Linked (On-Hold)

02: Into the Present

02: Into the Present

I woke up gasping for air. I tried to even my breathing by calming myself while holding my chest. I tried to concentrate and seek help from my family, but I quickly jumped off my bed when I realized something. I hastily ran outside and checked every room that we have, opening even the cabinets, the spaces under the bed, and even the places we use to play hide and seek.

"Mother? Father? Grandma?" I called in fear. I was shaking badly. My body's barely grasping the little strength I have after waking up.

"Daxton? Damon? Damien?" I shouted their names. My hand was shaking while opening the doors. I ran to the kitchen and checked under the table, hoping that they're just playing with me.

"This isn't funny anymore. Come on, please don't hide!" I was pacing back and forth. My eyes were starting to water, my breath hitching.

I held my hand and dusts in golden colors started sprouting from my hands. It scattered in the air as I blew it, flying all over the house, tracing the figures it touches.

"This isn't real. This isn't real. You are not alone, Dahl." I said, comforting myself as I checked every corner of our home.

"They're just out. Maybe you were sleeping soundly that they decided not to wake you up."

And I chanted the words, this isn't real. I am not alone once more.

I breathed uniformly, telling myself to inhale and exhale, counting numbers in my head just to calm me. For hours, I spent my time in the living room trying to control my emotions.

Until it hit me.

I was waiting for hours. I waited for hours. The sound of my surrounding was different. The air was never the same. The swaying of trees, the crackles of the branches as it fell to the ground... they were never the same.

I started sobbing uncontrollably. I gripped my clothes on the chest and shouted all my frustrations, letting the emotions I was trying to suppress to get out. Hot tears continuously flow from my eyes with the searing pain in my heart dividing me to pieces.

I am alone.

My family has not returned. Their traces in this household, their footprints and handprints could not be seen anywhere. Even the familiar beating of their hearts is lost.

I fell to the ground still holding my chest. Tears were still flowing from my eyes, wetting the wooden floor of our home. I held my hand in the air and let the dusts flow for the last time.

But the outcome never changed. Only my traces remained.

I sat on the window and stared blankly at the trees. The forest was thicker. The place houses silence, quieter than before. The wind was colder, and no breathing within the limited hearing radius of my ears.

Our household was surrounded by denser trees. The dusts covering everything were also thicker, a reminder that it never housed any living creature for years. Our garden became enormous, with large plants and herbs pointing to the sky. Even the vines creeping between them has bigger radius and longer thorns, healthier and stronger that it has ever been.

I inhaled deeply and slumped on the floor exhaustedly. My body has lost all its energy. My mind has given up thinking as it made me lose my thoughts, leaving only a blank canvass inside my head.

Fighting my heavy eyelids, my eyes roamed the room once more. Every little details of the past night were still there. From the hat, the dishes, the throw pillows. Everything.

I held my breath with eyes stinging once again. The bareness of this house made me feel lonelier.

With a heavy heart, I let my consciousness fall into the void with my hand touching the floor, and my dust strengthening the barrier of this household.