Raging Storm

It was quiet. Not silent, but quiet. Sunshine streaming in through the window blinds, fan humming softly. It was late afternoon, but it was warm enough that air circulation was needed to keep the humidity at bay. Birds chirped every now and again outside the window, a car driving by, not too often, though. But it was quiet. Peaceful.

What was I doing? Lying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, letting the time drift by as if it didn't effect me. Why would it? I wasn't really doing anything, but inside my mind... oh, it was not quiet there. It was loud.

My mind was like a labyrinth. A place I had created to keep my secrets away from prying eyes, my memories easily accessible, and my darkness locked away so that no one ever would find it. There was a cliff I'd frequent, gazing out at the sea, waves like mountains crashing against the side. The rain never stopped here. There was nothing but the dark forest behind me and the sea cliffs in front of me, always pouring, lightning flashing in the distance, thunder shaking the ground.

I was stuck between two evils. The creature lurking behind me, weaving in and out of the trees, just barely visible. Enough to scare me. And the unrelenting sea, wanting to drag me down to its depths, ocean pressing in on all sides, suffocating. I didn't see a way out. Either I let the creature behind me take me, or I jump into the sea. Until he came.

Out of the forest he strolled, appearing from nowhere. He wasn't part of my mind, I had never created a savior for myself. Didn't think it was possible. But there he was.

"Quite the storm, eh?" He joined me on the edge of the cliff, speaking nonchalantly. All I could do was stare at him. "You're not safe here. We should go."

"Go where?" I finally managed to speak, turning my gaze from him and back to the endless sea.

"Jump with me."

What did he just say? Frowning I looked over at him, my confusion written across my face. "I'm not jumping. I'll fall straight down."

"No you won't. You'll fly." His grin widened, and he extended a hand to me, motioning towards the cliffside.

"I can't fly!" I protested.

"Your wings are not broken, little one, you can fly. Just because you haven't used them in a while doesn't mean you are broken. Trust me." He seemed so confident in my ability to fly I almost believed him. Almost.

"No. I can't."

He frowned then, not disappointed, but sad. With a soft sigh, he looked out at the waves. "If you don't jump, your forest lurker will get impatient and come out from behind the trees and take you for itself."

Was he trying to scare me into jumping? I couldn't jump! I would fall straight into the water, and I would drown. I backed away from him and the water, shaking my head in protest. "I can't."

"You can." He insisted. "Can't and won't are two separate things. You can, you just won't. But I can help you."

"Who are you? Where did you even come from?" I was getting aggitated. Who was he to just stroll into my safe place and judge me? How did he even get there?

"Soon, little one, you will know who you are."

And then he was gone.

I opened my eyes, my plain white ceiling above me, fan blowing my hair across my face. The sun had begun to set. Still all was quiet. All except the raging storm inside my mind.

I didn't go back to my safe place for a while after that. Who knew how that guy had gotten in, and I wasn't keen on finding out if I could fly or not. Though, I didn't go back willingly.

Again, I found myself lying on my bed staring at the ceiling. Evening in full swing. Cool air rushing through my open window, streetlights kicking on as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. I fell asleep.

Standing on the edge of my cliff, I watched the forest this time, observing the shifting shadows, and pulsating darkness. Whatever was in there was watching me. I could feel it. I couldn't see the thing, but I could definitely feel it's eyes on me. It was unnerving, but I wasn't adventurous enough to go in there and find out what it was.

"You shouldn't let it know you know it's there."

I yelped, whirling around to face the mystery man, who as before, appeared from nowhere. This time I did not speak to him. Not right away at least, I just wanted to leave. To go home.

"You can only leave when you're ready to." He mused, moving to the cliffs edge. "Jump with me." Again, he held out his hand, and again I declined. "You need to trust me."

"No, I don't. I don't know you. I don't know who, or what you are, I don't know why you're here or why you want to kill me."

"Kill you? Oh, no. I'm here to help you." He laughed. As if my world was a joke.

"Get out. Leave me alone." I hissed, glaring at him.

Briefly he frowned, but it melted away to reveal a smile, once again. "Then I will jump alone, and hope you come to save me." He winked, turning his back to me.

"What? No! Don't do that!" Panic surfaced, and the storm got worse. Rain came down from the black clouds in sheets, the waves rising higher, furiously pounding against the cliff face.

"I have confidence in you."

"I don't! If you jump you'll die!" I moved toward him, but I was too late. With one last look at me, he stepped over the edge and disappeared. I screamed in fright, rushing forward, watching him plummet towards the ocean waves. "I can't.." I gasped. Tears filled my eyes as I watched this stranger approach almost certain death.

I couldn't let that happen. Not in my safe place. It was broken enough, I didn't need someone dying on my watch. So I jumped after him.

"Now fly." He smiled at me, watching me, his own wings opening up. They were spectacular, looked like dragon's wings. But as we fell, his brow furrowed. Nothing was happening. No wings appeared. The sun did not come out. The storm persisted, and he realized what he'd done. "Why did you jump if you couldn't fly?"

I just closed my eyes, bracing myself as I crashed into the waves, dropping like lead under the surface. I tried to swim, to push myself up, to break the surface of the water, but the force of the waves kept pulling me down, down, down. I felt a hand grab my wrist, and I saw light.. was I dying?

Gasping, I woke up on my bed drenched in sweat. The sun was completely gone, and the breeze floating through my open window made my body tremble. Rolling onto my side, I pulled my many blankets over my body, curled into a ball, and cried.

The next few days flew by; work was hectic, summer was in full swing, people wanted me to go out and do things. I declined. My life was in a downward spiral, and my mental stability was quickly deteriorating. As evidenced by my safe place. The constant storming. The lurking darkness. I didn't want to go back. I had been swallowed by the ocean, and I was scared.

Every time I closed my eyes I could taste the salt water, I struggled to breathe. But near the end... there was a voice. Coaxing me to return, cooing that I was safe now on the shore. But I hadn't made a shore. It was only cliff. Still, I couldn't go back. It wasn't my safe place anymore. It had been invaded. I was certain I was drowning. It wasn't a place I felt secure anymore. But Fate had a different idea.

The night after a particularly trying day I found myself staring at a ceiling I didn't recognize. I heard the familiar storm beating against the sides of the building I was in. I didn't build a shelter in this place. There was no shelter from the crippling depression from my outside world. The real world. So why would one be there?

Even so, I was lying on a bed, looking up at the high ceiling, confusion evident in my expression. It had to have been him. He built this. I began to feel angry. Who had given him permission to alter my safe place so dramatically?

"So, she awakens." His voice came from the doorway to my left. I did not respond. "I didn't think you'd be coming back here for a while. I'm glad you did."

I rolled to the right, putting my back to him. I didn't want to talk to him. I was in unknown territory here. I didn't create this place, I didn't invite him. I was scared and he was acting like it was a joke.

"Don't be like that. Please. I'm trying to help you."

"I almost drowned." Was all I replied with.

"But you didn't. I was there to pull you out."

"You wouldn't have had to if you didn't make me jump off that cliff! I was fine up there, I was safe!"

"Safe? No. You were in danger. You were, are, allowing yourself to wither away. That is not who you are." I could hear him approaching me and I wanted nothing to do with it. I curled in on myself, pulling the blankets up around my shoulders and neck. "Tristan, I'm only trying to help you. There are things that are coming for you, and you will die if you're not prepared."

"How do you know my..." I hesitated. Of course he'd know my name. He was in my safe place. If he opened the right door he'd know everything about me. "It doesn't matter. Let them come." I didn't care. How could I? Nothing mattered anymore.

I felt the bed shift. He sat down by my feet. "It does matter. You matter. I don't want to see you die. Not again." He sounded so... sad.

I wanted to ask him what he meant, but I was gone again. Woken up by my alarm. I felt like absolute shit. Barely felt like I got any sleep at all. I wanted to call in to work, but if I did, I'd most likely go back to the house I didn't build and I wasn't prepared for that.

I also wasn't prepared for what greeted me when I left my house. I saw him. Outside my safe place. In the real world. I saw him, and he saw me. He winked before he disappeared into the morning crowd. I wanted to follow him, to call out to him, but I didn't even know his name. But he was real. How was that possible?

Over the next few days I saw him more often. When I went to work, on my way home from work, sometimes out the window as I sat at my desk. He seemed to be everywhere, and I hated it. I hated him. First he invaded my safe place, now he was invading my real life. What gave him the right to haunt me like this? What had I ever done to deserve something so creep-tastic?

I hadn't been to my safe place in a while, so I began to doubt myself. Was he really the same? Or was I just imagining it to be him because he looked similar? On my next day off from work I left my house at the time I normally did. Instead of going, since I had the day off, I decided to follow him.  I spotted him at the normal time, and waited a few moments before I started my pursuit. I would get answers. My life was slipping from my grasp, my depression worsening and this man seemed to be at the center of it all. I needed answers.

I could have easily just let it go and allowed myself to disappear, but there were too many questions and not enough answers for my taste.

For a while I trailed behind him, and he didn't seem to notice. I thought. But he rounded a corner, myself shortly after, and he was nowhere in sight. I hadn't been that far behind him for him to disappear so suddenly like that. Where had he gone?

"Why are you following me, Tristan?"

Yelping in surprise, I whirled to face him. He had gotten behind me somehow! "Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?"

"Pretty sure you're the one who has been following me." He smiled. "Come. Let's sit, have a drink, and talk. Is coffee alright? I haven't had mine yet today."

An eternity seemed to pass before I was able to regain the ability to speak. How was he so calm about everything? I was confused, and scared, and on the brink of thinking I had finally lost my mind, but there he was just fine with everything. "Who are you?"

"Coffee. Then we can talk."