THE DEATH OF ME

The castle was breathtakingly dreamlike and everything was in too much order yet the maids seemed to be under a cleaning spell. Aaron couldn’t seem to take his eyes off a particular painting on the wall, although it was half hidden under a hideous black shawl, he was instantly drawn to it and a sudden urge to get a better look at it made him lose touch with reality “watch it!” and then a range of utensils flew off a tray and all over the tiled floor. There was a momentary pause by the staff and then almost like he was invisible, the maid got on her knees after giving him a deathly stare and quickly made to clean the mess “sorry, I . . I” he muttered and it seemed he couldn’t find his tongue. A snap of the finger and a tap on his shoulder jolted him back to reality. He quickly spun around to face an angry looking man, he sized him up and concluded he’d be in his mid fifties “seems you’re lost, eh?!” He asked with a quirk of his funny looking mustache “I’m the new librarian, I was just…” he was cut off by a palm in his display “Call me Clinton” said the older man and with another snap he turned around walking down a hall that seemed to grow darker. Aaron followed behind, he chuckled low in his throat and the man stopped abruptly causing Aaron to almost bump into him “tsk tsk. . . You need to fix that attitude or you won’t last a week here” he grunted without turning. Aaron cleared his throat and juggled the thought of explaining to him that he was only amused at how everyone acted like puppets but thought better of it. He was having a time of his life with just his eyes and he wouldn’t let an angry ogre ruin it for him with careless remarks. They got to a big blue wooden door on the right side of tue hall and the man pulled out a bunch of keys, he looked up as Aaron came to stand a little too close and motioned for him to move, he selected one and inserted it, a click, another and the double doors swung open with a slight screech “ the man stood under the beam studying the room, another tsk and then he handed Aaron the key which he initially unlocked the doors with “Lock up and meet me in the garden” he walked off as hurriedly as he’d first surfaced. Aaron slowly walked into the gigantic room and felt like an ant trapped inside a glass box filled with books, everything was dusty to his astonishment and there was a soulful opera echoing back to him but he couldn’t seem to decide where it was coming from, suddenly a gush of wind and a voice floated to his left shoulder “Silas!!” it whispered almost seductively, a drawer in one of the tables at the center of the room unhinged itself and emptied it’s contents on the floor with a loud bang. He drew back and just as he was a step outside the room, the same maid he’d bumped into earlier resurfaced “S. . Sir is there a problem?” She was staring directly into his soul and he stood motionless wondering why he couldn’t seem to find his tongue whenever he stood in front of such a dazzling stranger. “I work with the caterers and I’m here to inform you that lunch is served” she said all the while focusing on the drawer pocket which had fallen earlier “I, well i just got here and i will be at the dinning if I knew where” Aaron replied flashing a nervous smile “ its the fourth room to the right of the hall” she replied adjusting her gown which looked perfect to him “I didn’t get your name” he called almost in a whisper after her “why does eeryone seem to be in such abhurry around here?” He thought walking over to the drawer pocket, he got on one knee and turned it over and instantly regretted his action as a spider jumped off it and onto his lap, he drew back, slapping at it frantically and almost landed on his butt, he muttered something intangible under his breath stretching up and then a picture caught his eye, it was of a woman probably in her late twenties but looked very malnourished, another gush of wind unsettled him as he bent to pick it up and he concluded that was his cue to leave, he hurriedly stuck the picture into the breast pocket and made for the dinning forgetting to lock the door behind him.

The dining room looked just as exquisite as every other place he’d seen, a magnificent chandelier haging from the ceiling, golden drapes to match the golden furniture and uniformed butlers standing at each corner of the room. He strode to the only vacant seat and sat as quietly as he could, a puzzled look on his face as he could only recognize the man Clinton whispering instructions to one of the butlers who nodded and exited the room. “Aaron everyone” the man who would later identify as general Barry called to everyone at the table with a slight raise of his glass, Aaron expected a warm welcome and introductions but none of that happened and lunch went on quietly, he struggled to hide his uneasiness and was seriously contemplating quiting this adventurous job, evryone avoided eye contact and it seemed silence was an unspoken golden rule around here which didn’t help either, he had barely lasted four hours and he was all ready to hop on the first train back to the states. After lunch he was torn between going back to the spooky library and heading to the garden as Clinton had asked or instructed but just as he was about to step out of the dinning room there was Clinton much to his relief “at least someone with a name attached to” he thought, not like he really favoured him so far, he walked alongside him and they walked in the same quick manner away from the shuffle of the maids to tidy the dinning room. Clinton spared no time in giving him a quick tour of the castle, and always dismissed any questions asked “your only concern should be the library” he said again for the umpteenth time, honestly Aaron was getting exhausted and felt like a prisoner here, he loved-hated this whole experience because yes he had wanted an entirely different feeling from his own masion where he was the one throwing around orders but this felt extreme and he couldn’t help but imagine what the remaining months he had to spend here would look like.

Time flew by and he only realized as he walked alone now down the hall and torches were already hung up, Clinton had left him hurriedly after one of the butlers had whispered something to him about a “madam” he had obviously not met. His mind again drifted to the beautiful maid he’d seen twice and he chuckled at the thought that he was in love with someone he didn’t even know her name. He paused before the door feeling for the key but the doors swung open and suddenly a dizzy spell fell on him, he managed to brace himself on the door frame and half staggered and dragged himself into the library and onto a bed hidden behind curtains at the left turn a few steps in. He collapsed into the bed which didn’t offer much comfort as compared to his king sized bed back at home, he shook his head to try and clear the unexplainable fog but only felt worse, suddenly he saw a himan figure floating and quickly descending, in only seconds it felt as though the figure was sitting on his chest and restricting any form of movement, he tightly shit his eyes saying a short prayer and that was all he remembered before dozing off. “Please please spare him!” A woman cried, Aaron was unfamiliar with the environment and seemed to be held by an unseen force whenever he tried to get closer, the woman in chains was half clothed in rags and looked malnourished, she knelt with a baby in her laps and yelled all the more. Aaon looked on as three fully armored men dragged a battered Silas away, there was a crowd surrounding the whole scene but they only muttered inaudibly amongst themselves pointing forth and back, silence and the crowd parted paving way as the maid he had been fantasizing about walked towards him the air about her smelt of burnt flesh and her eyes were sunken “why won’t you stop them?” She asked and threw flickers of light at him. The crowd suddenly enclosed around him and she was hidden from his view. . . He shot up in a last attempt to save himself and realized he’d been dreaming as cold sweat clung to his shirt and trickles ran down his face, his thoughts were in a lot of places as he tried to catch his breath, a quick glance at the bedside clock said 3:15am. Swinging his feet down from the bed, he rose and walked over to the table in the centre of the library searching with his eyes for any and nothing at all, then employing his hands he made a mess of the stack of journals arranged neatly on the left side of the desk, one of them landed with a thud and as he bent to pick it up, from the corner of his eyes, the curtains demarcating his bed from the room concealed a human figure, he froze in shock and slowly straightened up. His head screamed at him to exit the room but somehow his legs carried him towards his bed, he swug the curtains forcefully and stood face to face with the same woman in his dream, she was floating above his bed and had tear stains on her face, she held what seemed to be the corpse of a baby swaddled in old clothes “help me” she whispered looking down at the baby and offering it “help me” she screamed this time in an inhumanly high pitch and Aaron shut his eyes wincing in pain as what felt like a finger glazed the left side of his chest. He opened his eyes turning to inspect the room, he ripped his shirt open exposing a fresh cut just above his nipple and a drop of blood zigzagged down his hairy torso. He lowered himself onto the bed and inspected the wound more closely thinking of its significance. He unbuttoned the rest of his shirt and took it off, flinging it beside him, on instinct, he picked it up again feeling the breast pocket, slowly he pulled out the picture he had picked up the previous day, the woman i the picture bore a resemblance to the beautiful maid and a questioned formed fast in his thoughts “what was the maid’s connection to these dreams and encounters?”