Unheeded Prophetess

I stared at the waves crashing against the cliff face. I took a step back and gazed at the calm grey sea on the horizon. I took a long drag of the joint in my right hand. I exhaled. A long wisp of smoke flew from my mouth and danced away with the wind. I wished I could do that. I giggled to myself. The weed was taking effect now. I took one last drag and put the joint out. I sat down, not caring that my designer shorts would get dirty. It’ll be the last thing I wear, anyways. I reached for the fourth bottle of a bottle of some cognac I’d stolen from my father's study. I was a little tipsy but that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to be full on drunk.

“Good girl,” said a voice behind me. I knew that voice very well. I whipped my head around. I stared at the face that’s identical to mine. So much so that she could be my twin. She technically is my twin. She’s me. Okay, let me explain. You know that annoying voice at the back of your head that tells you not to do bad stuff? The voice of reason? Yeah, well, she’s the opposite of that. Personified. Designed to mess with me especially because she looks like me. Hurray! Not.

“Ugh, what do you want?” I grumbled before taking a swig of the alcohol. Cassandra smirked at me as she leaned against a nearby tree.

“I’m here to congratulate you,” she said. “You’re finally doing what I’ve been telling you to do all this damn time.” I rolled my eyes and finished off the cognac. The sour liquid ran down my throat and I smiled.

“You’re happy, aren’t you?” I asked. My speech was slurred. I let out a hiccup. “The torture will finally be over. Well, what I considered to be torture, you sadistic bitch.” I got up and stumbled to the side. Cassandra’s pitch black eyes followed me.

“Yes, it will be,” she said, her red lips widened into a smile. “And you picked the perfect time to do it. Look at those waves.” Cassandra disappeared and reappeared at the edge of the cliff. She gestured to the waves below. I walked to the edge and stood with her. I looked at the waves once more. This is my happy place. My place of calm. My place of peace. I’d always come to this place when I’m angry (I have a very bad temper), stressed (I’m prone to stress) or upset in anyway. My place of death. I stumbled back. I felt dizzy. Maybe I had one too many joints. I started laughing uncontrollably.

“Oh, Cassandra Mazikeen Ayer!” I exclaimed with my arms raised. “You’ve finally gotten your way after all these years!” Let me say another thing. This horrible version of myself only exists in my head. I’m the only one who can see her. You can say I’m crazy. But if I am, then I was born insane. This Cassandra person has existed ever since I could remember. She’s a bitch. Heavy raindrops hit my face and bare arms. I was only wearing a pair of shorts and a black sports bra and grey vans. I laughed as the rain fell harder. It wet my hair. I pushed a few strands out of my face. “This is my good-bye, cruel world! I’m sure some people will be glad to know that I have perished.” I walked to the edge. I stared at the waves once again. It was the last time.

“Go for it,” Cassandra whispered into my ear. “What are you waiting for?” I turned to look at the black eyes that belonged to me. They were filled with bitter malice, more so than mine have ever been. Her caramel skin was flawless, like mine. Her pouty red lips were curled into a smile. Tendrils of “my” hair stuck on her face. She sighed. “I guess this is the last time we speak,” she said. “And it’s a good thing you can’t swim.” Cassandra put her dainty hands onto my shoulders. Her perfectly manicured nails dug into my skin. She didn’t actually exist but her touch was as real as anything. Cassandra let out a low chuckle.

“Good night, Cassie,” she said before pushing me hard. I stumbled backwards until there was no ground to step on. I let out a high pitched shrill as I tumbled down to the sea below. The wind hit my face and blew my hair backwards. My body crashed into the violent salty waters and they swallowed me at once. I floated silently in the sea water. Everything was quiet. Silent. There was peace. My mind was hushed. Planet Earth, it was nice knowing you, I thought. Suddenly, the seawaters violently pushed me against the cliff underwater. I felt the bone in my left arm break. I screamed and water filled my lungs. The water shoved me against the cliff once more and this time I knocked my head. I passed out.

He watched her yell at the sky in bemusing fury. She stumbled back and forth; speaking to a person he couldn’t see. She eventually fell off the cliff and he didn’t waste any time before running to rescue her.

I groaned. My head was pounding. I tried to open my eyes but there was a blinding light disturbing me. I cannot be in Heaven….well, not with the sins I’ve committed, I thought. But where am I? I finally had the will to open my eyes and they adjusted to the dim light. I looked around. This wasn’t my room. And this could not be the afterlife. No way. I lay in a king-sized bed. It had black and red coloured duvet and blanket. I was lying on a black continental pillow. The walls of this room were painted a dark storm grey colour. On my left, there was a stack of books on the bedside table. Most of them were by Renée Ahdieh and Estelle Maskame. Two of my favourite authors. Huh. Leaning on the wall opposite the bed were five canvases of paintings. Two were completed and the other three weren’t. They were gorgeous, despite the three being incomplete. The bedroom door was wide and made of black mahogany wood. It had vines engraved on it. I heard waves crashing against the shore in the distance. I sat up and winced. My left arm had a bandage wrapped around it. Looks like I was mistaken about it breaking. My hand was swollen and purple. My previously perfectly manicured nails were now cracked and broken. I grimaced. I don’t know what was worse, my arm or my poor nails. I think I prefer the latter. I put my right hand to my forehead. There was a bandage there as well. I sighed and winced. There was another bandage on my abdomen. Like, seriously? What wasn’t broken? And I was wearing different clothes-an oversized t-shirt and leggings. I frowned. I hope I wasn’t changed by a guy. I heard the waves again and looked up. There was a sliding door on the other side of the room. It faced the grey sea. It was still raining and it was dark out. Night time? How long was I out? I thought. I shook my head. That’s not important. How did I get here? I glanced at the paintings and I wanted to take a closer look at them. Wincing, I slowly hoisted my feet off the bed and they touched the cool polished wooden floor. I shivered. I didn’t notice how cold it was until now. I stepped towards the first painting. It was of the beach during the daytime. The seawaters were a mesmerising turquoise colour. They sparkled in the sunlight as if it were the real thing. Whoever painted this was really good. Only the sky was missing on the canvas. The second one was of a forest with tall thin trees. I guess it’s the one on the top of the cliff. Only the forest floor was missing. The third one was of a valley with an azure blue river running through it. The sky was missing here as well. I looked at the fourth and fifth ones. I gasped. It was me. I was sitting on a black leather one-seater couch. It was placed next to an open sliding door and white curtains were blowing on either side of it. In the background, there was a shelf of books and the walls were painted in a deep sea blue. I sat facing the window, my hair in a messy bun on the top of my head. I looked like I was lost in thought. Maybe it was one of those rare moments where Cassandra wouldn’t randomly appear out of nowhere. The stupid bitch. It’s weird how she hasn’t shown up yet. Good. Let her stay in whatever hell she was spawned from. Back to the painting, I wore an oversized grey sweater and black knee-high socks. My legs were bent and I had my arms around them. The painting was so lifelike. The fifth painting was a close-up of me but it wasn’t quite me. I was dressed as an Ancient Egyptian queen. I wore the headdress Nefertiti wears on her bust. I wore a long white robe with gold lining and jewellery fit for a queen. The face was mine but I looked older. Like I was twenty-five, or something. Eww, that is old. Already I’m seventeen…and that’s really old. My lips were curled into a smug smirk and my eyes....they looked like a portal to Hell. It’s understandable. I was born there (*sarcastic laugh*). I touched the painting where I sat on the couch. I looked like I was at peace. I scrunched my eyebrows in thought.

“Who painted these?” I mumbled.

“I did,” a voice startled me and I stumbled backwards. A pair of slender hands gripped my shoulders to steady me. I know that voice, I thought. I turned around. I met a pair of dark blue eyes with grey and gold flecks in them. They looked like they could see through my soul. I knew that pair of eyes from anywhere. I remember seeing them for the first time in the public library. They had stared at me intensely through the shelves, studying me, memorising me.

“Alistair,” I whispered.

I sipped my vanilla toffee flavoured hug-in-a-mug hot chocolate. We sat in the kitchen of the house by the beachside. I stared at Alistair Winters as he mixed his own hot chocolate. The only sound was the waves crashing against the shore and the teaspoon hitting the sides of the mug. I stared at his face as he mixed the hot chocolate. It was calm, mostly blank. If he was embarrassed to be in my presence, then he didn’t show it at all. His eyes suddenly met mine.

“Drink,” he said, gesturing to the mug in my hand. “You must be cold.” He was right. I had goose bumps on my arms and it was chilly outside. I sipped my hot chocolate once more. Silence descended upon us once again. I bit my lip and before I could stop myself, I asked, “How did you see me fall? Were you watching me?” Alistair looked at me through his long black eyelashes for a long time.

“Why did you fall? Were you drunk?” he asked.

“I asked you a question.”

“I asked you a question.” I narrowed my eyes. The guy. Like, seriously? I was about to open my mouth to let out a snide remark when I saw the slight curl at the edge of his mouth. He was actually smirking at me. The guy! He slowly raised the black mug in his hands and took a long sip of his hot chocolate. He set it down. Swallowing, he licked his nicely curved plump lips. Damn. This guy just made my heart skip a beat and I don’t think he realised it.

“I was sitting on the patio in front of the sliding door in my room. That’s when I saw you fall. So, were you drunk?” I sighed and looked at my mug.

“It’s…complicated. I don’t think you’ll understand,” I said. Alistair stared at me for a moment, his blue eyes curious but he didn’t say a word. Instead, he finished off his hot chocolate and took a look at my left hand. “Come. Let’s go re-bandage this.” Before I could say anything, Alistair took my mug and his and set them in the sink.

“I’ll wash them later,” he muttered. At that, he took my right hand and led me out the kitchen. As we walked down the hallway, I observed how the walls were all painted in dark colours. The lounge was a deep sea green, the kitchen was maroon and the walls of the hallway were a dark brown, as if they were dark wood. The ceiling lights were round and small, re-enacting the night sky. Alistair took me to the bathroom. It was big and had black and white marble tiles. The bathtub was round and it stood on its own. The ceiling to floor window looked into the dark forest.

“Bleh,” I cringed. “Why would you want people to see you bath?” Alistair smiled as he gestured for me to sit on the black porcelain toilet seat.

“It’s called a two-way mirror, darling,” said Alistair with a flourish of his wrist.

“You look gay,” I told him with a blank expression. “Don’t do that again.” Alistair smiled once more, showing his teeth slightly. I noticed that they were slightly crooked. So he does have a flaw. He knelt in front of me and took my hand.

“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckled. Up close, I saw that Alistair is quite good-looking. Beautiful, in fact. A boy who has surpassed the ‘hot/handsome/drop-dead-gorgeous’ categories. I stared at the way his long eyelashes casted shadows over his cheekbones; how they fluttered slightly when he blinked. His long fingers moved quickly as they unwrapped the bandage. I curled my lip slightly, jealous at how immaculate his nails are. Does he get manicures or something? Alistair finished unwrapping the bandage and my arm felt a gush of cold air. I sighed. Alistair looked up.

“Feels better?”

“Definitely,” I smiled. Alistair nodded and opened the cabinet above the sink. I noticed that he was fairly tall, just above average. And lanky. But built. That’s right: tall, lanky and built. He took out a small jar no bigger than my hand. It was ointment for bruised tissue muscles. Perfect for the condition of my hand (cue thumbs up and advert-worthy smile). Carefully, Alistair rubbed the ointment onto my skin. It stung slightly but it relieved the pain gradually. He then took out a clean bandage from the cabinet and he started wrapping it around my arm. He did it perfectly; it wasn’t too loose or too tight. Alistair finished it off and clipped a safety pin on to keep it from unravelling. He sighed. I looked at him. He looked at me. He frowned.

“What?” I asked.

“I realised something,” he said, “I don’t know how to say this, but…”

“Go on,” I coaxed.

“When you were unconscious, I, err…”

“Undressed me to put me in new clothes?” I smirked. Alistair turned a deep shade of red, setting off the colour of his eyes. I laughed. “It’s okay. You did what you had to do.”

“Uhm…do you need anything else? I can get you food, a glass of water or juice…?”

“Can I have a bath?” I asked quickly. He blinked. And turned red once again. I held back a laugh.

“Uhm, okay, you must be feeling itchy so…yeah. Sure,” he babbled. “I’ll leave a change of clothes in my room-I mean your room, the one you’re sleeping in. Uhm…I’ll leave you to it, then.” At that, Alistair dashed out of the room in a hurry, obviously glad that he had to leave. I giggled. What a pussy, I thought. I turned on the hot water and I carefully took off the shirt I wore. I winced. I looked down and remembered that I had a bandage around my waist. And the only way a person can bath with a bandage like that is when they need help. God help me. I did a face palm and swore. I forgot about the one on my forehead. Now I have to call Alistair. But he’s so shy, I thought. He didn’t have a problem with undressing you though… That’s true. I pursed my lips and inhaled.

“Alistair!” I called. “A little help here?”