The Glimpse of It

10:30 pm.

I'm exactly on time. I'll get there soon.

The road is quite empty today—I haven't seen any car other than the one I saw a few minutes ago. Is there something special today?

The weather is gloomy. I better hurry.

There's nothing on the radio. Well, not really: there's two men talking about work ethics and the youth. Honestly? It's so boring. Why don't they just shut the radio station down if they don't have any other programs?

Is that a tree?

No, it's a girl.

Why is she there? Does she need help? A hitch hike?

What exactly is she doing in the middle of the road?

Can she even hear the horn? I can't control the steering? What?

The breaks aren't working either! And the steering! It's! It's jammed!

No! No! No!!!

???

My cheeks... they're cold and damp... and my nose feels...itchy.

This wooden floor...

It's all covered in snow? No...it's mold...white and fuzzy.

Where am I?

I feel dizzy.

My hands... they're... tied? But my legs are not?

It's really hard to...ugh...sit up. But a little struggle can always help me...ugh...get up, eh?

Hm...this isn't my home. I don't know this place and how I ended up here...my car....it went out of control...

But this doesn't explain how I got...

Footsteps...I'm sure those are footsteps—someone is coming! I have to lie down!

I closed my eyes shut. My heart's racing.

"Oh, so vulnerable! Be careful, Slendira. He'll try to escape."

"Sure, The Mom. I'll look over him."

Who were they? Why have they kept me here? What do they want?

I have to get out; and I have to be careful.

The same amount of struggle helped me sit up again.

This rope is loose.

I just pulled my hands away and the rope loosened and it fell on the floor.

My shoes...I'm not wearing them? I thought I had my shoes a while ago?

What exactly is this room?

There's this cupboard and this bed without a mattress? How strange. The window is sealed with wooden planks.

Is it still night? How long have they kept me here?

How do I get out?

What if they locked the door?

I turned the doorknob. The door opened.

Woah! Careful!

A bear trap? Right in front of the door? What are they even up to?

What do they want from me?

There's another door in front of me. And this corridor...there's a staircase at the end.

I walked to the right, successfully avoiding the bear trap.

Just across the staircase...the front door!

It's...It's open!

I wasted no time and ran out.

Pebbles stabbed my feet with each step.

I looked at my feet. The soles are bleeding.

Can pebbles hurt me...?

But why am I not feeling any pain?

Doesn't matter.

My car. There it is!

But...it's...locked. They must've hidden the key somewhere.

I have to find it. I am going to find it.

"Oh! The Mom was right! You really would try to esca...pe!"

I turned around to the person behind me—white and shiny skin, almost like porcelain; hollow and deep eye sockets, but without eyeballs; pale lips and s—

"Now, you'll feel pain every time you take a step!"

She walked away, dragging the hammer with her.

The hammer had a nail or two attached on its head...and she hit my left knee with it.

I feel exhausted. I feel...no...pain...

I try to walk...but I tripped...and I fell...

"Slendira! Do I need to tell you how to treat people? Answer me!"

"I'm so sorry, The Mom!"

"Now! You shall listen to what I say after I destroy that face of yours—"

"N-No....NOOO!!!"

My eyes hurt...My hands are not tied...and the mold got thicker...it's like a pillow for me now.

I have to...drag my left foot when I walk...

I opened the door.

There's no bear trap...but...shards of ceramic?

I drag myself toward the staircase. Again.

The front door was right there...but next to it...there is an l-shaped corridor...and I hadn't noticed it last time.

A table stands pressed next to the corner...and on it...there's a telephone.

I should try to call the police!

I pick up the handset and bring it to my ear.

I'm dialing the number...a funny feeling...I look down at my toes.

Maggots.

I hold the handset in front of me—several maggots wriggling out of the earpiece.

I touched my face.

I felt the maggots crawling up my fingers, leaving my face.

I brushed them off—they fell on the table.

"It's...all be...cause of...you..."

I turned around—the same girl.

But her face...it was cracked this time. Half of her scalp...broken and hollow.

Black liquid streams down her eye sockets, seeping into the cracks on her face.

She didn't attack me.

She just stands in front of me.

"Slendira!!!" The corridor behind her echoes.

A woman appears behind her.

She looks like a human—eyes that blink, skin that has texture, and hair cut in a bob—she is a human.

She grabs the girl by her neck and slams her body on the wall to the right.

Her body breaks into several thousand shards, all trembling on the ground.

"The Mom! T-The...Mom...I'm s-sorry! The M...om!"

"Young man...I see...you're the flesh maggots adore. Now, you needn't feel pain."

"Oh, my poor The...Daughter! My...Slendira! Forgive mommy!"

I coughed and I woke up.

Mold had grown over my arms and legs...as if it wanted to bury me.

How long have I been here?

A brown glass bottle with a white lid lies near me.

"Emotional Suppressants."

I placed it on top of the cupboard.

I opened the door.

No bear trap. No shards of ceramic.

A piece of red ribbon.

I dragged my left foot toward the staircase and walked upstairs.

Two rooms, opposite to each other: one to my left and other to my right.

A large window between the two rooms, straight in front of me.

I checked the rooms—the left room is locked, but the one on the right isn't.

A bed and a drawer, nothing else...but a nightstand?

I looked into the drawers, the faint light of the nightstand illuminating my search.

I found it!

My key!

"What the hell!!!"

"Slendira! What was that? Watch your words! No way! Find him!!!"

Shoot! They're talking about me!

I shoved the key into my pocket—my hands found a lighter inside.

I need to hide!

I closed the door and sat on the floor, next to the table.

"You thought I wouldn't no...tice? The Mom would be so proud...of me!"

I hear the doorknob turn.

The girl laughs as she slowly opens the door...as if she expects a reaction out of me.

She walked in and sat in front of me.

She pulled out an end of a ribbon from her...arm?

Her arm shatters into fragments...and then, into pieces with every centimeter of ribbon she pulls.

"Slendira! The Daughter! Stop!"

"B...but...The...Mom..."

The woman rushes into the room and grabs me by my arm. She helped me stand up.

"Don't be afraid. She just needs some fixing."

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"Oh, don't worry! I'm doing all these for the betterment of you! Of me! Of humanity!"

She let go of my arm.

"Bring my tea to me, please. Meanwhile, I'll fix her."

She drags the girl out of the room by her hair, each strand snapping with every step the woman takes.

I dragged my left foot downstairs. It's hard to walk this way...but at least, I don't feel any pain.

...but how am I not feeling any...pain?

Maybe the woman is here? No, she isn't. She just...disappeared?

I should walk down the corridor.

No pictures hung up on the wall...but why? No decorations either...

The corridor led me into a room. An empty room. Only a table in the center...and a teacup.

I looked into the cup: there's tea poured in...and it's warm.

I took the cup in my hand.

"Slendira! My The Daughter! Mommy's going to turn you into something so much better! And don't worry! Soon, you'll have the young man as your friend! Now, how do I fix...oh! I know! I just have to pour hot wax into your left eye socket! You'll be all—"

"The Mom! N-No!"

"Shut up! This will make you obey me!"

The girl's scream fell silent.

"Oh, hurry up, young man! Will you even bring me the tea or will you just stand there and eavesdrop?"

What? How? Where is she? Can she hear my thoughts?

Is that girl her actual daughter? But she's...porcelain?

Why torture her to obey? What does the woman really want?

I have to escape.

I think they're in that room.

I am walking toward the room where they kept me—they must be there.

The door...it won't fully open? It's...stuck?

I pushed the door with all the force I could muster. The girl fell down; her face hit the floor.

"I'm not like this...I...I never was...I am a hu-man...She made me this way. She made me evil...I'm not like this...I am doll...sh...she turned me good. I m-mu-must obey her. And you should; you would do the same. This for her good...this is for my good and this is...this is for your good. This is for everyone's good."

She fell silent.

I walk into the room, heading toward the cupboard.

I took the bottle that fell due to the force when I opened the door.

"No...Don't put it! I said, don't! Do not put it! Listen! Put it! Put more than 10! That'll be enough! Don't do that to her! YOU! —"

"Slendira!"

The girl stands and she walks straight out of the room.

Where is that woman? What was that girl talking about? Where shouldn't I put it?

But she also told me to put it? Why? Is this some kind of...poison? The woman...she did foul things to her...

What exactly is her motive? Why me?

What exactly is it? What are Emotional Suppressants? Some pills...

I feel that I should put the pills in the tea.

The aroma of the tea got intense.

I dragged myself out of the room, careful not to spill the tea. I should head toward the staircase.

"I'm here, young man."

I turned around—the lady was outside.

I walked toward her. It's hard for me to walk.

There's no door...just the frame.

"Young man, thank you for the tea. I'll show you exactly why I need you."

I don't want to go...but I feel I have to? What is this feeling?

I feel as if...this woman is pulling my blood toward her...my legs just follow her steps.

Is it just my thinking? What is even happening to me?

I didn't notice it before...

Shed.

She took me to this shed.

She stops sipping tea. Motionless...she stands...in front of the door.

Has she forgotten why she came here?

She turns to me.

"I see, young man...you're so clever. You thought I wouldn't notice how you added Emotional Suppressants in my tea, did you? Well, do you even know what they actually do? You don't. Yet, you added them to my tea—how clever! And this is the exact cleverness I need in order to succeed! We'll change the world for good! Soon, you'll start to see it...and I'll make sure that you do! Trust—"

She turned away and walked into the shed.

I followed her. Again.

She stopped—more like she froze—in front of this huge crate.

She didn't blink. She didn't move an inch.

I know what I need to do.

I pushed her body...she fell perfectly into the crate...as if she was meant to fit in.

I have to buy myself time to escape.

I look around. I have to find something to seal the crate.

Nothing. I found nothing.

I pushed the crate outside the shed—it takes up too much space inside—this time, my leg supports me.

I rushed inside again.

I need to find something.

Footsteps outside the shed—I froze.

"The Mom! What happened? The M-Mom! Put gasoline on her...burn her... The Mom! What's wrong? That man...I'll kill him!"

The girl screams shrilly and she runs away.

Back into the house, I think.

She's right...I need to burn her...she's a witch. Perhaps even worse.

She manipulates people. I can't leave without erasing her...

This is foul.

"The gasoline is near the table, boy..."

I turned to my right.

There emerged a half-melted snowman from the shadows.

It talks.

"Don't doubt yourself, boy."

The snowman leapt onto me and I fell on the floor.

I stood up.

My...arms are covered...with snow. No...it's covered with cuts...and I feel...exhausted.

I reached for the gasoline at the foot of the table.

I dragged myself out of the shed.

I stood in front of the crate; my hands searching for the lighter in my pockets.

"No. Don't do that."

I turned around.

The girl runs toward me.

"I have a deal. I'll let you...go...go. In re...turn, you will not hurt h...er."

"But she's evil. Look what she did to you."

"I know. Shattered me and tied...my porcelain pieces with...ribbon. Th..at's how you treat...treat a doll."

"..."

"No matter how evil she is or...what...ever she did to me...she must die. No...she needs to live. It doesn't matter if I was a human once, she... What matters is...please..."

"..."

"But...she gave birth to me."

The girl steps away, looking at her mother.

She places her hands over her hollow eye sockets and turns away.

I poured the gasoline on the woman and set her ablaze.

I ran toward my car.

"Youuuuuuuuu! Whattttttt! I will nottttt spaaaa...reeeee youuuuuuu!!!"

I accelerated the engine and drove away.

I knew she would come after me.

I knew she would come after me.

I know she is coming after me.

I will know she would come after me.

The night has peaked and darkness devoured the sky.

My headlights flicker...they will stop working soon, I think. I don't know where this road will lead to.

There is no other car on the road. I don't know where I am.

But I know where to go.

The car jolted and stopped in front of a lake.

I got out.

I can't stay inside.

I looked up—several thousand stars dotted the night sky.

I didn't have time—I jumped into the lake and swam to the other end.

A forest.

Bushes and trees.

I can't see clearly.

Several leaves stung me and several others cut my skin.

I walked.

I walk.

The forest lightens.

Then came a cobblestone path.

Lanterns illuminate the path.

The path leads me to a wooden gateway.

I walked in.

The number of lanterns decreases, but I can still see.

A staircase, at a distance.

I stand in front of it.

I climb the stairs.

The wooden stairs...old and squeaky.

Vines hug the base of the staircase.

The number of bushes that brush against my knees decreases with each ascend.

Some steps are missing and I can see the dark silhouette of the bushes below.

100 meters.

200 meters.

300 meters.

400 meters.

500 meters.

The stairs continue, almost infinitely.

But I stopped climbing.

I've reached the landing.

There're bushes and trees in front of me.

A little gap in the foliage.

What do I see?

I see it.

The Tower.

Fireworks exploding behind it. Pink and golden shimmers in the sky.

The grey walls reflect the sparks.

I reach for my polaroid camera—is it always with me?

I took a picture of it.

The photo in my hand.

I take steps backward.

This is all I've ever wanted.

The wooden railing snaps...and breaks.

Cold drops of rain tickle my face.

My heart skips a beat.

"Where... is he??"

"What's that??? A cro...wd of people..."

I walked toward it, pushed some people aside, and made my way toward the scene.

There was he.