Memories (Of Dreams and Demons)

Naoko's Sadness

Naoko and I make our way towards our hidden cubby house.

Every now and then the cavern rumbles. Tread lightly, it warns us, for this place is no longer your sanctuary. The whole place shakes: jagged rocks fall and bounce around our feet; puffs of dust shoot from the ceiling.

But besides the occasional tremor, the cavern is oddly quiet and still. The sounds of chirping birds and calling crickets, the rustle of movement as animals feed, the laughter of Alia and Vuitton as they play off in the distance: all gone.

As we journey deeper inside we pass one of the larger subterranean oaks. Naoko runs her fingers slowly over the rugged bark. Deep grooves form unnatural crisscross patterns across the tree, telling a tale of pain. Their scars will last forever.

"These are giant claw marks," she says.

Vuitton stands at her feet, staring wide-eyed at the gashes. His bottom lip trembles slightly, recognition painted clear as day on his face.

"What did this?" I ask him.

"We.. have to.. go," he manages to stammer out.

Naoko looks at him concerned. Fear has frozen him still, so she picks him up to place him gently in her backpack. The moment she unzips her bag Alia leaps out, flicking her tail viciously. She brushes up against my leg before strutting off to stretch in the grass. Curiously, Alia is silent, but her eyes dart about.

Venturing deeper in to the caverns, the damage becomes more severe. Something has run amok in here, leaving large, sunken footsteps in the mud. Random stalagmites have been smashed across the ground or pulled from the roof and thrown about.

Almost every tree we pass has limbs torn free and deep gashes. Tuffs of grass sit bent and ripped from the ground, flowers lie broken and faded, trampled into the dirt.

We reach the spot where Vuitton first placed his ear to the ground.  Naoko gasps when she sees it. A huge, gaping hole sits in the middle of the clearing, as if a giant hand had dug itself up from the ground below.

Rubble and rocks lie scattered about, fresh dirt forming mounds around the edges. Something monstrous has clawed its way up from the ground beneath to smash our sanctuary to wreckage. Alia darts circles around the hole, looking deep within alarmingly.

Naoko points at the waterfall. Whatever came from below has clambered up the rocks and torn a hole into the Realm above. Gashes and tears carelessly decorate its path, and the once-clear water runs sullied with loose dirt and dark patches of mud.

The Realm above is dull and grey, the trees lean uncomfortably, forced to bend in chilling winds. Dark clouds tumble across the skies, shooting lightning at the forest and blasting the tallest oaks to pieces. Thunder roars victorious at every tree that dies.

Edging closer cautiously to the deep hole, Naoko and I look within. It seems to sink down forever; a bottomless pit of unending darkness. Letting my eyes adjust to the dark, I can't see any turn or bottom.

Deep claws have slashed away at the roots of trees and crushed rocks in their ascent. Shuddering at the thought of whatever monstrous beast caused this damage, I turn to see Naoko looking at me mischievously. She shrugs.

"We have to see how deep it will go," she says.

Before I can stop her she drops a rock the size of her first down the pit. Whatever did this, the last thing I want to do is draw its attention.

I lean back over the hole to follow the stones descent. It doesn't take long to fall out of sight and into the darkness below. A long time passes with no thud; no sound of it striking ground. But I cannot tear my eyes away from the sickening blackness within the pit.