City of the Dead

Chapter 5

I have no idea what possessed me to sleep in this frightening place. Maybe it's because of exhaustion, maybe it's because I'm crazy, or maybe it's because this is the most comfortable bed that I've ever slept in.

My room is much nicer than the dungeon I expected it to be. I have a soft, warm bed with blue silk covers and too many pillows to count, a furry carpet, a closet full of clothes that aren't exactly my style but are very pretty, a dresser with makeup and perfume scattered on the top, a bookshelf full of books, and a window that gives me a wonderful view of the bright moon and city below. It was everything that I could hope for in a bedroom. With all of this luxury, I hardly feel like a prisoner. Technically I am not, I'm free to move around, but I am not free to leave either.

This is very nice but I won't make the mistake of getting too comfortable here. A prison is a prison, no matter how nice it is. Though I have to admit this prison is a hundred times better than my last one. There I didn't have a room or a bed, just a cold spot on a rough wooden floor.

I remind myself of a bird in a cage. Always trapped, always forced to sing, always alone. I used to have a little bird in a cage once. I kept that bird and cared for him until the day he died. Now I know how he felt all that time. I wonder if this is payback for what I did to him. I wonder if I am going to die in this place like my bird died.

"Well, I've done an excellent job of depressing myself." I say as I stare up at the ceiling.

I doubt that I could go back to sleep now that my thoughts were running wildly around in my mind. I think I might explore my new prison instead. I get up out of bed, quietly slip on my shoes and a robe, and head out of my room.

I cautiously begin to wander the halls, taking in every detail that I can. If I am going to be stuck here forever, I might as well explore. As I tiptoe through the halls, I pass many interesting artifacts. Shiny multicolored stones and crystals stood on marble pedestals, assorted staffs and wands sat in glass cases, other objects that I could not identify float in the air and glow bright colors, and maps of unknown worlds hung on the walls. I wonder where all of these things came from?

I continue my self-tour and end up wandering into a huge library with a vast number of books and an enormous garden. I fail to try and open any doors during my exploration to avoid running into Delphine or any other monsters or witches.

I slowly start to feel tired and decide to head back to my room. It had been at least an hour since I left my room and I'm not anywhere close to seeing this entire place. As I make the journey back to my room something interesting catches my eye. It's a tree. The large tree stands on its own in a separate room. Moonlight shines from the stained glass ceiling above gleaming on the tree's soft white petals and making them twinkle like stars.

I immediately feel drawn to the beautiful tree. I don't think that it's magic that draws me here. This tree feels so familiar to me. I sit under the tree and suddenly it comes to me. This is a similar type of tree to the one I used to sit under every day. The longer I sit under here the more I start to calm and lean further against the tree. The white petals fall from the tree and look like fresh snowfall. It's beautiful. It's so funny how things turned out for me in the end. I spent all my time under a tree like this picking flowers and wishing to be anywhere but Aston and now I sit under a similar tree begging to go home.

I wonder what is happening at home. Has life in Aston chosen to go on without me? How are Nichole and my parents? Do my parents mourn their lost daughter, do they sit and wait for my possible return? Or have they decided to forget me like everyone else? All this thinking must have been good for my sleep after all. My eyelids begin to feel heavy and I quickly fall asleep under the tree.