The Ring of Fire

Chapter 3

It was quite late when Castor and Alice returned home. Alice rang the doorbell which was answered by silence. Castor after standing for a minute or two presumed that their mother was deep in sleep and bent down to pick up a pot crowded with blooming lavenders beside the door which rose with no difficulty to reveal a perfectly concealed spare key of the house.

"I knew she had not changed it's position", mumbled Castor with a grin.

Catherine was sleeping on the couch clutching Albert's photo. Her eyes were puffy which revealed that she was crying for a long time and her cheeks were hot from the continuous flow of tears, her head was resting on the headgear causing a gap to be formed between her head and the neck. They considered waking her up and helping her to her room but it would only interrupt her sleep and remind her of the fact that Albert was no more.

Alice adjusted the pillow, covered her with a blanket and gently removed the photo from her grasp and kept it on the table. After climbing to the first floor, Castor without saying anything pulled Alice into a hug, and assured her everything will be like the old times.

They bid each other good night but in vain as the night was just filled with sorrow and remenessaince. Castor went into his room and remembered how just a few fortnights ago he was sleeping there soundly unaware of the fact and the tragedy that was supposed to hit soon.

That night he tried to get some sleep but only ended up looking out from the window. The cool breeze hitting his face reminded him of the frosting nature of death.

He just cuddled his pillow praying that whatever he experienced today was just a nightmare. Slowly the days exhaustion took over his body filling him with fatigue. Ploddingly his eyelids dropped and before he knew he was asleep,

He was under the sky lying on a land, the grass he was resting on was charred and some were still burning. He could spot some stars in the sky twinkling and being the only source of light apart from something around him. Trying to look around was difficult as even a slight movement filled his body with pain.

He noticed he didn't cast a shadow, but how was that possible?

It didn't take him time to understand it was him who was the source of light and the scorched vegetation around him. Now he understood why the temperature of the place was going down by time and why the light was dimming. The darkness and cold death was taking over his body and calling him into sleep. He laid motionless there choosing the comforting death over his sorrowful life.

Suddenly he heard a scream from the far right side of the forest. The voice couldn't have been that loud but it was as if his hearing had been advanced to pick up certain sounds. The scream was terrifying and sucked any wish to live out of his heart.

Castor woke and sat straight on his bed, his hair and clothes stuck to his skin. He was terrified by what he saw, the window was open showing the now clear sky, sleep marks on his face indicating the uninterrupted sleep of his. The clock showed 5 in the morning. He wondered why his Mom wasn't awake and then, all the memories crashed down like they always do when he gets up in the morning, but this time they were accompanied by a single tear that streaked down his cheek. The memory of his Dad's death resurfaced.

He chose to sleep but sleep was not merciful enough to visit him again to numb his pain. The sun was not visible and the moon was the only celestial object in sight. The moon round and white reminded Castor of the white lilies in the pond of the museum. Another flashback hit him with the clarity of a crystal.

Alice took a bite from Castor's burger to piss him off as she considered him the reason because of which she landed on this boring museum instead of playing in the park and enjoying the sunny day .