A Demon's Tale

Chapter Five

-Black Rose-

The house was gone. Mary had vanished. And alone I stood, within the now barely noticeable enclosure with a single lonely black rose in front of me, realizing just what had happened. Everything had been taken away, almost as if it had never been there. The house and trees around decayed as if, so long ago, not a single trace was left to tell it had ever been there. That of which had been, now only existing as within a memory.

And the only physical thing Mary had left behind, was the black rose that had grown from the little seed she had planted in the center of the 'room'. It was as if everything about her and everything she had done, had led up to this final moment, all bound to this one object, all meaning held within, symbolizing her entire existence, represented by this single elegant black rose. The only thing left for anyone to ever know she had been alive. Everything else had withered away.

I could not wrap my head around the twisted nature of this reality. I thought about all the things she had told me. How was I supposed to understand? How was I supposed to comprehend everything I had just witnessed? There was just no end to the mystery surrounding her. Just who, or even what was she? She seemed like a human, but her way of speaking had made her seem as if she was from another world. It seemed like she was somehow connected to 'this' world, as if she could exist within both realities or travel between them. But however she did it, and whatever she was. There was something about her that seemed even beyond 'this' world.

I looked down at the black rose. It was so dark and colorless. It was so sad to see. Sad to think that this was the only thing left to represent her. Sad to think, that even though it looked like a flower in bloom, in a way, it looked as if it had already withered, as if it had never really even been alive, or as if it at one point had lost all its color as was now indistinguishable from anything else inside this dark world. I looked around.

Everything in my surroundings looked dead, or worse... As if in a tragic state of misery, which one couldn't even escape. It got me wondering, why everything else around had withered away, but the rose was still standing. As if it was unable to flourish, yet unable to decay. As if it couldn't live, yet it couldn't die. It seemed so tragic. So unfair. It did not deserve this. I wanted to spare it from its misery. I kneeled down and reached for it with my demon hand. I reached my fingers around the stalk and picked up the black rose...

Suddenly, it was as if a rush of emotions, visions, and scenes came crashing in on me. Overwhelming amounts of information washed over me as scenes started playing out before me at speeds not even time itself could keep up with, as if someone's whole lifetime flashed up and played out before me, in what seemed like seconds.

And suddenly everything around me started rearranging, melting, and molding into itself until my whole surrounding was different. Even 'I' somehow disappeared as if my body had melted away just like the environment around me but my consciousness remained. I had been taken away and all I could do was observe. 'I' was no longer there, but felt and saw everything perfectly clear.

I saw a bright light. I felt panic. I sensed warm and rough pressures push against, whatever vessel I witnessed. I was confused. Everything was going by so fast as if time was constantly changing pace. Visions flashed by, sounds bounced and emotions streamed through me until time seemed to stop moving fast. It felt like recalling a memory, a memory that was not my own, but witnessing it as if being 'there'.

I saw an iron gate. I saw a big building. For reasons unknown, I somehow knew, it was a bad place. I then saw it was an orphanage. I heard crying. I witnessed two people coming through the gate. It shrieked and cast a loud sound of clashing metal vibrating as it slammed shut behind them. One was an adult. One was a little girl. She was crying while she was being led through the front yard of the orphanage with a strong grip by the hand. I sensed fear and sadness.