Precious as the Stars... Part 2

Precious as the Stars

Chapter 2

In the beginning, it was dark. Oh so horribly dark and I just shivered at the thought. "I want light!" I yelled out, and there was light. Then, there were disco balls. Yes, disco balls, all round and light and glittering in the light. It was a strange feeling, I must confess, floating there in the void with nothing but light… and disco balls.

I know my mind is strange, filled with odd thoughts of food, music and yes… disco balls. Unfortunately, floating in an empty space devoid of anything but the glittering spheres is not very comfortable. It gets lonely after a while. That was when salvation came. Yes! I was saved! From the confines of my mind, a small white bunny popped into existence in my arms. I couldn't help but squeal in glee!

Yes, with my pet named fluffy, I would rule my empty world of disco balls with an iron fist. I got bored after a while, and I started to feel some pain on my wrists. I must have been getting old, having nothing to do but laugh evilly at some unfortunate disco ball that I erased from existence through some sort of convoluted scheme that more often than not involved stalking my prey.

I became insane after a while, and then I got tired of that and became sane. I became so sane that I began to hallucinate. I began to feel as though I was tied to a chair, muffled, gagged and drugged. It all became truly, horribly and entirely true when my little world of shining, shimmering and splendid disco balls vanished into darkness.

I woke up in dimly lit room save for a sorry excuse for a candle which looked more or less like a haphazardly shaped lump of wax with a guttering flame. I heard dripping in the distance, although I couldn't tell where it was from or what it was from. The place smelled like old gym clothes with some sort of strange musk. I was bound, but fortunately, not gagged. My wrists! Oh my poor, poor wrists that at that moment chose to hurt like hell drove me crazy. Well, that didn't really matter. I missed my disco balls…

I know what you're thinking, I woke up in a dismal place with obviously bad plumbing and an insufficient budget to buy the stereotypical swinging lamp of an interrogation room, and people who apparently didn't mind the smell much and all I could think about was my small world of disco balls. It didn't really matter much because soon enough, all thoughts of torturing the living daylight out of disco balls were driven out of my head. I was laughing and crying at the same time, in pain fuelled frenzy.

I felt the steaming trails of tears running down my cheeks. I strained to wipe my face because it really was uncomfortable but I couldn't move my arms. It took some time of fervent struggling before I managed to fray the cord binding my wrists. Finally having the freedom to move my arms, I wiped the tears from my cheeks. By golly, I think that was the biggest mistake I ever made. As soon as the salty droplets made contact with my scarred wrists, the pain flared and my vision fogged as more tears gathered in my eyes. The incident left me whimpering, hands lying limply by my sides. I guessed that I would have to find a way out of the room somehow.

Then it came to me, I would use the chair as a battering ram to get through the door should I find it. I grinned wildly, a feral light in my eyes. I searched frantically until I finally saw that line of light that was a sure as daylight sign that there was a door there. My breast swelled with hope and I tried to leap with my chair as high as I could. Only to double over in pain as I discovered, the hard way, that the chair was bolted tightly to the floor.

"I would rather have my world of disco balls than this!" I yelled rather hoarsely. When I heard myself, I couldn't help but laugh, I sounded like this black-masked, light-stick wielding warrior from a movie I had watched. I rasped, in amusement, "Luke… I am your father!"

I laughed. Yes, I laughed. In captivity and extreme pain, I managed to laugh like there was no tomorrow. Well, it was all I had to hold on to, anyway. I did have one resounding question in my head. "Who coined the phrase 'laughter is the best medicine'? I have a word or two for him…" In my case, it definitely was a great psychological upper, but my sides felt like they were being ripped open when I laughed. It was a strange mix of happiness, despair, anger and melancholy that regrettably felt normal. I had been through much the same when I left someone special many a year ago. That old pain returned and it really drove me to tears this time. I couldn't help it, I felt so guilty for that time. Any thoughts of humor began to ebb from my mind as depression started setting in.

Was it my fault? It was a question I thought I had asked myself countless times before. I always knew the answer was no. After all, my parents were the ones that brought me abroad and only recently allowed me back. A small part of me though, still thought that no matter what reason I have, I will always think that I was to blame. I began to sob and I buried my face in my palms, not minding the burning sensation of the tears dripping into the raw wounds. The despair had finally set in and I didn't like it. Not one bit.

I felt like a jolt of electricity coursed through my spine when I heard the door creak open. I prayed it was someone coming to rescue me, but I felt it was just my captor. Hastily, I put my arms behind my back and made whimpering noises. It was humiliating, but through the painful memories, it was all too natural. I heard an evil cackle from the silhouette that stood in the doorway, the hunched form so reminiscent of witches from classical stories. I felt my hair stand on end as I tried to discern the woman's face. It just had to be a woman, I thought I knew that voice. I thought I knew that figure.

I shivered as I heard it speak in a long drawling voice. The witch's high pitched voice rang in my ears. I immediately tried to discern exactly who it was, but I could not. I hung my head in defeat.

"Welcome home, Elle… I hope you enjoy your stay!" With that, the door swung shut.