Into The World Of Carcosa

We’d been at the café for hours, the three of us had been laughing about nothing important. Although we had some thesis to finish, We ended up competing who drinks more coffee. The sky was getting darker, when I realized I should’ve headed home ages ago. "Last round?" Hailey asked, twirling the straw in her iced coffee like it was the solution to all life’s problems. "Can’t," I said, grabbing my bag. "My cousin’s coming into town tonight. Damn, I was supposed to meet up with her—" "Right, right, the one who’s always late. She’ll probably think you’re the cousin that’s supposed to pick her up instead of the one who shows up late." Hailey grinned, and Mazine chuckled. I laughed, rolling my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I’m going." She flipped her blonde hair, as it was blocking her plumped lip from the straw. Mazine fixed her glasses, as she stopped typing on the laptop. "See 'ya tommorow?" Her freckles emphasized as she smiles. "Yeah, see 'ya." I parted ways, as I made my exit from the coffee shop. The sky was almost pure red, which was quite a rare sight. It is mostly soft orange in late afternoons. I turned the block, and continued walking down the path that leads to the nearest bus stop—which was a few more meters away from me. My knees were getting weak. I sighed, and stopped walking. I held into them as support. I stared at my reflection in the glass pane door of some building. I paused for awhile, and scanned the area. A bookshop? I must’ve passed a hundred times but never really noticed. The way the light hit the windows, the way the sign above the door creaked, barely hanging on. Maybe it was just the way the air felt cool and strange all of a sudden, like a breeze had slipped in from nowhere. I stepped inside without even thinking about it. The smell hit me first. That thick, musty scent of old books that always makes you wonder who read them before you, and what they might have been thinking. The place was quiet, almost too quiet, the kind that makes you feel like you're intruding.But the moment I crossed the threshold, I was... hooked. A few customers were scattered in the aisles, the faint sound of pages rustling— filling the space. But something in the back corner, half-hidden by shadows, caught my attention. A book, old and worn, with a yellowed cover that stood out against the shelves. My own feet dragged me, as if I was being hypnotized—out of my own control. I reached for it, and the moment my fingers touched the spine, I knew something was off. The cover felt... wrong, like it was vibrating. As I grabbed the book, I stopped as I read the book's cover tittle. DO NOT TOUCH! THE SIGN IS REAL! Immediately, blood rushed through my body. The book floated, as it's cover unwrapped on its own, and Letters pop in the air out of nowhere as they glowed neon yellow. Tension filled the air. The atmosphere grew heavier. What wisdom do you seek? I heard a feminine yet taunting voice. I blinked, confuse and scared. I pulled it completely out from the shelf and opened it. That’s when I saw the handwriting. Not all is good for you, Too much knowledge will destroy you. Have I not felt adrenaline for awhile like this. I felt terrified, as though it were an ordinary book, my body began to tremble and feel a wave of shame and regret, something I felt like I shouldn't have done.. Knowing everything means nothing... Sometimes, the mind seeketh and crave, Lead not to light. The ink seemed to shift under my eyes, the letters swimming on the page—as though the stories inside were trying to crawl their way out. THE KING IN YELLOW The tittle of the book.. A book that is very famillar to me. I've obsessed over this three years ago. But now, what the sorcery is this shit.. but to your own grave. Without warning, the lights in the shop flickered, the air turned sharp, and the world seemed to tilt. I felt dizzy. I feel like I'm about to throw up— What is going on? I shut my eyes tightly. My head spun, the floor wasn’t solid anymore, and before I knew it, I was clutching the edge of a table, trying to steady myself. The fabric was heavy, soft, and in colors I’d only seen in old photographs. I could feel the weight of it pressing against my skin, and the air was thick, warm, and smelled of flowers and smoke. It was like I had stepped into the past, entirely. When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in the shop anymore. The first thing I noticed was my dress—vintage, some old-fashioned gown that didn’t belong to me. I observed my skin, It is paler than how I really am. Is this someone else's body? I looked around, and the streets were cobblestone, lined with colorful buildings that stretched toward the sky, their facades covered in ivy and old paint. People passed by, their clothes just as old as mine, and none of them seemed to notice anything strange. I stumbled, trying to make sense of where I was. And then I saw him—the first protagonist. He was standing a few feet away, staring at me with a look of deep, unsettling famillarity. Like he knew exactly who I was and why I was there. He knew something. Right as I have arrived, unlike fictional stories who weren't aware of the reality that created them, who were exactly as they were written to be. And just when I thought I might pass out again, he stepped forward, his eyes piercing a gaze to my soul. "You shouldn't be here." I gasped a little, goosebumps start to lurk in my body. How is it possible? Could it be, that from the madness the book have brought them, learning the forbidden knowledge had exerted their way of thinking to realize that there is a bigger reality out there? The true reality, that brought them madness.. And that’s when I realized—I wasn’t just in a story. I WAS THE STORY NOW.