Dark Secret

‘Half an hour till we depart, Char,’ Leanna whispered from the doorway. I looked up from my backpack, and nodded once before continuing to tidy my stuff. Again.

I knew I had already packed all the things I needed—some clothings, a couple of books, and some other useless things like snacks and my cell phone, though I believed I wouldn’t be able to use it in Downland—but I kept packing and unpacking for the last hour just to get my mind of what might happen to me over there, or the incident this afternoon at school.

Tyler had flipped out when he saw Leanna supporting me with a large gash on my left knee, it was like he was going to have a panic attack. You know how sweet when the boys are being caring and pay a hundred and ten percent of attention on you? Nope. It was plain annoying, I’d tell you that. Sure, he was my crush and all, and although it was Leanna’s order to watch over me while she went back to school to search for clues, it was ridiculous when Tyler was practically treating me like a disable (‘Don’t move, you’re hurt!’ ‘Wait here, I’ll get that for you.’ Haha, cute…not.), freaked out whenever I attempted to do something other than sitting around, and watched me like a prisoner. It took me thirty minutes of persuasion to let me go pack my bag, and stopped my evil side from strangling him (at the price of a silent treatment. I didn’t mind that much, but it was weird to be so quiet, not after a decade of noise in my head). Yes, they did not get along, at all.

Though on the plus side, Tyler did not complain even if I kept repeating on packing my bag for the last sixty minutes. He had been quite patient with me. Leanna had just returned with yet another failure of finding clues about my assaulter at school. She was troubled by this; I could see it on her face. She was deep in thought, even when she walked out of my room. Tyler hugged me quickly, which I returned briefly, and followed suit, leaving me alone.

I heaved a sigh then lied on my bed, staring at the ceiling above me. I admitted defeat; I couldn’t ignore the incident, not when the target was obviously me. It was sheer luck that there was only a gash on my knee, well, that or the aim of my attacker sucked, which was not logical. Hopefully, there would not be a next time, since I believed the next wound would be a fatal gash on my neck.

I fiddled with the pendant around my neck absentmindedly. It was a gift from my late grandmother. Actually, it was the only thing I had that was related to my family. I had no memory of them, except for my grandmother, despite it was blurry, yet better than none. The pendant was a silver protective pentagram held by a long black ribbon, simple yet beautiful.

To me, it was sort of like a lucky charm. I’d wear it when I felt stressed or depressed, such as exams, audition, and now, the visit the Downland. The pendant had a calming effect on me. It’d wash away my worries and make me relax. Even my ‘inner self’ would shut her mouth when I wore it. However, it would also make me feel weak and dizzy if I wore it for too long, so I’d only wear it when it was necessary. Other than that, it soothed the flashing pictures in my mind.

Frowning at the thoughts about the flashing scenes in my head, I thought of the first time I had them. Like my ‘inner self’, it started around a decade ago, where my memory began too. Who was I before then? Did I have any childhood friends? Where did I use to live? Who? What? I know none of those. I lost the memories since too long ago, not even I could tell myself the precise time.

The scenes brought pain to me. I’d see a dark palace, crimson flames danced before my eyes. The colors would mix together into a mystical swirl. A loud, deep voice surrounded me, speaking words that I knew, but could not comprehend. After that, many natural sceneries would fly by—too quick for me to spot the details; slow enough to identify they were indeed creations of Mother Nature. I tried to look for their exact locations through the use of internet, but none matched. The celestial landscape were too spectacular be real, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling of their familiarity.

‘What are they?’ I mused. ‘What do they mean? ...Damn, it’s so cold.’

‘Of course, darling. You left the windows opened.’

I stiffened, taken aback by the sudden response, and how he could enter my bedroom without Leanna’s notice. Surely after today’s incident, she would’ve been more alert. Why didn’t his intrude alarmed her? Taking in a deep breath, I turned around to face the intruder.

The boy leaned against the window frame coolly, smirking in an annoying way that made me want to wipe it off his smug face for good. His attire was similar to the last time I saw him; a large trench coat with casual clothes underneath. The dusking sun illuminated his profile with a reddish-orange shade. I narrowed my eyes at his radiant perfection.

‘Missed me?’