Chapter 0: The end of me, and the beginning of a strange journey.

Post date: 19-Oct-2011 22:05:56

September 23rd, 2760AUC

(This was written about a week later, and is actually not the first entry in the diary, but it is the first when looking back in chronological order)

It was cold standing there on the small ledge on the bridge and looking down, and I could not get myself to do what I had come here for, which only increased my misery. I had worked it all out so perfectly, I had located the place to jump from, I had chosen the time in the when few people would be around, or care, and prepared myself mentally for the task. The last thing this girl would do.I would stand on the small ledge in my golden yukata, the most beautiful, and now only, thing I owned, I would fold my arms across my chest and keep them there while slowly leaning forward until gravity pulled over and I would plunge down into the dark water of the Themes. I would let the water fold itself in its dark care and take one last breath of the cold water, and it would be done, all the pain gone and those who caused it would be forever miserable. It would be beautiful, at least in my mind.I looked down from the ledge and saw muck. Not the dark water, but muck. Somehow the idea of diving into muck didn't really ring so good, how I could have missed the tide so badly I do not know, but with a sigh I decided to wait and clambered back to the small staircase over a fence and onto the walkway. I wandered for a while along Chelsea Embankment, ignoring people staring at me, my black-coloured long hair and golden yukata probably looked somewhat out of place on a cold Thursday afternoon with drizzling rain. This was not going as planned, and now I had nowhere to go and was beginning to get really cold. I sat down on one of the benches overlooking the Themes who had let me down so badly and into Battersea Park.What to do: I had been thrown out, very much by my own accord, taken what little I still owned in my large bag and gone. After going to a public restroom at V&A and changing into the yukata and spending some time setting up my hair, now so miserably ruined by the rain, I went southwards, leaving my bag with the rest of my belongings in a container somewhere, I didn't even remember where or when, occupied with the thoughts on what I was about to do and gathering courage to do so. Now I was just wet, cold and miserable.I do not know how long I sat there pitying myself, but I suddenly realized it was twilight, something felt odd, but I could not really grasp what. I sat up straight instead of staring at my feet as I had done for what felt as an eternity. A warm breeze played along the river bank, I could hear it rustle the leaves above me in the silence. Strange. The cold was gone and the noise and even the iron armrest of the bench felt soft and feathery to the touch...I was sitting in central London in the silence, no sound but the wind rustling the leaves, no cars, no sound of the city, something was very wrong. Sudden fear wrenched at my guts, I wanted to run, but could not move, even as the feathered wings beneath my hands twitched.- "She has woken, sister", a deep rich contralto said on right side.-" She took her time to come around", another voice said on my left. There was a groaning sound and the planks of the bench gave way, I had no chance to get my balance and fell down hard together with the rest of the bench, I winced as the pain spread up my spine bringing tears to my eyes. When the tears cleared from my eyes I saw a pair of lion's feet before me, and another pair closing in on the left. I looked up and met the eyes of a beautiful woman with a golden mane.- "So you decided to skip the suicide?" the first sphinx said in her deep contralto.- "About time", the second, who could have been her twin sister, added.

Sphinxes, alive, in London. My mind started to race, but then suddenly I felt totally calm.

- "I am dead?", I asked, not knowing if I should dread or cherish the answer.

- "Not at all, that is the one thing that you are not!" the first sphinx said while she paced around me.

- "At least not this version of you" said the other.

- "We had almost given up hope" the first said stopping before me again.

- "And it was only you left of you" the second added, "The rest all dead".

- "or maimed..." the first sphinx said as she continued her stroll around me

- "or worse!", the second added going the other way around me

- "What...", my head began to spin, both due to their strolling and their strange conversation. "Then are you going to kill me"?

- "Why should we ever..". By now I had no idea which sphinx was which any more...

- "She is still set to die, this one".

- "Well she succeeded in most realities"

- "Drowned with her head stuck in the mud in one"

- "Broke her neck and lay gasping for air like a fish while the water slowly rose in another"

- "Not a pretty sight at all, all muddy, filthy and desperate"

- "Even in those where she was saved"

- "Although with the spine shattered and neck broken she didn't last long"

- "She never really woke up in any reality"

- "Just spent her life as a vegetable in best case, barely aware of her surroundings"

- "Wait!" I shouted, "You are telling me my possible futures?"

- "No, we are telling you what have happened in all realities"

- "Except this one..."

- "But please go ahead and throw yourself into the river"

- "Or before a truck like you did in one after you saw the muck" the other one said with a grin

- "In those worlds where I did survive, did they come to my sickbed to cry for me?" I don't know why I asked, but I felt like I needed to know, it was the last rest of self-pity I tried to preserve.

The one going around me clockwise stopped before me and eyed me.

- "They came and signed the papers and called you a bloody idiot to do such things, then they went away"

It felt like a cold hand gripping my hearth.

- "Why would anybody feel sorry for you?"

- "You didn't exactly make yourself popular, everything always was you."

I rose up on unsteady legs, feeling like I stepped off a merry-go-round.

- "But why have you come for me then? What do you want from me, apart from seeing me die again and again?"

- "Now you are the last of you"

- "In all realities there is only you left"

- "That means that you probably will not last long"

- "You are alone"

- "We have an offer"

- "A place for you"

I steadied myself and took a deep breath of the cool evening air.

- "So here I am, whit two sphinxes talking to me in a quite London. I have probably gone mental, but what have I to loose?"

- "See, I told you she would manage", the first sphinx said.

- "Or she has gone gaga", the second replied.

- "Follow us" both said and started over the empty road towards a building covered in wine standing close to Chelsea Physic Garden.

It felt like a dream as I followed them over the road and parking lot, through a hedge, around a corner, and finally stood before an old oak door with a huge knocker in the form of a dragons head.

- "You must knock"

- "He awaits you".

I raised the knocker and knocked three times, one of the sphinxes went past me and nudged open the door.

- "But if it was open then..." I began.

- "It is never that easy" she replied, "You needed to do it"

- "Now follow us to the master" the second replied as she gracefully padded past me.

- "The Old Magician".

As I followed them into the great hallway, my mind raced to get a grip on what was happening, dismissing the fact that I had two sphinxes guiding me, I gathered that this probably was the house of some eccentric millionaire, who wanted company or servants. Or was I being led into slavery or worse?

After what seemed like an eternity of rooms and corridors (my mind was set on that this much be someone very rich to have such a huge house in central London) we arrived into a library with a couple of large chairs. In one of these sat a middle aged man in an old housecoat reading, apparently ignorant of the fact that two sphinxes and a forlorn girl just entered. I looked around for anyone of the sphinxes hoping that they would call upon his attention, only to notice that they had stopped by the entrance and now sat like two statues, looking the other way.

Not knowing what to do I cleared my throat.

The old man looked up from his book, and looked me over. A could feel my pulse race as he eyed me, and I was beginning to think of turning around and run away.

- "Look what cats dragged in" he finally said

- "It was the sphinxes" I replied.

- "At least she has got a tongue, and what is your name?"

My mind raced, I didn't want to tell my real name, so what was I to do? I quickly settled for the nickname I had used on the net in Japan:- "Tomomi" I answered.

- "You don't really look Japanese, and doesn't sound that either, but if that is the name you choose, that is the name you shall have". It sounded like it was definitive; I knew that from now on I would be Tomomi, nobody else.

- "So, what can you do Tomomi" he asked.

I looked around, the room was not to clean and maybe he really was in need of some housekeeping.

- "I can clean pretty well and not to bad when it comes to cooking".

He looked at me with big eyes and then burst out laughing. I suddenly became afraid again and could feel tears coming to my eyes; this was beginning to be to much.

- "A maid you think I need, well then a maid you shall be for the time being." As he saw my tears he sobered up, but still the laugh wrinkles around his eyes showed his merriment.

- "You will begin tomorrow", he said, "you will be shown to your room, take a bath and relax, I'll see to it that you get some fitting clothes."

He turned around: "Cheetah, take her to the small restroom".

I was not even surprised when the large dotted predator came out from behind the chair and nudged me on my way; I was only looking forward to the promised hot bath and sleep.

-