The Girl Who Stopped Time

Breath of Relief

"He's not as bad as he seems, you know." Gilah says as she leads me back to the room that we first came from.

We're walking down the stony, torchlit hallway. With each step we take a layer of dust lifts off the floor and whirls into the air around us. My nose is runny from the crying I've done and the more I sniffle the more the dust ripples up into my nose, causing me to sneeze every once in a while. Gilah doesn't seem at all bothered.

"Yeah, I'm sure he isn't." I reply, feeling myself fall more deeply into my own despair.

Gilah stops immediately in her steps and turns towards me, I almost run into her with how abruptly she does so. "I know you're confused. This must be a lot to take in, but trust me this is pretty new for us too. I promise we'll try to make your stay here as pleasant as possible..." she drops off her sentence and takes in my sulking form. She takes a step towards me and becomes almost unbearably close.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"Shh it's ok. Like I said we will try to help your stay here be as pleasant as possible. So, how about we start off by me taking away this horrid sadness of yours, yeah?" A small smile now replacing her large one that she always seems to have.

She lifts her hands and grips my shoulders lightly. As soon as she touches me it's as if all the sadness that has been collected in my chest is suddenly lifted away and is replaced with overwhelming contentment. Everything in my body becomes warm and I take in a long-needed breath of fresh air. Another set of tears leave my eyes, but this time are created by relief. I have never felt anything like this in all my life, and I don't want it to stop.

Gilah's hands slowly leave my shoulders but the feeling still lingers. I stare at her in disbelief, wondering how anyone could ever make me feel this way. "How?" Is all that escapes my mouth, while thousands of salty droplets leave my eyes.

Her small smile widens, and she brings her hand up to wipe away the tears cascading down my face. "I am Eternal Joy. Who would I be if I didn't share what I get to feel every single day?"

"I still don't understand how you could be 'Eternal Joy'." I say hoping for a little more context.

She purses her lips together, as if she's deciding if she should explain or not. "I think Atlas should be the one to explain. He is the eldest sibling." She says, gaining back her contagious smile. "Come along, we should get you back to your room." She loops her arm around mine and we continue walking.

"So, Atlas is the oldest of you all?" I ask.

"Yes, he is the eldest sibling." She says subtly correcting me. "We are all the same age but he did come first."

I give her a strange look. "You are not all the same age." I defend. "What about that little girl or that teenage boy? There's no way they're the same age as you." I say, but as I do, I remember that the first time that I met Gilah she looked like a seven-year-old girl. Maybe everything is not as it seems.

"Aggie and Oleander? Well you see they are the youngest, and if you pay attention then you will notice that we embody what our elements are. I'll let you sit on that one for a little bit."

Yeah that certainly helped, thanks Gilah.

"You say that Atlas is the 'eldest' and Aggie and Oleander are the 'youngest', correct? Where do you stand between them?" I ask, letting my curiosity get the best of me.

"Well the eldest is Atlas, and after him is Lorelei-"

"She said she was Love, right?" I interrupt.

"Yes, that's correct. I thought maybe I would just say their chosen names so you don't get lost."

"Yeah that's probably a good idea." I agree.

"After Lorelei is Ira, she is third eldest and if I were you, I would keep my distance- she isn't the best company to have. After Ira it would be me. I am fif-" she coughs then quickly recovers." Sorry I am forth born. Next is Oleander, he's a mischievous one so just be careful when your around him. He is the second youngest sibling. Then last but not least is Aggie. She is the youngest of the six."

"You have a very confusing family." I say as we stop in front of a door which I assume is mine.

She lets an out a small giggle and untangles her arms from mine. She takes out a key from the pocket of her dress and unlocks the door. Swinging it open to reveal my room, which I'm still very surprised is here. It is literally the exact copy of my room at my house.

"I don't understand why you all would go to the trouble of bringing all my stuff here and unpacking it." I voice my thoughts.

She lets out another giggle. "Oh glory, to make you happy of course!" She says waving her hand at me. "It is your room, all your things, clothes, little items. There all yours. We brought them here to give you a little bit of familiarity."

"It doesn't seem like Atlas is the type to take this kind of stuff into consideration."

"Well, Avi -I can call you Avi right- we want your stay here to be as pleasant as possible. It's true, me and Lori were the ones to suggest bringing your stuff here, but Atlas really isn't as bad as he seems. Just give him a chance to explain everything. I'll be sure to talk to him first so that he's not a complete asshole."

I let out a small laugh at that. "So, you agree that he's an asshole?"

"He has his weaknesses just like any of us. You'll soon learn that you may just be one of his."

"What does that even mean, Gilah?" I ask getting a little irritated, but finding it hard to be as I can still feel the warmth and joy she gave me a short while ago.

She only smiles at me and gestures me into my room.

"You're going to leave me alone now, aren't you?" I say as I walk into the center of my room.

"You'll only be alone for a short while, like I said, Atlas will come in and help you understand everything." She assures me.

"I-I don't know if I want to see him."

She steps into my room and walks towards me taking my hands into hers. "Give him a chance. He can be bit rough around the edges but he's a good guy once you get to know him. Just remember this. He's as new to this as you are."

Before I can respond she quickly exits the room, closing and locking the room as she does so.

"What does that even mean!!" I yell out hoping she'll hear me, though deep down. I know she doesn't.

He's new to what? Kidnapping?!

Now that she's gone, I realize how open I just was with her. How comfortable I was. I was just comfortable and open with one of my kidnappers. Grand, just grand. 

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Been awhile since I updated. Happy belated new year!!!

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