Twisted

By Khushi Agarwal

With my head out the glass window dangling above my bed, I let the icy wind gash my face, almost relishing in it. Silhouettes of the mountains pinned against the twilight sky as the first ray of the sun began to conquer the pathetic night. The train's loud whistles rung in my head like an endless bell and I watched as it soon got lost in the shadows of towering buildings. The mingled fragrances of wet earth and eucalyptus brimmed up my nose.

The view was breathtaking. After feeling somewhat serene after the terrible past few months, I didn’t want this moment to end. But don’t all moments do?

My euphoria lasted for about ten minutes before all life evaporated out of me as I saw the shadow appear. I felt the cold stares on me, leaving me constricted.

I started to breathe erratically. Striding through my room into the long corridor, I grabbed my baseball bat and unlocked the house door, diving into danger. I need to end this madness. Whoever was messing with my mind will end their joke today. I kept moving, hoping that this would just be an elaborate prank. “Come out! I-I’m not s-scared of you,” I tried to shout. 5 minutes passed; then 10, then 15. No one came. Giving up, and feeling like a fool, I felt a desperate need to nap and commenced returning to the house. Suddenly, I felt a stern, muscular grip on my shoulder. Struggling to escape, all I could make out was someone grabbing me and shouting something, and then

My eyes shot open. Perplexed and hyperventilating, I jolted up, only to find myself in a room heavily painted in blue. Glancing around the room, I could see: two ocean-colored cushioned beds plastered against the cyan

walls which were bathed in cracks and screamed for a re-paint. The grey tiled floor, pale with age, and a rusted window teleported me back to the early 90s.

From the corner of my eye, I saw something move. It was the shadow again. The chilly stride of panic hovered over me like a curse, pushing all curiosities to the back of my head. Leaning on the prickly wall, feeling my heartbeat against my hollow chest, my insides leaped over one other, twisting and crumbling like an insomniac. Sweat glistened on my face like glass. I gasped for oxygen. My boney hands, now white with fear, atrociously began to tremble and unleashed my terror. The shadow transfigured into a body of a man. Then one became two and within seconds I felt as if I was the center of a hundred hostile stares. A sharp scream roared out of me as I horrifyingly gazed at the battalion of muscular penumbra, who steadily laughed down at me.

“Go away! Go away! Go away!” I bellowed.

With that, the door burst open and a thin, tall lady with a striking appearance marched in, placing a hand on my back and dragging me along with her- not too harshly; but not calmly either.

“You should calm down,” she echoed, as all energy drained out of her.

“Where are you taking me?” I hyperventilated, my voice laced with fear. The lady pushed me into a room. I sank to the carpeted floor of a rather peaceful dorm. This is it. This is the end.

Head in my hands, tears flowing freely like a stream now, I looked up as a man -with dark brown hair and pale white skin which formed a beautiful contrast against his blue sweater and black jeans- knelt beside me. There was something about him. Something about his presence was utterly comfortable. Something that reminded me of….Max.

“I am not going to hurt you,” he assured me. “I want you to calm down.”

“W-who are you? Why are you doing this to me? Where..where am I?” I demanded, surprised that my voice came out more recollected than I thought.

“Aline, do you remember coming here the day before and telling me that you hallucinate? You informed me that you’ve been experiencing it since the… uh, passing away of your brother, Max, and you never showed up yesterday so I came there to get you, and just as I touched your shoulder, you fell fainted on the ground…” his voice faded away as if he suddenly stood miles away from me.

It all came storming back to me like a tornado, the death of my little brother: how they’d found his body collapsed in the darkroom, how the time around me had stopped as I stood, trembling, and watched the silhouettes of dark men dressed in blue cover his tiny body with white sheets. It had been three months; dazed yet alert I spent the sleepless night, hoping he would return.

I caught some words from the doctor such as trigger your hallucinations'… paranoia built up…brainwashed painful memory. Now, the man stood -pity cradling in his sea-blue eyes.

“You don’t have to worry, I can help you recover. If you let me,” he smiled comfortingly.

“Help me…please help me..” I sobbed, my voice trailing off as I got lost in the deep forest humming with grief, yearning, rage, and fatigue.

By Khushi Agarwal