In the night, all is bright....

[Willow Joanne Esquire]

In the night the things lurk.
In the night, the fears awaken.
In the night the shadows rule, and the light seems distant.
In the night, you are alone, in the night, the shadows watch you.
Watch your step, else you will fall, crumbling your world will come.
Into the dark you will go down, falling, falling into the abyss.
Things that simple, disappear. In the darkness, all is hard. In the darkness things are lost.
Slowly night will creep upon you, slowly lights will cease. Slowly, your fears will rise...
Beware... for morning will not come.

Lights go out, and it's the curfew. All have to be in bed, asleep, quiet untill the morning. Some sedated, some quiet by themself. Some medicated, to help them sleep sountly through the night. The common belief is that the night is the time, when everyone calms down, the events of the day wind down, things are reflected upon, wounds healed, and the moon shines. The wonderful time, when the noices of the day cease, and an eery silence settles over the land. The comforting silence, the peaceful quiet. The gentle darkness, almost as if made of velvet, surrounding, caressing, wooing one deeper and deeper into it. The calming... the peace....

But not for all.

The mystical darkness, and the soothing silence, the world in which all seesm so different... things that can not be done during the day, can be done at night. Things so plain and ordinary, at times, even so rediculous, during the day, during the night, become, extrodinary and exciting. Curious and unusual...

But not always.

In a daze, in a haze.
Quiet world far away.
Peacefull mist, the endless fog...
And the never ending song.
Gently streaming, from the distance...
Soothing music, quiet longing...
In the night, it grows awake...
Gnawing, pulling, ripping, pleading.
Growing with each flicker of a small star....
Fear not, for it willl then consume you.

She had closed her eyes, she had layed down. She had gone to sleep. The day had passed.... the wonderful events of the day hapened. There was something sweet, a few gentle words, a few loving touches... there was something bitter, some shouts, some punches... She bid her goodnights, and retired to rest. Everything seemed well. The comfy bed, the nice temperature, the quiet sounds of the night coming from the window. All was peacefull... all was nice... then flashes began.

Bright flash. A loud scream.
Away, away, the time will fly.

Her breathing grew faster, fingers clutching the sheets. Her brows drawing together. Something wrong. Something was growing wrong. It was adjitating her... it was worrying her... She was afraid. And then the voice... the gentle voice that called out to her. It called her... it soothed her fears... it took away the threats. She wanted to go there... Slowly, she rose up.

Come to me my child...
Let the songs flow forth
I'll protect you, my dear child
I'll keep the dark of night away
I'll sing and rock you to a quiet sleep.
There is nothing more to fear.

She did not know. She was not aware. She did not know that she was moving. That slowly she rose from her bed. That slowly she moved ahead. That slowly, her fingers found the door, and slowly they opened it into the hall. That slowly, she moved forth. Away from the door and along the white wall. Into the silence, and into the cold. Fallowing that soothing, calling voice. She wanted to get it, she wanted to touch it. She wanted to hear it. It was calling to her. Slowly, she kept moving forth. Deeper and further into the night.

All the words are MINE! ...even the lame attempts at poems.

[aspen]

Aspen couldn’t even begin to explain how she had managed to slip out of her room and past the guard that kept a watchful eye over her on a daily basis. The last thing she recalled was lying in her bed, so close to being out like a light, sleep’s soothing lullaby, a cascading sensation of peace washing over her and lulling her into a sense of security and safety. She was tired out from her therapies earlier in the day and wanted nothing more than to drift away to dream world—where she was a free girl and didn’t have to worry about waking up confined by a straight jacket for supposedly hurting herself again. Sleep was a special time of day that she couldn’t afford to waste, when Aspen slept she left the sanctity of Lucid Manor and drifted to a much happier place and time where she was with her brother, traveling, or just living a normal life and going to school.

After an hour or so of fitful tossing and turning to try and find a comfortable spot in bed to lay, she finally was able to close her eyes, ignoring the creaks of the building and the occasion sound of the Nurses Carts wheeling down the hallway en route to rooms with patients who needed to take their medication before going to sleep.

She had mistaken another black out for the beckoning call of sleep, having only been unconscious for an hour and a half before waking up in a place that was, decidedly, not the bed or room that she had fallen asleep in. That wasn’t the only thing that she had noticed right off the bat—a seeing pain shot through her and when she chanced a glance down the length of her body to pinpoint the origin of the pain she realized, without much surprise, that her right arm was bleeding. The red-head was used to waking up after blacking out for a certain amount of time to find herself somewhere different and with a brand new injury—lately they had been bite marks, deep enough to bleed, sometimes even a chunk of skin was missing which called for the Doctors to stitch her up. Aspen’s arms were comprised of a myriad of different scars in various states of healing, old injuries and new.

A sense of panicked dread cascaded over her when she realized that she was out past curfew and the hallways were dimmed enough to conserve light and energy, creating an eerie atmosphere and making her desperately wish that she knew what it was that triggered her blackouts so that she could stop them. Or, at least, stop them from happening at night. She just wanted to sleep!

The nineteen year old slowly became aware that she wasn’t alone in the hallway when the dull slap slap of feet against the tiled floor came to her attention. Aspen bit her lip and held her injured arm tightly to her chest, frantically glancing around for an escape route. She made to move but slipped on a puddle of…something….and fell forwards, letting out a quiet, but distinctively startled cry.

Shit! She knew what would happen if she was found this late at night without her guard. She’d be locked up again.

Aspen picked herself up, realizing that the puddle she had slipped in had been a shallow smattering of her own blood that had pooled at her feet while she had stood, silently contemplating how she had made it to the hallways in the first place. She needed to stop the bleeding bite mark, it’d be too easy for whoever to follow a trail of blood that would ultimately lead to wherever Aspen was. She’d be caught for sure!

Her worries momentarily subsided when the person emerged, she appeared to be another patient. Unless she was a nurse but, no, she didn’t look like someone who worked here in clean, pristine Lucid Manor. Aspen let out a sigh of relief, maybe she wouldn’t get locked up again…

[/blockquote]

[Willow Joanne Esquire]

Three steps forward, two steps back
Hop, skip, move on forward.
To the voice you fallow now.
Let it lead and guide you forward
Fallow that sweet song.

She heard that voice. It sounded sweet. For what reason she fallowed it, she knew not. Asleep her mind was, and contious long gone to dream land. But that voice... that single sweet voice.... it called to her. It called her forth. Appearing, just beyond her reach, just beyond that corner. Just another step, another step forward. It pulled her. It pulled her forward, the subcontious, driven by the musical voice. It's sweet promises, it's gentle words...

Come with me, my pretty thing
Let me take you far away.
Away from danger, and this world
Away from frightning things.
I'll keep you safe, I will protect you.
Come to me, and you will see
Come with me, my pretty thing,
All keep you safe inside.

She moved forward, slowly. She could see the world around her. She could see... something, that she could not do in so long...but soemthing she remembered oh, so well. And now... now she could see again as well. The hall way.... long, endless hallway... The bright bluish moon light, filtering through the woven vines. The large leafs casting large shaddows upon the floor. A soft bright mist cascading from teh walls over the stone floor. And the flower pettals... the gentle, delicate, coral colored petals, falling from the unseen flowers, each time the cool breeze passed through the hall. She liked this... it was pleasant... It was an island of serenity among this chaos. A sanctuary. She seeked that senctuary. She longed for that peace...

To me, my pretty girl, I will save you.
In the night the shadows hunt you.
In the dark, the countless eyes fallow.
You are afraid, I simply know it.
Don't fear, I will protect you.
You know that you can trust me...
Put your faith with in my hands,
Step away from your worries, my dear.
Come to me, and stay right here...
For all will be ok.

She moved forward through the hall. Her feet moving quietly over the cold surface. Her fingers playing with the edges of her tunic, the other, sliding over the smooth walls. She could not see those walls during the day, but at night... at night all became so clear. Everything made sence. Everything seemed so right.... The voice.. the voice it was closer... a sigh... a soft sigh... has she get there? Was it the source? She stopped... her fingers pulling into a fist, still resting upon the cold wall. Silence.... silence...and the light breathing....

"Are you the one that called me? Are you the voice I hear?" Willow moved her head to the side, as she struggled to hear. Hoping that it was.... the voice... the voice promised senctuary. It promised peace. It always did... but she could never find it. She hoped, she prayed, that this was it... that this is when she'd find her peace.

Poem-Attempts are still mine ^-^

[aspen]

Her breath came out shallow and shaky and she felt like she was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown, Aspen hated not knowing what was going on and unfortunately for her that happened far too often for her liking. She was never in the loop on things and it made her desperately wish that she knew a lot more than she did. Maybe then she wouldn’t be here, in this predicament, in this place. She’d also be able to convince people that she wasn’t clinically insane, or mentally unstable, or whatever it was that they had said she was. Her heart continued to hammer against her ribcage, vibrating her sternum, she could hear the blood throbbing behind her eardrums. The silence of the hallways was nearly unbearable, her anxiety was getting the better of her and she was absolutely terrified that someone was going to come a long and lock her up, or that this girl, stepping out of the shadows, was going to be so loud that it would alert someone to their rebellious presence in the corridors.

Aspen tilted her head to the side in a curious manner, her stormy grey eyes roved over the girl’s body, assessing and analyzing the situation while contemplating on what to say in reply to the girl’s question. She didn’t recall saying anything. Though, she really couldn’t be very certain of that since she did just come to her senses—perhaps she had been talking during the time that she blacked out and made her way out into the hallways? Biting her lip, Aspen was unsure of how to respond, she really didn’t know if she had been the one that the girl had been hearing or if it had been someone or something else.

“I…I’m not sure. I don’t even know how I got out here.

[/color]” She rubbed her arms, ignoring the sticky feel of the blood that smeared along the length of her arms as her fingers glided across her skin, “I suppose I could be the one? But I can’t remember…[/color]” A small frown tugged at the corners of her lips and her stormy gaze fell to the tiled floor and her barefeet, toes wriggling and smudged with the same crimson that was smattered against her arms and clothing. She’d almost forgotten about the bite on her arm, quickly moving her hand behind her to attempt to hide the wound, afraid that it might startle the other girl.
[/blockquote][/size]

[Willow Joanne Esquire]

There is no death,
Only eternity,
Upon a single glance.
Let the second glance, and eternity will flee
Before your eyes, the road will end.
The never ending light will halt.
And the night will once again consume you.
Do not stop, and do not look back.
Lead your life, on and on my friend.
I will come with you, and hold you up,
In the times forgotten.

There was silence, and it worried her. That voice.. it stopped too. But at least she still could see. The light still filtering from teh moon, somewhere high above. And the gentle movement of the shadows upon the floor. And a single shadow. Misty... transparent... barely visible against the rest of the wall, but there. Willow could sence. She could sence the other presence. Even if, it is nothing more then glass, even if the counter is barely tehre, it is still present. And that is all that mattered to her. She longed for it. She wished it to be there. The comforting presence.

Bend and break,
Sway and stay.
Left and right,
up and down
through and through
untill tomorrow.
To the second star upon the left
Streight through the blue sea
Dance, dance, my pretty doll
While the music sings.

Then it spoke. The voice spoke.... but it wasn't it. It was wrong. It was a wrong voice. The shadow dispelled.... the misty form, slipping away, as if caught up in the bright morning rays. A flicker and it was gone. Gone, with not a trace to be found, but a vague memory of the past events. Of the past hope... Salvation will not come. It won't save her today. It never does. The voice, calls out to her. So often... but never with in her reach. Taunting, plaguing, begging, promising... Always tellign her of the sanctuary, and never geting it. It never came. The voice never gave in.

Forget, go to sleep
Dig deep, sleep.
Let the world whirl around you
Let the Earth, lay to rest.
Sleep... sleep... let it rest.
Let the graves fall deep.
Let the trees go tall, and roots dig deep.
Let the gentle wind play with your thoughts,
Scattering over the terrain.

You.... you're not the voice.... You are not hte one that calls me...you will not provide the senctuary that I seek...." Willow sighed, her voice rather sad, and her eyes cast down. She was disapointed. Again, that voice escaped. IT had grown quiet now. She could hear nothing but the breeze, and the breathing. The nerveous breathing of another shadow near by. Alas, she could not see that shadow. Like many others, it was a disembodied voice. Speaking out of the darkness to her. She hated that. She hated not being able to see. But, what she hated more, was having the memory of being able to see. Remembering how everything seemed... and then how it was ripped away, as her world plunged into everlasting shadow.

Why are you here? Did the voice call out to you too? Does it call to you too? Can you hear it? Can you? Willow's voice waivered as she spoke, her eyes wide, almost glowing in the dim lights. There was not a crazed look about her, just lost one... lost and disapointed. Appearing no more then a ghost. Strange dullness in her features. A ghost in the middle of the night. Caught up in their own world, that only barely touches this one, unaware of the worldly troubles.

In the middle of the night,
I'll come for you.
Whisk you away, near the morning light
Early on, I usually arrive, but not this time.
Come sit with me.
Drink a cup of tea,
We've got time to spare.
Nothing to fear.
I'll keep you with me till the end to time.

[aspen]

Aspen found herself intrigued by the other girl and her delusional ramblings, she was used to being around the crazed patients of Lucid Manor and had grown quite accustomed to hearing them say bizarre and downright strange things, but for some reason tonight, listening to the girl before her, it made her feel…sad. Aspen honestly believed that she didn’t belong here and sometimes reasoned that she was here to help the other patients cope with their illness without even coming to terms that she herself was ill. The red-head felt a frown tug at the corners of her lips when the girl sighed in disappointment, she had clearly been expecting to find someone other than Aspen wandering the halls late at night.

“I—um—I’m sorry? What sort of sanctuary do you seek? To get out of here? If that’s the case then you and me both.

[/color]” She let out a sigh of her own, a sad and wistful one at the thought of being able to leave Lucid Manor and return home to pick up on the life that she had left behind, or what was left of it at least…

Momentarily forgetting about her arm, she lifting it to her face and pushed back a strand of crimson hair that had found its obnoxious way into her line of site, obscuring her vision just enough to annoy her. Pushing the strand behind her ear where, hopefully it would stay, she turned her attention back to the girl, noticing that she was looking at her but at the same time she wasn’t. But Aspen didn’t want to be rude and ask if she could see or not—because it could have been that it was just the dimness of the hallways that was messing with her vision…or it could have been that she was blind or partially blind or something like that and Aspen didn’t want to seem like an insensitive prick for asking.

She was the type of person that would tell a little white lie to either help herself get out of a sticky situation or to help someone else feel better about themselves. This was one of those times when she felt the need to tell a lie to make the other girl feel better about hearing a nonexistent voice, perhaps her reason for being here really was to help other people—she, for one, couldn’t think of any other reason why she needed to be at Lucid Manor, especially since there was nothing wrong with her [or, in her mind there was nothing wrong with her!].

“Yeah? I thought I was the only one who heard it—I’m glad someone else is as familiar with the voice as I am, I was beginning to think I was going crazy or something, haha.[/color]” Biting her lip she made to offer her hand out of politeness but then remembered her previous mental tangent about the girl’s sight and thought better of it, instead she smiled brightly and said, “I’m Aspen, by the way…[/color]”
[/size][/blockquote]

[Willow Joanne Esquire]

To run away, into the hazy distance
Into the mists, and the days gone by.
Lets fly away into the night.
To the fantasy. To the dream.
Put on your wings, let us fly.
Freedom not but a touch away.

There was silence, and then the mistery voice spoke once more, bringing a small smile to the young woman's lips. If asked, she would not be able to answer, why those words brought a smile to her face. Often in the middle of the night, she could not tell why she did the things she did. They seemed right. At least at the time.... and later on... later one she could not remember what happened at that time. The nurses, would tell her that she had been out of her room. They even tried to lock her in a couple of times, but it failed. Willow woke up with bruises, causing the Nurses to figure it's better to wonder around the hall. Less bruises.

Night will pass, and the dawn will come
Your chances growing ever so slim.
In the day, they'd be watching.
Your every move exposed before the eyes
Whispers from all directions-
They'd be watching.
I won't be there, I'd be gone.
I'd be far away from here.
Forgive me my dear, forgive me my love.
I'll be back one day again.

"It's the sanctuary... it is peace.... it is something, far away from ehre, away from it all.. a tranquill place away from the haunting memories and nightmares... it promises me serenity. Safety... it calls to me.... Willow whispered as she rested against the wall. Her eyes directed before her. She was looking into the mist. The way the light played upon the leaves. The figure next to her was a mistery, constantly moving diractions... She wanted to catch it. For once be able to catch the ellusive voices. Catch them, and hold.

Willow did not respond again. Not even appearing to aknowlege Aspen's metion of hearing the voice too. She seemed lost in her thought. Listening to the voice. Wishing it would come to her again. It offered solice, that she rarely found. In this light, she seemed nothing more then a pale statue, frozen against the wall. She barely appeared to breathe, as she stood there. Suddnely a small shiver passed through her as she pulled away from teh wall, as if it would burn her. Her head churned in Aspen's diraction, almost as if she could see the woman. The statue came to life.

I am called Willow...Willow Esquire.... She grew silent again, almost as if spacing out once more. Her eyes never leaving Aspen, giving her an eery appearence. Why are you here...Aspen?