenhouse faded to black for a brief moment. Lucy heard the distant clanging of a bell.

"That's the dinner bell," Aradhya said, sighing. "I have to go. I promise I'll be back as soon as I can."

His form flickered even more, and Lucy felt the cold of the Perimeter creeping back into her.

"Remember, don't trust the doctors and the medicine! The medicine is-"

Lucy blinked her eyes open to the Head Doctor's face above her. Behind her was the hospital's standard gray ceiling.

"Good evening, dear," she said, her fat face grinning.

Lucy felt sick to her stomach.

Oh no.

What's the Head Doctor going to do to Lucy now? Stay tuned, and please comment, vote, and share. Thanks for reading!