I stared at the floating paint as it hardened before my eyes. My creativity made it dry instantly.
Slowly sticking my hand out I ran my fingers across the paint. The slightest force caused it to crumble to pieces as red debris littered the floor.
I slowly began to feel weaker and weaker as I finally let go of my creativity.
The last streak of paint that was once dried in the air fell splashing to the floor. The streak that had fallen became a red puddle—soaking into the wood.
I stood in silence looking down at the splattered red paint staining my pants as my hands began to slightly shudder.
Taking a step back I almost lost my footing. I took a moment to breathe as I closed my eyes and dragged my hands down my face. "She won't die." I mumbled under my breath.
I turned back to the canvas filled with shades of brown and red. I was painting her. Emotions began to swell inside of me. I went to take the canvas off the easel but my hand wouldn't move. I didn't want to–I couldn't accept it.
The hickory brown mimicking her skin, persian red similar to the dress she would always wear.
Letting out a final deep breath I grabbed the canvas and laid it against the wall. Rushing downstairs I grabbed a bucket and mop from the kitchen.
Puddles of water trailed me as I carried the bucket back upstairs. I mopped the paint off the floor as a familiar feeling overwhelmed me.
Tears dropped from my eyes with every smooth movement I made with the mop. More droplets began to fall into the red puddle as a sharp pain shot through the back of my head.
Before I could look up I was somewhere else—somewhere dark. I dropped the mop as the echo suffused throughout the endless darkness.
A childish laughter echoed from behind me. I turned to see a kid no more than 7 years old signaling me to follow it.
"Hello?" I called out. No answer. "Where am I?" Still no answer.
I slowly walked to the child as we joined hands, it laughed and giggled as it started walking deeper into the darkness.
"Where are we going?" I asked. The child turned its head and shushed me as we kept moving.
It felt as if 5 minutes passed before the child suddenly stopped. It turned to me with a sorrowful smile as it melted into the ground.
The scene instantly changed. I was standing in a ballroom filled with tables and diamond studded chandeliers. The room had windows but the outside was pitch black.
I turned around as a tall red carpeted staircase led to a balcony that watched over the ballroom floor.
Slowly ascending the stairs I heard a voice from behind me. "Why are you here?"
There stood the same child at the base of the stairs, its face now filled with confusion. It tilted its head before speaking again. "Don't you hate this place?"
I stood atop the stairs as I looked around. "I don't even know what this place is."
Looking back to the base of the stairs the child was gone. The ballroom began to cave in as pieces of furniture and tile fell into the darkness.
"What the hell!" I screeched as I went to grab the balcony rails to hang onto. My grip quickly loosened as I fell.
The darkness began to eat away at my feet as I heard another voice. "You damn idiot Simon!"
My whole body jerked as I snapped out of it, I was back in the upstairs lounge. My mop laid on the floor as more water spread and enveloped the soles of my feet.
"Uhh earth to Simon?"
I slowly turned to see Luther standing in the entrance. His voice managed to pull me out of that place—that ballroom.
"You just gonna stand there or clean this mess up." Luther yawned as he held a deck of playing cards. "Me and Cleo are playing soon, sucker wants his rematch."
"Oh, sorry about this." I said, rushing to pick up the mop.
"Here, lemme help." Luther responded, grabbing a hand towel from the other side of the room.
I should probably tell Ms. Valeria about this. It was fake… but it felt so real, like I was actually there. What the hell is going on?
"You okay? You look a bit pale, more than usual that is." Luther said as we finished cleaning the floor.
"Have you ever had a vision, or hallucinated?" I mumbled to Luther as he sat down.
"Weird question but no, well there was this one time but I don't like to think about it too much." He said as he leaned back in his chair.
I feel bad asking but if he knows something about this I wouldn't have to burden Ms. Valeria.
No, this isn't about being a burden to her. I don't even think I could look her in the eyes without getting emotional.
I let out a deep sigh. "So… I know you said you don't like to think about it, but could you tell me how it happened?"
Luther looked at me with a strange expression. He must think I'm a weirdo, but who else could I go to with this.
He thought for a brief moment before looking towards the ceiling. "Y-yeah, sure."
"It was actually before I met yall. My mom found out my dad was cheating and didn't take it too well, she kicked him out the house."
"We lived together just the two of us for a month before she—"
Luther stopped as he looked to the floor and bit his lip. "Before she killed herself."
I knew Luther's mother passed but I didn't know that was why. I was so selfish to ask him about this.
"After it happened I started seeing her, sometimes it was in the backyard, others the bedroom." He continued.
"Do you still, you know, see her sometimes?" I asked.
Luther grinned. "Nah, but those first couple of days sure were strange, I like to think that she was keeping an eye on me, making sure I was safe here."
We heard the creaky steps as Cleo made his way upstairs. "Thanks Simon, that was a real breath of fresh air."
I made him talk about something so traumatic… Why did he thank me?
"You thanked me… why?" I questioned.
He chuckled as he scratched his head. "Because the more you talk about it the better it gets, the better it feels."
"I hope by sharing I was able to help you out." Luther said as he got up from his seat.
He then immediately turned to Cleo as he screamed out "Ready to get your ass kicked pretty boy!"
I was shocked. Something like that was so out of character for someone like Luther.
His visions were from his mother passing. Is the thought of Ms. Valeria dying affecting me that badly?
He saw her around the house… but I was actually there, I was in that ballroom—I held the railings. This can't be the same type of vision.
I carried the mop and bucket back downstairs as I set them in the kitchen corner.
Opening the front door I looked to the clear sky as a warmth came over me. I looked back down as the floor was black.
Everything around me was dark. It's happening again. I turned to see the child sitting on the ground with its legs crossed.
I walked closer to the child but before I could get to it the darkness seemed to stretch out as the child was now further away.
I ran to catch it but it was no use, no matter how far I ran I made no progress.
As I bent over to catch my breath as the child's voice echoed from behind me. "Why don't you remember me?"
Slowly walking up to the child I stood next to it. "I'm sorry I don't remember you, could you remind me of who you are—where we are?"
The child looked at me, its facial features barely visible through the shadows around it. "Do you hate me like you hate the ballroom?"
I could feel my fist tighten. "Again I can't hate the ballroom because I don't know what it is."
The child began to walk into the darkness. "WAIT!" I yelled out. The child stopped. "Just, wait a minute."
"Do you know about Ms. Valeria… is she really going to die?" The child melted into the ground identical to before.
Before I could blink I was back in the ballroom. "Damnit." I yelled as I punched one of the tables.
The windows were black just like last time. Behind me stood the red carpeted staircase. The child stood atop as it stared at me.
"Answer me!" I yelled out to the child, but it just stood there.
I went to take a step up the stairs as the child tilted its head again. "If you hate the ballroom, why do you keep coming back?"
Sitting down at the base of the staircase I could hear the child's footsteps walking down the stairs.
"Ms Valeria… She means a lot to us." The child said.
"Us?" I replied looking back. The child appeared in front of me as its finger poked my chest. "I am you."
As I blinked again I was still standing in the doorway, a now cool breeze breaking into the cabin.
I quickly closed the door as a scream from the hallway filled the room. Rushing into the hall Ms. Valeria's door was open. My heart dropped.
Slowly walking to the open door Dahlia kneeled down as she held Ms. Valeria. She turned to me with a surge of urgency in her voice. "Hurry and get help!"
I froze up. I wanted to move but my body wouldn't budge. Marcel shoved me out of the way as I fell into the vase at the end of the hall.
He helped Dahlia get Ms. Valeria onto her bed. Runi soon followed and helped me up. "We heard a scream, what happened?"
Runi wiped the back of my shirt as I tried to recover the now crushed flowers. "Ms. Valeria collapsed."
Dahlia ran into the kitchen as Marcel stayed attached to Ms. Valeria's hip. She came back with a hot rag as she gently laid it across her forehead.
"I'm gonna start on some hot tea, watch over her." Dahlia said as she rushed back into the kitchen.
Runi ran to get Luther and Cleo from upstairs as I walked to the bedroom. I flopped over my bed as I stared at the ceiling. My eyes felt dead.
"You knew this would happen."
I was now staring at darkness. Looking around the child stood above my head as it looked down on me. "We don't have the power to stop this."
I glanced up at the child as I could feel my chest tightening, my throat closed up a bit as I took a deep, but shaky breath. My voice trembled as I spoke. "I never want to see you again."
The child frowned as I continued. "I never want to be here again, I never want to be in the ballroom again. Just leave me alone… please."
I was back in an instant. I forced myself off the bed as my back ached a bit from the fall.
Leaving the bedroom there Alex stood in the hallway entrance. He gazed at me, almost like he waited for me to leave the room. I stomped to him as I gripped the collar of his shirt. "This is your damn fault!"
Alex's gaze turned to a glare as I held him. He grabbed my wrists and forced my hands off of him. He looked me dead in my eyes. "If you think this is my fault then you are lost."
He brushed me aside as he disappeared into Ms. Valeria's room. I grabbed my head as I looked at my feat.
I felt a hand on my shoulder as I could recognize Cleo's voice. "Simon… you've been acting weird lately, you okay man?"
I grit my teeth. "Ms. Valeria is gonna die and you're saying I'm acting weird? Me? You're the ones acting weird!"
Ripping my shoulder from Cleo's grasp I stormed outside. Closing my eyes I tried to go back, back to the ballroom—to the darkness. I would rather be anywhere than here right now.
Reopening my eyes I was still outside as the sun began to set. I roughly blinked over and over again but I couldn't go back. Tears rushed down my face the more I blinked as I dropped to my knees.
I could feel Runi's small arms wrap around me as I kneeled in the front yard. Even as night came she still stayed attached to me.
We didn't talk, the only noise being from the bugs that would chirp and buzz around us.
Even if temporary, in that moment Runi's touch alone felt like it could quell my emptiness.