I decide to go in first. The fruit seems to glow, and it really does look like wild candy growing on trees. The smell in the air is sweet, and the aroma is having an effect on my mate.
Now she looks like Alice when she falls down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, and she’s becoming delirious. I’m not sure what the fruit is saying to her; I don’t even know if the fruit can talk, but if it does, it probably sounds like those men you here at the carnival at game stands, shouting and hollering with their false promises, and I will burn them all.
Finally, Belle stops, and her eyes land on a melon. It pulsates with light, beckoning her forward, and I have to stop before she gives in to the fruit.
I will not lose her; we can defeat the stupid fruit and save the human race. And we can also defeat my uncle, retake our thrones, and rescue Alice.
Let’s do this.
Chapter thirteen
Belle
Thatvoice...
It echoes in the deep recesses of my mind, and it’s one I know well. It’s the voice I hear in the darkest of times, giving me strength, and at once, I go to the source of that sound.
It’s coming from inside a melon. One that’s bright yellow, burning brighter than the sun in the sky. I’m pretty sure itisthe sun, something I haven’t seen for a very, very long time. For five years, in fact, and it looks as if I have finally found it: true, endless happiness.
“Come, Belle... see what happiness awaits you...”
The melon istalkingto me, and... it sounds like my mom. I haven’t heard that voice since I was ten.
Is it really her? Her spirit? I always believed she went to a better place. Somewhere far beyond the reaches of our realm, even the Abyss, and could that melon truly give me my mother back?
Endless happiness, the melon said after all, and I can’t pass that up. I would be a fool to throw anyway an endless supply of happiness. There is too much misery in the world, and by God, I deserve to be happy. I have dwelled in misery for far too long. We all have.
For my fallen comrades who have succumbed to the Abyss, I will take a bite of that happiness.
I step closer as the melon beckons me, and already its pulsating light fills me with joy I haven’t felt in years. I see a world where the sun always shines, where my loved ones never die, and everyone is smiling. A wide smile spreads across my face, and I’m using muscles I haven’t used in years.
Happiness in its purest form. I could cry from the sheer joy it gives me.
I need to be in that world. Screw the Abyss, and screw the human world.
Just give in to the happiness...
“Yes, Belle. Take a bite. This happiness can be yours too. You will never know an ounce of misery again. There will be no more darkness in your world. No more shadows, only sunshine.”
Never feel miserable again? Sure sounds nice, but... sounds a little bogus. Also, how does one know happiness if they’ve never felt sadness? Don’t joy and sadness go hand in hand? They work in balance.
Balance. That’s what life is all about. Yin and yang. Light and dark.
Now that I look closely enough, no one is truly happy in that world. They think they are, but it’s only a toxic kind of happiness. The fake kind. They don’t even look human. Like a bunch of living dolls with smiles that look as if they were carved by a butcher knife. There’s blood behind those grins, and it’s certainly not pretty,
No one has ever felt the joy that is... well,sadness,in that world.
It’s like a boil. You need to pop that nasty shit so you can heal. Being happy all of the time is not healthy. Period. It’s not even realistic. Everyone in the melon looks like a cartoon character, and fuck that.
Finally, I glance away from the melon and meet Madoc’s eyes. He watches me impressed.
“You... resisted the happiness?” he asks, his mouth agape. His long tongue lolls out.
I shrug. “Yeah, so? I’ve found that I like being sad. Sure, it sucks when you feel as if you are stuck in a rut and you will never get out, but then when you finally feel happiness, no matter how small, well, it makes the sadness worth having.”
My delightful psychopath smiles, and there’s all the happiness I need in this world. “That’s my beauty, always looking on the bright side. Besides, if you just wanted to be happy, all you needed to do was ask...”
He steps toward me with a creepy giggle, but I push him away. “I’m not so sure. Seems kinda counterproductive. I’d be giving in to temptation. Also, that cherry is also promising me pretty much the same thing, and, well...”