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"Overall, temperatures will be rising to our expected spring standards. Expect plenty of sunshine and an extreme lack of clouds!"
Annie sank into the polyester cushions behind her as she released a soft exhale. The sing-song tone of the weatherman lulled her towards slumber like a bedtime story--though of course, she couldn't sleep. She tangled her thin fingers into a tiny mess, ignoring their silent protests as she wrang out her anxiety. Being trapped under the over-sized TV dinner tray in her uncle's house had always been one of her least favorite activities. Furthermore, her uncle's house had always been one of her least favorite places.
Occasionally Annie was stuck here, in this cramped mountain cottage--complete with only a handful of rooms. A majority of the time, she spent her time in the house alone.
The house was certainly old--wallpaper was peeling, carpets ripped. Ceilings hung low with exposed beams, similar to a cage (which she felt like she was in). Every room had uniform colors of white and beige, and the smell of cigarettes lingered off every piece of furniture. There was no backyard or front yard for her to play in--not even a garden to admire or a garage to explore. Outside, brown surrounded her, in the form of heavy piles of rock and sand. All she had was the ancient TV in front of her. It bored the eight year-old--and bothered her, too.
Her father and her uncle both handled the same organization--thus their lives consistently intersected and overlapped. Ever since the death of her aunt and would-be cousin, her parents lavishly cared for her uncle and accepted him as part of the family. Even her mother jokingly refers to him as Annie's "second father".
Which, however, Annie disapproved of.
As the block-like TV beamed with bright commercials, Annie reached for the plastic fork on her dinner tray, and jabbed into a slice of chicken. She held the soggy piece of meat to eye-level as she contemplated eating it. With tacit disapproval, she lowered the fork and grabbed an apple slice instead, gnawing on its white tender center with her lack of teeth.
That was when an energetic blast of instruments hooked her attention, pink orbs shifting in their sockets to look. Large, white text panned across the screen before zooming out to read
Breaking News.
What was it this time? A burning house? A school lock-down? Something else that didn't concern her?
"Only a few hours ago, a middle-aged couple on their way across the countryside spotted a wrecked car that was seemingly hurled over the rocky cliff. Police were immediately contacted, and are currently inspecting the scene."
Car accident. Not her problem. Annie's hand extended across the couch cushions as it patted the area for a remote, only to be interrupted.
"This just in! There was a man and a woman in the car! Police are checking their status and are currently trying to determine their identity!"
Her pale hand paused, as if it were watching with her. Juices flowed from the apple slice and gently over her fingers.
"The bodies have been identified as Benjamin and Helen Sonnenburg!"
Annie's body stiffened and numbed, and an intense wave of heat churned in her chest. Her body shivered despite the 80 degree temperatures. Her mouth clamped shut as her body felt as if it were floating.
Those were her parents' names.
On the screen, policemen shook their heads with grim disappointment as they backed away from the silver minivan.
"...Based on the report, both have been mortally injured. It is assumed the woman died on impact, and the man from blood loss."
She felt her innards dissolve into water as realization hit. She couldn't stop shivering. Her emotions rattled against her bones and skin, an angry tornado of turmoil twisting her very being. Thoughts panned through her mind like that very same news logo.
My dad is dead. My mom is dead. I'm an orphan now. I'm an orphan now...
Annie inhaled sharply as she shoved her eyelids closed. Her eyes were too dry to shed tears.
Instead, she angrily bit her lip as she kicked away the dinner tray, the shrill crash of silverware and metal crashing against the floor. Her hands flew to her hair, bunching it up into thick snow-white knots. Her lungs pushed against her insides with each heavy pant.
I have to calm down. I have to calm down.
An uneasy aura tingled her nerves, and she lifted her head to jump in the sight of her uncle Vincent towering over her. His strange calmness was intensified by his piercing gaze, and his eyes never averted as he jabbed the power button of the TV. Annie's pants never ceased, though as she raised her hands to hide her face she felt a wetness on her cheeks. Tears. Where were they before?
Boney arms snared around her, tugging her small frame towards a firm torso. Vincent leaned down and combed through her tousled hair, smoothing it back to perfection.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered with his raspy voice, and he squeezed her reassuringly. Such affection from him typically made her condition worse, though at that moment in time he was the only family member that was still alive--the last remaining line of the Sonnenburg family other than herself. Deep down, she couldn't help but appreciate his awkward and rare gesture.
Yet as she drowned out her whimpers into his shoulder, she could feel him grin.
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The previous months had been a blur. A funeral for her parents, the granted custody of her to Vincent--the emotional bombardment left permanent scars in her innocent little heart.
What made matters worse was her current status: to save money on gas, Vincent sold his home and now they live completely in the creepy and nightmarish asylum--which she had no say in. She had also become more closely monitored after her initial outburst, giving Vincent the brilliant idea of admitting her to Ceresomni. Consistently she wandered the institute her uncle now managed alone, with nobody she knew, or at least respected. The grimy teals and silvers of the walls matched the shades of mold, and its vibe of sadness weighed down on her more than Vincent's house ever had.
Her new "room" was the cherry on top of her misery. It had an uncanny resemblance to a cage, with its dark colors and firm metal walls covered in a soft blanket of plush. Dreary and miserable as she was, it contained no charm--only the necessities, which were a bed, a light bulb, and a small corner which presumably served as a bathroom. Night time stretched across the sky outside a single window no larger than the size of her hand. She laid in her decent quality twin-sized bed, pondering all of her life's mysteries and the possible roads to take ahead.
The nearest light--a single light bulb centered on the thin ceiling above--had its chain dangle in mid-air, taunting her by circling above her arm's reach. It was no use reaching for it anyway, as she was currently attempting to sleep off another dead day.
Legal affairs caved a big gaping hole filled Annie's mind, leaving a deserted wasteland in its place. Complete with tumble weeds and rotting ideas that accumulated mental dust, it established its continuous existence by drumming the side of her head and creating painful migraines. Due to the painful state, all of her previous dreams during slumber seemed to vanish within thin air. Thus she expected this night to consist of the same blank void that further drained her positivity--until this certain night when she finally drifted into subconscious.
White. White consumed everything.
It immediately contrasted the fields of black she floated through all the months before. Though like the black, it was empty except for herself...
However, it had some sort of potential locked within, similar to a blank sheet of paper.
Annie blinked in her dream before skimming the vast fields of nothing, edging forward daringly to begin her exploration. Her footsteps produced no sound, and the ground she tread didn't even feel like ground at all. It was as if she traveled through an incomplete dimension, whose creators barely missed their deadline.
Her attempt at exploration ended quickly as she appeared to be going no where. With a sigh, Annie clenched her sun dress and frowned. If only there was something here that could be of interest. Or in the very least, something as simple as...
"The sky," she whispered, finishing her thought with her vocal cords.
Suddenly, a blast of wind dashed into Annie, hissing in her ears as the white ceiling above swirled and churned like the contents of a cauldron. The shock caused Annie to yelp and duck for cover, creating a barricade with her petite arms. When all seemed safe, she released her tension and gazed above her head. Immediately, she froze in a fit of surprise, mouth agape and eyes shining bright.
A beautiful azure stretched across the horizons, sprinkled with thick, puffy clouds and topped with the gleaming sun in the far distance. She felt her skin bake under the sun's rays, and each strand of her hair tangoed with the gentle breeze. It was as if those simple words were a command--the fields of white listened and responded accordingly, matching her needs with full effort. Such effort produced an impossibly perfect resemblance to reality.
She had to test this further.
"Grass," she stated.
A few seconds passed--and her confidence wavered. But it reignited as she felt needles poke into her feet. Tiny strands of grass rose above the ground like blades ready for battle, jabbing their soft swords into her feet. Pollen diffused into the air, coating the land with its subtle perfume. The land began to look more real, peaceful, and full of life and vigor. Excitement blazed in Annie's cold and lonely heart. With a wide grin, she twirled as her eyes devoured every new sight there was to see.
"Mountains!" she shouted to the heavens.
"Trees!"
Her mirthful laugh echoed along the gentle rumbles of the ground below, as rocks pushed up from the subterranean and tugged land along with it. Piles of lands compacted into her request, standing high and mighty in recognition to her calls. Meanwhile, a rain of seeds descended from the puffy clouds alongside heavy droplets of rain, and the mixture caused trees to pierce the ground like big green spears. Once the beautiful chaos ceased, Annie plummeted to the pillow of grass and wiped her joyful tears.
What a beautiful, pure dream. Her safe haven--her empty canvas. Will it appear again? Already she loved it so. What other mysteries did it hide?
"Flowers," she sighed, and she chuckled once more as delicate buds kissed her hello. After the quick and hasty creation she made, she laid in her bed of petals and allowed herself to digest the scene. She was right--it did have potential. But she never realized just how much. Perhaps she could become a scientist like Vincent--except instead of testing on brains, she tested the abilities of this imaginary world.
As she calmed herself, Annie stood and gave the fresh land a meditative gaze. She couldn't possibly just sit here alone, could she...? If she planned to test this world, then maybe making another human or two should be harmless. Maybe even a couple thousand. A civilization wouldn't be a bad idea--filled good-natured people, with no wars to fight or no disasters to harm them. Seeing people happy could be enough to make her happy. Then all that happy could form a placid sanctuary that could await her each night.
Annie was so lonely in reality... so why not make things lively here?
With a swallow, she turned and faced the empty space of land in front of her. With a clench of her fists, she spoke after a heaving sigh.
"City."
Annie held her breath as skyscrapers pushed their way past--the blocks of shiny metal seemed endless, almost tangled--and she realized that the city wouldn't stop growing. Pillars pushed and shoved past each other like hoards of people entering a single doorway, and sometimes even whipped each other with thick concrete roads. Hostile they initially appeared, but as time passed they calmed and formed almost a sculpture of sorts.
When there were no more trees and grass to consume, in front of her she stared at the big, bustling town, with twisted roads and something for everything. A large metal sign stood high and proud in front of the maze, and inscribed in cursive red ink read its apparent name: Incomprehensible County.
It stuck out like a sore thumb in her green paradise--but it was what she wanted, wasn't it? She shrugged. It was
her land, after all.
Bad feeling or not, she knew it would stay her's.
There was nothing to worry about.
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