What came upon his expression rebounded into a joker face. From what was but him scrolling on his phone alone in his room, exploded into a motley audience of eyes, glancing at him as he seemed to be mid-sentence. Memories, foreign and unbeknownst to his figure, flooded in like a kaleidoscope of vivid events.
His name was Dr. B. Northal, keen philosopher ravaging the world through his words, chained simply together to paint upon a brief of the world’s origin itself.
Diaphanous ribbons, lustred past blinds crested with dust, as they caressed Marilyn’s back, boding her an alarm to wake up and enjoy the seeping future ahead of her. Entangled in bedsheets, Marilyn woke to a soft start, still half-asleep from her long slumber. Last night had been a haze, from dawn to far past dusk, she had stayed up, and the consequences lay formidable.
Tossing slightly, Marilyn comfortably shifted from her entanglement and faced the alarm clock beside her. 11:12am. Marilyn was late.
Most people inherited treasured jewels when it came to their awnings. Diadems enriched with sapphires, rings with a multitude of gems carefully engraved in prongs, necklaces that bode of dragons or spiritual creatures, fierce or elegant, yet almighty all the same. For Willow, a single wisteria branch, the ends singed with poison and years of dread.
Etc
To: Parasite 8997346
Welcome, to the rebirth and primary stage of parasitical journeys. We applaud you for reaching the level you have reached, attaining the vessel of a ‘human’ no less. Controlling human, parasites are known as ‘minds’ or ‘conscience’. However, with great cognitive developments, come many setbacks, that will lash themselves upon you to attempt to ruin your personnel. Alas, do not be disappointed, and instead, view these rough years on their planet ‘Earth’ a glorious fortitude.
Consume and Spread. The Parasitic Organisation.
Regards,
Ironically, lucid dreams, a theme far too familiar to Kai were what kept his sanity at bay; an escape, a second chance, a second world for him to enjoy. They allowed him to better control his life, storytell his unfortunate events into reciprocal stepping stones. It wasn’t delusional, they kept him sane, everyone else was just incapable of understanding this justification.
‘You see, Kai here, retains a unique lifestyle, often contrary to most teenager’s meddling with insomnia. Rather than trouble falling asleep, Kai just so happens to have trouble waking up, more trouble than the average sleep-deprived deep-sleeper.’ In a matter-of-fact tone, his doctor was dumbing down an explanation of Kai’s ‘illness’ to his mum so she wouldn’t freak out. The doctor continued, ‘We find that Kai is likely to possess ‘Idiopathic hypersomnia’. This is due to his tendency to oversleep, whilst still feeling tired afterwords. He also has a minute case Narcolepsy 2, with symptoms of the excessive sleepiness, temporary paralysis and hallucinations.’ ‘What can Kai do to maintain a better lifestyle then doctor?’ Kai’s mother questioned in follow up. ‘I’ve prescribed Kai some medication’ the doctor handed Kai’s mother a prescription note. Peering over, Kai could see various polysyllabic words, presumably for illegible medication. ‘I also recommend cognitive behavioural therapy, just to better strengthen his routine. Considering that he doesn’t use devices often nor any illegal substances, it is believed that Kai’s diagnosis is linked to genetics.’ ‘Thank you doctor, Kai?’ His mother faced him with an expecting expression contorted upon her visage. ‘…Thanks.’ Kai let it out almost as a reluctant sigh. ‘It’s my pleasure.’ The doctor replied, smiling the routinely farewell.
As they walked out of the room through a hallway, Kai faced the ground, slouching slightly from exhaustion. He knew that most of the exhaustion was but his mood, let out from half-assed movements. Bright colours around him, excessive movement and loud noises - any excessive sensory depictions really - only tired the boy more, making him yearn to be back in bed, sleep and return to his lucid dreams, to his world where everything went right and his way. His. Way.
Exiting the clinic, Kai and his mum made their way to their car. Kai opened the back door and immediately strapped himself in before sprawling over the three back seats and drifting into his desired slumber.
His dream that time, lucid as always, was different this time. Usually recalling everything that happens in his dreams (which he knew led to one of his symptoms of sensory overload), this dream had people he’d never seen before in it. He knew dreams couldn’t have have people he didn’t recognise in it, so who were they? In a circle, he stood with four other boys. None of the, were surprised, and when he questioned them, recalled the same things as him - daily lucid dreams, fatigue, diagnosis of idiopathic hypersomnia, they were all there, experienced. Ironic.
It seemed Kai having his diagnosis just recently, triggered the encounter, leading to the, being ‘destined’ to meet - weird but not the most unusual. For an extended period of time, the members all revealed information, about themselves,having their connection of hypersomnia and narcolepsy, a very rare diagnosis. Soon, they all knew of each other, all but Kai, from South Korea, although Kai’s ethnicity itself was South Korean.
Kai and the boys all agreed on exchanging numbers - just remembering one person’s contact. It was the easiest, considering how random the lucid dreams usually played off as. Words aimlessly filled the realm the boys were in, befor they all, one by one abruptly dissipated out of the endless dome.
‘Kai? Kai! Oh thank goodness!’ His mother yelled, waking Kai from his slumber in the back of the car. ‘You were having one of those ‘not waking up’ moments again. I swear, it always scares me to death.’ ‘Well, I’m fine.’ Kai responded. ‘Yes, and that’s good. Here.’ His mother handed him a pill and a water bottle, a translucent auburn. ‘I got from the doctor’s prescription at the pharmacy whilst you were sleeping.’ Kai took the two items, swallowing the pill in aid of the water. ‘They’re actually to stop you from dreaming during your sleep, entirely! So you won’t have those paranormal sensory-activating dreams, the lucid ones!’ His mother said excitedly. Kai stared dumbfounded at her, wide eyed in exasperation.
Nodding, Kai left his mum, going immediately to his bedroom and getting out his phone, typing in some digits into his contacts. It was good he had that one boy’s contact remembered. If what his mother said was true, he was going to have to say farewell to his lucid dreams forever. Or not, and he could pretend take them, fake their effectiveness and have them never enter his house again. Kai bided for the second option. After all, you can never rid of an addiction when one loves it so much can you? Kai’ll have to say farewell another time. Or more so, farewell to the ideal ‘normal’ life. The paranormal lucid dreams were his life anyway. Receiving a notification, Kai saw a text bubble pop up on his phone.
Unknown: hi! Is this Kai? The from America one? You: yep Unknown: cool, I’ll add u to a chat with the others.
Kai smiled at his phone’s glowing screen, tightening his grasp on the device. This was what he wanted. Not the ‘normal life’ or his opportunity with it anyway. Kai smiled yet again, dimples forming either side of his cheeks as two words formed themselves in his conscience.
‘Farewell, normal.’
Eyes wide, breathing haphazard, perspiration mixed with blood trickled, wading down the exasperated expression on Aerith’s visage. Stood in centre of an unkempt room, an ocean tossed about with strewn sticky notes, tossed over bookshelves and ravaged clothing, was the girl set stoned in clocked in realisation, woven with shock and a torrent of over flooding thoughts.
Time had tired arms of clocks, stepping cautiously over the room’s silence. The atmosphere suffocated reality, imprisoning Aerith’s still body. Despite the still room, the solitude but tossed turbulent, undulating in currents lined by her thoughts. ‘Was this me? This, this place. It was, wasn’t it? How? But why? Why can’t I remember anything?’
Clenched, scarred fists tightened and the frozen cyclone of the room, secluded from outside, loosened from its grip, and amidst Aerith’s spinning head, she fell limp. Unknowing of herself, her surroundings and of any past events, only her thoughts echoed in the still storm of suffocating tides, lashing at her head and ravaging a pain that but only tensed in silence. Aerith’s breathing hastened and along, her eyelids held her only momentary escape from the cell.
The room, hazened in overlapping vision, soon dimmed down into a fragmented black, lustred and thumping from all the chaos, catastrophic in her head. Anything to do with now didn’t matter anymore. Not for Aerith’s heart. Yet her head echoed through its own turbulence in urgence, aware of the qualm she was welcoming in each seeping sand granule. But, of course, the qualm can wait.
Dead, are the moments that flutter within my soul. Gone, are the wisps of words, lustred out of your oral reign into a memento so divine, the magic of my life has dissipated, and now I grasp onto disintegrated thoughts. On the days where it was just me and you, just a text on the phone, or us, silent, but hand in hand, grains of sand slipped through so wistfully, so seamlessly, that us, intertwined in each other’s lives was bestowed so perfectly, there was something wrong. It was too perfect.
And so, I but admire you from a distance. No listening to your heartbeat and seeing your eyes glow from up close. No ember fueled by you in my heart. None. Now, my heart is aching, and I can’t even pinpoint yours. Shall your breath bless the Earth? Or the heavens? What do, or did, i mean to you? Or was it all a play of heart? Entertainment at best? Fit in a motley assortment of trinkets you discard so aimlessly? Have I but become an anomaly?
