OUT OF THE TUBE & INTO THE BATH

Denseless Scribble

18 August, 2018

My initial reaction when encountering an abridgment of a classic in literature is schizophrenic and existential. I begin to question reality and myself. Wondering if the book I read as a child appeared bigger or to have more pages, because I was smaller in size? I quickly forget my sudden voyage into The Twilight Zone as I spot a book cover with pretty colors. "Look, Maxine! It has cobalt and purple!"

Because priorities.

Just a typical day, all is well again with the world.

Perhaps I should add a story below.
***********

On a beautiful Saturday morning, Eloise Planecou, frolicked through a field of flowers. With sun-kissed curly tendrils that reflected specks of gold twinkling like miniature stars placed on silky hair, she jumped and ran, stepping on the occasional flower. Laughter cut through the air melodiously. It was like—

She stopped for a second and stared. "Oh, not another simile! Can you please stop it with the lyrical style? You're giving me a dreadful headache."

Sorry. Eloise was fifteen years old and like most—

"What did I say?" She screamed.

That wasn't going to be another simile? It was going to be a simple comparison.

"Isn't that what a simile is?"

Yes and no. A simile is a comparison of two different things or objects, I was going to compare two similar things. Though my connecting word was 'like', it also wasn't in the metaphorical sense either. May I continue?

She sighed heavily. "Go on ..."

As I was saying.

She was a teenager, and like most teenagers, tended to be prone to bouts of mood swings. Wait a second! If I'm speaking in past tense, how is it exactly that you're speaking to me as if it's the present, when you're in the past?

"How the hell should I know? I believe this is a conversation best left for Einstein?"

Eloise never bothered herself with complex questions about the universe and reality. She lived a simple life with simple pleasures, and preferred simple narrations.

Once tired, she threw herself on the grass. When she looked up to the sky, she observed slow moving clouds that morphed into various shapes. A nearby plant swung to the wind and its berries gently brushed against her cheek. Annoyed by the continuous sensation, she slapped it away and caused it to break in two. The clouds entertained her for a brief moment, until she stretched while yawning and settled herself for a nap.

Something moist landed on her eyelid. Jerked violently out of her slumber, she quickly sat up and looked around.

It was nighttime and rain sporadically poured out from the clouds. The drops increased, falling faster and pelting her continuously. It quickly came down with more intensity before she could react. Running through the field, she made her way to the little village she lived at.

The village seemed to be abandoned and looked like no one had lived there for decades. Few buildings remained with bricks missing, walls crumbling down and only one had a roof that was somewhat intact. A mist covered the ground. For some reason not entirely understood—other than for the sake of added dramatics—a wolf howled in the distance, despite the fact that there had not been a wolf sighting in the area for over one hundred years.

"Mom!" She called out and approached her cottage. The sound echoed throughout the village. Nervously, she called out to her mother again, but there was no answer.

While standing at the entrance, a jagged piece of brick fell from the upper side of the wall. It skipped and rotated as it bounced around before landing at her feet. With a trembling hand, she reached for it, but it rolled away.

Clasping both hands, she began to speak to herself.

"Maybe I ran in the wrong direction? Get ahold of yourself, there's a logical explanation for this. There has to be!" Her breath hitched and she tried to compose herself.

When she reached out to touch the jagged edge of the wall, it shook like gelatine. Rolling her eyes, she tried again. It shook once more before it began to crack and rumble. The wall eventually collapsed. Rubble crunched and tumbled all around.

"Ok, I'm going to die if I enter aren't I? This building is going to kill me. It'll crush me into oblivion and no one is ever going to find me! If they do; I'll probably be a skeleton by then; with a wide, gaping jaw; open with my last scream and an arm extended forward as I was fighting for my life!"

Panicked, she turned and ran from the doorway, but tripped on her foot. Arms flailed in the air. She slammed face first into the ground.

"Ugh." Lifting herself and rolling to the side, she sat for a moment. Blowing away the strands of hair that fell on her face, she asked: "It's because I'm white isn't it?"

She glared. Well, seems to be the only one that trips and falls in horror movies?

Suddenly, the ground began to sink. Desperately trying to move her arms out of the soil, she found herself unable to break free and sank faster the more she struggled.

"Crap! You're actually killing me?!?" She screamed and hyperventilated. "Help me!"

Only her echo answered: "Me, me, me!"

With all her strength, she fought against the ground's hold.

"Eloise!" A woman called.

"Help me!"

"Eloise snap out of it! You've reached the end of the session." It was Dr. Jayme.

"What happened?" Eloise asked.

"You zoned out all of a sudden, while one of the other patients was talking about their recuperation. Have you been taking your medication?"

"I'm going to need a second here."

"It's ok, take your time." Dr. Jayme walked away to speak to an orderly. They spoke in hushed tones, but Eloise heard everything.

"I think we need to increase her dosage. Also, we need to remove her afternoon outdoor privileges."

"I'm not crazy! I don't belong here! I don't even know how I got here!"

"Shhh, there, there! Everything's going to be all right." Cautiously, they approached her.

"No! Get away from me!" Eloise tried to stand, but they restrained her before she could lift herself from the chair.

"We need a tranquilizer here!" Dr. Jayme ordered. Another orderly ran out of the room. "Calm down Eloise. You're going to hurt yourself."

"No, I want to go back home! I want to go back to my village!" She shook violently. There was a prick—in fact, there were two—on her arm, as she tried to free herself from their grasp. "I was running around in a field ... of flowers ... and the clouds ... they were beaut—"

"She's asleep. Take her to her room."

The orderlies nodded and carefully dragged her away.

Eloise Planecou, lives a simple life with simple pleasures, as patient number thirty-five at the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum.

Next time, maybe she'll ask nicely.