Antithetic's Tale

    Upon opening my eyes, darkness invaded my whole world.     “Iris, you have to get ready. We would be starting the experiment in 30 minutes.” My eyes automatically closed when they turned on the lights. I will never get used to anything bright. Never.     “Turn it off!” I ordered which they immediately followed. “Leave, I would be there in a bit.”     All my life, darkness had been my only comfort zone. Since I was a baby, this room served as my home. In my twenty years of existence, I have never seen the world behind these dark walls. I have never seen anything besides darkness.     “Iris, are you ready?” I looked intently into his eyes. Why do they have to ask me this question every time they conduct an experiment? It’s not like I could even say no. I decided not to answer his question and went straight into Mreine’s laboratory.     “Begin with whatever you have to do.” I told the group of scientists that surrounds me.     “We would inject propofol, first.” Doctor Willow said as I lay down on a surgical bed.     “No,” I refused, “You could start your experiment.”     Today, they would extract a piece of my brain. I am not afraid as I have been through this my whole life. They    had been extracting pieces of my body parts, and I don’t even know what that is for.     “But this is not like the other operation, Iris. Something dangerous might happen without the anesthesia.” I looked straightly into his eyes and just like how I expected, he looked away.     “Proceed.” All he could do was to sigh.     I closed my eyes when I felt that they have injected me with sedatives, however it is not enough to make me sleep. I felt a cold metal touching my skin. It slowly penetrated into my flesh. I admit, this is slightly painful than the other operations. After few minutes, the metal reached my brain.     "The operation is successful, Master." I opened my eyes in excitement when I heard his name but immediately closed them because of the light.     “Turn this off.” I ordered and opened my eyes when I felt darkness invading the laboratory room.     “How’s she?” asked the man over the phone.     “I guess she’s fine, Master.” Doctor Willow looked at me and smiled.     “I want to talk to her,” I almost beamed upon hearing that. It’s been two months since I last heard his voice.     "Iris, Master wants to talk to you.” He handed me the phone.     “Daddy,” I uttered.     When I undergo an operation, he would call me and ask me how the operation went. That is the very reason why I never disagree with whatever Mreine wants me to do. I have only seen my father once and that was when I was still eight years old.     “Everything went well. When will you visit me again? It’s been 12 years…” I asked.     I am not normal but I still have emotions and feelings. I may be strong but I feel lonely every single second.     “You know how busy I am Iris. I should go, take care.” I felt a sting on my heart.     “Okay,” he ended the call, “I will.”     “You can go back to your room. See you until the next operation, Iris.” Doctor Willows said. Ion, the only person I talk to, held my back and accompanied me back to my room.     “You could now go, I have to rest.” I demanded him. He nod at me and closed the door.     For some reasons, my head suddenly ached. This is my first time experiencing severe pain.     When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a very strange place. What makes it stranger is the fact that it is full of brightness and I am able to tolerate it.     “Where am I?”     I scanned the whole place. It is full of things that I haven’t seen in my entire life; huge buildings, varieties of vehicles and human beings.     "Athena?" I saw a girl standing in front of me. Who is she and how did she know my name?     "Who are you?" I asked with confusion. I scanned her and saw that we have the same figure and aura.     “Come with me I have to show you a lot of things,” she excitedly exclaimed. Before I could utter a word, she held my hand and pulled me toward a place.      “Oh, it is beautiful,” I exclaimed. I am in front of a really great scenery; green fields, tall mountains and a vast sea. I never thought I could actually see this in reality.     “Of course, this place is really great,” she said while smiling brightly. This is my first time seeing a genuine smile aside from Ion. Her smile makes me feel safe.     “What is this place?” I asked her, still astonished with what’s in front of me.     “This is your reality. This is where you should be,” she said casually.     Reality? If this is what reality looks like, then it is so beautiful. Mreine and Ion would always tell me how bad reality is. They said that all human beings are desperate to escape their realities. However, I don’t see any reason why they should.     “Come on, there is a lot more.” She pulled me again somewhere. I don’t know why I am letting this girl touch me. I am so amazed with everything around me.     “So what is this place?” I asked. I saw a lot of human beings with bright smiles written on their faces. The place is full of children happily playing together, food stalls and laughter. Although I hate the presence of human beings, I found myself smiling. This is my first time smiling and I can’t explain what I am feeling right now.     “Why are they so happy?” I asked while looking at the human beings who are laughing. I suddenly felt a gush of sadness when I realized that I have never been happy. I don’t even know what happiness feels like.     “It is because they are here. Happiness could only be found in reality,” she answered while looking at the children’s faces.     At some point, I wanted to experience how it feels like to have happiness in my heart. I wanted to experience reality and be happy. Mreine feels like a cage that’s continually suffocating me. I want to be free from that cage.     “Let’s go, this is the last thing I would be showing you. We are going towards a huge ancestral building with    a wooden cross on top. In front of a door stands a girl wearing an elegant white gown while holding a bouquet of pink flowers. The door opened wide and she slowly walked inside.     “They are having a wedding,” the girl beside me explained.     “It is a formal union between two persons who are in love with each other,” she said while daydreaming.     “In love?” I asked. I have heard this word from Mreine’s instructor but I never experienced this feeling.     “Love is a strong affection. This is so powerful as it can bring happiness. But sorry to say, you are forbidden to feel this.” I looked at her seriously. If this could make someone happy, why am I not allowed to feel it? Does that mean I don’t deserve happiness?     “Why not?”     “Because this will be your downfall. Love will betray you.”       "Iris, are you okay?! Why are you sleeping there?" I woke up from Ion’s scream. I am back in my room.     Was that merely a dream? That can’t be, it feels real. Everything felt real.     “I want to talk to Charlotte.” I demanded.     “Why would you suddenly want to talk to Head?’ he asked in confusion.     Charlotte is the head of this place. She’s been a mother to me when I was young and thought me a lot of things about humans.     “Just do it, Ion.” I said with finality. He shrugged his shoulders and followed my order. Few moments later, Charlotte came with a confused face.     “Why did you call me?” she asked. This is the first time I asked for her.     “I want to go out. I want to live in my reality.”