The Outspoken

Oblivion

Oblivion

Part 2:

The sky was a pale blue as she stepped outside of the house. Light shone under the large clouds floating by, and the breeze blew strands of her hair into her mouth. Sputtering, Sheila pulled her hair back and glanced around. The landscape was just grass and wildflowers for miles and miles. Kind of how it was like when she drove through Ohio and saw what seemed to be endless cornfields.

The only thing that was out of place in the serene area was the old wooden house she entered through and an abandoned van just a few feet away. Sheila first sprinted quickly towards the vehicle, then carefully went into it. In the back were stacks and stacks of papers that were either charred on the edges, ripped brutally, marked out, or just ashes. Crouching down, she inspected the scrawl written on there.

Sheila knew what was written on the destroyed papers, for she had seen so many of them while she was here. They were all the poems, hopes, and ideas that Aaron had once thought of. Emotions and expressions he would never be able to share with the world. And Aaron had hidden them away, and probably never wanted to see them ever again.

Sighing, Sheila got up and started walking aimlessly. She had been stuck inside Aaron’s subconscious for a week now (at least, she thought so; there wasn’t a definite way on how to keep time here) and had seen most of what was hidden here. Old memories, dreams, nightmares, even the embarrassing things like how Aaron still slept with a blanket from time to time. Not that she wanted to intrude on Aaron’s privacy; she didn't have any choice. 

Certain objects would trigger certain memories attached to it, while others led her to places similar to here. When she was in a memory, she would see things in Aaron’s point of view. She could feel what Aaron had felt before, but she could never alter what had happened. Rarely would she ever stay long in a memory, and liked to stay in the vast landscapes of nothing instead. The limbo-like state let her mind drift to places here and there.

After walking for quite a while, Sheila sat down near a rock to take a break. The grassland evolved into a forest at some point, and the sun was going down.

That’s strange, thought Sheila. The sun has never gone down while I was here, unless if I was in a memory. And I’m not.

Sheila got up quickly, and started to leave the forest when night fell suddenly. Out of fear, she turned around and started running in a direction. She could hear footsteps behind her. Heart pounding, palms sweating, Sheila turned around to see something she had never seen before in her time here.

“Aaron?”