Between The Myrtles: Episode 1

Episode 1:

What’s in a name?

There’s something about the way the air smells. It’s sweeter than anything I’ve ever smelt in my life. I think.

“Ooh,” my head feels like I’ve dunked beneath the surface of a vat of warm cream. Come to think of it. I hear nothing but a steady pitter-patter all around me, and even that’s muted.

I feel cozy and so so uncomfortably vulnerable all at once.

You’ll be okay. A chipper voice echoed through the space around me as I bounced around between sleep and wakefulness like shrapnel inside a bullet-proof vest.

The image of what that would look like entered my mind immediately—disrupting the thick quiet with its explosive, less than pleasant picture.

Yuck. Stop it. The voice resounded again, wiping the slate clean again. Follow me. It suggested quietly.

And as soon as I’d heard it, it disappeared, leaving me second-guessing what I’d heard when suddenly, a new sensation crept over, in, and then through me. Uncertain. You feel uncertain.

Interesting. I soaked in the meaning as my external environment started to stir and move me. Something pricked against my outer shell, sending a violent shiver to ripple through me in waves.

Cold… The thought followed the sensation. Cold. I repeat it. It sounded right. Lifeless, lacking warmth. I watched the image of a blazing fire blown out in a flash. Okay. Got it.

Beatrice. The word danced melodically over a gust of… I paused to think. Wind, yes, that’s what it was! The draft fell hard against my skin. Blowing more cold over me.

Beeeeeeeatrice. The disembodied voice seemed to laugh at my discomfort. The chilling breeze danced in little eddies over my outside mischievously, as if it were playing on a grassy field.

A beautiful splash of color washed over my insides, bringing to mind melodies and laughter. Memories. The word offered a sense of clarity to the scenes.

Home. It felt right as the phantom of foreign memories faded from me, leaving me in the dark surrounded in… Grass? My hands were the first body part to wake up. They touched and then grabbed a tuft of the stuff to confirm.

Yup, you got it—cold, grass. The thought confirmed.

The wind flung my hair, whipping it over the surface of my face.

I imagined a child’s face, staring out at me with huge green eyes and otherwise small features surrounding and highlighting them. Trees, equal safety. She pointed past me, and when I tried to follow the direction, there was only darkness.

The thought seemed to shake me closer to consciousness, sending a ripple through my world.

Earthquake?… The word offered, an image of mass destruction followed.

No. I confirmed as I started to stir externally. It felt like what I imagine a butterfly struggling against its cocoon might. My eyes and my mind were still swimming behind schedule.

Something else was happening. The ground underneath my limp body was trembling. It was silently quaking. Sounds surrounding me seemed muffled. My eyes still refused to open. A million little pins were pricking into my outside at once. Over and over. The rhythm is relentless.

I couldn’t tell what I heard through the thick milky sleep consuming me, fighting against the urge to keep them safe from the surroundings, a new sensation took form. The reality, yup, feels right. The reality of the situation struck me right between the eyes. Keeping them shut wouldn’t keep me protected from anything. Choosing to keep my eyes closed would allow the million little pricks to win!

On that note, I blinked, rising from the creamy darkness I’d fallen into at some point. My eyes opened up to see a vast stretch of green. Green everywhere. My insides were stuck swirling between feeling at home and like a total alien to everything.

I couldn’t see through the torrential rain. It fell in thick torrents to slap me, like, a hand made of tiny cold pins. Suddenly the sensation hurt less. Somehow knowing what is assaulting me makes me feel less attacked and more in need of cover.

Looking around, I see little rivers of something that don’t seem to be moving. Sidewalks. The word traveled through my mind as my curiosity peaked.

Strange, but it fits. I sat up more fully and pulled myself weakly to my hands and knees. They all felt odd to me. Gummy and grabby. I tested them out. Each extension did what it was told. One after another, but I feel like an avatar for some reason. A synthetic replication of something, better.

And as suddenly as I’d started digging my grubby grabbers into the dirt. They began to feel normal. Like they’d always been the way they had.

I slowly made my way to my feet, and the moment I stood, the wind picked up. I swayed back and forth a little at first, but my base took root and remained upright despite the natural force pushing against me.

I can do this. I wiped the building moisture from my eyelashes which sent me into a blinking frenzy until I thought to place a hand above my eyes, shielding them from the downpour.

Everything is grey and green and wet. For some reason, it seems to be getting darker by the second.

The contrast of all the sensations pouring over and through me is turning into a blurry mess. I can hear myself trying to catch my breath, and suddenly, I feel every ounce of the pressure while fighting for the oxygen my chest feels hungry for.

Slow down. Deeper. Breathe deep. The thought struck me. Feeling inspired, I closed my eyes, sucking in fast and long until I felt so full I might explode.

Good. Now let go. I released. My lips, acting as the mouth of an overfilled balloon deflating. Suddenly, the world made more sense with my eyes closed than open. I feel like melting. Falling into a heap and just staying put.

Cover. The word drifted in.

I opened my eyes again over another breath. I have to admit. After a few more and a glance around, I felt a little silly. The million tiny pinpricks I’d imagined were drops of water, the most benevolent element in existence, and here I’d been quivering over it.

Find shelter. The guiding thought resonated with something like a warning. I felt my ears perk at the notion of potential danger. Even the word seemed undesirable.

Why? I asked back. The silent reply seemed natural as my eyes grazed over my surroundings. The streams of sidewalk seemed to snake through the grass in all directions at some points, barely visible, only to resurface further down the way.

I followed each back to the central vein, which fell closest to my feet. I reached out a toe and touched its rough lifeless surface, and pulled it away just as quickly.

I followed it over my shoulder and turned to follow it in the direction once behind me.

I followed the sidewalk with my eyes. Further along the path, it formed a ‘T’ with another vein. The two spread apart in either direction out of my view.

Beyond them was a broad, dark river of the same unmoving element, only this one had white lines and yellow stripes of some kind to mark it.

Asphalt. And, because you are naked, you can’t understand. You don’t know this place yet. Follow my lead. The nonsense thought rang in loud and clear. So clear, I had to look all around me to verify it had come from inside it. As if offering confirmation, it repeated; Test me if you wish, but I suggest you find cover.

I stretched out my hands to catch the element falling from the sky. My open palm tickled as each exploded into it, coming together in little pools that grew. I watched, mesmerized.

A deep rumble thundered around me. I could feel its power beneath my feet though it seemed it had come from the heavy clouds above.

The unrelenting wet beat down over everything, the wind blew through the grass so sharply tiny droplets pelted me.

Little bumps had formed all over me. And what I thought I remembered always looking pink and healthy had a blue tint to its paleness. I lifted an arm closer to my eyes to confirm before passing my fingers across it. The texture was less than smooth. And it was cold. I shivered to express the idea further.

Okay. Okay, I think I’m starting to get the hang of this. It’s cold, and apparently, I don’t handle it well. My eyes glanced around until a huddle of strange trees with tiny white bursts all over their leafy green tops.

Cover. I thought.

The image of a tree without leaves formed— naked tree.

I watched the image of the tree blossoming and producing green buds which turned to blooming leaves, and among them sprouted beautiful flowers of all colors and shades and varieties. The blooms then turned to fruit, and the vision of myself picking one close to me and enjoying it popped to reveal a single word. Cover.

I get it! I was a naked tree. I needed to find my covering so I wouldn’t be exposed any further to the elements currently dominating and injuring me. My teeth started chattering in a way I’d never experience that I can remember anyway.

Okay. Things are starting to make more sense. Don’t go making them more complicated again. I commanded. I demanded my bare. Naked feet ‘take me to the bundle of trees just out of our eyes reach.’ figuring that since I didn’t have a cover yet, I could at least find shelter within theirs.

Reasoning in place, my feet rushed to comply. I flew over the swampy grass, barely phased by the same heavy rainfall that had nearly frozen me in place when I’d first come too.

The trees grew larger until the little grove loomed above me. I stopped at the entrance. Hesitating. Bushes taller than my frame blocked my way.

Well, maybe I’m not meant to go this way. The idea lamented, convincing me of its rightness. But if not this way, then where? My chest thumped relentlessly.

That’s your heart, little dove. Remember your breathing. I nodded, catching myself in the middle of a spiral that would have led me to a pile on the ground once more.

I looked back down the knoll toward the concrete stream, racing motionless in all directions. Maybe if I follow that, I will find. Cover. As far as I saw in both directions, nothing along its seams screamed safety to me.

Trust me, the trees. Go to the trees. Now I know I’d heard the whisper on the wind. I swung back to face the bushes. The wind shifted and swayed their leaves, exposing a break in the underbrush. I leaped in. The warmth started returning. I could feel it blazing in my cheeks as I left the mayhem behind me.

I rustled and wrestled through the lush underbrush until I came into the clearing beyond them. It was. Breathtaking. I traveled over the canopy.

If I hadn’t already been outside the peaceful grove, the still underbelly of the trees might have deceived me.

By the look of everything within, the world seemed at ease and barely bothered.

Be still. Breathe. I could hear the mantra rustling through the leaves swaying and singing around me. My feet stumbled over a stray root, and I let myself tuck and roll into the soft display.

The blades tickled against my outer shell. I brushed a hand over my arm.

Who are you? I asked, closing my eyes again.

A soft breeze tucked a tuft of hair away from my face. Something wet was dripping from the end of my nose. I wiped it on the back of my hand. I was sniffling in through it to dispose of the remainder of it.

Oh, that smells. So good.

The air around me was full of the sweet aroma that had first greeted me as I’d come awake. I opened my eyes and peered into the warm green glow flowing through the thick canopy extending in all directions.

Little bursts of white filled the green, speckling across its entirety.

Little Bea, do you remember anything of where you’ve come from? I glanced through the leaves, pondering. The images and visions I’d seen earlier came to mind fuzzily. I squinted into them, really trying to gather the details.

My effort fizzled and spit until it went out completely. My shoulders drooped. Not really. I released the thought back. Waiting for whatever might come in response to it.

The solid ground at my back was comforting. I soaked in the lack of wet. I suddenly felt as if I might fall asleep.

The cozy colors and vivid foreign scenes followed me as my eyes started fluttering under the weight of exhaustion. “Home” My voice crackled and cracked through the silence as I heard myself speak.

That’s right. Home. Beatrice, please listen to me closely. I nodded as I drifted into the creamy thick sleep I’d first come from.

“mmm” was the only thing that made it out of my mouth.

Whatever you do, come to me. Consider me home.

I found the sing-song voice in my head reassuring. I will assist you.

You’re here for a reason, and nothing is as it seems, Beatrice. It continued as I drifted into the quiet.

My eyes closed to the snowy starburst flowers, and I fell into a deep sleep.

To be continued.