The Return of the Soul

"Now the game is over," he said, leaving the book on the bed where several others were already present. He then went to his room's window. For the very first time, he loved the rain. The glass of the window was wet and misty, he still loved it. Regardless of how we feel about the weather outside usually, it is true that if the weather inside us is nice, it will also make us happy. He turned around and looked at all the books turned open on his bed, most of them were related to dead people and magic, how magic could bring souls back. He felt much relieved after many days. So many books were there to teach how to bring back souls, rituals, and all but none felt authentic. By merely looking at the books, one could tell that they were made for child's play. At last, Felix found a book (to summon souls) that was tried many times before. At the end of the book, there were many experiences of people meeting with the souls. But that wasn't a piece of cake, it needed immense enthusiasm and focus. Not anyone could make a soul come back again to this mortal world. Felix would not have shown such bravery under normal circumstances, but as was already mentioned, these were exceptional circumstances. God only knows where he found such tremendous courage, but it facilitated his plans.

All that ritual required was a focus, an undistracted one. For him, there was no external distraction. After finding that ritual he was desperate to summon Ophelia's soul, but this could only be done at the exact moment of rising of the dawn. Otherwise, it won't work. He went to bed early because he was very tired, and prayed to wake up at around almost 3:00 am to prepare for it. Although he had high hopes that this will work out, a part of him was nervous. It rained all evening in Pensive, which made the weather bit cold. He pulled on the blanket, turned out the lights, and hoped that tomorrow won't be like today.

He woke up at his required time. Merely because he consciously slept. He went to his mom's room "Pray for me mom, what I am going to… do today is not simple. I…don't know...how things will turn out ... after" he swallowed a knot in his throat. She didn't say anything, because she could not but Felix knew that her silent prayers were with him. He confidently came back to his room and opened the page of instructions regarding the ritual. Inhaling deeply, he sat on the floor in the prescribed position, legs crossed and eyes shut. The dawn was breaking. He concentrated on the gloom in his mind. Nothing but darkness was there. He searched for the slightest shimmer or flash of the light but couldn't find any. The condition for this ritual was that one should not open his eyes until a glint of sparkle appears. If his eyes opened, he would never be able to execute it again. The bad spirits will also taunt him and make every effort to get him to open his eyes. Only courage will find its way to the sparkle. Not anyone could do such a thing. Although there were people mentioned in the book who successfully did it, the number of failures was greater. But Felix had faith in himself. He was aware that the part of himself that fervently desires to put an end to everything is far greater than the portion that harbors doubt about the practice. He searched for the sparkle with all his might, far and near in the darkness. Unconsciously he had made a picture in his mind of what Ophelia would look like. From the start, he had envisioned her as a witch with long nails and creepy manners. It was only logical because she had a role like that in his life. The supposed picture of the soul to be summoned in the perpetrator's mind could affect the ritual. Because he was doing all of this for the comeback of Ophelia's soul the practice will look for her. But the picture he had envisioned was tampering with the whole thing. He explored the ebony darkness, but not a sparkle was there. Then the same notion occurred to him, and he forced himself to forbade envisioning her. The hatred for her was coming in the way. He focused and focused for many minutes; his jaws tightened in the attempt. The bad spirits were diverting his focus. They kept on coming in his way to find the light, forcing him to turn back, to open his eyes. He curled both of his hands into a punch. Those spirits continuously disturbed him but he was fixed on the point to complete the practice. He concentrated with more passion; the envisioned face of Ophelia was soon fading little by little which proceeded the practice. He could make out a small dot of hope that was approaching in the distance, a tickle of light penetrating through the blackness. The picture was getting clearer. The darkness was leaving, the light was coming. The air around him got chilly, and a wave of creeps ran throughout his body. The light was just a little way to be at its destination. A pleasant smell pervaded the room. He couldn't wait to open his eyes, the light was arriving and arriving closer. He sensed a wave of wind in his surroundings, the window was closed so the only producer of the wind must be the practice. The wind blew with such severity that his hair flew and the window shuddered. The shuddering of windows made the scene more intense. Every moment felt crucial to him. A fresh wave of wind came, and the sparkle stepped at its destination. The wind was so severe that it took him off his place. The sparkles met their fate, he opened his eyes.

Everything was white, pure white, flawless, with no spot. The white as of milk, the white as of snow, the white as of PEACE. Things were so white that Felix couldn't focus for a moment. His room had changed, or perhaps he wasn't in his room anymore. He was certain that wherever he was, he wasn't alone. That feeling of being with someone, that same feeling that assures you that you are not alone, not the only soul here. That someone is with you, even if you could not see anybody. The warmth in the air of someone else's breath. But with time, the white began to take on other hues; the milk-white corner became into a brown table, while the snow-white side turned into a mirror. Lastly, the pure whiteness in the environment turned to the faint light of dawn reflecting through the window. All the light from the surroundings went, leaving only the white in the center. Of all the ones he has seen, it was the most beautiful. The most enchanting and alluring, with a diamond-like shine here and there. The white split up from the center at the bottom revealing a foot, as white as he could never think a creature's foot could be. The incision continued upward, revealing and revealing a lily-white long dress which in itself was so pure that it made sure that whoever was wearing it had to have an equally pure soul. Felix was lost for words, only the white had made his heart soften. The cut went upwards till it revealed lilac soft lips and long golden hair. His eyes widened as much as they were able to. The cut vanished into the air leaving a girl behind. Her eyes were closed. He was not sure whether all of that was happening to him or if it was nothing out of the ordinary. Her velvety eyelashes departed and gave room to the sapphire eyes, with an unimaginable shine and innocence. Cheeks blushed with such subtlety that one could confuse her with an angel.

She looked on either side, then at herself. Felix was startled since he had not anticipated Ophelia to be this much beautiful. A part of him was saying that she couldn't be her like maybe the ritual went all wrong, this couldn't be her. How come an innocent face of her did such devilish deeds? Thousands of questions were popping into his mind, but not a single answer he had. He composed himself. Ophelia looked outside the window and was reassured that she was in Pensive. She extended her white hands in the air and looked at them with eyes of incredulity. Felix's forehead sweated, even in that chill temperature, but he managed to stand up. He was in no mood to let his guard down in front of a rival. It was difficult, it was damn difficult. He cleared his throat, Ophelia noticed him suddenly, and with arms crossed began "So are you, Ophelia Whitlock?" he questioned rather inquiringly. She didn't answer, and after a brief moment of attention to Felix, she resumed her self-examination. He again cleared his throat and repeated with a louder voice "Are you Ophelia Whitlock?" she looked at him now. A silly thought crossed his mind that what if she is dumb but at the very second, she said "Yes, I certainly am Ophelia Octavia Whitlock" her voice was as astonishing as her appearance. It had a mix of domination and sweetness. It was confirmed that the voice was naturally sweet though it was purposefully made to sound imposing. She continued sarcastically "Now gentleman you must answer my queries if you will" he pensively stared at her but as there was no choice, he gestured that she should begin. She bowed her head slightly and began "Why am I here? What I mean to say is WHY ON EARTH did you summon me?" she emphasized. Felix straightened his stance, unconsciously to demonstrate his superiority, and replied "I have summoned you for the sake of this town" she narrowed her eyes "Do I have any right to know what that sake is?" her manner was ironic "Ok listen you need to end all of this" "And what is that (all)" she quoted dramatically. His temper was rising but he managed to state calmly "I need you to end all the mess caused by (Memory Nutriment)" she was in awe with a realization "Oh, so that is why I am here, that is the reason like I am summoned for the first time by a genius" she pointed her hand toward him "for the sake of his own like no one summoned me for myself. No one thought of ME" she said it all in one breath furiously and started breathing heavily. Felix was surprised by her self-centeredness, but his goal was to persuade her that since she started it, she must also put an end to it. She cut him off as he started to speak, saying, "After all these years a person has summoned me for a thing which I served my life for". Felix again opened his mouth but she again stopped him and continued "You don't know what Memory Nutriment is to me, therefore you better stay away from this". At this, he lost all sense of decency and growled fiercely "What it is to you? You did all of this for the sake of your damn entertainment. You played with the lives of hundreds of people just for your curiosity and now you are saying -what it is to you- come on" If Ophelia had started with bitterness Felix had not have stayed back at this too.

"I'll kill you if you ever repeated those evil words" her eyes turned scarlet with agony. This was a different side of her. Felix was briefly startled by the true pain that was seen in her eyes, but he was mentally prepared for any kind of dramatization. "I did this because of you all, don't ever repeat those words in front of me, or else I will do no mercy" she panted and turned away. His jaws dropped "You did this because of US, are you even in your senses? I am completely aware of your reality. I have read…" he said, pointing (The history of Ophelia). She cut him in the middle and peered at the book for a minute, her eyes were watery when she claimed "That is the explanation for your current set of beliefs, you think it is true? I am telling you, other than what I mentioned earlier nothing is true and I can prove it…"