The Four Sisters - Chapter 12 A Return

That voiceI recognized it. I knew it from my past. It wasfamiliar. But, I knew that I had never seen this woman before in the entirety of my life. From her wild hair, to her piercing crazed eyes, nothing was familiar.

Though, I suppose, now that I think back on it, the lack of lighting may have played a part in my inability to recognize her. The misty air around me had soaked my clothes through and my hair was sticking to my face. The sky was dark, though it seemed to be too early for the sun to have gone down. The clouds over heard had stolen the light before it’s time was up, as they sometimes do.

I could sense after focusing for quite some time, that the women did not mean me any harm. Her voice was soft and soothing, attempting to calm me down and bring me back to my senses. Slowly, I began to let my guards down. Began to accept the comfort that she offered.

I found myself involuntarily leaning in toward her, then, before I knew it, I was lying in her lap, silent tears falling. She stroked my head, as she spoke her soothing words. They were like a lullaby, and I, like a frightened child that had awoken from a particularly nasty nightmare.

I did not know what had happened to me, but.I had my suspicions. I wondered how long my darkness had taken me overand what I had been doing during that time.

It must be said now, rather than later, that my darkness had never taken my body before. It had taken my soul, taken my mind, but never my body. My body had always been the one thing that was mine entirely. And noweven that was not true.

Slowly, my tears began to dry as the questions began to swirl in my head.

The woman seemed able to sense that I was growing stable and that the shock was slowly dissipating. Her words came less frequently, though her hand continued to stroke my hair.

It was at this point that I recognized her.

“How did you find your way back?” I asked.

My eldest sister’s hand froze for just a moment before resuming it’s stroking motion. Her reply left more unanswered questions.

“I didn’t.”

I let that sink in, though even after turning the words over and over in my mind, I couldn’t understand what she meant.

Before I could ask, she began to relay the story of how she had come back.

It turned out, that the Pit was in fact not limitless. It had a bottom, and she found it.

She would not go into details about what she found there, instead saying only that though the Pit’s depths were not endless, the expanse within it seemed so. There were no walls, there were no limits. It was like another world in there, one that was very similar, and yet entirely different from our own.

She said that she did not find her way back, but instead, stumbled and fell into a pile of luck that coincidentally lead her to me. She said she found me two days ago. And that upon finding me, knew immediately that I was not myself. She then proceeded to help me find my way back.

I wanted to ask how she had been able to do such a thing, but before I could, she shook her head and said that it didn’t matter how and that I wouldn’t understand. Not yet.

We stayed there for a little while longer, just the two of us. It was the first time that I’d ever feltclose to my older sister.

After the limited light above had long been taken from the sky, she began to stand, helping me to my feet.

She warned me.

“You may beyourself currently, but that can change. You need to know that your bodyis not as it once was.”

Fear gripped my heart at that moment. Shaking, I began running my hands over my body. I could feel that something was different. My sense ofwho I was, was shaken. I felt almost as if I was the foreign entity in this body.

I felt cold, but the chills spreading across my body felt.strange. I do not know how I can explain this to someone that has not experienced it. I felt as if my mind was within my body, but my body was somehowhalfway somewhere else. Or perhaps it was my mind that was only halfway there.

Everything felt as if it were happening to both me, as well as someone else. It felt as if I was both experiencing everything while also watching it happen.

I couldn’t shake this feeling, no matter how hard I tried. Sometimes, I still feel it. In certain situations, I will be speaking with someone and I’ll have that sensation creep into my mind. It can cause me to act differently. After all, you feel as if you’re reaction to something, as well as watching yourself react to something. It’s unnerving.

We slowly made our way through the mist and toward a road. As I walked, I kept my head bowed, staring at my feet, trying tofix myself. I was unsuccessful. I couldn’t make myself feel whole. I figured that perhaps it would take time.

When we reached the road, I turned to find that I had actually been near a churchto be more accurate, my sister had either found me, or taken me to a graveyard next to a church. Goosebumps once again spread like a wave over my body. I felt that chill return and wrapped my arms around myself in an attempt to warm my core.

My sister paid no notice to me as she continued forward determinedly. I remember feeling at awe at the change I saw in her in that short period of time. She seemedstrangely stronger than before.

Her body was thinner than before, and seemed to have gone through many trials. Trials that had left it weaker in comparison to beforebut she herselfher mind and bearing, how she carried herself; she was so much stronger. Especially, when compared to myself. I felt ashamed, then. She had been through so much and had been able to come out, not only on top, but become stronger because of it. She didn’t lose herself, didn’t let another take over her. She was herself, in every aspect. Her confidence was inspiring, but alsowas able to bring about a sense of shame within me.

I followed her silently for a while. Then, she began to explain the situations of my other sisters and just how dire they were..