Cupid's Calling Card

Chapter 3

sophie

"Carmen"

A beautiful sounding feminine voice softly called out into her ears, but the sound gently reverberated ripple-like around the space she unconsciously laid on.

This was Sophie, with a thousand and one personalities. She had a myriad of emotions she tended to exhibit in a second without batting an eyelid and had a flair for theatrics.

She was quite the chatterbox and would give anything for a good showdown. She had a motto, one she secretly planned to shove down the throat of Carmen and that was "never to be caught unfresh". The mere thought alone of giving Carmen a complete makeover made her giddy with anticipation as she chuckled evilly and whispered into Carmen's ears again.

"Wake up Carmen"...

The person in question whose plans were being made at the moment was ignorant of the plans Sophie had for her, else she would have whipped up a storm and fled from those clutches that hovered over her.

Nonetheless, he was the opposite of Sophie right about now as she lay on the floor of a pristinely silvery room, which was one of the manifestations of Sophie — curled up like a foetus. Naked, gasping softly — subconsciously trying to breathe somehow.

Her long slim fingers tentatively reached about her searchingly, like they had a mind and life of their own. A part of her trusted her instincts and knew she was alright—wherever it was she had found herself, but the other part simply couldn't help feeling a twinge of fear.

She felt as though all she needed to do was open her eyes and sit or stand up even — whichever one her numb body could manage to come up with, but realized she couldn't. It wasn't as if she didn't want to, her body just wouldn't listen and—what was that buzzing sound around her, she wondered, trying to concentrate while she simultaneously fought to breathe properly. For whatever reason, it felt like the world had run out of air and she was drowning in the murkiness of — no air, which was suffocating and becoming really disconcerting for someone like her who was trying to pull herself together.

Carmen was suddenly aware of a silvery tint of light heading her way. She couldn't see it — but felt it she did. She had never been more aware of her surroundings like she did right now, it was as scary as it was exhilarating, giving her a heady but comfortable feeling.

Drifting closer, the light circled her as though scanning her body and finally made a home in her forehead as it gently went right in like it was afraid of hurting her in her fragile state. Carmen gave a loud, drawn out and ragged gasp as soon as it did, her body shuddering forward like it was being pulled up to a sitting position by an unseen force while her eyes slowly fluttered open.

She quickly kept her eyes shut again against the assaulting glare of the light with a hand raised over her face to ease the harshness it emitted. Her other hand wrapped around her bunched up legs in a bid to cover the front of her naked body while bravely fluttering her eyes open again like a butterfly trying to fly out of its cocoon.

Her lips parted with a soft gasp as her eyes adjusted to the hard glare of the light which didn't seem so glaring anymore.

"Am I in heaven?" She thought.

"It's your father who is in heaven" Sophie's calm voice answered her, but the wounded pride skirting it couldn't be missed.

Startled by the familiar yet strange voice, she frantically looked around as she tried to stand up to run away, but her legs gave way under her as she fell face down—a painful moan escaping her lips. She turned herself face up, arching her back from the pain seemingly rushing into her brain as she blinked back at the disorienting pain seeping into her body.

Using her hands, she supported herself into a sitting position again as she glanced all around the endless silvery space in undisguised wonder and awe, but saw an endless stretch of silvery nothingness.

"Weird" she muttered, "I'm sure I heard someone say something moments ago, or am I going crazy?" She wondered, then widened her eyes. "Or have I been kidn*pped by a powerful witch?" She mused over that possibility, mildly scratching the back of her neck in confusion.

"It's your entire family who are witches" Sophie's voice angrily came up again, "although I have to admit that I'm powerful", she sullenly added.

"That doesn't sound like someone who plans on hurting me" Carmen thought, then softly said out loud, "you're scaring me by not showing your face up, could you please come on out so I can meet you?"

"Well" the voice grumpily said, "I'd come out if I could and knock some sense into that head of yours, but you're in me right now and I can't be seen, only heard" it added.

"Oh... " Carmen said, nodding slowly. "I'm Carmen, what's your name?" She asked. "I'm Sophie, and of course I know your name, I know all you know" Sophie said boastfully, making Carmen chuckle softly in mild surprise as she slowly tried standing up—successfully this time.

"My apologies all-knowing Sophie, can I at least get something to cover my nudity up?... I'm getting quite self-conscious and we don't know when someone else might come by" she placated, futilely covering her breasts and private parts with both hands.

"Sure" Sophie replied, "but you have to choose what you'd like by envisioning it, and there's no one else here but you" she chirped.

"Is this some sort of prison? Carmen asked, frowning lightly as she conjured up plain-looking jeans and tank top, with her mind running wild at the thought of what her incarceration would mean for her.

"My life has officially ended" she lamented inwardly and opened her mouth with the intention of pleading her case, but Sophie beat her to it by talking first, making her shut her mouth in silent resignation.

"Oh wow, you rock girl," Sophie sarcastically remarked. You've got the entire fashion industry in the world at your fingertips whenever you're here and this drab is what you came up with?" She asked in a strained and disbelieving voice.

"What's wrong with this?" Carmen asked, pouting as she turned this way and that, admiring her attire, "not to mention it fits", she added with a slight scowl.

"Oh boy, this is going to be pure torture. You find nothing wrong with this?... You look like a cat drawn out of a dumpster in a lottery gone wrong!" Sophie yelled in frustration.

She gave an audible sigh and composed herself again. "Well, to answer your previously stupid, stupid question, however, have you seen a prison this beautiful?" She chided in a shrill voice, sounding like she could have given Carmen a good beating at the absurdity of it all.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Where then is this?" Carmen asked, making an attempt to sit back down, wishing she had a seat or something. Sophie opened her mouth to reply when a chair materialized out of thin air right under Carmen's butt, making her squeal softly, ready to bolt before seeing it was just a chair.

"Oh, it's only a chair." Carmen panted, patting her racing heart with a small hand.

"What else would it be?" Sophie reprimanded with a roll of her eyes, staring at Carmen like there was something wrong with her brain. "On the other hand, you're beginning to get the hang of things which aren't so bad. There's hope for you after all... I guess" Sophie purred.

Carmen timidly nodded a yes, lacking the strength to reply as she sat down, praying that the chair wouldn't disappear under her butt. Her eyes furtively glanced around just in case something sprung up on her so she could make a dash for it. She had no idea where that dash would lead to, but she'd find out later, she thought.

"This" Sophie spat, disdain dripping from her voice icily forcing Carmen to rein in her thoughts from wherever they were wandering to, "is a sphere your unimaginative human mind can never get a grasp of. Something you could have known if only you hadn't had that little incident" she continued.

Carmen scowled lightly and raised a brow at her, "I'm sure you aren't calling my death a little accident, what then would you define as big?... Also, how was I supposed to know? Have I been here before?" She asked confusedly.

"Honey, how did you think you came back here after dying?... She asked Carmen, who stared at her quizzically. Carmen opened her mouth to say something but closed it again with a light shake of her head, before Sophie hurled her frustrations at her because it seemed like she was going to blow her lid up anytime soon and Carmen herself was going to be the only one at the receiving end.

"You, my dear, were my host before you died. Oh, the things we did and achieved, both in your life and that of your family" she gave an exaggerated world, weary sigh, "but you were still supposed to retain your memory of me. I wonder what went wrong. But that's alright because this little troublesome itch is nothing but that, a little troublesome itch", she finished with a dramatic flair.

Not knowing what to say, Carmen just kept nodding ignorantly at everything Sophie said with pursed lips and a befuddled mind. "So does this mean I can't go home anymore now that I'm dead?" She innocently asked.

"Ah, my poor darling, if only you knew. But that's alright, everything will be revealed eventually", Sophie said with an air of nonchalance, somehow thrown in with an air of importance. A combination only she could manage to make work. "It's such a shame the other one couldn't make it, she'd have been perfect", she added mysteriously, with a devilish laughter which gave Carmen the chills as she wondered what in the world she had gotten herself into.

"Who is that?" Carmen asked, more confused than ever about the things that came out of Sophie's mouth and the way she acted.

"Nevermind dear, you'll find out in time" Sophie said sagely, with that devilish laughter ringing out again. Something Carmen thought she could do without.

"Oh, okay" Carmen said, not interested in further confusing her already confused self and muddled brain.

"Carmen..." Sophie suddenly spoke, sounding serious for once.

"Mm?" Carmen replied, composing her thoughts again and shelving them.

"It's time you became a different and better person. You need to be more and do more. Stop living for validation and approval because they'll take you nowhere." She advised out of nowhere. Carmen looked on surprised. She didn't see that one coming.

"O...Kay..." Carmen replied, looking quite uncertain as to where that came from.

"You're so naive and innocent as far as these two traits go, which was why you had nothing going on for you. You've been given a second chance for a reason. Find it. Don't be afraid to shine, it's about time", Sophie finished with a flourish.

"I hear you", Carmen quietly said with hands restlessly fiddling her top.

"You'd better" Sophie softly said, "now off you go" she added with a flick of her beautifully manicured fingers, making Carmen disappear from the spot.