Rising Within

Bedroom Secret

Dionne

Mum was shaking. I felt the warmth of her tears freely flowing into my hair as she cradled me. Her tiny sobs broke my heart further with each sound, relieved to be reunited with her. I felt so groggy and aloof. My mind was racing to connect all the dots, piece together all the swirling images that were thrumming through my mind. There was no way I could tell Mum what had happened exactly. The heat of being with the twins rose to my cheeks and ignited my racy heart.

“Your father is going to be so thrilled to see you! Sophie had us so scared when she said you didn't come home!” Mum pulled back and took me in from an arms distance.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Dionne, you are everything to me.” I could see the raw emotion on her face and the moment she pushed the thought of losing me out of her mind.

And as quickly as she stopped in, she was preparing me for her departure after a phone call that had her even more on edge.

“I’m so sorry Dionne, there’s been an emergency, and I have to go and help your father. I promise, you are safe here. These people will treat you like royalty. I’ll be back as soon as I can!” Mum wiped her face and hugged me one last time before exiting the bedroom in haste.

My last 24 hours did not seem anything like my real life. Gone were the lazy days trying to think about what I wanted for my future and plodding my way there. Life had other plans and it seems they were spilling out in one succession after another without my control. I felt like the adrenaline from the last few days had shocked me awake, and if that was anything to go by, life was going to get a hell lot weirder. I flung myself off the bed and walked to the pictures on the wall. They called to something very deep within me, and I reached out to slightly adjust the one with the man and wolf shadow to square it off. Just as I removed my hand, I heard a very audible click.

Weird.

I looked closer at the picture, and I could swear that the wolf’s eyes glowed red for an instant. I traced my fingers over them and again heard another click. I don’t know what possessed me, but I took the picture off the wall and as I looked up from putting the picture down, I gasped at the even weirder truth in front of me. There behind where the picture lived was a secret door that was oddly too high for me to get in from the floor.

So, I did what any curiously stupid person would do and dragged the footstool that was next to the bed to get a sticky beak in there. The door wasn’t locked, and technically was more of an oversized shoot than a door. Inside I could see a room, and it wasn’t occupied, so I slipped in to check it out.

It seemed like this was some sort or storage vault for antiques or family heirlooms, but the right wall was lined with intricately carved mahogany wooden chests. I counted five, each with their own labels. I couldn’t see any dust in the room, so it seemed that someone did a good job with the upkeep of it. I traced my fingers along the chests and stopped at the last one. The letters carved on it were another language that I wasn’t familiar with, but it was unlocked. Slowly, I undid the clip and lifted the lid carefully.

Inside the chest appeared to be what looked like a fur coat. It was rich in hues of orange and red. I used both hands to lift it out, and it stretched longer than my body, tickling my skin. As I bathed in the lush feel of its softness, I felt a deep pinch all over my body.

The eyes. The coat had eyes and a wolf's head! They were red, and they were beckoning me to look into them.

I couldn’t look away.

I saw them, people wailing. Their pain was like a tidal wave over my body, it consumed my thoughts and then the kneeling lady turned to me and mouthed “Save us!”

In that instant, I felt her every being and, out of shock, I dropped the coat back into the trunk and with its weight the trunk slammed shut with a boom. My eyes would not stop dripping. Their pain was now imprinted on my heart, staining me.

Oh no, here we go again.

The darkness consumed me as I slumped to the floor.

“Dionne, we’ve been waiting for you. You have to wake up and seek your truth!” I was alone with the lady now in a dark dream like space.

“Seek your truth rising within!” A chorus beckoned behind her, but I couldn’t see past her face to see where the other voices were coming from.

“Your truth will set us free!” They chimed as my skin prickled.

It felt like I was walking around in that darkness for a while, my heart, searching for something that I didn’t know it needed. Finally, I was beginning to move out of the darkness…I felt my body being tugged and lifted, and I felt like the world was sitting on my chest. My groggy eyes could see I was being lifted effortlessly back through that mini-door, while the slight breeze from the movement pushed a familiar scent right at me.