And then I was a little boy again.
I stood in front of a large table littered with colour. Boxes wrapped with silky ribbons, small cups and paper hats. My chin barely came up above the cake before me.
All around me people were saying “Blow” along with “Make a wish”
So I did, I blew as hard as my little lungs would allow. All seven red candles went out and a cheer sounded in the room, then clapping, a hand on my shoulder warmly congratulated me.
I stared down at what I had done. Seven dead candles, evenly spaced on a brown chocolate circular treat.
Suddenly I was overwhelmed with the sense that there should be more candles, 14 in fact. Or maybe not, I either thought that or that there should be two cakes.
One for me and one for someone else.
“Happy birthday Lucas” was the motto of the event, it resounded constantly around me as people gathered around my mother who was serving slices of the delicious sweet.
I kept thinking they should be singing it to someone else.
The day progressed as it always had done. I ate cake, I played several party games with my young friends. Then, tired and weary, my parents put me to bed.
As I lay in my bed, eyes slowly closing, I felt the black creeping back in from the horizons of my vision. I tried to remain awake, willing my little body to fight the onset of sleep but it simply wasn't strong enough. The black leaked in more quickly, blotting out all around me until there was nothing at all.
It was just black, nothing more.
Then everything shook and the black began to part, shifting sideways and revealing a dim light.
I was back in the room, sat directly in front of the mirror. It still did not reflect, it was still just the pool of viscous unknown I had traversed.
The journal was still in my hand, so I chronicle the events that transpired on my voyage.
The room still has no door or window, the lamp is still the only source of light, the mirror still the only other object.
The only sense I get at this point is that there is someone, or something I need to find on the other side of it.
There is no question in my mind about going back in.
I really enjoyed the sixth installment - I'm intrigued about the nature of the mirror and what it means within the context of Lucas' past.
ReplyDeleteThe second cake and the singing are also interesting, in that it seems that while Lucas appears to be experiencing a memory of a birthday as himself, he is aware of the situation.
I get the feeling that this dream/experience belongs to somebody else, as if he were invading a consciousness that appears to belong to him, but is not his.
I'm wondering whether another 'Lucas' may make an appearance on the other side of the mirror - looking forward to number 7!
I´m still loving this, just picked up from where i left off a couple of weeks ago, part 4, and it just keeps getting more interesting. It feels like Lucas is clearly insane yet the events he´s going through, as mad as they may be, somehow feel entirely plausible.
ReplyDeleteIt just gets better and better; aside from a novel there is surely a chilling, thrilling, nightmarish film in this intriguing story. Can´t wait for part 7 of this masterpiece!
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