Rootless Tree

Part 4

The vivid images dancing before his dim grey orbs excited him as his teeth habitually clenched his lower lip between them. Shi shifted in his slumber causing Amar’s thoughts to vanish like wind hitting dust. Was his arousal from the memories that noticeable? Afraid the very betrayal of his thoughts to Shi of Ofelia would be seen, he silently cleared his throat and pushed his head back further into the pillows; an ill attempt to drown out the images within the feathers. Closing his eyes tightly to void his thoughts and all that tried to enter his mind; he begged for sleep to find him.

Several minutes had past or so he had thought. Suddenly a cool sensation washed over him, like the caress of his silk sheets rippling over his body guided by a gentle breeze. The pillows under his head disappeared as if he were drifting away from them. He floated into the nothing as did his thoughts. It wasn’t until he felt the pressure of gravity on his body change from horizontal to vertical that he became consciously aware. Cold stone pressed against the tips of his toes and then the heels of his feet. His lips parted and he felt his breath ease off his lips and whisper back to him. A chill rolled up his spine one bone at a time as he found himself forced to balance upright. His eyes held firmly closed with every intent of not opening them and welcoming this new degree of uncertainty. That was until he heard…her.

Snapping open his eyes, his pupils enlarging as they tried to adjust to the darkness and take in his surroundings better. Panic tickled his heart and his adrenaline began to wake his veins. He was no longer lying in his bed, Shi was no longer under his arm. He stood in the empty company of a long and narrow hallway. Unease came over him; a lost and mild confusion as his senses weren’t fully able to comprehend without flaw. The hallway began stretching and pulling on and on to an inconceivable distance from where he stood, making it difficult to understand or comprehend it’s end. As his eyes peered long and far it was there he saw Ofelia.

Her voice haunted along the walls vibrating in a diluted sound of whispers and inaudible words.

“Ofelia?” He beckoned.

Her head was lowered down concealing her eyes, her curls hung heavy off her shoulders and covered what should have been seen of her face. He watched as Ofelia’s arms hung loosely at her sides, fingers curling into the fabric of her long gown tightly to the point he could hear the fabric tearing. The material was pulled so tight that it was pulled to above her ankles, revealing her feet. They were cut as if she had been climbing the rocks bare footed, her skin an almost luminous, nearly translucent color. Water dripped slowly from her figure, it made such a loud echoing noise that Amar felt his body jump each time it pattered against the stone even though he knew in advance that it would smack off the floor.

Drip…drip…drip…drip…

A draft began to push past him filling the area with a bone chilling aura. “Ofelia?” His teeth chattered together as her named repeated and the frame of her twitched to the resonance of his voice.

As he stepped towards her she suddenly seemed to come to life, almost like a puppet whose strings were tugged on. She moved away from him. Another step he presented and again she distanced then turned and disappeared down another passage. Amar instinctively pursued. His bare feet smacked off the floor each time his soles connected and his speed increased. His mind was riddled with questions, none of which he could logically find an answer to. His heart throbbed in his chest and hopefulness began to be restored. Was this truly his Ofelia? Had this night been only a dream spun into nightmares born from horror? Her haunting wails of sadness, her distorted voice filled the hallways as he rounded the corner. But just as he emerged from one end she was fading into another, catching only a glimpse of her dress hugging the corners.