The Mindless Man's Paradise

Chapter fifty-four

  When everyone except Cyrus disappeared into thin air, something felt a little strange to me.

  I could hardly recall what had previously happened until Cyrus opened the door.

  That’s strange, it wasn’t even locked.

  “Shhh.” he said, with a finger to his lips. “We’re escaping.”

  Suddenly, everything made sense.

  “Oh.” I said, as if we hadn’t even planned anything.

  I tried to think about any plans, but I couldn’t remember any. I shrugged it off, though.

  A few HQ officials walked around the corner. Cyrus punched them all, and as if at the first punch, they fell to the ground.

  Cyrus always had been a good fighter, if I remembered correctly.

  Cyrus motioned for me to pick up the pace, and I did. In moments, we were topside, and in the Society.

  “That was about the easiest escape ever.” I noted aloud.

  A bystander looked at us, noticing my choice of words.

  “HQ!” he shouted. “Jailbirds! Jailbirds!”

  Immediately, Cyrus and I ran. I was ten feet ahead of Cyrus, and when I looked back at him again, he had been tackled to the ground. There was a beautiful brunette HQ officer on top of his torso, pinning his hands on either side of my head.

  We were caught.

  Well, no. Cyrus was caught, but I might as well be caught too, right?

  I couldn’t leave without him. I feared life without him.

  Then the woman pressed her full lips against his. I don’t know why, or how appropriate that was for an HQ official, but I knew that I despised her for it.

  Then suddenly, Cyrus was kissing her back, and I wanted to run away forever.

                                                                             ***

  I was at Aurora and Jensen’s cottage.

  It’s fairytale-like atmosphere was charming, and I gladly stepped on the “Welcome Home” doormat. Because I did indeed know that I was home. This was home.

  The door opened, and a teary-eyed Aurora answered the door. She enveloped me in a hug, no questions asked. She wore an apron, and I smelled the familiar scent of mac’n’cheese wafting through the door.

  When she stopped embracing me, she took a moment to realize what was missing.

  “Where is Cyrus?” her face turned suddenly stoic. When I didn’t answer her, she raised her voice. “Where is my son?”

  Tears fell from her eyes, not from joy anymore, but from sadness.

  “I couldn’t make it out without him…” I trailed off.

  Aurora slapped me suddenly. This blow was more than physical, it was emotional. That blow struck my heart. I knew Aurora, and she would never lay hands on me.

  She would only do such a thing in a nightmare.

  A nightmare.

  Something about the word felt astringent on my tongue, as if it were wrong. As if I wasn’t allowed to say it.

  “I’m sorry Aurora, I tried to get him out but I just couldn’t…” I spoke, trying to confirm myself.

  “You really have the guts to show up here?” she said, her words laced with anger and hate, something I never knew she was capable of.

  A single tear leaked from the corner of my eye.

  “This can’t be real.” I shrieked, letting my emotions get to me. Cyrus was gone. His mother hated me. It was everything that I loved, turning against me. It was a nightmare.

  A nightmare. I repeated the word to myself.

  I looked up at Aurora just in time to see her wink at me. “That’s because it’s not, honey.”

  I did a double take, and what was once a kind face, and returned to an angry and sad face.

  “Get away from here!” she shouted, shoving me to the ground.

  Suddenly, my heart wasn’t aching. I was hanging on to those words.

  “That’s because it’s not, honey.”

  “That’s because it’s not, honey.”

   “SHUT UP!” I screamed wildly. “This isn’t real!”

  Suddenly, everything came back to me. I had taken a pill. I had punched my brother.

  Haha! I had punched my brother! I laughed aloud, and Aurora looked disgusted, slamming the door in my face.

  But I didn’t care!

  This wasn’t real!

  This was phase five!

  That was when I woke up.