Sofia's Story: Chapter2

Chapter 2

The Peculiar Stranger

Though the heavens played a different melody each night she visited Frigid Hill, Sofia could not help but remember minute details of her childhood. Each star that stood in the evening sky played a serene expression that accompanied the fragile, running wind. On typical nights, you'd see them playing with the slumbering souls but on special evenings they played with her.

Sofia had her head rested on a soft cushion of grass that tickled her body. With her eyes  focused on the endless heavens, she thought about all the things she could do in Frigid Hill.

"Who are you?" A silhouette of a person had occurred on top of her.

Her pulse raised as she quickly stood up from where she lied. A young man stood puzzled He had calm brown eyes that almost glowed in the evening; His soft features almost drowned in the wind.

"I'm not alone?" was all Sofia could muster out. She had been taken aback by the handsome stranger. "Who are you?"

A cold gust of air brushed smoothly between their bodies and Frigid Hill seemed to have smiled when he gave out a humble whisper.

"I am Gavin, prince of this land. And by the way, this land is called Thales which means blossom." He extended his hand towards her. He had no hesitation upon giving out his name.

"Sofia Gailey, a no one for that matter." Sofia showed a half smile. "Why do you call it 'Blossom' if I might ask?" her eyes now looked at his with confusion.

"Ah, because it blossoms in a person's dream such as yours, perhaps?" The strange prince showed a smile on his innocent face.

"Perhaps..."Sofia blushed. She felt a sudden twist in her stomach as she lowered her head to the ground. "How could there be a prince in this forsaken land? I thought I was alone here."

"I lived here long before you came. I saw you once when you first got here. You went to Frigid Hill to seek for answers but you fell from the cliff. I wanted to go down and see if you were alright but I didn't want to startle you."

Unfinished 4

“Hurry up Keith, we’re going to be late!” Madison said as she rushed towards the impenetrable crowd. Her hair was messy and her mind seemed equally uneasy.

“Alright, alright...wait up Madison!” Keith tried to catch up. Madison’s delicate body moved about swiftly and smoothly towards the busy horde while Keith on the other hand, was having quite a hard time passing through all the chaos.

The ship they were about to board was set to travel towards the vast ocean and unto an island known to be famous for its white sand beaches. It was at the midst of the annual semestral break and Madison had been talking a lot about taking a long vacation from the city. Keith had agreed to come thinking also that work had been pushing him towards his limit and he wanted to just spend his days with Madison.

It had seemed so long since the last time they had both spent time with each other and this was their chance. Recently, Keith had been too busy with his new project at work. He was a graphic artist and had to spend more than 8 hours working or else he wouldn’t be able to beat the deadline. Madison on the other hand was still in school and almost graduating from college. She had so much plans after her graduation but for the meantime she had to focus on one tiny thing--Passing.

“Do you have the ticket with you Madison?” Keith’s voice was raised so as to overlap the roaring sound of the crowd.

“Yes, yes...don’t worry about it. Just hurry up Keith!”

The afternoon sky shimmered down upon the huge vessel that was afloat the pier. They had finally reached their destination and the Gods seemed to have smiled down on these two late comers.

Right after they got inside their cabin room, Keith dropped everything on the floor and jumped on the bed stomach first.

“Keith! You’re making such a mess! We just got here...” Madison placed her things on a couch near the bed. Keith is so laid back, he simply didn’t mind about what other people would think while Madison seemed to have been opposite to this.

“Come here you grouchy little girl...” Keith pulled her towards him and she fell on the bed next to him. “Stop being so stressed out...this is our vacation remember?” He locked his arms around her as though trying to keep her from standing up.

She resisted at first but then she turned her head towards him and gave him a light kiss on the nose. “...and that is why I love you...”

Unfinished 3

Here she was standing right beside him. He took a step back, he didn't want to see her especially this way. She wanted to hug him and tell him everything had to stop. The night was chilly and the wind seemed to have played around with their emotions as it rushed towards the horizon.

"So...this is it..." She whispered looking straight at him.

Silence.

"I don't know what I ever did to deserve this but this has got to stop. I'm sorry."

She walked towards him, gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and left. As she rushed towards her car, she felt the warmth of her tears sliding down her cheeks. No longer will she tolerate from this. The damage has been done and there's nothing left for her.

He stood there, shocked. He felt gravity pulling him down towards the center of the earth but he resisted. After all, this was all his fault--he was to blame.

Unfinished 2

As the clouds grew dimmer above the moving bus that Phoebe had boarded the night before, a stroke of rain water gently fell from the window next to her. She felt a cold chill across her shoulders. The window lay closed yet inside the bus, the atmosphere felt rather cold and chilly. This creeped her out. Beside her, Lyx had been dozing off as though he had never ever tried closing his eyes before. They had been travelling since nightfall and they had already consumed 3 hours including 2 bus stops.

"Hey Lyx, wake up!" Phoebe nudged her friend who became startled. She couldn't sleep...if she ever did, those eerie images would flash through her head again. It was a horrible feeling.

"What?!" Lyx glared at Phoebe showing a slight irritation. All night, she had been trying to disturb his sleep and it was starting to get on his nerves.

"I still can't close my eyes. Please don't fall back to sleep Lyx. Let's talk." Phoebe twisted in her chair a bit and smiled at her seatmate.

"Phoebe, everyone's still sleeping...Our arrival won't be until an hour from now so it would be better if you just tried closing your eyes."

(Where am I going???)

Unfinished 1

The night she left home was also the night she left the world. It seemed like an ordinary evening while people walked down the streets not minding everyone else and city lights were their usual glow in the horizon.

Candice decided this was definitely the answer to all her dilemma. She had quickly packed her things and left for the 9:05 PM bus. There was no slight clue of the location to where she was going.

Before she would take the bus, Candice wanted to see if there was one place in this city she could probably drop before leaving. After giving it less thought, she decided to spend her last hour in a long-forgotten coffee shop she had never even been before. Her last day in the city and she decides to spend it in a quiet little shop.

As soon as she got there, Candice suddenly felt a slight relief. Thank God it's a cozy place--dim lights, huge and comfortable couches, soft music.

Looking around, the place was rather small yet spacious. Some of the crowds seemed to look like they were half asleep.

(to be continued when inspiration comes)

Sofia's story: Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1
Sofia’s Beginning


Sofia Garliey wondered why time had seemed so slow at that moment. She stood by her little window next to her bed and fixed her eyes on a lonely lamp that grew out from the darkness. Its only life was a single orange glow that was flickering every now and then. Somehow, the world outside was not as different from the atmosphere within Sofia’s room.

She shifted her vision towards an innocent clock above her bed. She noticed that time had not moved since they first arrived in their new house. Sofia’s parents had decided to move to a different place for a fresh start. Strangely enough, they had decided to travel at midnight’s peak. They made their way silently across the dull evening with the sound of an old carriage whispering into the night. No one had even noticed.

Soon after, they arrived into a humble little house that stood near the town’s narrow tip. Sofia quickly dashed towards her new room and threw her things into her new bed. The first thing she saw was the old clock that lay above her bed. It was pointing towards midnight, as though it was simply waiting for their arrival.

It had already been a few weeks since they have moved into the humble home but nothing had really changed between her parents. They were still fighting over things that didn’t really matter. Fresh start indeed! This wasn’t really what she had in mind.



Her bed was the only thing that kept her safe. It seemed to have been the only one that helped her cope with the anger she had long been keeping. Sofia rested her head in the cream-colored pillow and slowly closed her eyes.



“And you are always doing this…” A voice emerged. From a distance, there seemed to have been people arguing and fighting over something.



“Sofia! Sofia…Sofiaaaa…” She was awakened by the call of her name.



She was now sitting down in her bed, replaying the voices. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was still pointing towards midnight. The angry voices had not disappeared, and she soon realized they were coming from the tiny opening in her bedroom door. Beneath her pillow was a minute vial that she had always kept since they moved there. She placed it inside her pocket and crept outside her room towards the slender hallway. It was pitch dark, and she could hear nothing but the furious voices that had awakened her.

Her footsteps were light so that no one would notice that she was still awake. At the end of the hallway, a faint glow of light opened itself. It had looked as if a small gap from a door had just opened itself inviting her to see what’s inside. Peeping inside, all she could see was a silhouette of two people standing near the huge window blaring at each other. Somehow, she could not perceive the words that they had been screaming but they were really angry.

Sofia remembered the vial that was inside her pocket. She took it out, opened the cork from its opening and moved it towards the small gap. Smoke was building inside the vial as it sucked the angry words from the room. As soon as it was full, she quickly placed the cork back to its aperture, hopefully sealing the voices inside. She placed the vial back inside her pocket as she tip-toed back towards her bedroom. The room now seemed peaceful and quiet. She just hoped the vial wouldn’t break before she got to her secret place.

It had never seemed to take long before she arrived in her secret place. All she had to do was close her eyes and sleep in her bed. This wasn’t an ordinary place. It was her sanctuary. It was her retreat. Sofia had just discovered this new place the moment they moved in to the new house. Perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence that they had moved in during midnight. Perhaps midnight was the secret portal towards this new place. The first time she found out about the place, she thought she was only dreaming until she woke up and saw that her feet were dirty. Ever since then, late midnight became her answer to a serene haven.

The ground was damp as usual and the air spelled silence. The sky was filled with stars that brightened the evening. There was this place on top of Frigid Hill where Sofia often visited when she was lonely. With the vastness of the sky, her every step uphill was infinite. As soon as she finally stood on top of Frigid Hill’s cliff, Sofia took a quick glance towards the endless heavens and rubbed the vial inside her pocket. She remembered finding it in this spot a week ago. Sofia had just discovered Frigid Hill for the first time and she was lying down at the corner of the cliff. She wanted to jump, to see whether it was nothing more than an illusion or perhaps something else.

Her fall wasn’t as daunting as it was supposed to be. She had landed a few feet below in the rotten darkness but her fall did not kill her despite the height. From the ground where she fell, she could see the cliff standing still above her. Pulling herself up from the ground, she realized that she was standing in pitch darkness. The only light that could be seen besides the sky was a glowing object in front of her. She had no idea what it was but she took it and placed it in her pocket. The next thing she knew, she was back on top of Frigid Hill. Since then, she knew exactly how powerful the vial was.



Being on top of Frigid Hill was a different feeling. Sofia could not really explain it but it had become her place to release anger. The vial was now in her palm. She looked at it for a few seconds as the smoke inside kept on spinning. She slowly opened the cork and soon after, the smoke that contained the angry voices had evaporated towards mid air. Sofia had hoped that as long as she kept on releasing her parents’ anger on top of Frigid Hill, they would slowly stop their fights.

After all that, she placed her weary head against the ground with both her arms beneath it. It was a quiet evening like the rest and there was no way she could deny it. She was all alone in this secret place that she had called home and there was no one else to bother her.




“Who are you?” A silhouette of a person had occurred on top of her.