The Perfect World

Chapter 5

"Wow," you quietly whisper to yourself. "Now that, was brave."

- Present Time -

The next night you wait for sleep to nearly take you, still curious as to if it was all a dream. The doll of you sits with its back to the wall of the cave, just staring at you. You furrow your eyebrows below the mask at it, then without thinking, you stand up to get it.

You take a look into its eyes. The yellow gems match the gems of the alternate Bleck's eyes from that dream you had. How peculiar.

Go back...

"Huh," you say, looking behind you. "Hello?"

You know the voice was in your head, but it felt like it was real. Regardless, you suppose there wouldn't be any harm in checking that door again, right?

You slowly set the doll back down, then walk. Its eyes seem to follow you as you leave, but you know that this isn't the case, because it's only a doll. The dark often plays tricks on people's eyes.

You slowly walk down to that same area. The fog is lower than before, but it looks thicker. Your movement is slow and cautious until you see the door. The fog is parted in front of it. You beam, then sprint over and skid to your knees to open it. Once the door is open, that magical glowing tunnel reforms in front of your eyes. You smile and immediately crawl in without even giving it a second thought.

You crawl through and push open the door on the other side, finding yourself back in the inner sanctum. You smirk and look around.

"I knew it wasn't a dream," You say.

You hear the distant sound of humming and follow it to the kitchen, where Bleck is preparing more food. He smiles and turns to you as soon as you walk in. "Welcome back, My King." He says with a smile. You lightly smile and wave a hand.

"Would you go fetch Nastasia? I bet she's as hungry as a pumpkin by now," He says, causing you to stop and stare at him. "Since when did you use similies?" You question.

"Oh, we all use them occasionally in this world," He says. "Now go on. Nastasia is waiting."

"You mean... the alternate Nastasia," You correct.

"The better Nastasia," He says. "She's out in the garden."

"Wait," You start. "Since when did we have a garden-"

"Shhh," He interrupts, handing you a croissant. "Go on. It's down the hall, just outside around back."

You question how there could even be a garden here. You've always liked the idea and have found gardening fascinating but in Castle Bleck?! It was impossible. There was zero sunlight.

You step outside the back of the palace, gently closing the door behind you, then turn and gasp.

Outside, there's a bright yellow moon above, littering the sky with sparkling yellow stars. And below, you see a bright beaming forest of exotic plant life.

"Whoa..." You murmur, stepping out into it all. There's a small river with a wooden bridge going over it, and as you step inside the whole forest seems to light up. It's not green like a regular forest but filled with cooler colors like blue and purple. There's some red and green as well.

A few small bluebirds fly up to you, then circle you. You twirl around to watch them, then they fly off into the night. As you walk, the ground you step on seems to glow. Though it is nighttime, it's not dark. The stars and the glow of the forest make everything come to life.