vile

prologue

I was a lucky girl.

I lived in a castle, and I wore the prettiest white gowns.

The garden is blooming and full of life and the flowers were in colors I loved.

Servants greeted me every time they passed me with a cheerful "Good morning, Jewel!"

Every morning, I drink the most delicious smoothie. I get to dance to my favorite songs. I paint and crochet the nicest things.

I have deep conversations with the oldest servant, Mister Stein, who has the keenest interest to know how I'm doing.

At the end of day, I take a shower and a servant brings me a hot cup of tea and talks to me until I fall into a peaceful slumber.

And the best thing about this?

I get to spend every perfect day with the love of my life, Auri.

He is the first one I see every morning as soon as I open my eyes. He talks to me while we breakfast. We danced together. He praises my art. He keeps me safe and sound. He holds and kisses me and makes me laugh.

He is the last one I see before I fall asleep.

Mister Stein likes Auri, too. He often asks me about him.

"What did Auri say about your painting, Jewel?"

"He liked it", I smiled, proudly.

"What exactly did he say?"

I tilted my head, confused. "I don't know. He just liked it."

"But how do you know?"

"Because he told me so. Why wouldn't he like it?"

"Are you sure he said it? Or do you think that he would say it if he really was here?"

I didn't answer, too baffled by his question. "What do you mean?"

"It's been 3 months and you barely made any progress. I'm worried about your health."

"Why are you worried? I'm fine, Mister Stein. I feel good. I'm happy."

"Don't listen to him, Pearl", Auri mumbled, who sat on the chair next to me. "I think he doesn't know what he is saying."

"You don't know what you are saying."

Mister Stein bit on the end of his pencil, pondering. "Did Auri tell you that?"

I shook my head.

We looked at each other for a few moments, the heaviness of this silence making it difficult for me to stay focused.

"You look tired, Pearl." Auri reached out to hold my hand. "Do you want a break?"

"Yes, please."

"What?" Mister Stein looked at me.

"I want a break", I repeated.

"Alright, Jewel. Get rest and until tomorrow."

I spent the rest of the day lying in bed, utterly exhausted.

"Is everything alright, Jewel?", a servant, who brought me my tea, asked me concerned.

"I don't know. I don't feel anything."

"Let me get someone who can help you." The servant hurried out of my room, and I looked after her, realizing only now that all of them wore the same light blue uniform.

Has it always been like that? I wondered as I slowly got up from my bed and shuffled to the table where my tea was.

I was about to take a sip but Auri, who sat on the windowsill, stopped me. "You know that they put sleeping pills in it. So, why do you keep drinking it?"

I didn't answer. I just stared at him as he came closer, step for step.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you talking? Are you giving me the silent treatment again, Pearl?" He placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face the long mirror that hung on the white wall.

Since when did the wall look so shabby?

"Auri, can I ask you something?" My white gown created a stark contrast to his black clothes. I looked to his neck where I could partly see his silver necklace.

"Always, Pearl."

"Why are you always wearing the same clothes?"

Surprisingly, that caused him to laugh out loud.

I chuckled, nervously. "What's so funny?"

"Pearly, you do know that I'm not real, right?"

In response, I chugged the cup against the mirror, aimed against his face, and the porcelain and the glass exploded to thousands of shards, and I screamed and screamed until I lost voice.

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Doing that infamous mistake where authors publish two stories at the same time and then finish neither of them.