Tales, Scripts, and Accounts

Malleable Mad Men

Delusion. Paranoia. I can't think straight. Don't know what day it is. My mind is slipping. I don't think I've slept in three nights because if I close my eyes I know he'll be hiding behind my eyelids.

A partial glimpse of that face staring in from outside my second story window is all it took. Jagged teeth. Soulless ink-black eyes aimed right at me. Locked on then gone. I could feel the looming glare with my back turned. I'm afraid. Horrified. Not for myself because I know my fate is sealed. They have something planned for me. I'm afraid for my loved ones. My wife and daughter left this side of the Earth Kingdom to visit family in Ba Sing Se. Friends who I haven't seen in days might have already been bled dry. Strung up over a balcony or fileted and seared like cattle- ready to be served as a sick joke to some poor, unsuspecting soul. How many of those I care about will suffer for my actions? Those putrid pupils pierce my every optimistic thought.

At first, I thought it was just me. Forgetting where I placed things... Feeling something lingering over my shoulder... Hearing breathing in a room when I was supposed to be alone... Staring into a pitch black abyss of a midnight alley or hallway knowing full well something was standing there staring back, but I would never see anything other than the distant reflection of its eyes... For if I moved too close, the reflections would vanish.

Everyone's been avoiding me for weeks. No contact from my family. Maybe they had a gut feeling. Maybe they're soaking in a cadaver bag beneath the Shamo's docks. Or gagged and shackled to the shores alongside thieves. Nothing was out of the question. Solitary was part of my punishment. Part of the torture. A prologue for the final consequence.

When this feeling began, I would only see those stalking me in reflections. Or hear the occasional dampened footsteps on another floor. Most times I could convince myself nothing was happening. But things in my house are definitely moving when I'm not looking. Portraits of my family don't quite look like I remember. For months I thought someone was painting over the artwork ever so slightly, yet when I asked the neighbor, he confirmed that was them. My wife and child. Perhaps he just didn't look close enough because the illustrations do still look very similar- or maybe he did notice and was just lying to me...

I need to escape. Rumor from before this started told me the only way out was death, but I'm convinced I can escape. Lady Kezhan is too. Across the Kingdom to Shi Ban Dao is where the tavernkeep recommended I seek refuge. The safest place in the Four Nations. A ride across the desert to the Yi Wang Break would be more than enough to lose any tail I might have had. Then a voyage from the Bay to Shi Ban Dao's south port sealed the deal.

As expected, it was thunderstorming upon arrival. I dragged my soaked luggage across the bumpy stone street to the nearest possible place to stay and checked in using the only good fake name I could think of. The deskhand told me they were full, but luckily my wife and son already checked in- staying upstairs and expecting my arrival. Wife and son? I thought to myself. I must have guessed the wrong fake name, but played into it to avoid suspicion. Figured they might understand my dire situation and allow me to sleep on the floor instead of in the rain.

She handed me a key and verbally directed me to the room. Hallways were dark and heavily humid- just like the rest of this city, but I suppose I'd rather sweat a bit than become a corpse statue lining Neilu's walls. All things considered, my life could be much worse than right now.

My hand reached for the door knob to the suite that opened as I touched it. Before me stood my wife- who I hadn't seen for over a month- redeyed and bawling. A bit paler and skinnier, but beautiful nonetheless. She quickly lept forward and wrapped her arms around my neck. I immediately dropped my luggage and hugged back. Her lips were passionate as if she never expected to see me again. I could tell she was subtly scanning me for something. Not a clue what it would be, though. Didn't have much time to figure it out either.

We woke up the next morning tangled in each others' arms. It was gloomy and raining outside, but I hadn't slept that soundly in weeks. Hadn't even felt this senselessly joyous in years. My reunited love mentioned that we all would be staying in this room for at least a week, so I began to unpack before we even got breakfast. The few outfits I brought were quickly put away and while I placed the memorabilia sat on the shelves, I noticed all my pictures truly did show I had a son... And when I walked out to the living room to ask my wife about our daughter, I was even more astonished to see him sitting at the window overlooking the ports. He even turned around and called me dad, but I swear I never saw him before in my life.

I didn't get the chance to independently ask about our daughter until after breakfast. Or what her last weeks had been like. But the more I thought about it while I ate, the less I wished to bring it up. With all that could have happened, this certainly doesn't feel terrible. In a couple months, we'll own a place of our own and life will be just what we always wanted back in Neilu. A little drearier and slightly more moist in comparison, but I'm growing to prefer the refreshing ocean air.

Months later, a raggedy man I recognized from Neilu was walking around the streets of Shi Ban. I was wondering if he sought refuge here too, so I asked. He denied such an odd idea and confidently called me a name I'd never heard before. Asked about the daughter I never had too. I felt it was odd, but didn't think much of it. Must have gotten me mixed up with someone he used to know. So I brushed it off and went home to my wife and two sons. I sat down. And stared at the wall where I hung my portrait from Neilu. Of my wife and eldest son.