Reasoning those mind games

Chapter 1

"You mean you actually believe that he's telling the truth?" Clara mocked, snorting as she eyed Tracy disdainfully. "That paranormal things exist and hallucinations are something you can actually see? Are you the crazy one?"

Tracy tried to ignore the other woman as she stared at the champagne flute in her hand, watching the bubbles fizz in the soft amber liquid against the fine glass.

Clara was the groom's ex and Tracy had been questioning why the woman had even been invited to the engagement ceremony in the first place. The woman had been sore over their break-up and ever since she had discovered Tom's mental illness, she had done nothing but ridicule him. Even now, on a day that was supposed to be special, Clara had felt the need to draw attention to his shortcomings.

"Tell them, Tracy. Tell them that you know it's real," Tom blurted out, his eyes desperate on her as the wedding guests stared at them, almost as though fascinated by the unfolding drama.

Tracy didn't react to his plea, just kept staring blankly at the pristine glass, the dainty flute stem held between her limp, delicate fingers. She could see her husband's reflection in the pale liquid rippling in the glass, her gaze flickering to him briefly. He was visibly humiliated, the strain showing in the lines at the crease of his eyes His lips tightened as he gripped the edge of the table tightly.

"Yeah, tell us," Clara sneered as her evil smile widened, her cold eyes glittering triumphantly. She clearly believed she had won whatever goal she had set out to achieve.

Tracy's focus returned to the champagne flute. She wished she could ease the pain from him, to ease the strain placed upon him by his claims, but she just couldn't.

How could she confirm something that she knew didn't exist? It would only endorse that her husband really did have a mental disorder and that would make her appear stupid. Or worse, it would perhaps even suggest that she was just as insane as him.

"Princess... Tell them that you believe it, that you believe me... You know it's all real..."

Tom's voice faded as it started shaking, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the table harder and Tracy caught a glimpse of her mother-in-law holding a trembling gloved hand to her parted lips. Her eyes shimmered with a film of tears as she watched the scene in front of her and Tracy felt a pang in her chest.

The older woman had had to raise her son with all these issues, had struggled with the cruel whispered comments from other adults, the ridicule, the jeering from neighborhood kids.

"Your silence clearly means that you don't believe him," Clara scoffed. "No one would believe that s**t is real, no one sane at least. Not when there's science to prove..."

"I do, and you would too if you had a few brain cells, Clara," Tracy interrupted sternly, making the other woman frown at her.

Tracy didn't look away from the glass in her hand, her stare un-breaking as though the words she was speaking were written in the bubbles of the champagne like some sort of script she was reciting.

"More and more people are being recorded as experiencing these things," she said evenly, slowly looking up to meet Clara's gaze steadily. "The night terrors, the sleep paralysis, the hallucinations... They've been happening for centuries and there are plenty of medical journals to prove it."

Clara just smirked, obviously waiting for her to say something in her own defense that she could use against her. Tracy's gaze pinned Clara's unwaveringly, not needing to raise her voice. The hall went so quiet that the sound of guests and staff outside of the wedding hall could be heard through the closed doors at the very back of the building.

"If you weren't so busy popping those pills with your drinks every night, you might have actually seen what I've seen," Tracy said, a hint of mocking in her own voice.

Clara's face turned white as a sheet as her history was revealed to the numerous guests spread about the hall. All eyes were on her now instead of the bride. Her attempt to ridicule the newlyweds had backfired, leaving her the laughing stock.

"And what exactly have you seen?" she blustered, trying to regain her composure. Tracy rolled her eyes at the flustered woman, not answering as she turned almost savagely to her in-laws.

"You've experienced it too, haven't you?" she demanded, but her voice held no strength of conviction, it was all in her eyes encouraging them to speak up.

"All these years and there was nobody to help." Her gaze returned to Clara, lifting her characteristic single eyebrow. "Well, now that's changed."

"I had stress issues, okay? I'll accept that," Clara allowed, her voice growing louder and shakier until she felt she was screeching. "But I didn't believe that s**t! I know what's real and what's not!"

Her words didn't affect Tracy like Clara had expected. Instead of lashing out or even raising her voice, Tracy picked up a Quality Street toffee. It was one of the purple ones, the wrapper crinkled and twisted around the chocolate inside. She slowly pulled the ends and the chocolate loosened with a quiet rustle before dropping onto the tablecloth in front of her with a muffled thud. She didn't eat it though, she wasn't here for sweets; Not tonight.

Instead, she plucked the purple transparent wrapper from the silver and straightened it almost methodically on the table before putting it in front of Clara. With everyone watching, she took her white wedding card and placed it behind the wrapper, so that Clara could see it through the purple film.

Tracy pointed to the word 'weds' written in the same color as the wrapper.

"Our eyes are marvelous things. Wide floating orbs placed within sockets that give us our ideas of beauty, color and structure," she mused aloud, her soft voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "We put so much stock in them as the home of the soul, but they don't know it all. There are some things that the eye simply cannot perceive. Grand ideas or small creatures that move too fast ... there one moment and gone the next." Her voice trailed off.

Only silence filled the brief pause in her words, but Clara paled when she saw what Tracy had done with the card and wrapper.

"Our minds often fill in for our eyes when they fail their task, giving some the ability to see things that others cannot," Tracy continued idly. "But to many, that makes them no less real. After all, some things we see each day were once a part of that unseen world. It simply took a sharp enough mind to make them real. So let the mind attend to its task of filling in the blanks. You never know what it might conjure next."

She turned the card to show the rest of the wedding guests to see what had shocked Clara so badly. Before their eyes, Tracy slid the purple wrapper over the card and the word 'weds' magically disappeared. The purple filter had blocked the word from visibility, lending credence to the explanation she had just given.

"Can you read it, Clara?" Tracy asked innocently. "Anyone?" Nobody spoke up and she knew why. She knew that nobody could see the now invisible word. "Or...are you going to say that the words aren't real?"

She looked to her mother-in-law, the older woman's eyes sparkling with pride as she held her husband's hand tightly, the gruff man simply nodding shortly to Tracy in silent approval.

"We are on the brink of a scientific breakthrough," she turned to her fiance's mother, as a small smile finally crept onto her lips, curving them in pleasure. "We finally got the grants we needed. Clarice, we can continue your research into alternate dimensions."

There was a surprised silence after her announcement, then a slowly increasing applause resounded around the hall as a smile broke out on her mother-in-law's face, a hand falling to her chest.

...Well done, angel... a voice whispered in the back of her mind.

Wedding day

"If anyone has an objection... you may speak so now or.."

Holding hands with her fiance , Tracy stood there on the altar, in a golden and blue wedding gown, perfectly matching her eyes. Her dream was finally going to come true. All the struggles she had to go through just to be with the man of dreams.

"I object! I object! Stop this wedding!"

A woman from the crowd screamed out. Tracy first thought it was Clara, causing yet another scene but after recognising her mother's voice she frowned and rolled her eyes. She turned to her husband who just grinned and squeezed her hand. Well, they were expecting this but now.. she couldn't quite believe it.

She turned back to face her mother. And firmed her tone...

" Ah mama, how wonderful of you to come"

"Please love, don't do this. I love you so much. I know you love him, Tracy, believe me I know; But he is tapped!"

Tracy tried to fight back the angry tears burning and forming.

When she did speak, her words were filled with frustration; "I made my choice mum. You know my choice and you remember what I said if you went through with this- ......Show you're putting up" she finished waving her free arm at her mother, raising her eyebrows.

Mother grabs her arm, and holding fast, her nails pricking her arm slightly, sharp small reminders digging into her arm, hurting. The pain became the sensation pinning her to the moment.

"It's not a show sweetheart, I'm frightened for you! You're my daughter!"

"Aw, c'mon we all know.." Tracy began but seeing a subtle change on the face of her husband-to-be, she paused, and fought to keep the look on her face from changing. Could it be true? Something seemed to be missing. With a pained look in her direction he then glanced to a party in the first row, and jutting his chin towards them nods. These men were not familiar to her, but his signal had been quick, within moments the strangers stepped forward and removed her mother.

"Wait! Let her go on her own! Stop it!"; Tracy gots scared but her husband reached out and held her face.

"It's for the best; my love. She would have ruined us"

Her heart was racing and exploding within her.

"What do you mean? What are you saying?" She sobbed, as she struggled to free herself from his hands. He released her and she turned, only to see all of the guests had become mannequins. The building? It no longer seemed like a church.

She tried to run towards her mother but tripped over her cascading dress.

"Mum!....... Help me! ....Please!" .. she whispered

Lying on the cold stone floor of the grand cathedral she watched as her mother struggled to free herself.

... Silent darkness takes her ...

That marriage was the hardest decision of her life.

Both her mother and husband were ready to pull her out of that church and, they hoped; live happily. Both it seemed were awaiting for her final, ultimate decree. She knew she took no action, if she allowed fate to have sway, that she would ultimately lose both of them. Yet, she also knew that if she took the leap, the light would burn her husband and her mother wouldn't bear it. She would be left no choice but to leave them to their fates, alone, dying, and even there won't be shelter to prolong.

She had never felt so defeated before.

Ultimately she'd felt she had no choice, but to be her husband's shadow ... so she had said that fateful; "I Do." and she took the leap. No one she knew would truly believe in and follow him. Yet she knew, it had to be her. The silence had spoken to her, she knew she had to get between the light and him; and give him a shadow and time to breathe and see; and so she did.

The blissful blackness was shattered when she hit the grass, and opened her eyes to a blinding light. Just the sight of it caused her stomach to churn, and her head to pound. Each glance was like being pierced with a red hot blade between the eyes. Shutting her eyes once more she willed her senses to function, as she needed them to determine where she was.

There was a chill in the air that caused the hair on her arms to stand. A musky smell of mildew filled her nose. A faint sound of dripping echoed off the walls of the room.

Drip.

Drip.

Drop.