"Blue? Red??? Yellow?? Anybody?" I called out, my voice echoing in the forest, my ears listening out for the reply which never came. I looked towards a tree, thinking that, perhaps, I could climb up and search for them there... I lay my hands on the trunk, almost in desperation.
Feeling lost, is almost like being trapped.
Then, I heard humming, from somewhere far off. Could it be them? I dashed towards the sound, my heart automatically filled with hope. My legs moving with no specific direction, but with one particular goal, as though it was being carried by the humming—and hope. Invisible barriers did not restrict my movement like it did for my friends, thank god! I dashed through the dense forest, weeds and crawling vines constantly tripping me up, and thorns scraping my skin. The music grew louder, closer, my legs moved faster.
Soon I came to a clearing, only to find myself facing a white mansion, standing proud and tall, boasting a view over the forest. A green roof, that seemed to be made of jade, capped the grand house, like a cherry on top. Red decorative lanterns hung on the roof, giving the mansion an oriental feel, an atmosphere of fantasy, magic. I stopped running, and gaped unglamorously, in awe.
The front of the house was a garden, adorned with roses of kaleidoscopic colors and glossy green foliage. In its centre, a fountain that spewed crystal clear water, and a sculpture of a fairy or pixie of some sort.
The humming continued. It's repetitive melody seeming to ring in my ears...
I walked towards the grand mansion, the melody like a magnet pulling me towards it subconsciously...
I stopped at the front gate, and watched. A woman with a perfect face, and brown, curly locks was bent over, tending to the garden. Upon her head was a sparkling tiara. (Perhaps she was a princess, or queen of some sort. That would explain the glamorous house). Under her yellow dress she had a baby bump, (ohh..so..she was expectant!). She was the one I heard, from what was probably miles away—as ridiculous as it sounds. I soon came to recognise the melody, as it repeated, over and over and over again. A broken record, which was still marvellously melodious in nature.
The humming stopped. She stood up slowly, wiped her perspiration, and then rested her hand on her stomach. "My darling child, you shall be the most perfect, precious little child, certainly the fairest of them all..." Then she giggled to herself, and with nimble fingers, plucked the nearest rose, brought it to her sharp nose and inhaled it's fragrant scent. "..Just like all my beautiful, perfect flowers..."
I looked around, and inspected the flowers around me closely. They were identical. The shape, the number of petals, even flowers of the same color were not a shade darker or lighter. Everything. "Oh what's this? A rose with..one..two...three... ...only SEVEN PETALS?!" She plucked it furiously threw the flower to the floor, and stomped on it quite forcefully, crushing it under her yellow flats, then walked away. Leaving behind, a miserable, pathetic mess of a rose.
As she walked away, a black moth flitted past, and as she walked gaily towards the house, her body faded away. I wouldn't believe it if I had not witnessed it myself..but..but she vanished! And in the blink of an eye, everything changed. The mansion—still looked glamorous, but parts of the house, like it's windows, were warped and rundown. In the garden, water no longer spewed from the fountain. The fountain was dry, except for puddles of rain water, the hedges , previously adorned with roses, were now unkempt bushes of thorns and wilted petals. It seemed like all that I saw previously, was a dream...and I had now come back to harsh, cruel reality.
Though the humming had stopped a long time ago, curiosity got the better of me. The metal gate, previously glittering in gold, was now a rusty brown that stained my palms as I pushed it open. It's creaking hinges, a jarring whine. I approached the sculpture, for it had piqued my interest.
The stone sculpture was also the only thing that didn't change.
Carved on its face were a set of lively eyes, and a mischievous smile. Her short, pixie hair, curled behind long pointed ears. A set of wings, like those of dragonflies, sprouted from her back. She wore what seemed like a short dress, and on her upper arm, was a picture of a moth, like a tattoo. Her arms seemed to be positioned to hold something, but whatever it was, it was missing from the whole sculpture. Just then, I noticed a dusty label beneath the sculpture. I dusted it, with my hand. "Fairy...hell...Hell Fairy?" The black moth had begun fluttering around the sculpture, and it rested, quite coincidentally, on the tattoo. I glanced at the Hell Fairy's mischievous smile once more. How apt.
Out of the blue, the humming, in fact the exact same melody began ringing in my ears again, and the moth fluttered away towards the direction of the mansion..
Once again the mansion came to life, to it's previous dream-like form again...my legs moved towards the mansion almost subconsciously... ..
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