Ever since coming back to the real world, she'd been trying everything to get back into the covers of that cursed book. Though like any human, she spiraled through several stages of grief.
The first day back was denial in a sense. She tried to ignore the aching feeling of desertion, only to later to fall into anger as she realized it was her who left Epsilon and she was the one who had fallen in love and if it were for her stupid power she wouldn’t have to feel this way about the unobtainable. Tasha hated the fact it was cliche and like a tragedy in the end of a sappy romance novel, but fate just worked out that way.
Which leads to the present moment, where she was pulled back into depression. Her aching heart caused her to lay on her bed. Completely. Motionless. Tear stains were falling down her cheeks occasionally. Though, her room mirrored her appearance. Both showed she no longer put effort into keeping either one cleaned or cared for. As she laid under the messy quilt on her bed, she stayed there with the small scale in her hand. Tasha held it so tightly it broke the skin on, but couldn't bring herself to loosen her grip,forget forcing herself to let go of it, for as irrational as it may be that it might disappear if she did.
As Tasha's eyes drooped, her mind drifted back to Epsilon one more time before her eyes fluttered closed and her body relaxed. All except the white-knuckeled fistholding onto the scale, if anything it grasped onto it harder. Tasha exhaled deeply and all the stress from a lost love and cause grief to him and her left her pale form letting all emotions drip from her form.
When Tasha finally came to,she first noticed the scale was gone, but that was the least of her worries as she then noticed she was in an empty amphitheater surrounded by the glittering buildings. Her mind reeled with shock but that quickly shifted to joy as she realized she was back, but again it faded as the awareness that the glittering color that shined every horizon disappeared. Even the safe and happy feeling and idle buzz of life that once floated through the air was gone, instead replaced with fear and desolation. However, even though there were no people were in sight, individual whispers penetrated the void of silence.
After a moment which she used to get her bearings. She only stopped to grip her wrist when she felt the burning feeling in her hand. It tore away at the flesh and tears sprung to eyes as she rubbed away at the heated sensation that flowed through her palm. Tasha looked down at the reddened skin and saw the initials 'E’ and ‘T' burned into her hand within a small, blocky heart. Though as a small flicker of hope flitted across her mind and heart that this was a sign to find her Epsilon the burned in mark made a dull white glow.
As she stood tall once more she took a moment to look for the exit of the enclosed auditorium before she walked to the edge of the seats; she noted that the mark would intermittently burn more or less depending on which direction she headed in. As she walked to the exit it burned more. In contrast as she backed off, it responded by burning significantly less.
'So it's a game of hot and cold?' Tasha thought as she quirked an eyebrow whilst looking at her hand. Turning, she walked in the opposite direction and once she was at the other side of the room, the marks searing pain started again. After somewhere near an hour of guessing where she was supposed to go, she found herself in front of a thick wooden door that was decorated with gilded snakes intertwined acting as the lock on the door. The snakes had eyes of gemstones, one of sapphires and the other of emeralds. The door itself was wedged open by a sword, abandoned in whatever events had transpired during her leave from this place.
YOU ARE READING
Scales Between Pages
General FictionA college student named Tasha has one secret She has kept since her childhood. She can fall into books. However, she can't control it. What happens when she falls into a hefty textbook on ancient mythology?
