DULL

Lie in bed, staring at the face of the ceiling. Dull, pale, and leaking color. It stays as other things move on, people, plants, and faces.

All interchangeable but this wall, this wall is a non-living piece of a building. Staring back even without eyes, and staying still even though we all move on accordingly.

Even in the face of despair, it stands as a bystander amongst all the actions that we humans take. Whether good or evil, that wall doesn't congratulate us or shame us for what we've done. It just watches, watches all things, at all times.

Lying dormant as we lay active in this seed of a world, once full of life now tarnished with evil and malevolent nature. People who were once innocent, attacking those that still are, and the dreaded blood of the dead bleeding amongst the entire earth. 

Rejection becomes a killer and kindness becomes something preyed upon as good action turns into meaningless words in a cruel environment. Love, something that once saved lives, becomes something of manipulation, tying down a person like a puppet and making them bend to the will of the puppet master. 

The simple inanimate wall becomes something of luck and greater value even as it is marked and torn down. It is still lucky because it doesn't have to face pain or react to it. It is lucky because the simple evil nature that humanity pours out doesn't directly affect it but instead infects us. 

We are scared of the unknown preying upon us, but the true monsters are the ones who live amongst us. The enemy isn't outside the earth but on it, posing as one of us, as it is an imposter who planted its wicked seed long ago. Dooming humanity before we could even grace the planet and cursing us all before the witch could even lift up her hand. 

The monsters are us, and the wall is the victim, watching as we all tear each other down, even with being the same species. We are far more different than we even realize and our impending doom is among us, drawing closer, and near, even before the sun can explode.

The wall is a victim and we are the monsters, as it can't even scream for help or call for protection as we destroy everything and everyone in our path.

I turn over and I get out of bed, I'm still pondering but I'm more curious about the clue I spent so long trying to find. 

So, I go over to the hiding place and I make sure the door is locked, carefully slipping out the clue and looking over it. 

It's not only a clue but also a drawing.

A drawing of a ring, unripe roses, and blood dripping from one, stating one word at the end…..

Careful 

I didn't pay much attention to what was on it when I first got the paper, but this is even more confusing than the riddles. Having drawings of flowers from the garden and that ring my cousin kept. What is that supposed to mean? Does all of this center around Victor? 

Is Victor the cause of what's happening and if so, why didn't Rene tell me this before she left? 

I crumpled the paper back up and stuffed it back where I had it at first.

Sitting on the floor and biting my nails, trying to come up with a reason, a plan. It must have something to do with the garden right? I mean the unripe roses? It's something of a rarity so does that mean it's something hidden or unseen? Does it stand for something?

I pick myself off the floor and start pacing, I don't know if it's dark or not but the best course of action would be to act at night. Usually, there are fewer guards and it's easier to sneak around the mansion when it's dark. The only question is when do I leave? Should I check now while everyone thinks I'm asleep or should I wait a bit longer?

My foot starts to tap and I sink my teeth into my lip, careful not to spill any blood. I'm unsure what to do, and the indecisive decision nearly kills me. My brain starting to spin in loops as the clues from this far almost tangle up in my head. I don't know what any of this is trying to tell me and when it seems like I'm getting close, something happens, a disturbance, a setback....

So, I stop and take a deep breath, pressing my ear to the door and I hear silence. 

"Step by step", I whisper to myself, just as she did, "Step by step", even if all this confuses me as long I can keep going, everything might work out.

I press the door open and look both ways, there aren't any guards near so I can probably get down to the second floor without having a problem.

I shut the door quietly behind me and started down the hallway. I go as quickly as I can but my nerves still run high, trying to tell me to turn around or go back but I need to make it to the second floor or at least the balcony. If I can at least see the garden then that's a start.

Knowing that it has hidden secrets makes me wonder what else I'm missing and if I'd known, I would have been more careful in my approach. Maybe, I could have even found a way to visit more, I'm almost to the stairs when something stops me dead in my tracks.

A silky, black dress with a glitter shimmer, long and graceful like the finest diamond, and a matching pointed hat like a vengeful witch. However, this witch was far classier than the ones I heard of in stories, this one wanted blood with pointed nails and black lipstick.

The sight of it made me grow cold, and I quickly found the nearest corner to back in before she spotted me. My mother seemed far more sinister than she had been in the past days, here she almost looked as if she could kill.