Prologue

She felt her calf stiffen as soon as her sole touched the damp floor. Few inches away from the door, she halted to watch the soft trickle of water flowing through the gap between the door frame and the vinyls. She turned the knob and was greeted by the gush of chilled air coming from the other side.

She knew it was dangerous to heed to the call of the voice in her head, but it has been nights. The dark circles around her eyes made it obvious that she barely slept. To say she’s a mess is an understatement, say she has lost sanity, for that is true.

She gasped when she saw that behind the door, where the bathroom should be, was a vast body of water. A calm, dark sea, and deafening silence. She started to tremble, her legs wobbled so she bent her knees, held on to the wall, and sat at the edge. The ripple of the water kept on entering her room. She stayed in her position for few minutes before she dipped her foot onto the water. Once she got used to it, she lowered herself. What am I doing? Her question disappeared at the back of her mind, instead, she started to swim away from where she stood awhile ago. She’s almost out of breath when she looked back at the door, she can still go back. But you know what else kills aside from curiosity? The constant dread of distant voices. The longing of the unknown.

She was about to go on another stroke when something hard touched her toes, she wanted to disregard it but a cold, bony creature grabbed her ankle and pulled her down. She started panicking, kicking underwater but it was futile. She screamed but her voice was smothered by gurgling water. She gave another kick and finally, she broke free.

Just when she thought she could escape from the creature, another one grabbed her, then there’s two or three or four…they managed to pull her down. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw the creatures underwater. Humans! Decaying but not dead. Men. Women. Kids. All she can see are thousands of faces wailing, reaching for her. They are all jerking their legs chained to the murky sea bed. It was useless to resist, their desperation to pull her down had overcome her will to live. She closed her eyes. So that was it. All those days and nights she had been fighting her dark thoughts have gone to waste. This is now her tragic death.

However, their tight grip suddenly loosened, replaced by odd stillness underwater. She started to drift away from their restraint. She gazed at them and realized they are overwhelmed with fear, pain, and hunger. She swayed her arms to float. Before her head broke out into the water, she saw a silhoutte of a small boat and light coming from it. There was a man on the boat, he lend his hand and with great force, pulled her out of the water.

“Haaa!” she gasped for air. That’s the first sound she heard tonight. “Thank you.” She lifted her chin to look at the man in front of him. He was draped in a black coat with hood. Next to him is a lamp. She can see subtle features of his face but it was too foggy. Behind him is the door of her room. It is now meters away. She settled herself when he started rowing. Although he didn’t really put much effort, the boat was steadily moving.

She has lots of questions, but she dared not ask. She can still see faces under the boat, distorted by the water. She focused down on her wrinkly fingers. After a while, she heard a thud behind her. She turned her head and saw a rocky island.

Then she heard a bell. She felt stuck on her seat when a bunch a people emerged behind the rocks. They are all dressed in white tunic with a pointy hood over their heads. Like the man in front of her, she can barely make out their faces. They walked past the rocks swaying smoking incense. And between them is a coffin, of black and gold. She wanted to pass out at the sight but her brains betrayed her. The guys put down the coffin and the boatman motioned his hand for her to get off the boat. One of the men in white spoke: “Bring this coffin with you.”

“Will I go back to normal after that?”

The guy did not offer a response. He turned around and left her with the coffin. Before she could figure out how to take the coffin, the man in coat has already tied the coffin to the boat. Then, he handed her the paddle. Without words, the man disappeared behind the rocks.

She didn’t know how long it took her to row across the sea but she did not stop paddling 'til she reached the rectangular light in the distance, her door which she left ajar. She made sure not to think about what's beneath her. Once she is at the door, she immediately scoured the room for any item she could use to pull the

coffin. She was already drenched in sweats and sea water when she finally tugged the coffin inside. Although panting, she tried to steady her breath so she could have the courage to look. She finally resolved her mysteries. She can finally be at peace. She slowly pushed the cover aside. It did not take her long to realize what was inside. She really liked that grey skirt, she used it multiple times. The pale skin of the girl lying in the coffin did not conceal her identity.

Inside the coffin is herself.