Once I rose above the noise and

confusion, just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion

 

Have you ever noticed that most people don’t ever come remotely close to leaving their footprint in the world? Some may try, a little extra charity here, a dabble into the art’s there, but no one chooses the right steps. Every once in awhile a man or women with great talent will step away from the woodwork and do something extraordinary, something that will gain them eternity in the neverending white pages of the universe.

Truth is most people could do it, if they really tried. Everyone has some form of talent, no matter how miniscule or seemingly pointless it is. Now a days everyone is classifying talents, musical genius go to one school while the logical thinkers head to another.

Growing up I thought I would be placed in linguistics, or maybe spatial. Never had I expected to be placed within the walls of this institution, but here I was. Abandoned by my family, and left for dead at the place where the nobodies go. The losers, the rejects, the freaks, the clinically insane, they all gathered here, perhaps thinking the same thoughts I was, then again perhaps growing up they knew this was where they would go. Maybe throughout their entire lifetime they were mocked by peers. Adults would tell them how useless they were to society, because they couldn’t score that A on a math test. Life might have attacked them from the get-go. I heard the stories of children who were born by bastard parents, children who could do strange and dangerous things.

What confused me was not the fact that I was here, afterall what is done is done, but why I was here. I was by no means a bad student, I had learned three languages over my nine years in school. I had had one of the top ten math scores in the school throughout the years. My parents praised me, teachers adored the boy who did everything right, students looked up with awe when I walked by.

It was almost comical how fast the pride turned to disgust when they learned of my future. Smiles and pats on the back changed to avoidance glares and mockery. In the end I stopped showing up, hiding away in the forgotten tree house in the park, pigeons made better company than the monsters roaming my school hallways. I figured I wouldn’t need to hide anymore though, everyone going here were just like I was destined to be, wastes of space.

Even with this knowledge, I felt a glimmering wave of fear shudder through my body. The cast iron fence ornamented by ivy seemed too big, too demanding. Once I pushed it forward, there would be no turning back, I would stay here my entire life.

I wondered what the grounds beyond this impassible barrier would look like. Perhaps I had been wrong? Perhaps they were filled with laughter and bright colors.

I knew this was too hopeful to be true, almost no one was here only one other in my lifetime had been condemned to this fate. I remembered watching on the news as a child, no more than eight was dragged away. Looking back the commentary disgusted me, the fact that no one showed a hint of sympathy or remorse. The way the little boy’s parents just stood there, watching. The way the people through insults at someone who should have been playing with action figures.

At the time I myself was no older than twelve, so corrupted by the words I heard from society that I had found myself cheering along with the rest of the world, as the ‘freak’ was dragged away.

Now, almost twenty-two I found myself regretting everything. When I heard them cheering, spitting out the same curses that little boy had received, this time directed at me, I had wondered if I would cry like he did.

I didn’t of course, I was a full grown man. I hadn’t needed a police even. The world had changed, and while I was still a freak, I was not a demon child.

I broke free from my thoughts, deciding to push aside the greenery, and attempt to snatch a glimpse of the grounds that lay beyond it. The plants looked only a few inches thick, but seemed to continue on forever as I ventured into their leafy arms.  

After what felt like hours, but was probably closer to a minute, I gave up. Pulling away was more difficult than you would imagine, I felt as though the vine was grabbing at me, attempting to pull me back in. A sudden urge jolted through me, begging with all its might to just remain within it’s leafy hold, cling to the twisted security it offered me.  

Shame filled me as I backpedalled, breaking more than a few branches. I was many things, but a coward was not one of them. This was my life now, and I would face it head on with a smile. With these new thoughts I pushed forward, stepping back as the gate creaked open.

The scene was not what I expected, but not necessarily a step up either. It looked more like a ghost town than an institution. An empty pool could be seen on my left, weeds filtered through the abundant amount of cracks, and trash was thrown precariously around, as well as inside it.

In front of me an impressive manor sprawled farther than I could see, three small tower-like structures poked from the gloom. The front was a pitch-like color, dauntingly preventing me from moving forward. A gigantuous, curved door remained closed as I stumbled forward, attempting to drag my bags behind me.

Statues of angels, demons, humans, and animals decorated the expanse, some missing limbs, most covered by their own generous amounts of moss and mold. One statue remained an oddity to this, it looked as if it was new.

A dark bird landed upon the peak of one of the towers, causing my eyes to pick up on something I would had previously not noticed. A small glint, coming from one of the three towers. Adjusting my luggage, I looked upward, noting a small flicker of deep green as someone left the room hastily.

I wondered vaguely who would spend their time in a tower, spying on newcomers, then again not many would come here, perhaps it was the demon child I remembered so vividly. The deserted yard made it seem as if no one would be here. Perhaps only me and the mysterious figure in the window.

Losing myself within my thoughts, I continued my way through the overgrown path. It was tedious work, maneuvering through the cracks and bushes while schlepping my bags turned a simple walk into a fifteen minute trek.

I reached the colossal entryway, standing beside it made me feel incredibly dwarfed.I leaned my shoulder onto the heavy wooden frame. Contrasting the gate, the door slid open seamlessly, beyond it lay a courtyard.

Similar to the entrance, it sat in ruins. On one side a very dead orchard added a mournful vibe to the area. The main building stood impressively in front of me, unlike the grounds it looked as if someone cleaned and cared for it, I was almost jealous before feeling stupid, it was just a building.

To the left was one of the towers, it loomed over the courtyard as if glaring at any intruders. A dark gray cloud seemed to just barely touch the tip with it’s wispy tendrils.

I wondered whether or not I should find someone, getting lost was not something I wished to accomplish on my first day, but the only form of life I had seen since stepping into this foreboding place was the bird and the man in green.

A particularly large gust of wind crashed through the courtyard, causing the tree’s to quiver. I looked up, noticing the dark clouds looming overhead, a faint drizzle of water droplets patterned the ground, growing in size as another raucous gust blew onto them.

The world was suddenly surrounded by water, it blew into my eyes, blinding me. I felt the wind whisper around me, before screeching, warning me. A clap of thunder bellowed throughout the lands, followed by an equally devastating spark of lighting.

My panic rose as I fought to regain my footing, a sense of dread filled my core as the wind shrieked into my ears. The rain never let up, pounding onto my already soaking clothes and hair.

I had never been in a storm such as this one. I vaguely remembered hearing of a such a squall comparable to the one I was in. A neighboring province had been completely blown out. My teachers held an assembly, showing us the wreckage, informing us that they had angered the gods, and had payed for such a crime.

I began to feel my consciousness creeping away, as black started to fill my visions of the past. I had somehow ended up on my knees, hands pressed against the ground.

I felt a warmth pooling around my eyes, my tears. For the first time in my life I cried; I cried for the little boy, I cried for all the dead citizens, I cried for the man in green who was forced to remain here, I cried for myself.

A voice, louder than thunder, broke through the gales and my tears, a man followed it, his height was, an impressive feat. His red lips were moving, the words lost in the wind. A hand reached forward, grabbing my arm in a firm grip, his mouth continued to move, what he was attempting to tell me he was trying to say must have been important.

The grip on my arm tightened, causing pain to shoot up. I winced as I found myself dragged by the larger man, trying to maintain my balance.

The raindrops continued to fall, latching onto my eyelashes, like pinpricks of cold that caused my entire being to shiver. The man was pulling me up the stairs.

The door was in front of us now, being pulled open by another man. He reminded me of a shadow, dark and mysterious. A single tear rested on his left cheek.

I was pushed inside, the tall man following, before slamming the door. “Take him to the dining hall, I’ll deal with those three.” The he said. He was wearing a midnight blue cloak, it contrasted the perfectly styled blonde hair in a complementary way, he reminded me of a prince.

“It was not their fault sir, if she would have waited before that test this would have never happened.” The dark man defended whoever the taller felt the need to discipline.

I saw a faint glimmer of sadness in the prince’s eyes, before it was replaced with his previous cold indifference, “They should be able to control themselves by now.” The two conversed as if passing a death sentence.

As the prince left I viewed my surroundings. A faintly lit hallway with a multitude of doors on either side sprawled in front of me. Abstract paintings portrayed grotesque scenes of carnage and lust. One in particular stood out, a beautiful woman in a black dress stood beneath a gigantuous willow tree. Two sun’s fought for position in the sky, one glowing a blood red, the other burning white. Upon closer inspection you could see the women had tears falling from her face, staining the ground below her. All in all it was an eerie image that burned itself into my mind, it was as if I had seen it before.

“The dining hall is this way, I’m Tao.” The dark boy spoke, breaking me from my deluge of thoughts. Outside the rain was beginning to let up, the wind and thunder carried on full throttle.

“Luhan, I’m the new student.” I replied, turning to face the boy, he looked to be ageless, while his face showed a teenager side, his eyes portrayed an endless amount of wisdom.

He nodded and began to walk towards the end of the hall, turning into an entryway. I followed, grabbing the handles of my suitcase, I wondered if the prince had brought it in for me.

The opening led to another hallway, which took us to a flight of stairs. I marveled at the effortless way Tao maneuvered silently through the endless corridors.

“What time is it?” I asked, finding myself curious. It felt much too early to be eating dinner.

“I don’t know, time means nothing to you here.”

I stared at him, pondering the cryptic answer. Time meant something no matter where you went, we had always been taught that. The god of time was one of great esteem. He might of well have been death, once he decided your time was up your disappeared, leaving the body and all your sins behind.

We finally reached another door, Tao stopped so suddenly I found my self barreling into him. It seemed that as time stopped as he reached forward, grasping my wrist and pulling me forward before I hit the ground.

His face remained placid, but I thought I saw a faint sense of panic in the swirling black orbs that were his eyes.

“I apologize for stopping so suddenly, I just remembered something I must do, please make your way on your own from here.” He let my wrist go, taking large strides back the way we came.

“Wait, I don’t know where to go from here!”

“Just ask for Baekhyun, he’ll help you.”

“Ask who?!”

I never received an answer to my panicked inquiry, and I was left alone in the House of Misfits.

A/N: The lyrics at the beginning are from Kansas’ Carry on my Wayward Son