Happy Wonderland

Book

Halo Four: Book:

Mikado looked at the clock on his laptop. Close to midnight and still on the phone.

"Have you heard of this poem called The Waste Land?" he asked. "It's a long poem. I haven't had the time to sit down and read the whole thing. Why? I've been busy." He shifted his eyes. "You can say that. Though, I'm curious about something. Why are you so interested in my friend?" His boss persona slipped out when he asked that question.

-Five Weeks Ago-

Mikado kept having weird visions in board daylight. They started out the same: he'd open his eyes in a dimly lit room with beds. He found himself unable to move his head as he lay in his own bed, weakened. He could barely see around him, but he heard the groans on either side of him. Despite the low sounds, they were enough to make his stomach turn. These visions would act at random like right now. This time, he heard footsteps with the groans. Mikado rubbed his temple as the images repeated in his head.

"Ryugamine-kun?" someone asked in reality. "Ryugamine-kun? Are you okay?" Mikado jerked his head upwards. Junko stood in front of him with a concerned look on her face.

"Nurse?" he asked.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "You look so pale."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm fine," Mikado said, nodding. Junko raised an eyebrow.

"Well anyway, I came here to pass along a little message," she said.

"What's that, nurse?"

"The library says that you have some book on hold since the summer semester. I think it was since the summer."

Mikado stared blankly at Junko. "What? I don't remember putting any books on hold."

The nurse shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you. I think you should go and see what they are talking about." The way she said it gave Mikado the impression of the power of suggestion.

"Okay... Uh... thanks for letting me know," he said.

Nevertheless, Mikado and Masaomi headed down the library twenty minutes later. The blonde gave his head a strange look.

"And you're sure you didn't put this book on hold?" he asked.

"Yes," Mikado said.

"And you're sure you didn't put this book on hold and forget about it somehow?"

"I'm sure!"

"Okay, okay." The boys walked up to the front desk. The librarian pushed up his glasses.

"Can I help you boys today?" he asked.

"My name is Ryugamine Mikado and I think I have book on hold or something."

"Sure, give me a second," the librarian said. He turned to his computer and typed in Mikado's name. "Yes, you do. You have a book by T.S. Eliot on hold."

"When was this?" Mikado asked.

"I think... summer two months ago."

"Are you sure I did?"

"Yeah."

Mikado looked at Masaomi before turning back to the librarian. "What is the name of the book?"

The librarian scrolled down on the screen. "Let's see... I believe it's called Selected Poems." This heightened boys' interest.

"Do you still have it?" Mikado asked.

"Right here," the librarian said. He reached over to the pile and pulled out the thin book. "Here you are."

"Thank you," Mikado said, taking the book. Minutes later, Masaomi and Mikado sat at table, looking at the table contents.

"I don't why I would want this particular book," Mikado admitted. Masaomi was about to speak when one title caught his eye.

"Hey man, look," he said. The other boy looked and saw the title, The Waste Land. As if on instinct, Mikado turned to the exact page. But when he opened it up, Mikado and Masaomi found a small folded up piece paper in between the pages.

"What's this?" Mikado asked. He pulled out the paper and looked inside with Masaomi.

"Angel tadpole heaven?" the blonde boy asked. Mikado read over the words. It didn't take him long to recognized the hand writing.

When did I write this? Suddenly, he felt another attack strike him.

"Mikado?" Masaomi asked. His voice sounded distant under the groans and dull, blurry visions. This time, a new element came into play during this attack. The last thing Mikado could remember before blacking out was the overpowering smell of bleach.