Awaken into darkness

Sicilia:

"Where am I?" I thought. My mind was foggy and disoriented. “What am I doing here?" Those questions echoed through my mind like a slogan as I struggled to awaken from this living nightmare.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The relentless drumbeat reverberated through my skull, each pulse like a hammer striking an iron. My head throbbed as if millions of drums were being pounded in unison. An uncomfortable heat enveloped me, like being trapped in a burning hell. The air was thick with the murmur of voices, a jarring sound of chanting that seemed to bargain for my very soul.

I felt like a traveler lost in an endless desert, desperate for a guiding light to lead me out of the darkness. My spirit longed to break free, to shatter the shackles holding me captive. After struggling for hours, trying to wake up from my nightmare, my eyes finally flickered open.

The room was blurry, but as my vision cleared, I saw a figure standing beside me. His piercing blue eyes locked onto mine, and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"Who are you?" I croaked, my voice barely audible. The stranger's expression was unreadable, then suddenly he flashed a menacing smile—the most unsettling I had ever seen—and vanished into thin air.

"Ugh, what's going on here?" I wondered aloud, trying to move my body. Every movement was an effort, and the room seemed to spin around me as I struggled to turn my head to the other side.

"Isn't today my birthday?" I thought with a disoriented mind. “What is today's date?" I asked myself, trying to grasp my bearings. My vision turned dim, and everything suddenly went dark.

But then I saw him—the mysterious man. How could I see him if my vision was blurry? That was a mystery, and I hated being left in the dark.

The atmosphere was tense, and I remained quiet, observing everything. I thought it might be a prank, considering it was my birthday.

Instead of waking up to singing, dancing, gifts, and good wishes, I found myself in a quiet, dark room. Lost in my thoughts, trapped in my dreams. I suddenly remembered my mother-in-law's ominous threat.

‘Has it come true?’ I thought, my face covered in horror. I was transported to the moment she uttered those fateful words, her eyes blazing with a sinister glow.

We were in her grand kitchen, where she had summoned me out of the family gathering under the guise of needing help with the meal.

~

“Why are you here?” She sneered, her voice low and menacing. “Haven't I warned you to stop seeing my son? You are not good enough for him and will never be. So stop daydreaming about marrying him. You are just a plaything, and he will discard you once he finds his chosen mate!” She spoke with malice, her voice croaking with malevolence.

“But mother-in-law…..” I tried to protest, but she cut me off rudely.

“Shut up, you orphan! I have warned you several times to stop calling me your mother-in-law. I will never deem you worthy of my son, so stop trying so hard. Today is our family gathering, and a pauper like you dares to show up! Look, if you are not careful, I will make sure you meet your end on your birthday, and you’ll finally be lost in that happily-ever-after world you keep fantasizing about. You'll suffer, and you'll never see it coming!

Without waiting for my response, she walked away, her large frame hitting me as she left the kitchen.

As I relived the memory, the darkness around me seemed to grow thicker, like a suffocating mist. I felt trapped, unable to escape the weight of my mother-in-law's words.

The mysterious man's piercing blue eyes still lingered in my mind, as if secretly watching me. I tried to shake off the feeling, telling myself it was just a hallucination. But the air seemed to vibrate with an eerie energy, making my skin crawl.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of approaching footsteps echoing down the dark corridor, the creaking of the floorboards beneath their feet making my heart race. I quickly closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep, as the door creaked open and two men entered.

The air was thick with the pungent scent of disinfectant and the metallic tang of blood. One wore a doctor's coat, the other a blue overall, and they moved with a quiet confidence that made my skin crawl. They exchanged an evil glance and looked around to make sure no one was watching.

Satisfied, the man in the blue overall pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and when the call was received, he spoke in a low tone, his voice like a snake slithering through the darkness.

"It's done. The doctor has confirmed it. I'm in the mortuary with her body. She's dead, eyes shut, and body frozen!” The person on the other end laughed menacingly before hanging up, the sound sending chills down my spine.

The doctor-looking man raised an eyebrow, his eyes gleaming with sinister delight. "What's going on?" He asked his partner, his voice dripping with malice.

"Big boss wants the body burned to ashes, so she won't wake up," the other man replied with a ruthless chuckle. “But let's just pretend we did it. There is no need to do it since the dead can never rise.”

“But what if he asks for proof? You know, to make sure the work is completely done?” The doctor-looking man asked curiously.

“We'll move on to plan B and provide fake evidence," the man in the blue overall replied with a menacing voice.

They shared a cryptic smile and shook hands, their eyes gleaming with malice. As they turned to leave, their gazes lingered on me. I was scared, and I felt like an abandoned puppy in the cold wind.

The moment they left the room, I opened my eyes to find a small man in green, with pointed ears and a tall hat, staring at me. His blue eyes gleamed with the same menacing intensity as the two men.

I screamed, my voice like a scattering glass, and the elf-like figure vanished into thin air, leaving me breathless and bewildered.

“Dead? Mortuary? A girl?” I was confused and couldn't stop wondering who they were discussing disposing of. “Am I not the only person in this room? Where am I? How did I get here? Why is this place smelling like corpses?” I questioned myself and began to imagine things.

“Fool! You are in a hospital! Or are you blind to your new environment?” I heard a husky voice out of nowhere.

“What?” My jaw dropped in shock, and I slowly turned my head to the side. Beside me laid a pale body, dressed in a burial gown.