SMILE

Chapter 3 MYSTERY OF THE BALLOONS

          
 

Austin | 2008

laying on my back, my eyes adjusting to the light, I sat up; as I sat up, realizing I was in a forest, I then sighed in pain from a sudden sharpness and a sting in the middle of my back, it felt like a thick needle jabbing me. At first, I thought it was how I sat up. But then another pain on my neck below my ear arose; it felt like something scratched me with something sharp. I put my hand on my neck, soothing it, and adding coldness to it, it began to get rid of the pain a bit more.

I looked at my hand, and there was blood, I stood up, and sighed in pain again as another sharp pain risen; another scratch, just like the one in the middle of my back. But this time it was coming from my upper abdominal area. This one felt worse than the one on my back. I’m not so sure, but it felt more of a knife or something as sharp as that. Looked down at my shirt seeing holes on it everywhere, I’ve put my hand on the bottom of it, grabbing it, I lifted it up to my collar bone, looking at a gash that was diagonal, and bleeding. I let go of my shirt, as it falls to cover my stomach, and my round belly-button.

I had a quick spin, looking around my surroundings seeming to be woken up in a forest, but how did I possibly get here? And where did I get these cuts and scratches from? Perhaps the past? As the thought of my cuts lit in my mind, standing still for a moment to think hard in the past of how I’ve possibly gotten these cuts from. There was nothing that I could think of in the past, all I can remember is staring at Summer and Autumn blankly, and something snatching me, and pulling me into the tunnel. I don’t even know what it is, but I’m sure Autumn and Summer would know, since they were watching the whole thing. I began walking in a random direction in the forest in hope to find the group and my friends. looking around frantically in panic. ‘Autumn!? Summer!?’ I called out. There was no answer. My cuts in my upper abdominal area began stinging, and gotten a sharper pain. Taking a deep breath in, trying to subdue the pain. It didn’t work as much as I wanted it unfortunately. I put my hand on my shirt, on the cut that was in my abdominal area. All that it did was stain my white shirt. If there is nothing to heal my cuts, I’d need to find the group and my friends for help. I’ve got an idea to check my pockets in my black shorts for anything that could help, as I groped around in my pockets, I’ve found something in my left pocket, it felt like a used, scrunched up ball of tissue.
 
 
I unfolded the tissue, and sprawled it on my palm, folding it into a square. Lifted the front of my shirt up, and I put the tissue on my cut, applying pressure on it. I hissed in pain, as it stings more as I wipe the cut, and then I began dabbing it with the tissue. There wasn’t anymore blood, which was good, I then used the exact same tissue for the left side of my neck. First, I began wiping it, and then dabbing it, and then tossed it on the ground when I finished. Beginning my walking, as well as continuing my manhunt. Well, girl hunt. I kept looking around, looking in the distance of the forest for anyone. I’ve gotten frustrated, feeling nervous and uneasy, perhaps stressed. ‘Autumn?! Summer?!’ I yelled out once again.

The cuts on my back began getting worse, and worse, the pain was still getting worse, the stinging and the sharpness of it brought me down on my knees, and then my hands on the ground, adding support to hold me up. Tears filled the bottom of my eye lids, making it heavy and blurry. As I blinked, tears trickled down my face. Onto the ground. By the time it did, I heard a voice in the distance, ‘Austin!?’ The voice sounded rather similar, sounded like . . . Summers voice, sounding light, and soft. ‘Austin!?’ That voice was rather similar, sounded like Autumn’s, rather the same as Summer’s voice, but a tad deeper. Right when I was about to sprint straight towards them. But, I heard a voice behind me . . . but the voice was different . . . ‘Austin.’ It sounded like the clown’s voice.

I span around, seeing the clown, I backed up, slowly, and tripped over a branch on the ground. My back collides to the ground. As the clown looks at me eerily. I screamed in immense torture as the cut accelerated in pain, I began hissing from the pain, ‘Ah!’ I sputtered, the clowns smile, began to widen more, and then, he disappeared, as if he wanted to watch me suffer in pain. I got up, turned around and ran where I’ve possibly heard Summer’s and Autumn’s voice. ‘Autumn! Summer!’ I yelled out once again. And then I heard a voice in the distance of where I’m running at saying, ‘Austin!’ Because I’ve called out Autumn’s and Summer’s name. the pain on my neck and back began getting stinging even more, and began feeling like a very bad carpet burn, and a sharp jab.