UnderInsanity // II au

[[CHAPTER ONE: A Legend]]

 [[*LIGHTBULBS perspective]]
        I've always loved old stories. The old tales of magic and wonder always sparked interest in me. I mean, who wouldnt prefer stories of eggs falling off walls and breaking... maybe not that one... or the one about the little pig! He built such a nice house, and then witnessed the death of two of his... brothers... Ah, well, maybe they arent all as nice in hindsight, but I was always attatched to them as a child going into adulthood. My favorite was always the one about the objects with fragile souls- the weirder creatures whose souls were all white and who had diverse magical abilities. I always felt bad for them. At the end, they got stuck underground at a mountain near my old town, but for what?! Allegedly, they didnt even start the war!

          Recently, I came back to my childhood home for a weekend and decided to go back and visit the old mountain in the fairy tale. I guess others would have gone to their old highschool or friends' houses, but most others found me too childish for my age, even when I was young, so I didnt have many good memories of either. I smiled as I looked upon the grand mountain and began my hike alone up the trail. Once I had moved, I had tried to keep myself around people so that my more out-there personality could blend in with others, but it was nice to be alone for once. After around half an hour of treading up the path, I found myself at the top. Looking down, there was a valley full of trees and flowers. The sun began to set, and the warm colors hugged the horizon of cool green. It felt too breathtaking for the run down city.

After a moment, I took a step forward in a blinded stupor. My footing fell under some pebbles, and I felt myself falling forwards. I quickly fell on my behind instead, stopping any chances of sliding forward, but it took a bit of wind out of me. I chuckled it off- people had always told me I was clumsy! 

After I had taken a minute to breathe, I turned to the cave nearby. I'm sure most people would have seen the sun going down and the near death experience and turned back, but I felt curious. When I was young, my parents warned me never to go in there- I guess a bunch of stupid kids played around in there and went missing a little while after. I smiled to myself and looked around quickly, before scampering in like a child trying not to be spotted by an adult.

Scanning the cave, it looked plain and boring. That being said, I couldnt see much anyhow. Across the cavern, I noticed something glimmer. Curiosity took over me, and I started walking over without much caution for where I wa-

Snap!

I felt a plant break beneath my feet, and I stumbled forward. Before I could register what had happened, I felt air whoosh beneath me, and found myself falling. I knew, subconciously, that I was in danger, but I liked the feeling of the air carrying me. I shut my eyes and gave a small, uncomfortable laugh before passing out.

"Is she alright?"
"I know as much as you do!"

My head was throbbing as I came to. My body was sore, and for a moment I considered going back to sleep. The ground beneath me was soft, but every little blade of grass that touched my body seemed to send a jolt of pain through it. Eventually, I forced my eyes opened and pulled myself up. In front of me, two red cherries were floating midair, staring at me for a second before jumping back in surprise. They were somewhat seethrough and hovered above the air.  The fruits had matching heart lockets and I noticed a missing tooth in one's grimace. Despite my uncomfortable situation, I gave a small smile.

"Eugh.. Hello!" I chirped, trying to keep positive. The one on the left raised an eyebrow. 

"Are you okay? You were down for like, a day." It said softly, looking concerned. I glanced past the cracking marble pillars surrounding me and looked up. I could faintly see light shining down on me from above, from somewhere far, far above. I stared up with my mouth wide open.

"Huh..."

I looked back at the cherries with a small shrug. The one on the left sighed. I got up slowly, spinning to look around at the pillars with a dazed expression as the other two discussed. Suddenly, I heard a sickening crunch and felt a sharp pain in my foot. I jumped slightly before kneeling down to check out what it was. Nestled among the foliage and flowers was a piece of glass, lightly tinted yellow with a deep red on one of the sides. Terrified, I put a hand to the top of my skull, to feel cracks and indents in my glass. While looking for the spot where the glass was missing, I felt a bit of soft plastic.

"We saw you were missing a bit of glass, so we tried to help cover it up!" The one with the missing tooth giggled. "When we were alive, we always had bandages hidden around. Our siblings usually ended up hurting each other or running into walls constantly.

"So, are you ghosts, or?" I said, still trying to register what was happening. The fruits shrugged. 

"We think so! No clue at the moment. We havent been able to leave these flowers, and we're kinda.. Floaty, now. " Right answered. 
"But we have found we can carry small objects!" Left piped in.

I stood up once more, smiling. "Well, I'll tell you whats ahead." They grinned brightly and as I turned to walk down the darkened corridor, I heard one of them give a small exclamation. I turned back around to see them floating a few feet off of the flower bed, looking astonished, as a smile grew on their faces.