Black

He didn’t know how long he had been laying there. Really, to him, it wouldn’t matter if it had been an hour or a day. He was just as miserable. His head throbbed, and he kept getting more and more tired by the moment without being able to sleep at all.

He kept hearing voices, but he didn’t know who it was or where the sound was coming from. It sounded like the noise was all around him.

“Well, what have we here?”

That sounded like it was right next to him, but how could he be sure? Honestly, he was hearing voices for goodness sakes. They couldn’t be real. He was insane.

When he didn’t answer the latest voice, it began to hum quietly. He liked the tune, though he didn’t want to admit that he thought the voices in his head made nice music.

After nearly fifteen minutes, curiosity began to set in. What if there was somebody there? He wrestled with the idea for a few more minutes before finally deciding that it was time to open his eyes anyway. So, slowly, he tried to open his eyes.

He definitely wasn’t at home. Everything was dark. He couldn’t see anything but a black expanse in front of him. Had he gone blind?

“Well finally!” the voice exclaimed.

He turned his head towards the sound.

Beside him sat a girl. She seemed rather small, with a petite figure that suited her well. She was pretty, definitely, with black hair and clear, silver-gray eyes. Her skin was fair and clear. She had perfect looking light pink lips that were curled up into a slight smile. Around her eyes there seemed to be eyeliner and maybe some other makeup. At the corners of her eyes there were some silvery specks glistening slightly. He thought maybe that was glitter.

“You humans take forever to wake up,” she complained.

“We humans?” he said. “You mean you’re not a human?”

She laughed. Her voice sounded light and pretty.

“Do I look human to you?”

She spread big, feathery wings out at either side of her. They reminded him of angel’s wings. They were light gray, close to white, with black feathers here and there. He was staring at her, which made her chuckle a bit at him. The laugh made him come out of his thought and speak again.

“What are you?” he asked in awe.

She smiled.

“I am your guide.”

“Do you have a name?”

She looked offended.

“Well of course I have a name,” she said. “Just because I’ve got wings doesn’t mean I don’t get to have a name.”

With a huff, she flapped her great wings and lifted herself a bit above the ground. Daintily, her feet touched the ground again and she stood and brushed off her black dress.

“No—I meant… I mean, you didn’t tell me your name and…” he tried to explain.

She didn’t say anything, so, feeling awkward, he became quiet.

He found himself distracted again. The dress she wore fit her perfectly, showing off all her curves and making her breasts look just right. He wanted to look at her more, but he didn’t want to make her any more annoyed at him. So he forced himself to focus.

“Well what is your name, then?” he asked.

“You can call me Black,” she said.

Then she pulled him to his feet, and smiled like nothing had happened and she had never been irritated in her life.

“But maybe a better question,” she said, “would be: What is your name?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but then found he couldn’t.

“I don’t know,” he admitted.

In fact, it wasn’t just his name he couldn’t remember. He didn’t remember anything at all. Fear settled in his stomach and he immediately panicked.

“Don’t be afraid,” she told him quickly before he became too upset. “That’s what I’m here for.”

He looked at her, not quite understanding.

“As your guide, I would like to be the first to welcome you to your subconscious.”

“My what?”

He looked around in awe. The place was completely dark and seemed to have no beginning or end. He couldn’t wrap his head around the concept. This girl could not have been serious. In fact, all of this had to be some sort of strange dream he was having. He opened his mouth to tell her this, but then one of the voices he had been hearing earlier came back.

“Oh, honey,” it sighed, successfully distracting him.

“Do you know who that is?” Black asked.

It was a woman’s voice. She had spoken before, he recognized the voice. She always sounded so upset.

“No,” he said.

“Why can’t you tell me you’re okay?” the woman spoke.

“That is your mother,” Black said quietly.

He gasped as a whirlwind of memories hit him. He remembered the smell of her perfume, her smile, her perfect cooking. He remembered the way it felt to receive a hug from her, and all the birthday parties she had arranged for him when he was young.

“You remember?” Black asked.

“Yes,” he breathed.

“We’re worried about you,” his mother said.

It sounded like she was going to cry.

“What is she talking about?” he asked his guide.

She just smiled and said “I’m sure you’ll remember soon.”

His mother soon left after giving him some last worried words. Black told him she had kissed his cheek, too, but he couldn’t feel it.

He didn’t want her to go. He wanted to hear her talk some more.

“Please wake up,” she had said. “I love you.”

With that, she left.

“Wake up?” he asked Black. “What is she talking about?”

“Well she wants you back in her world,” she said simply. “You’re stuck in your own head right now.”

He tried to ignore the theory that he was inside his subconscious, and instead focused on getting out of wherever it was that he was stuck in.

“So how do I get back out to her world?”

She smiled softly, and it made her look quite wise. He began to feel nervous as he waited for her to say something. He would start his attempt to get out as soon as she told him what to do. He was ready.

“It’s really fairly simple,” she told him.

He nodded once and waited for her to say more.

“All you have to do,” she told him, “is remember your name.”