A World of Hatred

A Story by leios

This is my perception of an average conversation between two individuals.

     Quietly, Leios rested beneath the bosom of a great Oak, with a simple notebook and pen on his lap, yet he had not written a single word. Instead, he gazed into the sky, where the sun's harsh rays illuminated the translucent foliage of the tree, creating a patchwork quilt of light and shadow.  He sighed and glanced beside him, where a plain mirror, square and roughly the size of his forearm, peeked out of his satchel, perfectly reflecting his view, and bouncing the sun's harsh rays to the earth beneath them both. He chuckled slightly and then darted his eyes in sheepish languor. He did not know what to think. He was guilty for a crime that no rightful human could commit�"murder.

      He again rested his head against the trunk, murmuring slightly to himself, "What should I do?"

      "Write, maybe? You are an Author, after all." A girlish voice and dark, flowing hair peeked from behind the tree. She was a young girl, almost a replica of her older sister, Sophie.

      "Oh. Sara. I guess I didn't hear you coming." He furrowed his brows and inspected her emerald eyes, taking note of any sorrow or hate. Surprised to find none, he continued, "How are you?"

      "Good. I guess. A little better now that your here." She, too, rested beneath the tree, snuggling her teenage frame against him.

      "Really? How so?"

      "My Father and Mother have been at each other's throats lately."

      "Why?"

      "I don't know." She shook her head. "I wish I could fix it."

      "What about Sandra?"

      "What about her?" She shook her head and tried to hold his gaze, but Leios quickly darted his eyes away in an attempt to hide his own guilt.

      "Well. She's your sister. How is she taking it?"

      "She's oblivious." Sara sighed and buried her head in her arms. "As always."

      "Ah." Leios again glanced to the mirror by his side. "And what of your older sister, Sophie?"

      Leios felt Sara's confused glance and awkward shift. "Older sister?"

      "Ah." He chuckled, brushing of the knot now tying in his stomach with a blatant lie. "She's a character I made up. It seems to me an older sister would solve plenty of problems."

      "How?"

      "Well. Your parents would have someone to look at and say, 'we've gone too far to give up now.' Or something." He paused for a second before amending himself, "That is to say, she would have to have already graduated college and gotten herself a job. You know, a successful sister, of sorts. Someone you could go to for counsel."

      "I would think a brother would be better for that role."

      "You don't really want a brother, do you?"

      "I almost feel like you are one, at times."

      Leios sighed and felt his left ring finger, now completely barren. "I almost felt the same way."

      "Felt?"

      "Feel. Feel." He corrected himself. "I almost feel the same. But your parents don't accept me as a son, so there is very little I can do."

      "Yeah." She sighed and allowed her emotions to seethe in the open air.

      "Don't sigh like that. It's unbecoming of a young lady such as yourself."

      "What should I do, then?"

      "Here." He hesitated. "Let's talk."

      "About what?"

      "I don't know. Life, maybe?"

      "I thought that's what we were talking about."

      "Ah. Well." Again he hesitated and closed his eyes as if forcing the his next statement. "Let's make something up, then."

      Leios took Sara's sigh as an assent. "You give me a word, and I'll work a story around it." He said.

      "Fine. Hatred."

      "Hatred?"

      "Yeah."

      "You don't hate your parents, now, do you?"

      "No. I don't know."

      "Well, Which is it?"

      "Does it matter? Where is my story?"

      "Ah. Yes. Hatred."

      Leios stood and imagined that he faced a jagged, dark mountain, framed by distinctly dangerous clouds, spitting lightning and cackling with thunderous tenacity. An ominous wind howled past them, bending the oak they had rested beneath only moments before.

      "This is a new world, Sara. The world of hate. It is filled with devils and villains of every kind. So despicable are the creatures that live here, that no human has ever set foot to these lands and returned alive." He chuckled in spite of himself. "I, however, am no mere human, and have traveled through this world many times. Stay close to me, and you will do fine."

      "Leios." She said, standing and stretching a bit. "I don't understand."

      "What's not to understand, Sara? I brought you the world of hate, just as you desired."

      "Then bring me the world of peace."

      "But you have not learned your lesson."

      She flashed a surprisingly dangerous look, "What is that supposed to mean?"

      "It means that I have a lesson to teach, and for now, you are my pupil."

      "Fine." She shook her head. "But I fail to see how this will help my parents."

      "You will. Trust me."

      "I do trust you. I do." She shook her head. "Sorry. I am just irritated."

      "I understand." He again turned to where the mountain rested, but now a hideous forest, covered in moss and decaying sap, obstructed his view.

      "Sara. This Oak will bring you home. Remember it, and stay by me."

      "Alright." She took a wary step forward, directly behind Leios. "Let's go."

      "Are you not excited?"

      "Why would I be?"

      "It's another adventure, dear. Another world to explore and love."

      "But this is the world of hate, not love."

      "Precisely." He laughed, and took his first few steps forward, through the thick marsh that had slowly enveloped the quiet meadow. "This will be worth it, I promise."

      "Wanna bet on it?"

      Leios chuckled at her sarcastic outburst. "We are betting our lives just being here."

      "Wait. What? Take me home, then." She jumped back, bumping into the tree.

      Leios gave her a quixotic eye, "You are home, you know that. That Oak is your home."

      "Then why can't I leave?"

      "Because you want to stay."

      "I most certainly do not�"not if my life is on the line."

      "Funny, isn't it?"

      "What is?"

      "When the heart and head are in conflict."

      "So I cannot leave." It was more of a statement than a question.

      "Probably not until you learn what you must."

      "I see." She sighed. "Let's go, then. Hurry."

      "No need to rush. Time doesn't  really move here. At least, not in the way it should." He once again began to make his way forward, shifting around trees and slushing through the mushy earth as necessary.

      "What do you mean?"

      "A day is an hour, and a year is a second. What I mean to say, is that we will be back the very moment we left in a few short hours. Just enjoy yourself..." He trailed his voice slightly, "In a world of darkness and despair."

      "Yeah. That's how it works, alright." Though she rolled her eyes to enunciate the sarcastic flair in her voice, she was visibly more at ease, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She could be herself here, and she knew it.

      Even so, they continued through the decaying swamp in eerie silence, except for the occasional growl from the heavens above. At one point, Sara asked if the world, itself, was angry at them.

      "The gods here are always angry, Sara. If not at us, then they are even angrier at everything else." Leios responded.

      Along their way, they found a particularly large clearing and decided to rest on a nearby root.

      Sara groaned as she sat, "I don't see the Oak anymore."

      "That's probably for the best."

      Rather than answering, she made another comment, "I have not seen a single creature. Not even a gremlin or ghoul."

      "Really, now?" He chuckled. "They are likely afraid of me."

      "You? Why?"

      "Ah. Last time I was here, I was hardly their favorite tourist to say the least."

      "What did you do?"

      "I spoke to them."

      Sara paused. "What do you mean?"

      "Most individuals come here with a sword and shield, ready to defeat every evil in their hearts." He again gazed to the sky, just as he had under the Oak in the meadow, but this time, the foliage protected them from the drizzling clouds instead of the harsh sun. "I, however, came with a pen and paper."

      "You defeated the monsters, still?"

      "No. I did not want to defeat them. I wanted to love them, to make them a part of me."

      "But they are evil, aren't they?"

      "Yes, in a sense. But so am I, in another."

      "What do you mean?"

      "I mean..." He hesitated. He was guilty of murder. He looked to his side and was surprised to find his satchel, complete with his pen and journal. And the mirror. "I mean that under the right circumstances, I am the darkness, and my vices become the most beautiful part of me."

      "I guess I don't understand."

      "You will." He sighed, the conversation had become quite depressing for him. "Trust me, Sara. You'll understand it some day."

      "Why not now?"

      He hesitated. "Alright. I'll do my best to explain it, but we must continue forward." He took his first step toward the mountain's summit, and again glanced toward the sky, where the luminescent sphere of the sun peeked beneath a dusty cloud. "There is light, and there is darkness. I suppose I should start there."

      Sara followed close behind him, doing what she could to listen while dodging the brush and sick, sinewy trees.

      "The light radiates from the sun, and then hits an object. The interaction creates the shadow." Leios hesitated here, wondering if he should continue at all, but after eyeing Sara once more, he knew he must go on. "In the end, society only sees the light or the darkness. The right or the wrong, but reality is made of objects, of entities that give light a purpose and create darkness in there wake. Does that make sense?"

      "No." Sara shook her head and furrowed her brows. "I wish I could understand."

      "Me too." Leios chuckled, "But understanding is pain."

      Sara sighed. "You are an odd man."

      "I've been told that before, Sara." He sighed and eyed his satchel. Sophie had told him that only hours before. And now she was gone. "Regardless. I am an object, and so are you. Our very existence is painful to the light, but we are a beacon of hope to the darkness. We spend our lives trying to extinguish the darkness�"the shadow we create�"and in doing so, we forfeit our own souls to the impossible ideal of perfection."

      At that, Sara stopped, "Is that why I'm here?"

      "You are here..." he gestured to the world around them, "Because somewhere within your soul, you cannot rid yourself of your imperfections. You want to love yourself."

      There was an opening in the foliage ahead, making way for a slight incline of dry, red dirt�"completely barren with the exception of shattered crags jutting into the heavens above. "What a difference." Sara said.

      "Yeah. Are you ready to climb?"

      Sara glanced to the top, now shrouded by fog and cloud. "Sure. Why are we climbing this, exactly?"

      "Beauty is relative, but I wanted to take you somewhere you could see everything this world has to offer. The summit."

      "Alright. Let's go." She darted ahead, leaving Leios in the swampy grotto.

      "Wait up, Sara." Leios sped to a light jog to catch up. "This is my world. Follow my rules, or something might happen."

      "Like what?" Sara looked back for a second and then continued at a faster pace.

      Like what happened to Sophie. Leios shook his head, "I don't really know. I just want to be safe."

      "Alright." She sighed and slowed down so Leios could catch up. "We'll walk side by side, then."

      "I don't think that's a good idea either."

      "Well. That's as close as you are going to get with me for now."

      "Fine. We'll do that, then."

      The two walked together in silence for a while, cautiously edging themselves up the increasing slope. Soon, they were completely enshrouded in thick fog, and Leios said, "We are reaching the summit. Be careful once we get there. I don't know why, but there is a chasm in the center, I don't know where it leads, but you would be best to be wary around it."

      "I understand, Leios. I'm not a child."

      "But you are." He amended himself after suffering the blunt end of Sara's gaze, "Here, anyway. You are new, after all."

      "Still, I understand it well enough. Gravity, at least, seems to work the same."

      "So far as I know, you are right. Just promise me you will be careful."

      "I will."

      Leios nodded. "Good. That's all I need."

      The air and fog thinned, and they stood before a great pit, much too large to see across in the atmosphere's foggy remnants. Leios gazed again at the heavens, or at least where the heavens should have been, but there was only a luminescent white orb framed by more white.

      "Is it night or day?" Sara asked.

      "Night. Or day." Leios paused and furrowed his brows. "I think both are the same here."

      "How so?"

      "We are within the object of hate. There is no such thing as light or darkness here."

      "Ah." Sara quirked her head. "But how can that be? There is clearly light above and darkness below." She gestured to the pit.

      "You are right." Leios looked around. Then, realizing how fruitless impossible it would be to see his world from a mountaintop shrouded in the clouds, he said, "I guess our only option is to wait for this fog to lift."

      "It won't" Sara's statement was definitive

      "How do you know?" Leios asked."

      "Because I know hate." She peeked her head over the edge of the chasm. "But I think I know what to do."

      "What?"

      "Jump."

      Leios shook his head. "No."

      "It's like you said, Leios. The only way to truly be ourselves is to accept the darkness within our hearts, otherwise we are mere clones of the light."

      "I did say that, didn't I?"

      "So if I give myself up to the darkness, then I can truly be myself."

      "No. This is my world, Sara. Not yours. If you give yourself to my darkness, you will become my shadow. You will become me."

      "Then how do I become myself?"

      "Create your own world of hate, and live there."

      She thought for a moment and took a step closer to the ravine. "But this is my world."

      "It is not." Leios grabbed her arm, intending to pull her back. "It is mine. I am the author, remember?"

      "No. We are." She gave him a hopeful look through maddened and pain-stricken eyes. "We created this world together, didn't we?"

      "No. This is my world. My burden to bear."

      "Then let me share in that burden. Let me live with you."

      "No. We must go." he gestured toward the Oak with his free hand.

      "I agree." Sophie drew a deep breath. "We must go." She ripped herself from his grip and leapt forward, into the deep.

      Leios instinctively jumped after her. He would not lose her, not as he had Sophie. He threw himself downward, grasping her foot and dragging her upward into his arms. He held her tight against his chest as they plummeted head-down. He felt his satchel open, and the contents scatter into the open air as the ravine grew hotter and hotter, eventually turning a dull red.

      The mirror, pen, and notebook were now clearly visible, plummeting with Leios and Sara. "I am the author." Leios whispered to himself. "I can fix this." He fumbled for the pen, careful not to let go of Sara, as her tears ran upward across his flesh. The walls of the ravine grew hotter, brighter, and sweat now beaded on his head, what could he do? They would die here, in a world of his own creation. Like before.

      Confusion, terror, and pain all flashed through his head. He didn't know what to do. Sara's body felt somehow lighter, almost impalpable, and his arms, now lathered in sweat could no hardly hold her any longer. He would not let go. No matter what. Steadily, he felt her body shrink as the ravine began to glow white. This was the end for her, but he would not let go.

      Her body became ethereal, no more than a ghostly wisp of what had been, and Leios looked around, now clearly hugging thin air. She was gone, but even then he would not let go of her. He took his pen and reached for the notebook suspended by his side, but instead grabbed the mirror, strangely cool against the heat of the world around him, and in that moment, time seemed to freeze. His body corrected itself and reoriented upward, where he seemed to stand on thin air in a pearl-white arena.

      As he looked into the mirror, he saw two beautiful emerald eyes, framed by dark, flowing hair and soft lips quirked into a smile. He felt a distinct beat in his heart and a knot form in his stomach.

      "Sophie."

      White. For a moment, nothing existed.

      Quietly, Leios rested beneath the bosom of a great Oak, with a simple notebook and pen on his lap, yet he had not written a single word. Instead, he gazed into the sky, where the sun's harsh rays illuminated the translucent foliage of the tree, creating a patchwork quilt of light and shadow.  He sighed and glanced beside him, where a plain mirror, square and roughly the size of his forearm, peeked out of his satchel, perfectly reflecting his view, and bouncing the sun's harsh rays to the earth beneath them both.

      He looked to his left, where another mirror lay, shattered, and reflecting the sun at odd angles against the meadow's green. Nervously, he crawled to the remnants of a mirror and saw a young girl in her teens with beautiful emerald eyes and dark hair.

      "Sara." He whispered, "I am sorry."

      Her image began to fade, and her dulled to a fair blue. Her hair shortened to a ruddy brown, and her face, itself, changed to resemble that of a man in his early twenties. There was a tear running down the new face, and his eyes were stricken with despair. He scanned the shards of a mirror, hoping to find Sara once more, but she was gone.

      He collected the shattered remnants of his own image and dropped them in his satchel.

      He was guilty for a crime that no rightful human could commit�"murder�"not of the body or soul, but of the mind.