Trapped Beauty

Chapter 3

Time continues to pass oddly. I have the strangest sense that I've been sleeping more- longer and more often, even though I have no real way of telling. The dreams I awaken from continue to be disturbing.

The latest one featured the gardeners. I was watching from above as they all came into the garden. The sound of weeping echoed though the courtyard. Blackness streaked towards them, and as it passed, everyone collapsed. The rain came, but no one moved, and then the garden grew rapidly. Every blade of grass, every vine and branch quickly grew huge until I could no longer see anyone beneath the foliage. The trees stretched into the sky where I was hovering and grew right through me until I was trapped within the dark inside of a tree, feeling it continue to move around me.

It was very disconcerting to say the least, but even worse to wake feeling just as immobile and trapped. My head aches and my body feels painfully numb. I get the sense that it should be daytime, but I can't see a lot of light coming through my eyelids. Perhaps it's overcast today, or rather early or late in the day. My stomach growls loudly and I become aware that my mouth feels dry.

It's strange that I should get so hungry just lying around, especially receiving 3 meals a day. Unless I haven't. I can't remember feeling so wretched since... well, ever. What happened while I was dreaming?

I wait a long time, straining my senses. My room smells different, as if it hasn't been aired out in a while. I can't hear any movement in the halls, and even any sounds from outside seem muted. Maybe my curtain is still drawn, but I'm fairly certain now that it is indeed daytime. It should be open. I shouldn't be so hungry though either.

The only conclusion I can come to, even though I desperately want to reject it, is that I've been left alone to die. I try desperately to move, but in the end it's no use. Darkness claims me, along with despair.