Delusions

Chapter 3

The screams. They won't stop. All I hear are screams. I can't move. My body is restrained by something. I feel hot and cold at the same time. Somebody is shaking me. They won't stop screaming. I opened my mouth to tell them to stop. I'm trying to sleep. But no sounds come out. All there is is screaming.

It was dark when I opened my eyes. I was somewhere deep in the forest. My body felt sore as i tried to get up, but I couldn't. I felt restrained. I fell back to the ground and sighed. I tried again, slowly pulling myself into a sitting position. I looked down a the black dress I wore. The bodice was covered in sparkly gem stones. The skirt was long and silky, but there seemed to be something covering it. I leaned closer to it.

Rose petals. Rose petals were everywhere. They covered me,my dress. They were loosely scattered around me. White, red, pink, any and every possible color of rose petals surrounded me in a pool of colors.I let myself lay back down. My star shone brightly above me. It was always biggest over the forest. It was surrounded by the night sky, yet it seemed to light a path, wherever that may be. A tugging sensation pulled me. Curiosity took over and I was on my feet. I submitted myself to the pulling and felt myself move. My feet stumbled along the path of the light and I was lead deeper into the forest.

It was dark almost every where. The little light that escaped through the tree tops formed a single path. Animals and insects of the forest were awake in the night. They chirped or howled. The noises came from close by and far away. The more I walked, the lighter it became. The trees thinned out and I found myself walking uphill. The skirt of my dress caught on broken twigs and rocks. I tried to imagine myself in a different outfit, but the dress stayed. I couldn't change at will as I usually could. I sighed with frustration and held up the skirt past my ankles. The black heels I wore started to sink into the grass with every step I took. I kicked them off and held them instead. The cool grass felt soft on my bare feet. The hill became steeper and I felt the urge to run. The trees disappeared behind me as I reached the top of the hill.

I soon realized that I wasn't on a hill, but a cliff. I slowly walked to the edge and peered over. Waves crashed against the side of the cliff. The large body of water seemed to stretch past the horizon. It looked pleasant and warm as it crashed against the cliff over and over again. It called out for me to jump in and take a night swim. I looked up at my star. It was so close from here, I could almost touch it. I reached out to it and felt myself grow warm. It was just out of my reach. i took a step forward.

"Cloris."

I wasn't surprised at all to hear a voice whisper my name. The voice was soothing. 

"Cloris," It repeated. I closed my eyes and took another step.

"Yes?"

"Doesn't that feel nice?"

"Yeah. What is it?," I felt myself grow even warmer, the feeling spreading from my arms.

"Peace, Cloris. It's love. Anything you've ever wanted."

"Anything?," I asked as I took a third step.

"Everything."

The warmth now filled my entire body. I felt radiant, as if I was actually glowing. I felt bubbly and light. I felt happy.

"You can be happy all the time. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Yes, that would be very nice."

"Come away with me then."

"But I like it here."

"I know a place just like this, and you can stay forever. Don't you want t stay with me, here, forever?"