This Messed Up Legend

A Normal Day

                Ever since I was little, I heard this voice in me, always coaxing me in a certain direction. I remembered when I first confronted my mother about this. She called it a “conscience”, when I told her that the voice said it wasn’t, she looked at me like I was a leper. She later brought me to many doctors, saying I was a “schizophrenic” each doctor asked me why and I explained the voice in my head. They then laid me in this machine; I think they called it an “MRI” scanner. They checked my brain for any abnormalities, after finding none; each doctor diagnosed me mentally healthy. With that, my mother assumed it was my imagination and said that it’ll go away with time. It never did. Years later and I still hear it clear as ever. Though I stopped telling her about it as time went because she wanted me to be  “normal”.

                My father on the other hand, he reacted by a smile and ruffle of the hair. He would tell me stories of the voice he had. How even in his dreams it helped. Those were my beautiful childhood moments, just him sitting on the bed next to me and telling me of his adventures. He told me of his dreams when the voice would still tell him things and it would be good. Mother would scold him when I got older and he’d still insist that the stories were true. Mother got worried and took Dad to a doctor. They told me he had to stay in the hospital, I know now he’s at the mental hospital. He was a man of words. He and I loved to look through books and surf the web on poems and quotes. I write to him, daily. He tries to answer when he can. Every once in a while I send a letter, just to keep in touch. Sometimes when I tell him about my problems in life, he’ll simply send a quote that always seems to help.

                Before he went to the doctor, he would constantly say that I had a brother. When I asked where he was, he simply answered, “Out there, somewhere. I wish I knew.” As I little kid I believed this, but I with age came doubt. My voice told me not to doubt, I listened. My twenty first birthday's is tomorrow and I lay in bed thinking of memories. I close my eyes and reminiscence:

                Father and I were sitting in bed and we were staring at the ceiling. I ask, “Father, what’s the name of my brother?

                For a while there was no answer, the one that came was sure and firm, “His name is Everett.” He quickly changed the subject, “You wanna hear about my life before this one?”

“Of course dad!”

He chuckles, “In this world, there’s more than one? One were you can see and another hidden. It’s called Skyrieni”

I eagerly interrupted, “What’s it like?”

“It’s your imagination and then some. There’s dragons and fairies and shifters and animals that can talk. There’s so much more, anything you can think of.”

“It sounds like an nice place.”

“It is, the best part is that it’s hidden right under your nose”, he pinches my nose playfully.

“Daddy, why’d you leave then? If it’s such a pretty place…”

He simply sighed and answered, “Destiny is a mysterious thing.”

Slumber creeps up on me. The next morning, my roommate makes a rude awakening, “ZARAH! Wakey wakey!” she continues, “can’t miss your lovely birthday, can we?” I lazily roll over and moan. “C’mon dearie, we gotta get ready!” she chirps as she literally pulls me out of bed. The moment my body collides with the floor I submit, “Fine, do what you will Aisha.” I only watch in dread as I see the assortment of dresses she pulls seemingly from nowhere. “You’re gonna be so pretty when I’m done with you!” Groaning, I feign illness, “*cough* I seem to be *cough cough* not feeling well *cough* will you let me go to the *cough* bathroom?” She sighs, “Fiiiiiine! Just be quick!” With that she struts out the room like a disappointed child.