Chapter 4: Shadows in Small Talk
The sun painted the campus courtyard with a warm embrace as Sarah and I, accompanied by Jonah, decided to grab a bite at the nearby café. The atmosphere felt familiar, like the routine of any college student's outing. I actually felt my stress levels go from 100 to 60.
Seated around a small table in the corner of the café, we introduced ourselves to each other and continued making small talks. Jonah's hazel eyes, seemingly easygoing, held a keen curiosity as she sipped her coffee. The air was thick with the fragrance of brewing espresso, and our conversation meandered through the usual topics—classes, campus life, and weekend plans.
"So, Emily, tell me more about yourself," Jonah asked, her tone light but the undertones suggesting a deeper interest.
I shared the typical college woes and my stress about history, trying to keep it light.
"But there's more to everyone than just exams. What are your hobbies? Any hidden talents?" Jonah's probing questions stirred a sense of discomfort, a feeling that there was more at play than a casual get-to-know-you session.
"I have nothing interesting going on in my life, trust me," I said, giving a half-smile. I didn't want to tell this girl about all the craziness that's happened in the past few days.
"Oh, come on. There's got to be more; otherwise, you wouldn't be going to counselling, right?" She looked at me,staring deep into my soul. I just shrugged and chuckled awkwardly.
Sarah interjected with a playful comment: "Jonah, you're making it sound like Emily is a character in a detective novel. Just a regular person here, nothing too mysterious."
Jonah laughed along, but her eyes betrayed a flicker of something deeper. "Fair enough, just trying to get to know you guys."
"More like get to know Emily," Sarah said with a fake smile. I gave her a glare.
"I'm sorry, how long have you two known each other?" Aksed Jonah pointed at us with her freshly manicured nails.
"Mhm, it's been so long," Sarah started.
"I can tell she's protective of you." Jonah disturbed, looking at me as if she were scolding me
As we continued to chat, Jonah's questions became increasingly specific, asking about why I was at counseling and if I had been experiencing anything weird.
Sarah, however, couldn't ignore the shift in atmosphere. "Jonah, what's with the interrogation? Are you writing a biography on Emily or something?" She asked with a playful tone that couldn't mask her growing skepticism.
Jonah's laughter echoed, and her eyes gleamed with an enigmatic spark. "No biography, I promise. I'm just genuinely interested in people and their stories."
We ate in silence for a while after that.
***
"Hey Em?"
"Sarah," I replied, rolling my eyes in annoyance. She was distracting me. I'd ask them to stay quiet for me, but one thing about Sarah is that she was a very talkative person, very hard to tame.
"How did you really feel about Jonah?" She asked, lying face-up on my bed.
I turned around to face her. She looked like she was far from her thoughts, really thinking about the question she was asking.
"Mhh, well, we just met her for like an hour; she seemed pretty nice. Why?" I tilted my head a bit, trying to read through my best friend. I could tell something was on her mind.
"Nothing, but she seemed like she was asking too many questions. Odd ones sometimes," she paused.
"Maybe she was just trying to get to know us, or she's socially awkward like me." I shrugged my shoulders in dismissal and turned my back towards her, trying to get back to my books.
She dropped the subject after that, and I continued doing my research. Frustrated, I slammed my laptop shut and let out a loud groan.
I cozied up in front of my laptop, its gentle fan hum keeping me company while the echoes of laughter from our lunch still hung in the air.
Ready for a bit of online exploration, I faced Google's search bar. With a solid exhale, I tapped out "historical artifacts." The screen lit up, flooding me with a whole bunch of pictures. Each image felt like a quiet storyteller, sharing tales from times gone by. My eyes wandered over these ancient relics, checking out their fancy designs and worn-out looks. It was like getting a sneak peek into the stories of civilizations that existed way before us, and the artifacts were the silent witnesses of those long-lost tales.
As I swiped through the digital pages of history, one picture caught my eye—a mysterious artifact that seemed to buzz with some kind of weird energy. It was like the pixels on the screen were hiding a secret, whispering stories that went beyond the whole digital world. The artifact in that image grabbed me, and its patterns kind of etched themselves into my brain.
I leaned in, looking at every tiny detail, my brain totally focused. There was something about it that felt familiar—a vibe that hit me deep down. However, the memory deceived me, teetering on the precipice of recognition in a manner reminiscent of a cunning shadow.
Getting kind of annoyed, I squinted at the screen, trying to figure out where I'd seen that artifact before. The more I stared, the more it slipped away, like trying to catch smoke with your hands. It was right there on the tip of my brain, a memory just teasing me from behind this invisible curtain in my mind.
I shut my eyes, seeking comfort in the darkness behind my eyelids. I wanted that image to stick around in my head, letting the whispers from my dreams mix with the picture on the laptop screen. The room kind of faded away as I delved into my memory, trying to catch those slippery threads that linked me to this mysterious artifact.
Then, bam! Like a gust of wind, it hit me—a super vivid dream, this crazy mix of colors and shadows where I'd come across that exact same artifact. The recognition hit me like a light turning on, and my eyes popped open, a mix of excitement and nervousness bubbling up inside me.
I sharply turned my head to tell Sarah I had remembered something from my dreams, but to my disappointment, she was no longer there. I must've been so caught up that I didn't even notice her leaving. I felt quilt was over me; I felt like I had been a bad friend to her.She has always been there for me, and it's like everything is always about me. However, as soon as the guilt came, it was quickly overwritten by another set of emotions as I turned my head back to the screen.
There it was—the artifact that had haunted my dreams, now materializing on my laptop screen. Its symbolism transcended the boundaries of my subconscious mind, linking the dream realm to the waking world. With a newfound sense of purpose, I meticulously noted down the details—its intricate patterns, the emotions it stirred, and the latent memories it seemed to awaken.
As the image remained frozen on the screen, I couldn't shake off the feeling that this artifact held the key to the mysteries that enveloped me
The artifact on the laptop screen had this mysterious charm, like it existed somewhere between what you can touch and what's just pure magic. It was made from this mix of materials that seemed like they came from a whole other world, throwing away the rulebook at any specific time in history. It was this puzzle of the past and the future all mashed up together.
At first glance, it looked like this fancy amulet, with its core made of this see-through crystal that threw out a crazy mix of colors. The crystal was all wrapped up in this intricate silver design, like a delicate web, and it glowed in a way that didn't seem quite normal.
Looking closer, the crystal had these weird symbols on it. It appeared to be some kind of long-forgotten language.
My Google journey became this crazy maze of information, but the artifact remained this slippery puzzle that wouldn't fit into any history category. It was like it said, "I'm not playing by your time or culture rules," existing as this total mystery that went beyond what we know.
Getting pretty frustrated, I clicked through endless web pages, academic articles, and museum archives. The artifact's fancy patterns and cosmic symbols just didn't match up with anything from known civilizations or historical times. It felt like this thing just popped up from some hidden dimension, a relic from a reality that doesn't follow our usual understanding.
Then, just when I was about to call it quits, a spark of hope showed up. I found this quick mention that gave me chills—the artifact was apparently in some faraway museum. There was a name I barely recognized, teasing me with the promise of finally getting some answers.
But this museum thing only made the mystery deeper. How did it end up there? What stories did the museum folks have about this weird creation? Were there others out there, like me, trying to crack the code of its secrets? So many questions are buzzing in my head.
Frustration mingled with a sense of urgency as I contemplated the logistical challenges of pursuing this lead. A museum visit in another country was no small feat, especially amidst the rigors of midterm exams.
'I need to investigate this,' I thought to myself.