THE PLAYGROUND

Chapter 1 : Mara's tea party

The haze buries one's sight in darkness with fear, perhaps the haze brings some volume of relief of that blind fear. Yet, it ushers a strong wind of uncertainty, the horrors of what truly lie buried in your chest and that of the blinded vision in your mind covered by the heaps of fog. Perhaps I was being delusional, but what the heavens had done was unbearable. Perhaps, we sinners shall all play for our lives.

My frail arms swung across the dusty, hard grounds as a pitiful tone sang in a calm pace, " ring-a-ring o' roses, a pocketful of posies..." followed by skipping of heels as the child's voice approached. The air of rusting metals rushed into my nostrils along with a very dreadful yet horrifyingly familiar scent.

Still hunched on the cold cement floors, I jerk my body off and watch my vision clear. The melodious singing of the nursery rhyme stops, instead a jolly tone greets, " I see you're awake, why don't you join me for a cup of tea ?"

My eyes gradually begin to focus, I find myself staring at bars of steel with a young girl kneeling down on the other side. Her rosy cheeks flutter while the river of brown silky hair falls down to her elbow. She wears a plain white lace dress with a slim silhouette along with ribbons sewed to the back of her clothing. Her dress falls to the ground, dazzling across the spiderwebs that lay hanging, with her arms wrapped around an old, torn teddy bear.

The young brunette opens the gate and sits down next to me, while pulling my arm, gesturing me to get up and follow her. Perhaps, this cold basement was the gateway to treachery, and maybe this girl was the one to guide me. Without much thought of the hell that awaited me, I let her take me wherever I was destined to be.

I struggle to stand as she pulls eagerly to lift me up while muttering in an unfamiliar language. Our footsteps echo down the hallway as we pace towards a mirror. A gold vintage frame hangs around the vertical, long, rectangular mirror with the words " Sinner's playground " carved in cursive. I mutter the words out loud as the little girl squeezes my fingers.

" Shall we ?" she asks while pushing against the mirror, it slides open and the little girl walks in.

The room was quite unexpectedly large with white and black tiles on the ground placed in the orderly pattern of a chess board. The walls were painted dull black. It was colder than pure frozen ice, stealing away all the heat from my fingertips that were placed on the dusty, shadowed room. It was as if we had stepped into the gates of the underworld, under constant darkness with dust webs clinging to every corner of the dull walls. The empty room seemed to have no major purpose, except for the fact that there was a long pink plastic table with quite short legs. Numerous different dolls and toys seated on the miniature chairs along the wide table. It had a unique tea set and a plate of bear shaped biscuits served to every toy with a uniquely sewed white table cloth, while a single larger wooden chair stood empty. The little girl waved her hands , gesturing " hello " to her toys as she sat down on the opposite end of the empty wooden chair. Her eyes stared, waiting for me to take my seat.

" Take a seat ," she suggested.

I shook my head and replied, " No, it's alright."

The child that once sung words with grace, roared with fury, " Take a seat !"

Her eyes burned with red fire as her teeth aligned into a psychotic grin, she roared the words repeatedly until I did as she commanded. I could see her smile fade , replacing it with a plain, dull expression. She hugged the teddy bear wrapped around her arms tightly and spoke to it quietly. She waited for it to reply, but it didn't, like it shouldn't have. Disappointed, and offended she grabs a butter knife placed on the table and stabs her old teddy furiously.

" I hate you ! I hate you ! ," the girl mutters, then her head slowly turns to me and glares at my face.

She smiles gently and asks , " Do you want to play ?"