The Other Half

The woman had been wandering the mansion for days now. It was an endless maze of carpeted stone hallways and large, decadent rooms. Despite all the walking, her feet did not hurt, nor was she particularly tired. She could not recall the last time she had slept, but she had watched the sky beyond the colorful stained glass windows go from light to dark to light again, at least a handful of times.

A fog weighed heavily on her mind. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant. More like the cloud brought on by good food and even better drink. It erased her worries, whatever they may have been, and while she felt no actual fatigue, she did feel herself moving slower then she supposed was normal. Like a person drifting through a lovely dream.

It was something that had not bothered her at first. In fact, she didn’t recall giving it much thought until very recently. It was quite nice after all. To just live in the moment, enjoying all the little pleasures around her, and the mansion certainly was filled with luxuries to enjoy.

There were rooms upon rooms and each held its own select purpose. She had come upon several large banquet halls that lured one in with enticing smells. They fulfilled their promises with a variety of delicious foods. Then there were the rooms with comfortable couches and pillows and towering fireplaces for lounging and passing the day away in leisurely conversation.

A couple of expansive ballrooms were elaborately decorated, with musicians who played throughout the night for those who wished to dance. Even a library with bookshelves that appeared to go on forever and several giant, fluffy cats whose sole purpose seemed to be to curl up on the laps of readers. There was even a domed room with baths, both warm and cold. It was filled with scented candles and salts and perfumes.

Even witnessing all of this, the woman sensed that she had only stumbled upon a small fraction of the rooms contained within.

There were other guests, of course. Everyone seemed to move at the same slow pace she did. A calm, languid, restful peace infused the halls and it’s residents. Discussions were always civil and, honestly, pretty meaningless. The kind of talk you are engaged in while speaking, but soon forget after you stop. Most curiously, no matter the time of the day, everyone was dressed beautifully, as though heading out to a very fancy party. The woman found herself to always be dressed well too, even if she didn’t ever remember changing.

This morning she quietly padded along the carpeted hallways in soft blue shoes that matched the light blue dress she wore. Intricate dark blue roses decorated the hem and the sleeves. The velvety petals of living roses were braided into her hair and gave off a light, floral scent. Heavy silver jewelry with large sapphires draped about her neck, wrists, and fingers.

No matter what outfit she wore that day, one thing always remained the same, a tarnished silver chain wrapped about her right hand and wrist. A single broken heart charm hung from the center of her palm. The chain twisted uncomfortably against her skin and weighed heavily on her hand, but every time she went to remove it she would start crying uncontrollably. So, after a few attempts, she just left it be.

The woman noticed that none of the other guests wore such a chain. All dripped in jewelry appropriate to that day’s attire, as she always did, but none bore an old chain with a charm anywhere on their bodies. She inquired about it with every new guest she met, but no one had an answer for her. The other guests did not appear alarmed by it and so, in time, she too stopped worrying.

But recently, some of the fog seemed to be lifting and she came to find herself questioning her situation. Before, she was satisfied at the pace of her life because why rush when you have no particular place to be? But in the past day or so a sense of urgency had begun to descend upon her and the pleasant stupor had cleared just enough for the slowness all around her to begin to annoy her. She desperately wanted to get outside. To see the sun, feel the breeze. She thought that perhaps the fresh air would clear her head further.

She came upon a woman seated on a bench in the hallway, the light from the stained glass shifting gem stained shadows across her face and skin. She was wearing an elegant emerald green ball gown. It sparkled around her trim waist with the tiniest of crystal beads as she stared off into space. A small smile played on her lips.

The woman hesitated, not wanting to disturb the other resident who was clearly deep in thought, but then the woman looked up at her with eyes as green as her dress.

“Hello.” The lady smiled warmly at her.

“Hello. Do you happen to know how to get out?” The woman frowned as she realized that in all the time she had been here it had only just now occurred to her to ask one of the other guests for directions.

“Out?” The other woman replied, slowly tilting her head to one side. She looked utterly confused by the question.

“Yes, could you tell me how to get to the front door? I want to go outside.”

“Why? There is such a beautiful garden just down the hall.” The woman in green replied, sluggishly bringing her hand up to point in the general direction of the conservatory.

“Yes, I know. I’ve been there, it is quite lovely. But I really want to go outside.”

The other woman shrugged slowly. “I am sorry, my friend, but I do not know. I have never desired to leave the manor. Everything I could possibly want is within these walls. Perhaps you could ask our host?”

“Do you know where I can find her?”

The woman shrugged again. “I see her from time to time. If you walk around for a little while you are bound to run into her.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” The lady in green stared off into the distance again, that small, blissful smile once again curving her lips.

The woman continued to walk down the hallway, thinking. She had seen their host before, but she had never spoken to her. Again, strangely, it had not until this very moment occurred to her that she should. Her heart beat faster as she peered into the various rooms she passed with no immediate luck. That sense of urgency was returning. She did not wish to wander for days until she happened upon their host. She wanted to leave. Now.

The woman felt a tug on her hand and she glanced down to see the tarnish chain wrapped about it drawing tighter. It had never done this before. She took a step forward and the chain loosened its grip ever so slightly, only to tug once more.

The woman began to go in the direction that the chain led her, stopping whenever it pulled tight and going down another hallway when it eased. She knew enough to think this strange, but with all the other strangeness that had become normal during her time here, the thought passed as quickly as it had come.

Judging by the light filtering in through the colored glass, it was midday when she reached the mansion’s main entryway. She had never been here before, but it couldn’t be anything else. Two enormous, heavy wooden doors towered before her in a large, rounded room. Hallways and staircases led off from this one single point. A circular mosaic of a golden snake twinned about itself was inlaid into the floor.

Strange symbols threaded through the vines that were carved on the two doors. The woman wondered if she would even be able to move them. They looked impossibly heavy and there were no handles.

The chain on her hand urged her forward and she walked up to the door. The chain tugged again and she placed both her hands, palms flat against the wood of one. It was freezing cold to the touch and the woman wondered if it might be winter outside the mansion.

She pushed the door beneath her hands gently, to test its weight, and found that it slid easily outwards on silent hinges. With barely a nudge she created a gap wide enough for her body to slide through. A warm blast of air spilled in through the crack, carrying with it the scent of spring and flowers and...a memory. Something not wholly solid. More feeling then form. Like déjà vu, but with a pressing insistence.

The woman stepped out onto a stone patio and blinked in the bright sunlight. A staircase stretched out before her, leading down to an expanse of green field. Although the grass was cut short, it was dotted with colorful wildflowers. In the distance tall hedges fenced in the entirety of the property.

The woman turned and wondered if she should close the door behind her. It had no handles on this side either, so she decided to leave it open should she have to return. The chain tightened about her hand and a feeling of dread filled her at the thought. She did not wish to come back.

The woman hurried down the staircase and across the field, heading towards a spot of brown in the distance. Perhaps the dark spot among all the green indicated a path. As she neared the bushes she realized just how tall they were. Each stood at least twice her height. Relief flooded her as she saw that there was, in fact, a path through them. The lush grass gave way to worn earth in a gap between the tall hedges. The space was just large enough for two people to walk through side by side.

Something about that struck her. Another memory lingering just out of reach. She looked down at the tarnished chain wrapped around her hand. It hung limp, suddenly lifeless once more. She curled her fist around the half heart charm dangling from her palm.

Maybe it was the outside air clearing the fog from her head, but she now knew with certainty that she was looking for someone. She couldn’t yet remember who, but there was someone, someone she walked beside, someone who walked beside her, and she had to find that person.

The woman’s heart sank as her eyes followed the winding path deeper into the bushes. She had managed to find her way out of the maze that was the mansion, only to be confronted with a new labyrinth made of greenery. It would be so easy to just go back to the comforts of the house, but the thought of turning back now filled her with dismay. She didn’t know why exactly she had to escape this place, or who she had to find, she just knew with certainty that she must.

“Do you need help finding your way back inside, dear?” A silky voice purred from behind her, causing her to jump and spin around. The sudden movement made her dizzy. She hadn’t moved that quickly in...however long she had been here.

Behind her stood a young woman, her face obscured by a lavish golden cat mask. Thick chains of gold lay about her neck and wrists and draped down from her ankles and onto her bare feet. Large opals that caught the sunlight, and held a shifting flame of colors within them, were inset into almost every piece of jewelry. Her straight, white hair hung all the way to her waist and the golden beads that were braided into made a soft tinkling noise as she stepped closer. It was their host.

“Do you need help finding your way back inside?” Their host asked again, reaching out, offering her a hand tipped in golden claws.

“No. I think...I think I want to go now.” The woman replied, taking a step backwards. A lingering confusion and a stubborn certainty warred in both her voice and her words.

“Are you sure? Inside there is warmth and company, but in there it is cold...lonely.” Golden eyes peered at her from behind the mask. They flicked between her and the gap in the hedges.

“I am looking for someone…”

“Well perhaps you will find them inside then.” Their host suggested, gracefully retracting her offered hand and using it to point back the way they had come.

“No, they are not there.” The woman spoke, confidence gaining as the chain tightened, biting into her flesh with renewed vigor.

“How do you know? There are a great many rooms. Have you checked every one?”

“No. But I…she is not there. I just know that she is not.” The woman glanced down at the chain. It had grown uncomfortably tight. The skin on her right hand bulged white and puffy between its straining links.

Their host tilted her masked face and regarded the metal strand with intense curiosity. She took half a step forward and then abruptly backed up, a small hiss escaping her lips.

“Well, perhaps she is out there after all.” Their host responded, regaining her composure.

“I think she might be.”

“I suppose this is goodbye for now then. It has been a pleasure. I do hope when you find the woman you are looking for you will bring her back with you one day. I would very much like to meet her.”

The woman felt uneasy making such a promise, so she just responded politely, “Thank you...for your generosity.”

The masked woman nodded once, acknowledging the expression of gratitude, and then headed back to the house.

Another sharp tug from her chain wrapped hand, and the woman stepped into the hedge maze. The further she went, the taller the hedges grew. Soon they towered above her like small houses. She walked for what seemed like ages through the twists and turns and down long, green corridors.

Eventually the bright sunlight from the field behind her began to fade and the maze was cast in a gray twilight. The blue sky above her darkened as though a storm approached and a chilly wind rustled through the leaves.

The woman trudged onward, pulled by the pulsing grip of the chain around her hand. The small heart charm sharp edge biting into the palm of her clenched fist.

Concrete pillars began to appear among the bushes, the greenery seamlessly growing into the cracked and weathered slabs. As she continued, what was left of the hedges began to wither. A few more paces and all that was left of them were piles of brambles and dried leaves, sharp and thorny.

The walls of the maze gave way to the concrete completely. A wet chill hung in the air. She began to notice gaps in the walls. At first they were just slits in the seams, but soon they were large enough for her to peer through and eventually, large enough that she could walk through them. But she didn’t. All that lay beyond was more maze, so she stuck to the path she was on, the path that was wide enough for two.

The woman stopped short as she came around another bend and suddenly found herself standing outside the labyrinth. What lay on the other side was a different sort of nightmare then the previous confines of the walls. In front of her a flat, gray desert stretched well past the horizon.

There seemed to be no end to its expanse. The bleak landscape was dotted with monoliths. Cold stone pillars, monstrous rectangles reaching toward the static gray sky. The ground was hard packed with sand and grit. Her legs suddenly felt impossibly sore and tired, as though the prior exertion had suddenly caught up with her all at once.

An oppressive aura hung in the air. All she wanted to do was sit down and give up, but a glint in the distance caught her attention and the chain about her hand tightened, so she trudged across the barren landscape towards it.

There was no sound but her footsteps, no smell, no wind. The closer she got to the light, the colder it got. The chain was persistent in its grip. The metal seemingly immune to the freezing temperatures around her. With the intense cold, she now noticed that her right hand felt much warmer than the rest of her body.

The light grew as she neared it. It took on the size and shape of a door, but it was impossible to look directly at. She used her right arm to shield her eyes as she stumbled towards it. The cold blistered her skin. Her lungs burned with it. Her eyes watered from the brightness. Her entire body hurt. She worried her unsteady legs might not carry her those last few steps.

Tears poured down her cheeks. She could hear a voice coming from the other side. A voice she recognized. Her sister. Memories came flooding back to her.

The woman’s legs finally gave out and she fell to the ground...and through the doorway of light.

The sharp scent of rubbing alcohol burned her nostrils. The rhythmic beeping of machines caused her head to pound. She blinked, blinded by the bright artificial lights above her.

She choked on a throat that was dry and cottony. Her entire body was enveloped in pain and stiffness. All except her hand. Her right hand was nestled warmly in the grip of another. Her fingers twitched reflexively and she found herself gazing up into a face that was a mirror of her own.

Her twin. Her sister. Around her neck a shining silver chain with a broken heart. The other half to the one she always wore.

“Nurse! Nurse! She’s awake!”