Light. Blinding, yet not allowing the peace of darkness. Light that
is synonymous with pain.
Pictures flashing cruelly in an endless sequence.
Images of suffering, hatred, and destruction.
Over all, a voice, harsh and unreenting.
“I am your master. I created you, I gave you
life, I gave you purpose. You are my slaves, my tools, my instruments of
ruin. You shall give to me what I deserve. And in this you will not fail…”
Serena Trodden jackknifed up in bed, screaming. Her mahogany hair and
silk nightgown were plastered against her skin with sweat, and her
body convulsed uncontrollably. As soon as she realizes that it had just
been a dream, she buried her face in her hands, sobbing relentlessly. Her
husband Cyprus woke up at the sound and fear coming from her, and after
realizing what has happened he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her
to his chest, where she collapsed in relief.
“It’s over, Serena. It’s over. It’s in the past;
we’re not like that anymore.” He repeats this comfort over and over until
her crying subsides. He knew what the nightmare had been, the only nightmare
either of them ever had. The wonder of their first awakening to the world,
replaced immediately with the reality that their master had imposed upon
them.
“Why did he have to do that to us? Why did he have
to brainwash us, take away the humanity we had just discovered? Why?” She
rubbed her face against his nightshirt, wanting to deny the truth that
it had happened. She felt childlike in her helplessness, even if she had
never experienced what it was like to be a child.
“You know, Serena,” Cyprus whispered, gentling forcing
her face up to look at him. He wiped away the residue of her tears with
his thumb, wishing he could take away the hurt as easily. “We weren’t human
to him. He didn’t know that we could have become human. And even if he
did, he wouldn’t have cared. He has no morality.”
“And we were like that!” Serena cried, pulling herself
out of his embrace in anger and disgust. “We were what he wanted us to
be!”
“That’s in the past! We’re human now!” He
grabbed her face. As if he had slapped her, the gesture and words took
away her hysteria, and she let her body relax. Cyprus leaned over and kissed
her gently. She kissed him back in relief. “We’re human now,” he repeated
as he reluctantly moved away, “and that’s all that matters. We think, we
live, we love. We’ve won.”
Serena shook her head. “No we haven’t. We’ll never
win. In the end he’ll destroy us, just like he’s done to everything else
that’s disobeyed him.”
“Then we’ll bring down everything we can with us!”
he swore forcefully. Serena looked up at him, hope in her eyes for the
first time since she’d awakened. “And we have our freedom of thought. That,
he can never take away from us again. Never. We won’t let him.”
Nodding, she curled up against him, and they laid
down again to fall asleep. Their dreams, if they had any, were empty and
meaningless.