The Fates' Betrayal

Denial

‘I am up!’ the words echoed in Aisa's head.

It was a voice she recognised, one she had heard not long ago, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She racked her brain, trying to determine its familiarity.

‘You’re not the higher voice.’ she silently noted to herself.

‘I’m not the what?’ replied the same voice, surprised by Aisa’s choice of words. ‘What’s a higher voice?’ he inquired, punctuating his words with a deep yawn as though he had been in a deep slumber and someone had just woken him up.

‘Who are you anyway? I thought I was to be imprisoned alone in this... metallic cage.’ he questioned, clearing his throat and attempting to shake off the lingering grogginess in his voice.

As the voice kept speaking, Aisa’s anxiety began to rise until a sudden realisation gripped her being.

’That husky voice...’, Aisa murmured, her observation filled with terror, as if she had just uncovered the identity of a long-sought murderer.

She did know that voice because she had heard it briefly before. She spoke it out loud. It was the voice that was coming from inside her own mouth. The voice she could hear when speaking out loud, only she knew it wasn’t hers. It didn’t belong to her mind; it belonged to this body that she, somehow, was wearing.

“What husky voice?′ reverberated within her mind, echoing the same query she had been pondering. ‘And who are you? Have they finally decided to give me a fellow companion to share this box they call prison?’

Aisa was left speechless. She had so many questions she wanted to ask this voice. So many enigmas trespassed her mind, but only one of them was she able to solve - her mind was definitely not her own. Was she sharing it along with this body? Could he hear her when she wasn’t speaking out loud? So many thoughts were buzzing in her mind, like a swarm of bees circling a field of untouched flowers, making her dizzy and frustrated because none of this made sense.

If only she could get in touch with the higher voice. Sure, she wasn’t even certain about it anymore. Was it really the higher voice? And to whom did it belong? She couldn’t remember. She couldn’t remember any goddamn thing. The only thing she was certain about was that this was not a dream. Because even from the worst nightmares, you wake up eventually, no matter how real they feel. And this was somehow more horrible than anything.

’I can feel that you are...scared?! And confused?!” the voice resonated within her mind. “How am I able to feel this? Why do I share your emotions?” he inquired. ‘Who are you? I know I’ve asked you before, but you’ve never answered. Or at least I’m not sure I’ve heard your name through all the mumbling you’ve been doing.’

And just like that, Aisa got answers to some of her most troubling questions.

‘You can understand me?’ she inquired hesitantly, her head filled with uncertainty. She wasn’t even sure if the words had escaped her lips or if they merely lingered in her mind.

‘Yes, of course, I can. Why are you so confused? Should I not be able to? I cannot see you because no light ever comes inside this box, but I can hear you very well.’ he stated confidently. ‘So, who are you?’ he pressed again.

‘I am Aisa, or at least I think that’s my name. That is what I heard the higher voice calling me when I opened my eyes.’

‘The higher voice...’ he chuckled to himself.

‘I don’t remember anything.’ Aisa interrupted him. ‘I don’t know how or why I am here.’ she sighed, frustration accompanying her every word. ‘I mean, we are sharing the same body and brain, but clearly...’

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa.’ he cut her off. “What do you mean we’re sharing the same body and mind?′ echoes of his voice filling every corner of their mind.

‘Don’t shout!’ Aisa whispered. “I can hear you quite well. And I didn’t say we share the same mind. It appears there are two minds occupying this head. Yours and mine.” she answered him, shocked by the truth of her own words.

“How is that even possible? This is absurd. You must be out of your mind, girl, if you believe something like this. What kind of sick joke are you playing?”

“I am not out of my mind. Apparently, mine has collided with yours, and we’re somehow connected. I am, however, out of my body. I don’t understand how this is possible, nor do I know how it happened. I just know that we are one ... one entity. Please don’t ask me any more questions”, she implored. “I told you, I don’t remember anything.” She let out a defeated sigh, still struggling to make sense of the inexplicable situation.

“So, you’ve got... amnesia?” he asked, momentarily feeling sympathy for her before snapping back. “Nah, nah, I don’t believe you. This is just a trick you’re playing. Where are you? Show yourself.” he began shouting once again, frustration and anger boiling within him.

He was beyond exhausted from dealing with the endless chicaneries and deceitful behaviour he had already witnessed. And each new instance just added more fuel to the fire until he could no longer contain his emotions. It was as if he had reached his breaking point, and the only way to release the pent-up tension was through his yelling voice.

“Why are they still doing this to me? I have done everything they’ve asked of me! First, they lock me up in this ...jail of theirs, then, they put me into an endless sleep, only to wake me up to this...this...” he exhaled, irritated by this situation, “I don’t even know what to name it. What do they want from me? What more could they possibly want?”

“Stop yelling, please! I don’t know who ‘they’ are nor why this is being done to you.” Aisa stopped him from his frenzy, pausing her own anger.

“Are you some sort of criminal? I noticed you’re chained up”, she said, gently touching the shackled ankle, sending a momentarily shiver down their spine.

“How did you do that?”