Paradox

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

            Well, just imagine opening a doorway and stepping inside to me, Eliot said.  It’s not that complicated, this is the kind of thing you imagine is... and then it really is.

            You mean... it’s all in my head?

            Well that’s the beauty of it, you think it’s all in your head when it really isn’t.  Don’t you just love paradoxical things like this?

            They’re... confusing, Chiwa thought, groaning, closing her eyes and trying to visualize a doorway in her mind’s eye.

            Not really, Eliot trailed off.

            It took her a while, but Chiwa finally saw a clear door in her mind’s eye.  At first it had appeared blurry, but now she found it was a door with inwrought iron bars in an intricate pattern.

            It looked so real she instinctively reached out a hand to push it open, and found herself blinded by the same white light she had experienced earlier that day, and she shook her head, the light dissipating.

            Through the light, she saw Eliot’s grinning face, and his outstretched hand.

            “Good job,” he said as she took her hand.  “You sure figured that out fast--not that I’ve ever had anybody else try and get in here, since you’re my one and only Contractor--but you sure seemed to be able to come in here quickly,” he shook his blonde curls form his face, and Chiwa saw he was wearing more normal clothing, jeans and a tight black t-shirt.

            “I’m still confused as to what is going on,” Chiwa said as Eliot pulled her in through the doorway, the iron wrought door falling shut behind them, and she walked into a great sitting room, with giant fluffy couches, one whole wall seeming to be made out of glass, out of which one could see a lush green garden growing, vines twisting around, flowers of almost all imaginable colors waving from the mass of green.

            Quite a good amount of light came into the room, surprising Chiwa at first because she had expected it to be dark out.  It took her eyes a few moments for her eyes to get used to the light, and once she had, she found it was quite pleasant.

            The room smelt like the soft perfume of the flowers growing outside, a little bit like honey, and a little citrusy.

            “It’s so warm here,” she muttered, seizing a pillow and hugging it to her chest, inhaling the scent.

            “Hey, I pulled this from your memories, you thought it up, I just brought it to life,” Eliot shrugged.  “We’ve formed the Contract, so we’re bound by more than you may think,” Eliot smirked, taking a seat across from her, leaning in close, his ever-changing eyes currently a golden color, a sunny color.

            “We have this,” he flashed his ring at her.

            This, his voice sounded in her head.

            “And, if need be, I’ve other ways to defend you,” Eliot added.  “But for now, it’s best not to let on you know too much, it’ll make you an easier target.”

            “Why me?” Chiwa asked.  “Why am I your Contractor?”

            “Well, when following others around, they didn’t feel quite right,” Eliot muttered, averting his gaze, his eyes taking on a gray hue.  “They weren’t....” he fidgeted in his seat.  “They weren’t you.”

            “I don’t get it,” Chiwa made a face.

            “Hey, this Contract is more complicated than you think,” Eliot waved a finger at her.  “Jelly can be forced into contracts, and I wanted to be sure I found the right person to be my Ring Bearer.”

            “Ring Bearer, game mumbo jumbo, what’s going on?” Chiwa threw her pillow at his face.  “They weren’t me?  You’re acting like Gare!  I don’t need you saying you love me too!”

            “Love?” Eliot made a face.  “What is it?”

            Chiwa’s jaw dropped.  “Seriously?” she bit her lip.  “Are you trying to make a fool out of me?  I barely get what happened earlier....  That midget made me reach into a glob, now I’m hearing voices telling me I an see them again....  Maybe I didn’t wake up this morning at all, maybe I’m still dreaming....”

            “I really don’t get the concept of “love,” would you mind explaining it to me?” Eliot asked.

            “It’s complicated.”

            “Would you like to know how you can see them again?” Eliot asked, moving to the seat beside her in the blink of an eye, his face scrunched up.

            She nodded, making a face back at him.

            “What’s that face for?” Eliot asked.

            “I could ask you the same thing.”

            “I’m making sure you’re not crying again Chiwa,” Eliot smiled.  “You can see them again if you become God, because he can do anything, right?”

            “I suppose that makes sense....” Chiwa let out a long sigh.  “I’m tired Eliot.”

            “Then sleep, I’ll wake you up to return to reality in a few hours or so,” he said, pulling her into his shoulder.

            “I’m not sure what is reality or not any more,” Chiwa laughed weakly.

            “Well, wherever we are is reality at the moment, the next moment reality might be on the moon, or... something else.  Paradigm shifts are possible,” he nodded.

            “Like me meeting you?”

            “Like us becoming bonded,” Eliot nodded, stroking her hair instinctively, watching her intently as her eyes closed and her breathing steadied.

            Are you asleep? he asked.

            There was no reply.

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Edited the format a bit, will go back and fix older chapters soon too, I hope ^^

I haven't written more for Paradox for a while, and I missed my Gare.... he's such a cheeseball :3  more of him in the next few chapters, and as for Alto~  hehe x3

thanks for reading ^^