The Advent of Madness: My Twin Sister And I

Chapter 9: What Lies Beyond

The memory of my first time in these corridors came back to me.I came in, and one of the first things I thought of at the time was;

But in what way did I assume they were locked? Specifically, how did I think of them being locked?

There's no real way to tell a locked and unlocked door apart except by a visible padlock; these doors have no such padlock. They are as ordinary as the next, except for their intricate leaf carvings.

Running my eyes along the seemingly endless corridor of 'locked' doors, white paintings, and vases, I began analyzing the structure of the doors.

But, though I know I can open them;

When mother takes me to the gardens, it's via the bedroom door connecting through space; then, how about these doors?

Slowly rubbing my face in frustration, I picked up the stool and dragged it over to the centre of the corridor;

There's a realistic limit to the volume of pain a human is capable of ignoring whilst maintaining the normal function of their body.

Hissing in pain like an aggravated cat, I blew at my torn and bloodied fingers. I hoped that the breeze of the wind would alleviate my pain.

Hunger is frankly terrifying once it reaches its extremes; I hope never to experience hunger of that degree again. With my fingers in this state, I helplessly nudged the stool along the corridor in baby steps.

And randomly pick I did.

With the stool placed under the closest set of double doors, I hopped on and reached for the doorknob.

Praying to whatever Gods on my side out there, I painfully latched my fat fingers around the knob and twisted. With my 'almighty' strength, it took a couple of minutes of repeated attempts to turn it far enough.

My heart almost sank when I heard the door unlatch.

Calming my heaving heart, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and got off the stool. Pushing the door open would need all of my body's strength.

It's not much, but it's enough.

...Still.

A subtle amalgamation of worry and anticipation crept into my heart; what if behind these doors is a way out; what if behind these doors is salvation;

My heartbeat sped up at the thought; rushing in breaths to calm my rising nerves, I rested my palms on the very lightly opened doors—faint light seeped through the cracks, raising my heart rate further.

Using both hands to create a gap in the door, I tucked my elbows into the opening and, using them as leverage to lever the rest open-

The door opened far enough to let me slip in, but I had to open it enough to use the stool as a doorstop.

A struggle and a half later, it was done.

And;

I entered the room.

Crystal light flooded my vision, drowning me in bright, almost fluorescent colours. Covering my pale eyes with my elbow, I gradually adjusted to the change until...

Till I saw the innards of the room.

Till I saw the colours.

The children's toys littered a colourful section of the room; the children's books lined a small, child-friendly bookshelf; colours, decorations, entertainment and sources of education—the room had it all.

And I.

I saw none of it.

I only saw the crib in the corner of the room.

My heart palpitated with anticipation and an unstoppable emotion.

Heat flooded my cheeks.

The familiar sensation of...

Love.

The air in the room smelt of her. Follow current novels on novel·fiɾe·net

And I walked forward; I stepped towards her crib like a puppet strung along.

.

But.

...A certain fear clung to me.

A fear I didn't want to believe to be true.

But a fear I had to confront.

I clenched my fat fists.

My blood boiled at the thought of it; unbearable rage clung to me stickily, crashing across my body like bolts of cacophonous lightning.

I won't forgive them if they did.

But.

The few growing teeth in my mouth bit down on the gums of my mouth, drawing more blood from my tired, anaemic body.

I only needed a couple more steps to reach my sister.

But I didn't need those steps.

I could finally see her past the wooden bars of the crib; her snow-white hair was longer than I remembered it, and her body had also grown;

Some time has passed unbeknownst to me.

But it's her;

The tension and worry in my chest naturally washed away. Her purity cleansed my filthy thoughts, allowing me some semblance of relaxation.

I took another step forward-

My unease thawed.

-then another.

The individual strands of baby-smooth white hair and her glossy skin were crystal clear to my eyes; all my worries inevitably lessened.

A warm smile involuntarily slipped onto my face.

Stopping three steps away from the crib, I restrained every fibre in my body to stop myself from waking her up; All I needed to do now was find the way out of this mansion and into the outside world; then, I could come back for her and bring her with me after I'd formed a solid plan.

But, easier said than done.

The urge to call for her, wake her from her sleep, to hug her for the first time in who knows how long...

I took another step forward.

I was now a mere two steps away from my sleeping sister.

My right arm slowly rose, my fingers spreading out as I began to reach for the wooden bars of the crib.

Then.

The strings connecting my soul to the puppeteer of my life strung me forward; I took the step toward my sister, the last step to the crib.

My arm reached out; my soul reached out—my everything was reaching for her.

She's right there.

A breath's worth of distance away.

An arm's reach away.

A solid thump suddenly echoed through the room, the sound of skin connecting with fabric, a tough, authoritative...

I froze.

I can see the fingers from the corner of my eye; the fingers sprawled across my right shoulder, clasping me. The warm, soothing voice lingered in my eardrums, echoing ticklishly.

Creaking, my head—the sad, dismal puppet's head—turned to the right.

White met Blue.

The oceans gazed back at me;

But at that moment, what I saw was not the ocean.

A smile calmly lingered on her lips as she stared at me.

Cold.

Her voice;

Cold.

Her eyes;

Cold.

Her smile;

Cold.

So, so, so-

Alora froze with a stiff smile. And around her came the two arms, embracing her, locking her, raising her.

Taking steps backwards, the woman seemed to purposefully retain this position, allowing Alora a final glimpse of her sister;

But the distance only increased between us.

I couldn't move;

Couldn't speak;

Couldn't even breathe;

I was still.

Like a stranded puppet.

And, not long after, we reached the border of the room: the doors.

My sister slept peacefully, yet here I was; frozen .

I tried to move my arms, my fingers, open my mouth;

The woman's chin playfully rested on my head as we lingered in front of the door, and then, words came flying out her mouth once more:

The woman lowered her head, arriving beside mine, close enough for me to count the pores on her skin.

But all I see are her maddening pupils.

Then, she took a step back, beyond the boundary of the room;

We instantly returned to my bedroom.

The chair and stool were both back in place, but I was too delirious to care; my mind hovered somewhere far beyond these tiny matters.

Turning me around, she walked back to the bed and...

She gently lowered me, placing me in a sitting position. Turning me around, I was forced to sit face-to-face with the crouching woman. Her chestnut-coloured hair was tied in a bun, and she was dressed in a sleeping outfit.

But I focused my eyes on her mouth—on the only thing that mattered at the moment.

Her eyelashes were still, her facial muscles stiff, and the soft smile on her face was awkward this time around; she was...

And, as she spoke her words...

"Alora, sweetie, you did an oopsie, didn't you?"

Her stiff smile loosened with satisfaction; satisfaction.

"And you know what happens to naughty girls, right?"

Her ill smile leaked to the edges of her face, pulling her usually beautiful face apart with a demented look.