That night, Eliana tossed and turned in her bed.
Every time she forced her eyes shut, she somehow ended up opening them again. Too many thoughts bounced around her head and twice more questions demanded to be answered.
She completely exhausted yet how come sleep didn't come so easily for her?
Eliana rubbed her eyes and tried to suppress a yawn. She laid there, staring at the hole on ceiling from two days ago while she contemplated on what to do.
'Maybe I'll go read or study or something...'
She shifted over to switch on the lamp on her bedside table.
Suddenly, her left hand, which secured her onto the bed, slipped and she fell forward with a quiet yelp.
She expected her face to collide with the stone-cold floor of her bedroom, but she kept falling.
This was definitely not right. One minute passed, then two, and finally three minutes. She was supposed to feel pain burst throughout in her face by now but she kept falling.
Eliana could hear the wind whistle in her ears and all around her was complete darkness. The faint moonlight that illuminated her room was gone and so was her loft bed. She waved her arms around, expecting to feel something and anything but there was nothing.
She kept falling and falling until she plunged head-first into what felt like water.
It was vast and cold like the ocean and it was also entirely empty.
What this ocean was and why she was falling out of the sky, she didn't have a single clue.
She looked around her, tiny bubbles rising out of her mouth.
'Where are all the fish?'
This thought passed through Eliana's head as she floated.
She forced her arms to swim upwards but she couldn't move. Something was weighing her down. No… dragging her down.
She glanced down to find a bright red hand tightly clutching her shin.
Eliana kicked the hand as hard as she could underwater but it wouldn't let go or even loosen its grip.
Then more hands reached out from the blackness and grabbed on to her legs.
A pair reached out and embraced her, making her sink at a much faster rate. She wiggled, pulled, and even bit, the pair embracing her.
Regardless of what she did, she couldn't get these them off and she kept sinking.
She reached out for the light as if it would come down and pull her out of the clutches of these red hands.
But of course, it did nothing for her. It watched her as she continued to helplessly descend into the dark abyss beneath her.
Another hand shot out and covered her eyes, her vision shrouded in complete blackness.
＊＊＊
It was completely dark but as Eliana focused her eyes, she could make out silhouettes in the background.
Suddenly, a light clicked on, illuminating a whole room enclosed by red and white checkered walls. The beam gradually shifted from her side until it shone in the middle of the table.
Eliana opened her eyes to find herself seated at a table with an empty porcelain teacup in front of her.
She picked it up and examined it as she rotated it in her hands, the gold lining the rim gleaming under the light.
It had a simple yet pretty dark emerald pattern adorning its gray surface. It was easy to hold in her hands but it was small, like a playroom tea set.
There were two more teacups and a teapot of the same pattern in front of her. Something about them seemed oddly familiar.
'Have I seen them before? If so, then where?'
But Eliana shook those thoughts off.
Eliana set it down again and swept her gaze around the table.
On her left, there was a chocolate brown teddy bear. She didn't know why but Eliana felt a compelling urge to slide across the table and feel its fluffy plush under her hands as she picked it up.
Eliana controlled herself. She figured in the setting she was in, that would be very unladylike and plus, she knew better than that.
'But... the thought of sliding across the table top is pretty interesting.'
Eliana leaned her cheek on the back of her hand.
'Ugh, never mind. I am more mature than that.'
She shifted her gaze to her right and there was a female ceramic doll dressed in a white ruffled dress sitting with its hands on its lap in a poised manner, unlike the teddy bear beside her.
Both of them slouched over where they were seated and their heads lifelessly drooped.
"Hello?"
Of course, she was only met with silence and they continued to stay in the same position.
Eliana slumped onto the table as she heaved a deep sigh.
'Well, they're… dolls. Just what exactly was I expecting?'
The cover of the teapot suddenly shook and yellow foam came bubbling out.
It floated over and poured a black thick viscous liquid, similar to ink, into Eliana's cup.
Eliana swept her hand under it just to be sure.
Then her eyes widened.
'Oh dang, it really is levitating…'
She then looked at the liquid and wrinkled her nose, scooting her chair back a couple inches.
It wasn't that visually appealing as it reminded her of discolored bodily waste. Thinking about it made her stomach churn and Eliana strongly decided that there is no way she is going to drink whatever is flowing into that teacup.
Even when the teacup was already two-thirds full, the teapot kept pouring.
"Uh, that's quite enough now… You don't have to keep pouring." Who Eliana was talking to, she didn't know.
A random thought popped into her head and she imagined a scenario where a butler stepped into view. After he bowed, he slid his gloved fingers around the teapot handle and tilted the teapot with rehearsed grace.
The liquid in the teacup brimmed over and started to drip down the circular table top, plopping onto the floor in plump droplets.
It wouldn't stop pouring and those droplets began to incessantly stream from around the table top like a waterfall.
"That's quite enough now!" Eliana lifted her feet, her chair starting to wobble.
At first, there was a puddle of that black semi fluid near the leg of the chair.
Now it began to flood into a lake and rise around her. The liquid was already two feet deep and still rising.
"YOU CAN DEFINITELY STOP-"
'Ah, that's right. No matter what I say, nothing will change…' She climbed onto the table.
Eliana searched for any means to escape but there was nothing. There weren't any vents, windows, or doors anywhere. All around her were red and white checkered walls (which were getting tiring to see after a while). It was as if she was stuck inside an enormous cube.
The table swayed unsteadily from side to side, sloshing around the lake with a certain sound that made Eliana shiver in disgust. If this keeps up, she will be the one sloshing around in that black viscous goop.
'The liquid is starting to get really close to the tabletop…' She gulped, uneasy and trying to keep her rising panic levels under control.
From the corner of her eye, Eliana noticed the teddy bear along with the doll sat upright with their heads looking straight ahead.
She fully turned her head and now they were facing her, their eyes focused solely on Eliana as if watching her struggle helplessly was very entertaining.
She didn't know why but she thought, 'Isn't life like this? You struggle so hard even when you know there is no way out?'
Eliana crossed her arms, then quickly grabbed on to the sides of the table again since the table wobbled again.
"What? Is there something on my face?"
"Oh, I didn't know you could see that when your face is about to become half submerged in this stuff!" She glared at the doll.
It was only a doll, so why did she get angry at it?
The doll continued to stare at her with its glassy hazel eyes and somehow Eliana started to feel guilty for yelling at it.
"Ugh, fine..." She muttered under her breath.
Eliana took both the doll and teddy bear and held them close to her chest.
The black liquid had just reached the tip of her foot, staining the tips of her toes.
"It's going to be okay… It's going to be okay…" She whispered to them as she clutched them tighter.
Eliana squeezed her eyes shut, expecting her to feel like she was underwater again.
It has been quite awhile but nothing happened.
Regardless, she kept them shut.