Guide Me.

[Picnicker Virgil]

Feedback is fine, by the way.


"Go to bed already, Sylvia." Doreen Barrows said to the nine year old who was reading quietly on the living room couch. Sylvia looked up from her book to look at her mother. Luckily she was in a good mood and Sylvia would like to keep it that way. Doreen wobbled slightly as she walked away, obviously intoxicated but not enough that Sylvia would think anything of it. Regretfully, Sylvia folded one of the right hand pages of her book downward to mark her place for later. She was now alone, something she didn't like. And she was being sent to bed, something she liked even less. "Can I sleep in your room?" Sylvia asked as she did every night. "There's nothing wrong with your room. And don't try to tell me about those men again because you and I both know they don't exist." Sylvia shuddered, she hadn't expected that to work. Doreen flicked the lights off as she exited the living room, leaving Sylvia no choice but to make her way to her bedroom. She was wary of every corner and cautiously made her way to her room which was located down a narrow hallway of the one story house. She flicked on the light before entering but she knew her mother would just turn it off as she did every night. And once the lights were off she couldn't get up from her bed, not unless she wanted to risk getting grabbed. Sylvia had already brushed her teeth at the same time as her mother and she was dressed in her pajamas so she had no excuse to not go to sleep. She hesitated slightly before literally jumping into her bed, making sure not let her feet near where they could be touched from under the bed. From her bed she could see her mirror and she looked at herself for a minute. Her frizzy orange hair had no real style to it, it never did. Thick purple glasses sat atop her nose, taped at the side from where they had broken. Her crooked teeth peeked at her from a slight opening in her mouth and her freckles almost distorted her face. She was ugly, she knew it. She had known she was ugly ever since she was born. If she hadn't heard the children at school talking about it she would have learned it from the men anyways. She didn't like being ugly but she knew she didn't have much choice. Her mother's footsteps sounded from outside and Sylvia quickly braced herself for the night. From the open door Sylvia could see her mother standing there. Her dyed blonde hair was hanging limp at the sides of her face. "Go to sleep." She said as she turned off the lights. Sylvia thought about telling her not to shut the door but she knew it wouldn't matter. The men would shut it anways. Her door creaked a little as it shut and left Sylvia in almost complete darkness. Her night light illuminated a portion of her room, the portion she didn't want to see. The closet. She didn't have much time now, the men would come any minute as they did every night. It had been like this every night since she had turned nine a few months ago. She had hoped she may get used to it eventually but so far she hadn't. She whimpered as she looked around. Maybe they wouldn't come tonight. She was wrong.
Slowly she heard her closet door slide open and she sank into her covers, on the verge of tears. She was now under her bed and she could hear the man's footsteps closing in on her. They stopped. He was next to her bed now. "Sylviaaa..." He taunted, she didn't need to see him to picture the smirk on his face. She whimpered again. "Why do you hide, Sylvia? I want to see you." He taunted further, taking another step. With a quick swipe the man threw the covers off of Sylvia and onto the floor. Despite the darkness in the room Sylvia could see the man clearly. His bald head reflected some light and his gleaming red eyes stared her down. His black suit remained imacculate night after night, unlike his face which appeared to gain new wrinkles every time Sylvia saw it. His skin was a pale yellow and his sharp teeth were of a simliar hue.
"There you are.." he whispered, taking a seat on Sylvia's bed. He reached out a hand as if to touch her. He did that a lot although in all the times Sylvia had seen him they had never once made contact with her. Sylvia continued to whimper, frightened tears streaming down her face. She pushed away from the man, scooting to the head of her bed and curling into a ball. "C'mon, that's not very nice." He said, scooting as well and retrieving a stuffed bear that had fallen from her bed. Sylvia watched as the man plucked a button eye from the bear her grandmother had given her. She thought of her grandmother and wished she was here now to comfort her. She knew she would never see her again, just as she would never see her father. The man threw the bear against a wall and placed the button eye into his coat pocket. Despite her fear Sylvia began to wonder where the other man was, they usually came together. No sooner had the thought come into her head then she heard a creaking sound coming from under her bed. The second man crawled out from under the frame and stood up, adjusting his similar black suit. The two men looked identical, the only way Sylvia had learned to tell them apart was by the redness of their lips. There were a few traits she had learned about them. The redder lipped one always came from under her bed and the other one came from the closet. The one that came from the closet seemed to do most of the talking and the two men never talked to each other. Only to her. Sylvia thought about running but she knew that would get her no where. The first night the men had came she had tried to do something but she had learned a lot since that first night. She knew no matter how loud she screamed no one outside the room would hear her. She also knew that running for the door was useless. The time she had tried to escape through the door it didn't work. The men didn't try to stop her as she ran to the door, but she didn't even notice. When she opened the door she was horrified to find that it led not into the hallway it usually did but instead into her closet, the man waiting for her inside it. It was impossible to do anything and the men knew that just as she did. "Why don't you like us, Sylvia?" The first man questioned. Sylvia turned her head away so she couldn't see him. Her crying continued. The man turned too so he could again see her face and her trembling lower lip. "You're ugly." He declared. "No one even likes you." Sylvia tried to ignore him. "Stop..." She said, sobbing. "We like you, Sylvia." The redder lipped man chimed in. "We're your friends." Sylvia cupped her hands over her ears but she could still hear them clearly. "We'd like you to think of us as friends. And one day you will." Syvlia couldn't take it, the men were getting to her slowly breaking her down. "Stop it....Stop..." She persisted, not making any attempt to hold back the tears that were flowing down her freckled face. The men continued to torment her as they did all night every night. Sylvia curled into a ball, sobbing. Her covers, still on the floor, didn't provide her with any warmth tonight. Eventually, without knowing, Sylvia fell asleep.

 

[Picnicker Virgil]

Sylvia had been dreaming and when she awoke she immediately forgot what it was about. She did remember what she was feeling in the dream. Curiosity. She rubbed her eyes and shivered. The men were gone as they were every morning. They'd be back tonight, though. She didn't want to think about that, she forced herself not to during the day. She looked to the alarm clock near her bed. It was 9:38. Her mother was probably still asleep. On Saturdays she usually slept late. Sylvia jumped out of her bed, not letting her feet anywhere near the edges. She walked past the bear the man had thrown last night and picked him up. On her way out of the room she placed him atop the empty rabbit cage that used to be the home of Scrabble, her old pet bunny. She left her door open and walked along the hallway, heading to the kitchen where she could get something to eat. She didn't like being alone but right now she didn't have much of a choice. Sylvia ended up eating what was left of the Cheerios and using up the last bit of milk which wasn't enough to fill her bowl how she wanted it. Still, she ate it and when she was done she placed it in the sink so either her or her mother could wash it. Probably her. Sylvia made her way to the couch she had been reading on the night before. Her book was waiting for her and she picked it up so she could resume reading where she had left off. The book was one she quite liked so far. It was about a woman in her mid thirties trying to find love. She had found the book in her mother's closet and figured she wouldn't mind if she took it. She was almost done with the book. She was at a part where the main character had just met someone at a coffee shop when suddenly Mrs. Barrows walked down the hallway and into the living room. She passed a glance at Sylvia. "That's my book." She said lazily, walking over to the kitchen which was connected to the living room. Sylvia looked up. "I'm almost done with it." She said to her mother who had just taken a prescription bottle out of a cabinet and popped two pills in her mouth. "Ok." She replied, swallowing the pills and putting water on to boil. The usual bags under Doreen's eyes were enhanced this morning. "You're up early." Sylvia noted, putting down her book. Doreen turned around, her fuzzy purple slippers scraping against the old tile. "So what?" She asked, somewhat defensively. "I dunno." Sylvia said back, her bright blue eyes alert, unlike her mother's which were half closed. "I'm going out tonight." Doreen added, getting everything she needed to make coffee ready for when the water boiled. "You gonna be ok by yourself for a couple hours?" Sylvia tensed, she didn't want to be alone. "No." She said truthfully. Doreen ignored her daughter. "I'll be leaving probably around seven. Make yourself whatever for dinner. I think we have soup." The water began to make some noises. "Where are you going?" Sylvia asked, hoping wherever it was she could come along too. Her mother glared at her somewhat. "You can't come, if that's what you're getting at."
Sylvia looked to the ground, dissappointed. The water started to whistle and her mother snatched it off the stove and began to make her coffee.

Sylvia spent most of the day dreading the night. Although she tried not to think about nightime during the day today she couldn't. At night she could always take comfort in knowing that she wasn't alone in the house but tonight she would be. Her mother hadn't said what time she'd be back so for all Sylvia knew she could be alone for the whole night. Maybe she just wouldn't go to sleep. She could stay up and watch TV instead. Yes, that was what she would do. 7:00 came quicker than Sylvia would have liked and her mother, who had changed into her good casual clothes, left right away without even so much as a goodbye. Sylvia listened as Doreen's car pulled out of the driveway and away from the house. She sighed and almost felt about ready to cry. She flicked the TV on and turned the volume up loud. Rather than watch the TV she began reading and wasn't once bothered by the sounds of the TV. After about an hour of reading Sylvia finished the book. She felt good, like she did every time she finished a book. She turned her attention to the TV but was bored soon after. She couldn't understand why people like her mother enjoyed TV so much, she didn't find it entertaining at all. She had nothing to do now that she had finished her book and she decided she would start another one. She had a book she had read while back that she enjoyed but it was in her room. Sylvia took a deep breath. It wasn't like she was going to sleep or anything. She just had to quickly pop into her room, grab the book and come back out here. It was simple as that. Sylvia looked to the narrow hallway. On the right side was her door, still open from when she had left it that morning. "Just gotta get my book." She told herself, taking a step forward. She willed herself to take another step, and then another. Before she knew it she was at her bedroom. She looked in before entering. The book was in plain view. It was on the floor near the foot of her bed resting between a ripped sock and a spoon. Sylvia bit her lip. Did she really need the book? She did. It would only take a second. Sylvia decided to make a quick dash. She ran over to the book, grabbed it and turned around. She was about to run back when she noticed something odd. The bear she had placed ontop of the rabbit cage earlier was gone. A closer look revealed to her that it wasn't gone, it was inside of the cage. "No.." Sylvia said. It was too late. The door shut and it behind stood the first man. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't come, Sylvia." He said, flicking off the lights.

 

[Picnicker Virgil]

'This isn't happening..' Sylvia told herself. She wasn't prepared for this. She thought about what might happen. Sure he had never made contact with her before but what if that was because her mother was in the house? What if now he had no problem hitting her. Sylvia threw her book at him and missed. "Close one." The man said, stepping forward. Sylvia backed away slowly, not turning away from the man. He made a sudden dash and Sylvia had to step back faster this time. "Ahh!" She screamed. She had been grabbed. She looked down and saw her foot was being held firmly by a yellow hand coming from under the bed. 'That's not possible.' She told herself. 'They can't touch me, or at least they don't.' She didn't get it, but she was scared. "Surprised?" The man asked, his grin displaying the rows of sharp yellow teeth Sylvia feared. "You're in for a few more surprises, you little bitch!" His face turned suddenly angry, something that had never happened before and he raised his hand as if to strike her. Sylvia was helpless. She couldn't run and now they could touch her. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the attack. But the attack didn't come. She opened her eyes slightly, still flinching. The man was standing completely still, his hand in the same position as before. He was completely frozen. And now, Sylvia and the men weren't alone. Standing behind the first man was a beautiful girl. Her wavy red hair reached to just below her shoulders and her eyes, blue as the ocean, had the strange quality of looking both sinister and kind all at the same time. Her teeth were white as clouds and perfectly straight. She wore a long white dress and had it not been for the sound she made when she walked Sylvia would have thought she was barefoot. When she looked closely she could see the woman was wearing glass slippers, much like those that belonged to Cinderella.
She could have been Sylvia's opposite. "These men, do you recognize them?" The woman spoke. Sylvia remained silent, her mouth agape. "Do you recognize them?!" The woman repeated louder and sounding somewhat irritated. "Y-yes." Sylvia said, a little bit scared. "So they've come before?" Sylvia nodded. "And have they ever touched you before?" Sylvia shook her head. The woman seemed to sigh. "We'll talk more on the way. Come on." She reached out a hand, stepping closer. "I can't leave." Sylvia said. "My Mom will be back-" The woman's sympathetic look shut Sylvia up immediately. "Please Sylvia. You have to come with me. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep the Redkalps like this." Sylvia looked to the frozen men and then back to the woman. "My Mother-" She started before the woman nudged her hand forward again. "I'll explain everything on the way." The extended hand snapped once and the man from under the bed suddenly released his hold on Sylvia's ankle. Reluctantly, Sylvia placed her hand ontop of the woman's.

 

[Picnicker Virgil]

The two of them stepped outside, met by a cold breeze. Sylvia shivered but the woman didn't seem cold at all. Her hand, in fact, was rather warm. The woman looked into the distance and Sylvia thought she may be trying to find something. Squinting her eyes, the woman began to whistle. A sharp high pitched whistle, but one that sounded nice to Sylvia. As she whistled one of the strangest things began to happen. Slowly, the air around the two female's feet began to get denser, absorbing moisture and adding it to a collection. Before long Sylvia began to notice a large cloud forming at their feet. "Woah.." She said, amazed. The woman, however, didn't stop whistling even once. When she did stop, the cloud kept forming until it was large enough that it looked as if they could sit on it. Which is just what the woman did. Sylvia gasped. "How is that possible?" She asked as she felt the cloud. It felt comfortable. And warm. "Sit." The woman said, patting a spot beside her. Sylvia obeyed and was pleased to find the cloud one of the best things she had ever sat on. "I have a lot to tell you." The woman said, not looking directly into Sylvia's eyes but instead into the distance. "First, my name. You may call me Maya." Sylvia nodded. It was a nice name, one she liked. "I'll tell you more once we get out of here." Maya said. She pursed her lips and whistled once more. Gracefully, the cloud began to lift and along with it came Maya and Sylvia. For some reason, Sylvia wasn't surprised. It seemed right that the cloud fly high in the air and she didn't so much as gasp when they began to soar.

Once they were far above Sylvia's neighborhood Maya took a deep breath. "I really didn't want to be the one to do this, Sylvia." Maya said, turning to look Sylvia in the eyes. "Your mother...She's gone." Sylvia's mouth dropped and from it came a weak noise. "N-no...She can't..." Sylvia said, trying the best she could to deny the information she had just recieved. "It happened earlier tonight. On her way home she crashed. I'm so sorry, really I am." Sylvia was crying hard now. She leaned in and placed her head on Maya's shoulder. She wasn't sure how long she was crying for but when she stopped she didn't recognize her surroundings. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, seemingly out of tears. With one last sob she turned to Maya. "I-I..." She started before Maya held a finger to her lips. "You don't need to say anything. Just let me explain." Sylvia sniffled and then nodded. "You're special, Sylvia." Maya told her. "I'm ugly." Sylvia responded as another tear slid down her face. "You're not ugly, don't say that." Maya said, stroking a stray hair out of Sylvia's face. "You have powers, Sylvia. Powers any girl your age couldn't even dream of having." Sylvia sniffled again. "I-I do?" She asked, still sobbing slightly. "You do." Maya answered, sealing her eyes and nodding. "You have the power to guide, Sylvia. You may not know it but one day you will play a very important role in someone's life." Sylvia's crying lightened. "I will?" she asked. "Shh." Maya said. "You have the power to guide." She repeated. "Which is a thousand powers in itself. It is a mysterious thing, guiding." Maya noted. "Those men." She said, changing the subject. "Are called Redkalps. They feed off of guiders like you. They have strict rules, however. One of which being they cannot visit a guider until they are the age of nine. Another being they cannot touch a guider until the guider is the age of ten." Sylvia was confused. "But I'm only n-nine." She said. Maya shook her head. "You're ten, as of today. Your parents felt wrong about you being born before they were married so they moved away from everyone, eloped, and lied about your real birthday." Maya gave Sylvia a moment to take this in. It wasn't the biggest news she had received that night but it was still odd. She was ten? "And?" Sylvia asked, curious to know more. "At the age of ten a guider recieves his or her powers." Sylvia's eyes brightened. "And someone is sent to teach them. That's me." Sylvia nodded. "So you can teach me to use my powers?" Now it was Maya's turn to nod. "Yes. But I can tell you it won't be easy. For now though, go to sleep Sylvia. You have a big day ahead of you." Sylvia obeyed and felt her eyelids getting heavy. She sank into the warm, comfortable cloud which seemed to envelope her, providing her with a warm blanket of itself. Her breathing slowed down, her mind started to rest. And for the first time in a long time, Sylvia slept peacefully.

 

[Picnicker Virgil]

Sylvia was awakened by the beautiful sounds of birds chirping. "Mm?" She mumbled as she looked to her surroundings. She was in a lush natural garden which was home to all sorts of plant and animal life. She gasped, taken aback by the beauty of everything. Flowers of all different kinds were scattered in various places and butterflies were flapping all around them, trying to find good ones to rest on. Sylvia herself had been resting with her back against a sturdy Hemlock tree. A bee flew by Sylvia and landed on her hand. Normally she would have been scared of the bee but the intoxicating scents and overall look of her surroundings was enough that she didn't mind having the bug on her. Eventually, it flew off leaving only a slight itch where it had been crawling. "Morning." Maya's voice said as she pushed back some branches and came into view. Sylvia had almost forgotten about the night before. She hung her head as she remembered what Maya had told her about her mother. "It'll take some time." Maya said, squatting down and placing her hand on Sylvia's shoulder. "Come." She said after a long silence. She stood and brushed some dirt off of her white dress. Maya held a hand out to Sylvia up. Sylvia took her hand thankfully and allowed herself to be pulled up. Maya didn't release Sylvia's hand and the two remained holding hands while Maya led Sylvia down a worn path which led to another clearing. Along the way the two picked berries off of the bushes and popped them into their mouths. None tasted familiar to Sylvia but they were all delicious. When they reached their destination Maya relinquished her hold on Sylvia and strode over to the branch of a nearby tree. As Maya walked away Sylvia finally recognized her scent. Maya had the faintest smell of cake. She shrugged and followed. Maya pointed to a bulb on the branch. "We'll start simple." She said, stroking the bulb. "You're going to guide the bulb to blossom, ok?" Sylvia was surprised. "Um I can try." She said. She looked at the bulb. It was an ordinary bulb, nothing special about it. "Blossom." She commanded. Nothing happened. She snapped her fingers as she had seen Maya do last night. Still nothing. "No no, not like that." Maya said. "It's not really telling the bulb to bloom, more like allowing it to. Get it?" Sylvia didn't get it but she nodded anyways. "Try it." Maya said, ushering Sylvia with her hands. She tried to do what Maya had said. 'Bloom if you want.' She thought. 'Go ahead.' She added. Nothing was happening. "I don't get it." Sylvia said, frustrated. Maya looked sympathetic. "It's all right. I wasn't expecting you to get it on your first try. There's no hurry, remember that."
That wasn't much help. She decided to try again. This time she really concentrated on the bulb. She looked at its flowery exterior and then she felt something strange. Sylvia felt as if she was inside the bulb, or rather that she was the bulb. Suddenly, she felt herself pouring something into the bulb. It felt like her life that she was pouring into the soon to be flower. She felt all her tears that had gathered in the past few months shedding away and becoming energy, energy which flowed into the bulb. Slowly the bulb started to open. It spread its flowers and began to blossom. Sylvia's eyebrows lifted. "I did it!" She said, excited. "Good." Maya said. She pointed to another bulb. "Now do it again."

 

[Picnicker Virgil]

Sylvia tried to ignore the growling of her stomach as she concentrated on opening the 12th bulb of the day. She was on her third branch and the tree she had been working on was looking way better than before. "Hungry?" Maya asked, interrupting Sylvia's concentration and causing the bulb she had been trying to open to close slightly. "Yeah." Sylvia admitted, clutching her still growling stomach. Maya turned to the bulb Sylvia had been working on and squinted her eyes. Sylvia quickly turned around to see what the matter was and when she looked to the former bulb she gasped and smiled. The bulb had produced a juicy green apple that was dying to be picked. Sylvia plucked the apple off of the branch and took a bite. It was delicious, the best apple she had ever tried. Not that she ate many apples, at her house she mostly only ate store brand cereal and the occasional hard boiled egg. She couldn't help but utter, "Mmm..." as juice dribbled down her freckled cheek.
"Good, isn't it?" Maya asked as Sylvia had finished her apple and only the core remained. Sylvia nodded, swallowing the last bit of the tasty fruit. "Yes." She said once her mouth was empty. Maya looked to the core resting in Sylvia's palm and squinted once more. The core completely dissappeared, disintigrating in Sylvia's palm and becoming brown dust which evaporated into the air. "Woah." Sylvia said, although she was learning not to be surprised by these kind of things. She opened her hand and noticed the seeds of the apple still remained. "Plant them." Maya said, pointing to an empty patch of soil near Sylvia's feet. Sylvia did as she was told, digging a small hole and carefully placing the small black seeds into it before covering it with dirt and giving it a light pat. "Good." Maya stated before striding away. Sylvia quickly followed. As they walked the sound of crashing water could be heard in the distance. Sylvia noticed a few mushrooms on the ground and figured they were going to a stream.
Sylvia was right, for the most part. They had, in fact, been heading towards a stream but the actual place was much more beautiful than Sylvia had ever though possible. Moss covered rocks created a tall wall from which a large stream of water was crashing down into a small pool which looked peaceful and warm. The pool was full of fresh, clear water and Sylvia had an urge to jump in. Another, smaller water fall led from the first pool to a similar, but smaller one and from that one the same pattern kept repeating. "It's....it's..." Sylvia started, unable to describe the beauty of what she saw. "I know." Maya cut her off, taking a deep breath, sealing her eyes and smiling. "Can we go in?" Sylvia's hope filled voice asked. "Of course, why else would I bring you here?" Maya answered, removing her glass slippers and her dress, revealing a tan body and a bathing suit made of white leaves. Sylvia was unsure how whoever had made the swimsuit had managed to weave the leaves so tightly but rather than ask she instead walked towards the first pool of water, not bothering to take off her clothes before sinking into the warm water. Maya joined her, gracefully sliding her body into the pool with a relaxed smile on her face.

 

[Picnicker Virgil]

The water calmed Sylvia and forced her to smile. It was hot but not hot enough to bother her. Without thinking Sylvia held her breath and dunked under the water. She opened her eyes and looked around. She had thought the whole bottom of the pool was solid ground but she was wrong. In the center was a large hole which led to a vast, natural underwater city. Fish of all kinds swam freely in between walls of coral and rocks. Kelp swayed with the invisible underwater currents. Sylvia wanted to go explore the large area but she knew she couldn't hold her breath for that long. She surfaced, gasping as she did so. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Maya asked, smiling at Sylvia. Sylvia nodded, "I only wish I could see it up close." Maya smiled and swam closer so she was next to Sylvia rather than across from her. "You can." She whispered. Sylvia's eyebrows raised in amazement. "I can?" she asked, confirming. "How?" Maya looked to the water and then back up to Sylvia. "I'll teach you."

An hour had passed and Sylvia felt confident enough to try what she had just been practicing in that time. "Just remember what I told you and stay close." Maya lectured. "Ready?" "Yes." With that, both Sylvia and Maya submerged themselves underwater. Sylvia closed her eyes and began to do what Maya had taught her. Sylvia pictured air, lots and lots of air sinking into her skin. She began to guide all the nearby bubbles containing any form of oxygen through her pores and into her lungs. Sylvia opened her eyes, smiling. It had worked. Oxygen was no longer a problem down here. Maya turned around and ushered Sylvia over to her. Sylvia pushed off some of the rocks and followed.
It was even better than she had imagined. What had already appeared to be a large area was even larger. Maya swam gracefully, imitating the fish around her and taking similiar paths as them. Sylvia swam awkwardly, moving both her arms and legs at the same time in wild flailing motions. Still, she made her way around underwater just fine. Maya was a faster swimmer and was ahead of Sylvia looking at a group of bright orange fish. Without thinking, Sylvia released some of the pent up air from her feet, rocketing forward faster than she had been swimming. Maya took note of this and congratulated Sylvia with a thumbs up and a smile. Sylvia took in some more air and did it again, this time going farther and faster. She found she could do more than just absorb the nearby air, she could play with it as well. Sylvia created a bubble which she controlled, chasing several fish with it in addition to bursting it in front of Maya's face, startling her.
Maya gave her a look which caused her to laugh uncontrollably. Suddenly she found herself gasping for air and unable to concentrate enough to obtain it. Maya quickly sped forward, using the same technique Sylvia had done only minutes before. She forced some oxygen into Sylvia's pores before grabbing onto her and rocketing upward faster and more precise than Sylvia had. The two of them sped up through a narrow part which led to the pool, tiny in comparison to where they had just been.