Midnight Beauty || #Wattys2016 #OnceUponNow

Three - Eric

A bright flashing light is all she sees as Esmeralda walks down the ominous path. Tall, never-ending trees surround her as the only noise heard is the whistling of the wind. The darkness of the woods would normally not let her see, but the small light that was at the end of the path seemed to illuminate enough. With every breath taken, it felt as if something approached or rustled in the bushes, making her paranoid. Esmeralda took one small step studying around her before taking the next, and hugging herself as the wind prickled her skin.

"Esmeralda."

Suddenly, the wind picks up speed and the trees' branches bend and waver, surprising Esmeralda off the path and bumping into a tree. She snaps her head around, unsure for a second what she had touched, and to her surprise, the tree began to fall apart. It began to what she thought was rotting away, and as Esmeralda leaned in, it let out a horrifying scream, scaring her back into the path. Confused, she glanced all around her and situated herself in the right direction, heading for the house that shone a single dying light.

"Esmeralda, wake up."

Once she arrived to the cozy-looking cabin, she reached and turned the doorknob, creaking the door open. Esmeralda cautiously stuck her head in and peaked inside the house. Glancing around, she realized how everything felt familiar. A small bookcase with worn out books stood beside the door with a small end table and more books on top of it. Beside the end table was a love seat and a picture hung above it. Studying it, Esmeralda realized it was a picture of her when she was a baby. She knew this because her dad was in the photo, and she could recognize him anywhere. Confused, she slowly began letting herself in, unsure of what else she could find.

"Esme, can you hear me?"

Shutting the door behind her, a fireplace and some more books were presented on the right. The fire was crackling and bright, exposing the rest of the room. There were many more pictures around and they were all of Esmeralda. They were made up of all the important moments in her life, and she didn't understand how they could all be here. The unexpected closing of a book startled her, and she jumped around to find an elderly woman who was sitting in an armchair by the fireplace. Unsure of how she didn't notice her earlier, Esmeralda walked closer to the lady to see if it was somebody she knew. The woman placed her book on top of another pile of similar-looking books, and stood up, straightening her dress. 

"Esmeralda please."

Esmeralda studied the woman, and she appeared to be somebody from the olden days. Her dress looked vintage for some reason, and the way her hair and makeup were also. Esmeralda was too busy to notice that the lady had now approached her, yet Esmeralda didn't feel threatened. It was the complete opposite; she felt comfortable. The familiarity confused her, and her memories couldn't bring up anything related to the woman. The lady lifted up her hand, placing it on Esmeralda's warm cheek. The woman's warm eyes stared into Esmeralda's and it felt as if she was reading Esmeralda's mind, with a gentle smile escaping onto her lips. "Esme." , said the lady, then it was as if Esmeralda fainted once again with darkness surrounding her. Everything that just happened reversed itself back to the beginning, and a white light was all she could see.