Heights contain a weight that one could never explain. A tug, powerful enough to disorient you, pulls at the pit of your stomach as you eye the abyss that stares back at you beneath your feet. Despite that, there is an inkling that calls out to you, an urge to just leap into the hole present in front of you. Enticing.
"The manor lies beyond the mist, onto the other side." Gretel speaks, breaking me free from my line of thought. "That is where they have taken your friend."
My heart starts to sink as I've realized the lateness of our arrival. Anthony, hang in there a bit more kid. "So, what's the plan? There a secret passage we scurry ourselves into again?" I ask, not seeing a visible path for us to follow.
Gretel mutters something under her breath as her eyes suddenly give off a faint red glow, a small speck of light within the fogginess. I almost lose my balance when I suddenly find myself in front of a wooden bridge, the typical fragile-looking ones you see in the movies. I had no idea where it came from and I have now come to terms with the fact that I know better than to question it at this point. "This is a path we each have to take alone. Brace yourself for what's to come." She steps on the rocking bridge and in an instant, she evaporates into thin air.
Hansel follows, the same thing happening to him and I am left alone within the mist. I take in a deep breath before stepping upon the rotting wood that paved the way for me to take. As I do, I suddenly feel a warmth overwhelm me as I close my eyes underneath the sudden comfort.
"Mikey, what are you doing?" A familiar voice calls out to me and I open my eyes to see if it was true. Evelynn. "Are you dozing off at work again?" She speaks in the same gentle way I have always loved. Tears begin to stream down my eyes as I reach out to embrace her, startling her as I do so but she returns it either way. "Why on Earth are you crying?"
Why was I crying? I look around to see the same bedroom we have always shared. It seemed clean however, like it always has. But why do I feel like it wasn't supposed to be. She pulls my face to turn to her, my hands caressing her cheeks in turn. My head aches and I struggle to remember why I was so spaced out, like I was out of place. "It's nothing, I'm okay." I answer, resting my head on her shoulder as she pats the back of it with gentle strokes.
"You never could lie to me." She says in a joking manner as she plops down on the bed, taking me in her arms as I bask in the comfort of her company. Her hair was long, the same beautiful shade of black that I have grown to admire every time I see her, and I see her every single day. "I suppose work has been a lot harder on you guys who're always out on the field. We get all the research work and boring numbers back at the office, but we're safe." Eve pauses to look down at me, she's beautiful underneath the low light of our bedside lamp. "I can only imagine how hard it has been for you."
She's right. It's not hard to believe that maybe it was the stress of all the work we've been getting. The moon outside looks beautiful, gazing upon us through the windowpanes as I start to feel the drowsiness overcome me. "Don't you dare leave me." I whisper, a certain fear can be felt tugging at my heart. I just don't know why it's there.
"Where would I even go, weirdo." Evelynn puts the mattress on top of us as I can feel her getting drowsy as well. "If anything, I'm more scared that one day you might not come back to me." She pauses, taking in deep breaths before she continues. "I'll kill you if you don't."
"Understood." I say as I fall entirely asleep, losing myself within the zone that she offers. I'm alright. We're alright.
The sun is brighter than usual when I wake up, the smell of butter casting a strong fragrance in the bedroom. I could hear sizzling, accompanied by a genre of music I never could seem to understand how one would like, but I listen to it anyway. Sweet notes of piano fill the house as I get dressed and quickly make my way towards the kitchen. There she was, hair pulled up into a messy bun as she gracefully moves around the kitchen, humming the tune as she strides across the room. "Someone's lively in the morning." I speak, to which she simply smiles without even turning to look at me.
"Well, I'll have you know that we are definitely late for work Mister Graves." She puts the plates of buttered toast and bacon on the table and makes her way towards me, her arms wrapped around my neck. "You slept well last night." She pulls me in for a kiss, happiness surging within my body as I take in her presence. Why do I feel like I'm losing her? Eve pulls away and pulls me by the arm towards the seats of the table. "Make sure you eat well. I've talked to Brandon about letting a little lateness slide. He's been a good boy about it." She giggles as she playfully eats a strip of bacon.
I can't help but smile as she clumsily chows down on her food, not a care in the world for what's around her. "Was he now? I don't remember him ever being that lenient." Uptight, always prim and proper. That was the Brandon I knew.
"He respects you Mike, he rejected the position because he thought you were a better fit for it remember?" She responds, talking about the promotion regarding being the head of the Office. "Well, today's going to be another busy day. So we best get moving."