Minotomony PT.3

October 12th

I pray for a return to before his darkness seeped into every room and even the corners of my mind are vignetted by him. The situation has only proceeded to worsen, the beast persists in his harrowing of me. I’m tired, tired of fearing the presence who is so well versed in concealment. Tired of the endless ways he foils me and leads me only to wrong turns. Every move I make is blighted by the confusion he endows. I can tell he is obsessed with me, as I with him. His beastly grasp, ever tightening like a spider, seated underneath my skull and atop my brain. She is still protecting him, as I know she will until the end; a mother’s love is more unbreakable than that of a lover. I can see her thinking of him when she thinks I am not looking, but I am always looking. I see all that occurs in this house, I know all their dirty tricks. When I sit, the darkness begins to descend over my eyes, from my brow, trickling down until my vision is almost completely obscured by the evil sent down from above. His putrid presence taints my thoughts, confusion laced with anger and hatred consumes me. He is bringing out the very worst in me. He stole part of my soul when he leapt the fence that night, and he continues to take it piece by piece, until there will be no part of me left. Well no more. I am the master of this house. No more can I stand her conspiratorial eyes. No more can I stand his acrid fingers in my brain, his darkness has become mine for far too long. No more. No more. No more…. 

Tonight. Tonight is the night. Tonight is the night I rid this house of him. I have plotted my scheme. I have learnt from him, learnt his dirty tricks of illusion, I will play him at his own game. Tonight, just as the earth obscures the sun’s full power, I will obscure myself from him, and in a flash of light, I will reveal to him what I am capable of. I am prepared for this final showdown, like a heavyweight boxer in the final throes of a gruelling career, I must face my greatest adversary and silence all critics. Ever since the inception of my masterly scheme, I have noticed the darkness begin to recede. He can feel my energy rising, he can feel my almighty power transcending the stairs. The corners of the room are once again crisp and clear.

I will secrete myself away in the wardrobe. I will stay there, as quiet as the dead, and wait. Wait for the rancid smell to fill my lungs, wait for his darkness to almost completely take over the room. Then I will reveal myself to him and bring the weeks of turmoil to a dramatic climax. I am prepared for only one of us to leave the room. There is only space for one master of this house and She will live with the victor; until the very end. 

Dusk is upon us, I turn to make the treacherous climb. Past the ornate coat rack, no weapons are necessary this time, I want to see him gone by means of my own hands. I notice the inverted symmetry of our story. On our first meeting, I cascaded down the stairs to meet him, on our last, I am clawing my way up them to bid him farewell. The thunderous drummers in my chest are replaced by a great bell, with every tread higher the bell sends out an almighty toll, ringing out across mountains and valleys. Higher and higher I climb. Each step more majestic than the last, the bell is almost deafening in my ears. By the time I summit the stairs I am colossal, I am powerful. I know for whom this bell tolls. 

I take my place in the wardrobe. It is tall enough for me to stand, the wood encases me. I turn and face the light for one last time before the great wait. I pull the door closed in front of me, watching the light reduce to a sliver, before complete darkness. 

As soon as the light is extinguished I am stricken with terror. He knew of my plan. He was ready for me. The trap laid for him has become my own. Darkness engulfs me. I am suddenly weightless and the blackness takes me. Rushing in through my eyes and ears, flooding down my throat. I can feel it thicken in the veins of my heart, and rush through every corner of my brain.       

I am slipping away…. 

I suddenly feel endless, I look for my extremities but I can see no place where I end and the darkness begins. I can feel all the parts that used to be my body separating from each other and begin to drift into the vast expanse of nothingness. I feel every part of every corner of every universe. I feel every emotion of every living thing there has ever been. I feel a return to a sensation so familiar, yet so alien. I have been here before. I have lived a thousand eternities in this place. Then through the endless oblivion comes a woman’s face, a face I recognise but cannot name, no language remains in my sundered brain; only a feeling. The feeling of warmth. The feeling of light. The feeling of love…. Slowly around the face I begin to see colours. First, only white, then gradually blue and red. They are fractal and pulsating. The blue begins to palpitate even more intensely. The face begins to drift and then sounds begin to reemerge, a sardonic laughter mocking my failure. Then a cool drop of water hits my face. At once, all of my body’s particles rush back towards me, the whole universe immediately contracts back to the size of my body. The sensation returns to my fingertips and I feel the confines of my skin holding together every part of me. The blue lights keep flashing, as the red lights shoot across, from one side of my vision to the other. The water droplets are multiplied a thousand times and I can feel them on my head and face. I can feel wet clothing around my body, causing a cold to envelop me. Beyond the blue flashing lights, I begin to see green. It seems to be forming in gigantic letters, as if to bring me some devine message, but one I cannot decipher. It is only then that I notice a figure striding towards me. Silhouetted by the blue light, I am certain that my tormentor has not finished with me. Now he has demonstrated his transcendent power, he has reassembled me to finish the job. I cannot fight in the face of such overwhelming power. I surrender to you O’ Beast!

“Tommy? We are here to take you home.”