My Keeper

He has no recollection of where he is or how he got there. All he has are the inscriptions on the wall and the mysterious watcher outside the cell window.

My keeper is watching me; he never lets me out of his sight. There's a window in the door where he peers, but no matter the amount of observation he will never fully comprehend this bit of me. I wish I could just escape, somehow break free of the restraints and start over; to take control of my life. I haven't the faintest idea how I ended up in this place. What did I do to deserve such a thing? Whatever it may be, the fact is that I'm locked up and it seems like I'm going to be here for a while. Besides myself there is nothing in this room besides the little cot they have provided me with in the corner. The pillow is too stiff for my necklace and the mattress too hard for my back to ever be able to rest comfortably in this place. The walls are pale. They are worn yet sturdy. They remain stable, dutiful no matter how old this place seems. The walls are permanent, forever they will stay. As long as they remain, my words they will live on. The creases feel rigid; bits of rubble crumble at my touch. This is my prison; I have made it my own. Inscribed on the wall are words and erratic diagrams. "When did they get here, who made them?" My questions, directed at no one, turn rhetorical. Time is irrelevant; the fact of the matter is not when, but how.

My keeper questions, "how about the markings, any idea who did them?" I have nothing to tell him except they had materialized upon my wake. They think I made all these inscriptions, so I ask them which part of me they think would commit such an act. The walls have lost part of their stability, a section compromised to show me the world as it is on the outside. It's a changing picture. A sphere which changes between a vibrant gold to an industrial white every time it scrolls in and out of view. It moves freely, oh how envious this makes me. I wish I could be that man there. My keeper tells me, "there's much danger on the outside; the beauty is a farce to entice the weak. Examine the carvings, and they'll illustrate that what I am telling you, is nothing but the truth." Soon enough my keeper is able to re-establish the composition within the walls to keep me from peering outside.

He lies, they all do. I know the only one I can trust is me, here inside this prison. My keeper was right about one thing however, when I woke there had been more things engraved on the walls. Maybe there's something to them that I'm just missing. I know they can't just be here by coincidence. They seem to have more detail in them, as if they are attempting to form some sort of image. What I don't understand is how they have a sort of color faded yet fused to each specific carving. If I stare at them long enough it's almost as if they are beginning to move. But how could that be possible. If I concentrate hard enough it's almost as if the wall is trying to tell me something. This one seems to appeal to me the most, it's different than the others. It doesn't seem as ancient. What are these noises I'm starting to hear? I can almost make them out to be voices, yet I have not the slightest clue as to whose voices they may belong to. I decide I should inquire further on these mysteries, I mean, what else is there for me to possibly do in a place like this. I begin to focus my eyes on a single point on the wall, at the most central point of the carving. The edges seem to almost begin radiating a vibrant plum colored glow. Now the voices are being emitted yet they are too weak to be distinguishable so they sound like quiet murmurs. I continue with my concentration and the light begins to brighten. The voices still remain quiet murmurs yet I can make out a couple words like, hide, run, and dead. Before I can make out anything else my concentration is broken. It's as if I can feel it resting upon my body, I feel its power coursing through my fibres. I'm aware of what it is the moment I feel the immense energy, it's the feeling you get when you know someone from somewhere has their eyes locked on you. Sure enough, I turn to meet the face in the window. My keeper is there peering in at me. "What do you think you are doing?" I can hear the high level of scrutiny in his voice.

"Does it matter what I'm doing?" I can tell from the way he sneers at me that he is not one bit impressed with my response.

"Well as of now it doesn't matter one bit, I just hope whatever it is you're doing you can do it in the dark," he motions towards the light fixture above my head with an even greater sneer to his own satisfaction. "Lights out" and with a flick of his finger I was left in complete darkness and all had gone.

I was still standing when the lights went out so it took me a few minutes to feel around for the bed. Once I found it, it didn't make it any better. I was off my feet but it was in no way comfortable for sleeping. The stiffness of the cot transferred into my body which removed the slightest possibility of going to sleep. There I lay still awake and unable to sleep, staring into the seemingly endless expanse of darkness above me. Nights like these where I have difficulty sleeping are usually taken over by my own inquisitions. No matter how much I try, I can't piece together why or how I got here and despite my efforts I can never get myself to fall asleep. It's an endless cycle until eventually the light begins to filter into the room. I can't remember the moment I got here, but I can remember my life before this point.

The most beautiful woman in the world was my wife. My whole life revolved around her. Freshman year in college was the first time I ever laid eyes on her. To be honest it wasn't love at first sight or anything like that, though we did instantly click with each other. At the time she was just one of the guys, a best friend who I could turn to with things that the guys would shoot me down with. The more we were together the more I learned about her: the way her pinky would raise instinctively when she would drink, the ways her emerald eyes would sparkle if the light shone on them at a certain angle, how she always held her gaze only to shy away at a laugh, the perfection of her smile accompanied by one dimple on her left cheek, the way her little nose would wrinkle at a joke or something a bit gross. Her silky golden hair was straightened and flowing down just past shoulder length always trailing behind her. Whenever she entered a room she was sure to catch a few glances. She was a pretty girl who knew how to hold her own. By junior year I was absolutely convinced I was in love with her. I have told other girls that I love them, but I have never told a girl that I was in fact in love with them. At the end of senior year I was then sure that she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I wanted to make her my wife and I did just that. Out of college as newlyweds we settled down in a modest home just by the lake. It was a project, but with a little bit of effort we were able to transform it into something we could call our own.

It's been 5 years now since then, and now I am locked in this dark cell. I have no idea if my wife even knows where I am, if I'll ever be able to see her again. I just want to tell her I love her one last time. In this prison I usually feel so alone, but tonight there seems to be a sort of presence in the room. I can't quite pinpoint where it is, but I feel as if I am not the only one here. I'm now wide awake; I dare not sleep in this room not knowing what else could possibly be making me feel this uneasy. I lay in the bed staring at the nothingness of the ceiling as it is cloaked by darkness. Eventually my eyelids start to get heavy again. There's nothing in here, I'm just making the whole thing up. How could anything possibly get in here, I'm locked in solitude. Nothing can get in, nothing can get out. My blinks get longer, and I more tired. I'm just about to close my eyes for good when I catch a glimpse of something. Above the cot in the ceiling appears to be some sort of a white glow breaking through the dark. I remained startled frozen in the cot; I had no idea what it could be. My gaze fixed upon the white hue trying to identify it. The glow seemed to be intensifying which is when I knew I had correctly identified it. A carving had begun forming above me on the ceiling and I had become attuned to it. Without my keeper there to watch me I knew this was the best time to continue with that investigation I had tried earlier. My focus on the carving had made the edges glow bright, and had taken to the shape of house. The inside of the shape remained black though not as dark as the rest of the room, similar to when you leave the television on a blank screen in the night. The center of the house shape carving had begun to light up as if about to show me something. An image was coming into formation within the carving and the voices had once again started. They were clearer this time around and I could make out a bit of what was being said. The guys' voice almost seemed to sound somewhat like mine. I think this man, it's me, or at least I wish this man is. The carving in the wall began to produce a movie. With all my concentration focused on this carving I now began to watch the events unfolding above me.

The real-estate sign hammered in the front lawn had been crowned with a heading which read sold. There he stood on the stone walkway with his hand pressed gently against the small of her back. In front of them lay the new house they just purchased, their first investment to begin their new life together. It stood two stories high, had grand stained maple double doors, there were three windows on the second floor and 2 bigger ones on the first paired with stained maple shutters to match. The front of the house had a wooden veranda with four grand columns, two on each side of the stairs and the ends of the veranda railings. The house was outfitted with layers of multi shades of red brick, topped with a mahogany tiled roof. They turned to each other, each with a miraculous smile and a major sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. "I'll race you inside" he teased.

"I'm already winning" she teased back as she dashed ahead upon hearing his challenge. He raced after her but she had already had too much of a head start for him to catch her. By the time they were both standing on the veranda at the front step they were both trying to catch their breath. "Of course I'm the winner here" she joked holding her hands underneath her chin and batting her eyes at him.

"You know if that was fair I would've been the one up here celebrating" his arms now crossed over his chest. "I didn't realize I married such a cheater."

"And I didn't realize I married such a sore loser" she countered along with a wink. "Besides, we both know either way you're too slow to keep up with a girl like me" she added sticking out her tongue.

"You're a sassy little thing aren't you" he laughed. "But let's get on with this move." She turned around, grabbed both door knobs and pushed both doors open simultaneously. They stood in the entrance hallway not sure where to go first. Straight was to the kitchen, right to the dining room, and left to the common room. The common room had a brick fireplace in the center of the outside wall with fireplace tools on the side. Kitchen appliances were left by the previous owners in seemingly new condition. The bathroom next to the dining room was fully finished, and up the stairs in the kitchen was the top floor where there was the master bedroom, the guest room, and a second bathroom. All the walls were white and the entire house was just about empty making it like a blank canvas. The master bedroom was outfitted with a large rectangular window displaying a view of the lake next to the house. It seemed the lake had a massive span, and bordering it was thick woodlands which enclosed the lake as well as the few houses seen faintly in the distance. White shimmers reflected off the still deep sapphire waters. A slim wooden dock reached out into the lake. "You know, I think this will work for me. How about you?" He asked as he slung his arm around her shoulder.

"I think it's perfect" she stated wrapping her arm around his waist removing what space was left between them. "I love it" she whispered as they gazed out at the lake.

It turns out these carvings are more than what they appear to be. Each symbol is tied to a specific memory, my memories. At this point the cell is now filled with day light and I stand in front of the window which my keeper glances through. There's times where he just stares at me without saying anything at all, just mimicking me. Once he leaves I begin to think back to what was shown to me through the inscriptions. How could it be possible for these walls to show me things of my past? I wonder how much this place could know about me; perhaps it knows something that I don't. Maybe if I pick the right one I can use the inscriptions on the wall to figure out how I wound up here. I attempt to go back to the inscription my keeper stopped me from seeing into before. I walk over to it focusing on it making it light up. From the looks of its shape, it almost looks like it could be a puddle on the wall as if it suffered from some form of water damage. The glow fades and I already know what has broken my concentration before I even turn to look, my keeper. He returned to see what I was doing; it's almost as if he knows when I'm trying to reveal the contents of this inscription. I wish it wasn't so close to the window. Once again a smirk grows on his face, "I see you learned a new trick. You were satisfied with what you saw I presume."

"As a matter of fact I did" I respond. "That's why I was about to see what this one can show me when I was so rudely interrupted by you once again. Why can't you just leave me be to look at it, it's not like I'm doing anything wrong here."

His smirk is erased by my remark and his voice goes dry, "You're not ready for this one."

"How could you be so sure? How do you even know so much about these carvings?" I question more hastily than I would've liked.

"In due time, for now, see if you can find the truth" He goes on saying ignoring my questions.

"But how could I find the truth, there's no more carvings that will light up for me. Why can't you just tell me yourself? What did I even do to get here? Just tell me," the desperation in my voice apparently making him consider giving me an answer this time.

"It's what you couldn't do" he answers simply. "As for the carvings, try that one," he suggests pointing to the wall behind me. I turn to look at the wall and see an inscription is beginning to form itself within the wall. When I look back at the window my keeper has vanished. How does he know so much about this and I know absolutely nothing at all? Why does he avoid all my questions? What does he have to lose? He's left me with more questions than answers. All I have now is these weird carvings in the wall; it seems I can only rely on myself here. I notice the carving has ended, upon its finish it instantly begins to glow. I can see that it's in the shape of a fireplace. Sharp cracking and popping sounds begin to emit from the shape and the carving begins to show me its contents.

The fire in the fireplace was roaring as he began to poke and shift the freshly chopped burning logs causing them to crack and pop in the intense heat. The heat was radiating out of the fireplace turning his face rosy and slightly perspired as he leaned ever so close to the flames, arranging the logs to sit perfectly. Once he felt like he got the logs situated in a decent position he turned to her to see her stretching up the most she possible could to try and reach the top of the pine tree. "Having fun there little one," he said laughing at her futile efforts.

"Just shut up and help me" she barked exasperated from her struggle. He gave her a grin pleased with the way she relied on him to do what he found to be even the simplest of tasks. With his hand held out, giving him a little pout she handed over the glitter filled transparent glass star. He reached his arm up along the length of the tree and placed the star on the highest branch. He took a step back so he was standing at her side switching his gaze between her and the tree. It stood about seven feet tall, there was gold tinsel wrapped in a spiral around it starting from the base to the top. The tree was littered with numerous ruby red glass bulbs with golden glitter patterns. The lights on the tree changed periodically from a vibrant blue, red, green, white, and then the cycle would repeat. "So, how did I do?" she asked somewhat nervously.

"I think we have the best looking Christmas tree on this side of the lake. And now because of me, we are going to be warm enough to stay here and enjoy it. Who knew living here next to the lake could get so cold, and who knew it could snow this much. There must be like three feet of snow outside."

"I was thinking the exact same thing," she said nodding. "I bet it would be cold enough for the lake to freeze over. If it did I wonder if it would be safe to walk across, that'd be so awesome!" He just looked at her adoringly; he loved her genuine excitement over such a thing. "What? Don't you think it'd be awesome too? I know you want to try it too, don't even lie," she said looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Alright fine you caught me," he began with his hands raised. "It has always been my most secret desire to walk across a frozen lake. If it does freeze over I promise I'll take you for a walk on it, as long as it's safe enough to support us." Her eyebrows begin to dip down and her nose wrinkled as a result of his minor display of sarcasm. "No no, I'm serious. I want to go with you. It'd be nice," he tells her reassuringly. He always thought when she made that face it was just so cute, no matter what it was he always gave in to it.

"Aright then, you just saved your butt. Remember you said that because I'll be holding you to your word" she poked his chest. "I'm going to finish up the dishes and then I'll go up to bed, are you going to go up with me," she begins to ask him as she makes her way to the kitchen.

"Yea," he replies. "It's been a long day, I think I'm going to get ready and head up now." Soon enough she had finished washing all of the dishes and joined him in the bed. They wished each other a good night, shared a little peck and they both began to doze off even though in the back of his head he felt as if he had forgotten to do something.

They awoke abruptly at the growing smell of something burning. A thick layer of black smoke had settled within their room making everything hard to see except for an orange glow outside their bedroom door. He sprang up off of the bed and sprinted to the bedroom doorway. He hurried down the stairs and from the kitchen he was reminded of what he had forgotten to do. He never remembered to check the fire to make sure the fire was completely out. An ember must have escaped the fireplace from a log popping and ended up on the Christmas tree. By this time the Christmas tree was sprawled over the living room floor just about reduced to ashes but the fire had passed on to the rest of the furniture in the room. He instinctively ran out the front door, past the veranda and out by the dock. He assumed she would be right behind him because he was surprised to see how he now stood alone outside. Something inside of him made him second guess himself but there was no question about it; he had to go back in for her. He dashed back in through the front door. The heat had greatly intensified as he shielded his face with his arms. He began to yell, "Where are you?" but he received no response. Weaving around the flames he was able to make it to the kitchen. At the kitchen he abruptly came to a stop and started swatting the bottom of his flannel shirt which inched a bit too close to one of the flames causing it to burn. Up the stairs and into the bedroom he saw she was still perched up on the queen size bed. She was frozen in terror unaware of what to do. "Hurry, we need to leave now," he pleaded reaching, taking her hand in his. She offered no objection and allowed herself to be led by him down back into the kitchen. She couldn't believe the sight of her house ablaze. He pulled on her arm but she now stood unmoving in the kitchen still making sense of what was actually happening before her. "We can't waste time, what are you doing," he said with great frustration in his voice. As they made their way towards the door, one of the legs of their grand cabinets gave out. It began teetering swinging open the doors spilling out dishes which crashed on the floor spreading shattered glass everywhere. From the back of the cabinet bottles of liquor which they had stored for special occasions were now rolling out and upon making contact with the floor they exploded igniting the contents of the bottle causing them to act as a molotov spreading the flames over the rest of the floor blocking the entryway. "Upstairs," he yelled at her as he dragged her back the other way. He thought it was the safest place at the time as the flames were still confined to the area of the first floor but he knew they wouldn't stay there for long. In the bedroom he saw the amount of terror on her face, he could tell by her short rapid breathes that her anxiety was getting the better of her. "It's best not to panic. Don't worry, we'll find a way out of here. I'll keep you safe," he sounded more confident than he actually felt. He was questioning if he was going to be able to figure something out, or if they were going to burn to death confined within their bedroom. She began to cough; he knew she was beginning to choke on the smoke. She needs air he thought, and that's when he thought of an idea. He looked out the window at his footprints in the snow from earlier when he first left the house; they looked to be about a few feet deep. He rushed to the bedside table, snatched the lamp, he removed the lamp shade and unscrewed the bulb. He walked back to the large window, turned the lamp on its base and swung it at the window removing it of all the glass. When he stuck his head window he saw that it was a longer way down than it seemed.

"Don't tell me you're going to do what I'm thinking you're about to do" she asked wearily.

"It's either we do this or we sit here and wait till we pass out from the smoke or burn. So please, by all means if you have a better idea now is the time to say it. Otherwise, just let me do this." After a quick second she opened her mouth to say something but resigned and lowered her head. He turned and went back to clearing any last bit of glass on the ledge and turned to his bed. He hauled the mattress placing one end against the now open window, and lifted the other end so it slid right out landing on the snow below. "This is the best it's going to get and it's now or never," he declared directing her to the window. He held her hand to steady her as she stepped up to the window sill.

"No! I can't do this," she plead turning back to go down but he was there to block her.

"You have to if you want to live! You can do this, I'm right here with you," he encouraged. She took one last long inhale before she let go of his hand and leaped down letting out a high pitch scream the whole way. She landed on the mattress and her legs folded which made her roll forward resulting with her on laying on her stomach. After a slight groan she climbed back to her feet and cleared the landing zone. Once he saw she safely landed he took her place on the window sill. She must have seen the bit of fear on his face because she began calling out to him.

"It's not that bad, you'll be fine. Just jump," she said urging him to follow her example. He took one last inhale but as he prepared to take the leap he felt a piece of glass break through the bottom of his foot as a result of his downward pressure to jump. This piece of glass sent extreme pain coursing through his body which caused him to miscalculate his jump. He jumped too short and when he landed on the mattress his legs buckled causing him to roll backwards, hitting his head against the side of the house causing everything to instantly turn to black.

I remember that day, at least some of it. It was the day that in a way changed my life forever. We lost everything that day, everything we had worked so hard for. When I hit my head on that wall I got a slight case of amnesia. I couldn't recall things for a while, but slowly everything started coming back afterwards. Apparently she dragged my unconscious body down near the docks to be at a safe enough distance from the burning house and not that long after she heard sirens. Some neighbor from across the lake must have seen the smoke or fire coming from the house and called thinking someone was in danger. I'm more than grateful that someone was able to help us that night. When the paramedics got down to the docks they found her hysterical over my unconscious bleeding body. They took her away to give her oxygen and treat her for smoke inhalation while they tended to my body. I had a fracture to the back of my skull and the only clue they got as to how it happened was the trail of blood they followed up to the mattress beneath the open window next to the house. The paramedics were certain I was in critical condition but they knew that by the time the helicopter got there for the air lift it would be too late. They wrapped up my head and my foot then loaded me into the back of the ambulance and rushed off with a police escort to the nearest hospital. I died in the back of the ambulance that day, but somehow they were able to revive me. They told me it was my strong will to live, but at the time I never knew I was fighting for my life. They transported my wife to another hospital so we never got to see each other until she was released and came to visit me. I wished to be that man outside. It was a slow recovery but I was able to do it with the help of all the specialists and therapists. Once all my motor skills were fine-tuned and my memory had been recovered fully, I had been released from the hospital. When we got back to our house, there wasn't much left to return to. It took the firefighters a couple hours before that were able to fully extinguish the blaze. The internal structure of the house was ruled to be compromised so it was decided to have the house leveled and build it up new. The insurance company gave us enough money to rebuild the house the best we could to its former self, but we had to live in a motel for the time being until the construction had finished. When we finally got back to our house, despite our best efforts we never felt like it was the home we used to live in. After such a traumatic experience as that, nothing ever fully feels the same no matter how hard you try.

My keeper had come back to check in on me. "How about that one, I'm sure you were pleased with what you saw there."

"Not as much as the other one," I admitted.

"So I trust now you understand what I mean when I say the beauty of the outside is a farce. I told you these carvings will show you nothing but the truth and I'm sure that was clarification enough to prove to you that I am right to say that it is dangerous to be on the outside. It's in your best interest to remain in here for your own well-being."

"If this is about the accident, all the people at the hospital say I'm all clear to integrate back into my normal routine," I reassure him. "By the way, I was never able to catch your name, or a glimpse at your face for that matter. You always have that hat pulled down over your face. Who are you?"

"I think otherwise, and you'll figure it out" he trails off. "In due time" he concludes. Once again I'm left with more questions than answers, and this time he didn't even provide a carving for me to explore. The more I think about it, the more it seems like he doesn't want me to know too much. It's almost as if he's selective of what he does and doesn't want me to know. I also have no idea as to why his identity has to stay such a secret, what kind of specialist does he think he is if he believes his word has a higher authority than all those people I worked with during my time in the hospital. The best thing for me to do right now would be to get some sleep, I'm exhausted, I haven't slept in so long.

When I wake there is something new within the cell with me. Instead of being a carved in inscription like the rest of the stuff on these walls, this seems to be almost painted or plastered on. I wonder why this seems to be so much more different than the others. "Here you are. My gift to you," my keeper explains.

"What makes this so much different than the others," I ask.

"Well the others are engraved, they are the permanent old memories of your past whereas these one which seem much newer, are the memories which have yet to be made," he says matter-of-factly.

"So what you're telling me is these will let me look into the future? To see what is going to happen, not what has already happened in the past?" I question further.

"Precisely. Do with them what you wish, but you must remember what I have told you. The beauty is a farce, the outside is dangerous. You are in here for your well-being," he cautions as he leaves me be once again, this time with more answers than usual. I notice this carving to be similar to the one he told me I wasn't ready for. Maybe he believes I'm almost ready to learn the truth. I should probably hurry with this one then. The sooner I finish with this, the sooner I'll be able to move on to that one he prohibits me from gazing into. I began with my normal routine, I focus my energy on it and it begins to radiate. It's in the shape of my dock. This colour is unique; it's a mixture between darker blue and candy apple green. The voices begin to flood in and the visuals begin to play. This however seems to be a different sort of vision, instead of showing an overview of the whole situation, it is from the point of view of one unknown individual.

She is waiting in the kitchen, but he doesn't know if it's safe to go in there. He's perspiring and sore as if he's been in some sort of altercation. He finds himself propelled to go in the kitchen to chase after her. That's when he storms down the stairs to find she is waiting for him waving a kitchen knife at him. "One more step and I'll use this!" she screams.

"We both know you don't have the stomach for it." He takes one step towards her and she holds the knife out at him.

"I swear I'll do it," her voice now unsettled.

"I don't believe you," he says condescendingly. He takes one more step and causing her to cower away and close her eyes. He uses this to his advantage to reach out and grab her wrist, twisting it in a way that her grip loosens on the knife and it falls to the kitchen floor. "Now that I got you, what am I going to do with you," he says in a taunting way stroking her cheek. She shutters at his touch, fearing what he may do next. "How about we go take a walk down by the dock," he said giving her a rhetorical suggestion. He tightened his grip on her wrist and just about dragged her out of the house, down the stone walkway and to the edge of the dock. He turned to her and grabbed her face between his thumb and index finger directing it towards the lake. "Looks like you were right; it was cold enough for the lake to freeze over. Now how about we test to see if it's safe enough to walk on because you know I would never want you to get hurt," he said with immense sarcasm. He grabbed her by the back of her sweater and launched her off the dock onto the frozen lake. The ice was frozen solid so her landing was stiff on her stomach cutting her piercing scream short, the ice did not crack, nor did it make any breaking sounds. He jumped down behind her, bent over her body and grabbed her at the back of her head by the hair. He pulled her head up to him and whispered in her ear, "It looks like we can talk a walk," then he smashed the front of her face into the ice making her go unconscious.

"What the hell was that?" I asked my keeper with great concern. "Is my wife in danger? She needs my help," I continued growing very anxious.

"Like I said, it's dangerous," he responded with a cold voice, then he had gone. I knew he wasn't interested in helping me. I knew I had to do something to get out of here. Something just didn't feel right and for some reason I knew that if I didn't get out of here soon my wife might face some sort of grave danger. My keeper had told me that I wasn't ready to handle this last one, but I think I'm ready. I'll do whatever it takes to save her. I walk over to the last carving with purpose; I know it's what I have to do to save her. Before I even look at it I know he's there, trying to prevent me from discovering this secret. "I told you you're not ready for this," he begins to tell me. I do my best to ignore what he's saying. I focus on the carving which I'm now almost certain after the last one that it's in the shape of the lake. "You better stop," he warns me. His words mean nothing at this point. The carving begins to glow, I can hear the voices emerging, and it's the same voice as the man from the last one. "You're not going to like what you'll see, trust me," he says giving me one last warning, but just like that the images begin to play out in front of me still from the point of view of that man and continue exactly where the other had ended off.

He was dragging her unconscious body with one hand down the lake by her foot while the other lay limp skidding along getting pulled back every now and then by a rough patch or big bump in the ice. The roughness of the ice had caught on to her sweater lifting it exposing her back. Her back was grinding along the ice giving her multiple little cuts along her back turning it beet red, leaving bits of blood along the ice. He had a chainsaw slung over his shoulder and there was no doubt about it that he intended on using it. He dragged her out far enough so that he was satisfied he was far enough from the house but not within sight of any of the neighboring houses across the lake. Taking her by the hair once more he lifted her head to see if she was still unconscious. Once he saw she was still unresponsive from his vicious attack early, he dropped her head and proceeded on with his plans. He pulled the cord on the chainsaw and with his amount of strength he was able to get it started on the first pull. He revved it a few times; he found the hum and vibrations of the motor to be somewhat soothing. Slowly and steadily he lowered the chainsaw until it got caught of the surface and began tearing apart the ice. Once he had finished with the chainsaw he stood before a rectangular opening in the ice and he peered down as if to see if he could find the bottom somewhere. He caught hold of himself and focused back on the task at hand. In attempts to wake her he picked her up beneath her arms and shook her. She responded with a quiet moan and began to slowly open her eyes. He shook her once more, this time a bit more aggressively which completely woke her up. "What are we doing her, why are you doing this to me, you can just let me go and I won't say a word," she begged.

"I believe you know exactly why I am doing this," he told her sounding bitter.

"No! We'll figure something out," pleading once again.

"If I can't have you, nobody can" he screamed at her as he punched her with such great force on the side of her forehead that she went limp in his hands. He lifted her over his head and threw her into the waters below with one big exhale of relief. He picked up the chainsaw and slung it back over his shoulder as he walked back to the house, retreating from her grave in the ice.

"I told you. You wouldn't like what it had to show you," he said as I slowly turned my head back to my keeper. "So what do you have to say for yourself now?" he asks. I know he's referring to my idea about what it's like on the outside. I know from what I just saw she's definitely in grave danger. I know it's time to get out of there, I need to take control. I know, even if he doesn't think so, that I'm ready for whatever the outside has for me. I'm going to have to play along with his little game and tell him exactly what he wants to hear.

"I see where you're coming from," I begin to rationalize with him. "I know now that the world is filled with dangers and I must be wary of what could probably end up getting me."

"I'm glad you're finally seeing it my way. I think you're just about ready to go. Just one more..."
"No!" I interrupt him. "I'm leaving now, I don't give a s**t about what you have to say anymore," my rage finally exploding out of me. I punch the window which he peers through, yet I feel no pain once it shatters. Once the glass shatters he disappears along with it. Everything begins to fade away until I am but a floating person in a black expanse of nothing. I realize I've been staring at the back of my eyelids. I open my eyes and I'm in the bedroom of the house. I can't believe it. How did I even get here, here I am satisfied to be out, but I still have so many questions. None of them are important at the moment however because the important thing is I have to see where my wife is. Perhaps she's still in the kitchen with whoever that man was. I leap off the bed and hurry down the stairs only to be left in a big empty space. I check all the rooms to make sure she couldn't possibly be hiding somewhere. There's nobody in this house, but the front door is still left open. Maybe the man has her and is bringing her to the docks! I rush down to the dock but I don't see anybody. The level of anxiety in me right now is about to make me explode. I hop down off the dock and fast as fast as I can while at the same time minding my step not to slip and fall. There's tiny crimson blotches lined down the ice as if it be some sort of trail. I follow its path until I see it. The lake is missing a piece of its ice ahead of me. I collapse to the ground unable to bear it anymore. I've already lost her; but something in me tells me I need to go check. Maybe she resurfaced, she just can't be dead. I crawl on all fours until I reach the surface of the water and I am surprised by who I am greeted by; my keeper. I raise my hand instinctively to my head and feel something, a hat. I take it off and my keeper does the same exact thing and for the first time I see his face, my face.

"You asked me who I was, well I guess that time has come now hasn't it."

"Why would you imprison me, what have you done with me wife?" I ask exasperated.

"I've told you many times before, the beauty is a farce, and it's dangerous. You're too weak. I imprisoned you so I could do what you couldn't do. And as for your so called wife, well you saw what I did to her," he answered as all the color in my face had washed away. "Now I'm sure you're aware that all of what I told you was a lie about those carvings. They couldn't allow you to peer into the future; they just showed you what happened in the near past. I just believed that if I showed you I could prove to you that I was in fact right all along. Her beauty was but a scheme, she had no interest in you. All she wanted to do was hurt you; well I couldn't stand for it any longer. I took matter into my own hands by taking over the outside world and placing you in on the inside so I could show you that there was no love. To show you that we needed to kill he, before she killed us."

"You're a liar," was all I could respond with as I was so dumbfounded by the weight of all of what he had just told me.

"Am I, or are you? You seem to be leaving out a few important details about this wife of yours. The carvings on the wall; the house, the fireplace, had all shown you what you wished to make of these memories. Your version I guess you could say, but you never got to see my versions of them, only the dock and the lake. The events with what actually took place during these times. How about I help you remember, after all, who better to help you than you," he told me with a smirk as he proceeded to show me each of the images.

The real-estate sign hammered into the lawn was crowned with a sold sign. I sat in the front seat of the moving truck as he stood with her next to the sign observing the house. After a few exchanged words they raced each other to the house and after they had entered she had waved to me which I took as my cue to get to work. I remember thinking how beautiful this woman was and how envious this made me of her husband. I began to unload the boxes which were packed in the back carrying a few at a time up to the house.

"The boxes have labels on them to say where they're supposed to go so just put them wherever as long as they are in the right room" she instructed me. I just nodded admiring her beauty but as she turned back to him I carried on with my work. We made our way from room to room, the dining room, the living room, the kitchen, and eventually we made our way upstairs. They were both standing in the master bedroom admiring the view through their window while I hovered by the door not wanting to interrupt whatever moment they seemed to be having. After a little while she realized I had been standing behind them and instructed me that my efforts were no longer needed and I could pack up and go. I never knew such a request could be so hard, especially because I knew this woman was the love of my life and she was trapped with the wrong man. I started up the truck again but it took me a while before I actually was able to break my gaze off of the house and put the truck into drive and leave her lot.

I had been peering in through their living room window as he held her in front of the fire which he had just tended to and she had finished putting the last bits of decorations on their Christmas tree. At this point I knew I had to do something to show her that I was in fact in love. I had become obsessed. He turned away to go upstairs as she went to finish the dishes in the kitchen, and after she was done I noticed the house had gone completely dark. I had assumed she was asleep. I knew all I had to do was sneak in and give her this letter which I had written for her expressing my love for her and I knew she would have no choice but to leave him to come be with me. I crept over to the front door and gently turned the doorknob causing the doors to open without struggle to allow me entry; apparently he must have forgotten to lock the front door when he had returned from retrieving fire wood. I had gotten as far as the kitchen when I unfortunately knock over one of the plates she had just washed creating such a commotion that he awoke and came down the stairs with a baseball bat to be greeted by me. He didn't seem to recognize me though as his first instinct was to tell me to leave and switch the bat at me. I immediately turned and ran through the living where I tripped on the wire for the Christmas tree light causing it to fall over with parts of its branches reaching into the dying fire of the fire place. He chased me out the front door and across the lot long enough until he turned and realized his house had caught fire. He forgot about me and turned back to go and try to save her. I followed him when I had been separated by a cabinet of alcohol which caused the flames to engulf the doorway leaving me stranded outside. That's when I heard a crash and when I got to the side of the house I saw her on the ground on a mattress, so I went to her to see if she was alright. That's when he jumped down still wielding the baseball bat and with great force he swung at me connecting the bat with the back of my skull fracturing it. They then dragged me to the docks and waiting for the police to show up. At the hospital I awoke to see she had come to see me although she was accompanied by a police officer. She had come with the policeman to provide her statement and correctly identify me as the one who had broken into her house. I noticed how he had not entered the room with them, he waited outside. I still remained so envious of this man who possessed something which now I would never be able to have.

"Do you now see the truth? She was never yours to begin with, just some made up fantasy of how you wished your life could be with her. Without me, she would've had us dead. I told you it was for you well-being to let me stay on the outside. I have cured you of all things which pose any threat to you. It is I who has the best of interest for both of us, to ensure we stay alive. We both know you won't stand up for yourself, which is why I was able to take over for so long. You couldn't even stand up to yourself. It's only nature that if you are in a situation of potential danger, you either kill or be killed. I think this gives me enough justification for my actions don't you think? Now do you understand?"

"Oh I think I understand now" I tell him. "You have to kill or be killed. Be rid of the things which can cause you potential harm."

"Precisely, I knew you'd understand after it all."

"Then it's time to tie up some loose ends." I took up the hat again; I placed it back on my head and tilted it down so that it covered the top half of my face. There in the reflection again I looked just like how my keeper did in my cell. I leaned forward hanging over the edge of the ice, and just like that, I was off my knees plunging deep into the icy waters which felt like a million needles all puncturing various points all over my body. I will be with my one love after all. Let's see how far deep my love will take me.