Spoken: Part IV

Lunchtime on a Wednesday, always the same. A damp cheese and pickle sandwich with a glass of water and three pills. Some of the people sat around me couldn't even feed themselves, some refused to even be fed. I often asked if I could take mine to my room, but I was never allowed. They thought I might smash the glass or the plate and cut myself.

I suppose that's fair enough really.

"Urgh. That doesn't look nice." Ariel said boldly, sat across from me. I smiled and looked down at the sandwich. He was right, it looked poorly prepared, made of ingredients that were more chemical than actual food. The water had tiny bits floating in it. I wasn't that hungry any way, I only ever really ate in the evenings.

"Can we go outisde and play Alice?" Ariel chimed, bright eyed.

"Sure." I said, getting up. I saw Nurse Norton whispering to Doctor Lawrence. She didn't get it. It's fine, I didn't expect her to.

Ariel and I walked outside. It was bright, with a slight breezing brushing through the air. Ariel was a young boy, around nine years old. He had messy brown hair and giant brown eyes. He remained constantly shirtless, and had tiny vines running down his torso and arms, like veins. He wore sack shorts and no shoes. As soon as we got outside Ariel spotted a butterfly and tried to catch it. I sat on the grass and watched him scurry around, jumping and cursing mildly. He could run and chase things for hours on end, like a sort of tree-boy dog. I rarely had the energy to join him, but he didn't care all too much. He was content in his own bubble, observing nature, finding things out on his own.

"Gah! Cmon!" he exclaimed. The butterfly was proving elusive.

"You've got to jump a bit higher." I teased.

"I know ok it's just I.... Gah!" he attempted again mid sentence.

"Why don't you help me Alice? You're.. Taller 'n stuff."

I sighed with a smile and stood up. The butterfly was next to a tree. We crept up to it slowly. I tried to grab it, but my hand went straight through it, as if it were a hologram.

"Oh yeah." Ariel said. "It's not really there is it Alice?"

"Sorry mate." I said ruffling his hair.

"S'ok." he muttered.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's just that I have to go soon. Go back."

"Why? Go back where?"

"Up there." he said, pointing to the clear sky.

"He's telling you to come back eh?"

"Yeah. He said I need to leave here before the darkness comes."

"Darkness? What darkness?"

"He said you'll know when it comes."

I looked at Ariels sad expression, the leaves jutting from his arm gently fluttering in the wind.

"Ok... That's fine. Don't be sad little man." I tried to comfort him as he began to cry.

"I don't want to go Alice, you're not well…" he wept.

"I'll be alright, don't worry about me. It'll take more than some metaphorical darkness to get me, eh?"

He sniffed. "What's 'metaphorical'?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll be ok."

He smiled and embraced me.

"Go on, go and wait in my room, we'll play a game." I said.

Ariel wiped his face and ran back indoors.

I thought about what he said. About darkness. Biblical scare tactics, sure; the man in the sky used them often. But why coming for me? Why now? Why was Ariel so concerned, what did he know?

Nurse Norton was staring at me again. I smiled and wandered slowly back up to the house, and passed her without making eye contact. I went through the door back into the dining area. It was empty, everyone had either gone to their rooms or to vegetate in front of the TV. I wandered back through the halls, brushing my hand along the same wall I had when I went to see Raphael for the last time all those months ago. I thought back to what he told me. About trying to be happy, about appreciating life, nature, all the good things in the world, and not focussing on the ills. My fingernail peeled and chipped some of the fading wallpaper. I approached my door and opened it quietly.

"Ariel?"

The room was empty. I looked under the bed and in the cupboard. Behind the door, everywhere. He was gone.

Something on the floor caught my eye. I looked downwards; a small emerald leaf sitting there delicately. I sat down slowly on my bed, exhaled deeply and covered the leaf with my foot.