If You Resonate

Metallic Leaves

The night stays peculiarly chilly, though not uncommon for me. Robin rustles around in his blankets, occasionally blowing into his palms.

At the foot of the sofa I lay on, he sits watching from the arm. Akuma.

I half expect to be up all night. But the more intense our staring becomes, the heavier my lids grow. My stuttering breathes embrace a collected resonance, soothing to the inner chaos within me.

Sleep finds me.

"Eli... Eli get up. We have to go."

Go where...

It's dark. I hear footsteps pounding all around me. Who's calling my name? I feel like I'm floating, but there's only the pitch-black darkness.

Where am I going?

"Eli... can you hear me?"

This voice, it sounds so familiar...

I want to see what's going on, I want to get away. My body won't move. My limbs feel like they're not my own, but my brain is telling me to move them. So I try.

Nothing.

My brain is telling me to try harder. Breathes come rapidly and I can feel my heart quivering within me. Why can't I move my body? Why can't I see?

I want to scream. I want to ask what's going. It feels like I open my mouth and the words come out but nobody hears me.

Can anybody hear me?

"What's happening?" I thought I said.

Is there even any sound?

I can't tell what's in my head and what's out in the world. Am I lifting my hand or is my brain deluding me. My chest becomes heavier. I can't breathe.

I'm going to suffocate and no one will notice.

"Eli!"

I shake my head. Or maybe my body is just trembling too violently.

Move.

I have to force my body to listen before I run out of time.

Move...

"Eli, come on."

Move. Now.

Everything jerks to life as I rise up, gasping for lost air. My body is shaking all over, goosebumps covering every inch of skin.

Panting, I glance around me to find bodies everywhere. Coming and going through the front door with buckets and tools, wearing protective gloves and masks.

The stomping.

Akuma is not on the arm anymore. He's nowhere in this room.

"Eli. Took you long enough. Let's go. Dad said we need to be out of the house while they do their jobs or whatever." He heads out the front door.

I dash to the bathroom. It's not to get ready, I just need a minute to collect myself. Never before have I experienced such an intense feeling of helplessness on my own.

Was I living another death? It was just me...

"It wasn't an echo."

My back hits the sink as I come Face to face with Akuma. The world around me is spinning, but it comes to a sudden screeching halt, lurching me forward. This sudden sickness leaves Akuma, unbothered as he patiently waits for me.

I'm somehow more exhausted this morning than when I originally laid down, and this moment with Akuma is this eerie bathroom isn't exactly what I need.