I brought nothing with me excluding the clothes, which clung like a wet towel to my back and the sodden picture of my parents that could never leave my side. The road I took that night was lit at first, though I could see in the distance the street lights beginning to fade before finally extinguishing beyond my line of vision.
As I tramped my grubby trainers were rubbing against one another. I entertained myself by jumping over drain-covers. It was only after trying to skip over the third drain-cover did I stumbled, scraping my hands and tearing my dark chequered shirt, noticing as I picked myself up that my laces had become undone. Whilst tying my once white laces with my bloody fingers; a strong being came over me, talking to me in some ancient language which I couldn’t understand, though I felt the essence was urging me to go on, knotting my laces I got up and continued.
As the streetlights left me in the distance I had to make do with just natural light, which in retrospect was unusually bright for so early in the morning. I put it down to plain ignorance, as at the time I thought nothing of it; carelessly wandering into some trees I hadn’t noticed before.
I turned into the sombre woodland with fear leaping upon me in a flicker, instantly I noticed the scurrying sounds coming at me from all directions. My nerves began to quiver and although I wanted to clamp onto something for sheer support, I was too afraid. Afraid that some inhuman creatures might attack me as they slither crudely down the trees, which I had thought better of leaning against.
I kept wandering forward; what I perceived at the time was aimlessly, tripping and stumbling as I did. I searched for underbrush where it might be safe to rest but changed my mind as I saw the sun begin to rise steeply in front of me, blinding me as I continued my long gruelling hike. I knew at that moment for the first time in my life I was truly alone.
The adrenalin had taken hold, giving me the confidence to keep going, and I then found myself miles away from where I used to rest my head. Light then entirely engulfed this once dark and mysterious woodland, and I could see for the first time where it was I’d been walking. The inhuman creatures, which had seemed so fierce the night before now but a mere whisper in the bushes, and of what I could see of the sky; the day was perfect for starting my new adventure. With all the walking though that would have to wait, as I was weary, feeling the sense of my body giving way with every step.
I decided to sleep in a diminutive cave I’d discovered about a half-mile back from where I’d come. Thinking as I did how I felt like one of the Lost Boys from Peter Pan – imagining it was a fairy tale made being there not seem so much like running away and in fact more like escaping. Yet I was calm and relaxed, not regretting for a moment leaving.
My feet scrapped the ground sending a sharp pain up both my legs, the splintered bones tore at my clothes, blood gushed out of my wounds awakening me like some over-lived nightmare, my head ached as a warm liquid ran down my face into my petrified eyes with excruciating agony. My heart was racing faster than ever as the foul smelling beast dragged me deeper and deeper into the secluded woods, gouging my back on twigs and fallen branches as it took me close t...to...OH MY GOD!
The burnished silver corners of what looked like a picture frame was all I could see at first and yet as soon as I saw it an incredible sensation surged up my body, sending shivers down my spine. The physical torment blocking out much of the previous anguish from my journey, similar to that I felt upon entering the woods. The grumbling beast that wrenched me to this part of, what I was almost sure of, was heathland I could see clearer now despite blacking out every few seconds.
The beast was in fact not a beast at all (well not by all accounts) it had long greasy hair like fur, and having the most hideous smell standing nearly seven feet tall as it bare down on me noticing as it did it’s more humane aspect. It was clear in my mind, despite the falling sun, that it was a cruelly neglected old man. Still strong enough though to drag me almost two miles, it must have taken a lot out of him, because to look at him you wouldn’t have deemed it possible. It seemed to me like he did it with his last ounce of strength.
Had I wanted to I could have fled, I know I could, but a greater force was now upon me pleading with me to stay. I obliged taking destiny with my bloody hands. The man took me with both anger and fear in his eyes, reaching out with his skinny arms of death, weeping with an unsettling sense of relief, driving as he did a deep cramping fear inside my weakened body.
Grabbing at me for the second time, scraping raw chunks of flesh from my legs as he thrust me towards the glistening frame, which became obvious in mid-flight was a majestically decorated mirror. The mirror was a spectacular sight, filling my eyes with a peculiar spectrum. Everything around me disappeared, the mirror and I alone in a naked world, the shards of light had taken hold of me and I was trapped.
As I reached out for help, with fear closing in again, all the grabbed hold was pain, at this point realising that what I’d stepped into was far scarier than a ‘wet your bed’ nightmare.
The skin hung off my arms like a damp disgruntled paper bag; my legs smashed like brittle glass under torturous cracks. The barbed suffering that I’d endured for too long had been multiplied beyond all restraints making visibility next to impossible. Drowning in grief, choking as time and time again I coughed up my lifeless blood, screaming out whenever I seized enough air to breath and collapsing in a heap as I fell.
Time far but flew by, I slept until I awoke; time meant nothing and the pain made me immovable, it was only over time did time end, a spirit isn’t about it’s continuance of mind but it’s breadth. I lay there from moment to moment, wondering how I’d survived so long without food or water. After duration it didn’t matter, and all that did was regaining my motion of walking, teaching me as my parents had done when I was a toddler, desperately trying to make my legs strong enough to get away. I pushed aside the needles of distress that pinned me to the ground, concentrating instead on my escape, hoping that I could at least survive long enough to know what was going on, I should have given up then.
When I was able to walk I did, exploring my surrounding, looking for a sign that everything was going to be alright. I walked until physically impossible many times; never finding anything, all that was around was darkness – a pitch-black hell.
There was the chiming again but it now seemed to make much more sense. I believed it, when it told me why I am. I strolled forward, heightening sensation with every step, the chiming getting louder with every breath; I reached out my arms and grasped it with my hand. I was there.
I’d searched for eternity and found the end. The majestically decorated mirror, I’d seen once for an instant; was standing beside me and I could see my reflection for the first time in years. What looked back was a monster; the cruelly neglected old man was there in front of me. He looked bewildered at seeing me again and in a fist of fury I cracked him around the jaw with my disfigured arm, his disfigured arm; and my jaw ached.
As I struck the mirror the universe changed and I was back in the forest again huddled by a rock. The man stood above me, like before but this time I wasn’t just a little boy, undaunted I picked up the rock and launched it towards him. The rock hit me hard throwing me backwards and cracking my head on a tree stump with the man standing over me.
Barely conscious I brushed the shards of broken glass off my scabby body, scrambling to my knees, beer in hand; I spat blood over the peach bathroom sink. Observing my world whence returning to reality, a recurring nightmare of a Sunday morning. Letting out a final groan, dropping the tattered picture of my parents on my grave, I collapsed on the slate tiles with my brother standing over me.
