Bogleech.com's 2019 Horror Write-off:
AT THE ROOT
Submitted by ---
You came to consciousness in a dark room.
The morning's faint glow filtered between the shutters drawn by the bedside.
You tossed a blanket from the bed.
You dozed, and lay in bed for another hour before stretching out and raising the computer's cover.
You pushed the ON button and watched the screen flicker.
1:08 PM
You sat along the bed's edge and stared.
Something else was written on the screen, behind those characters.
No, in front of them.
You leaned closer.
You read these shapes from the forehead of the face reflected in the screen:
YKE BOOY JS TXE BOOHI-TPEE,
JXE MJNO, O MLRPOR BRJQHT,
TOHE OAPE JO WJPE TKEN AIVATS GJAN,
IESJ OVSI QN TKEN ALTQHT.
---
You rose from the bed, turned once to face the door, and descended the staircase to the bathroom.
In the mirror, the letters were clearer than before.
THE BODY IS THE BODHI-TREE,
THE MIND, A MIRROR BRIGHT,
TAKE CARE TO WIPE THEM ALWAYS CLEAN,
LEST DUST ON THEM ALIGHT.
You gestured, and the reflection wiped its hand across its forehead.
You drew an arm back and stared at its shirt-sleeve.
The letters, written in black grime, had not smeared off.
They remained as legible as before on the face of the reflection.
---
You sat breathing in the faint stale smell of the room.
You felt the pressure of unseen eyes.
You heard the silence bearing down.
You asked a question.
And I replied.
---
I stood behind the door.
You stood in the shadows, as I did.
You opened the door.
---
You and I walked down the stairs together.
I opened the bathroom door.
You walked in and stepped into the shower.
I waited outside and listened to the echoing rain.
You finished, and I stood facing the foggy mirror once the bathroom was empty again.
---
You stepped into the sunlight for the first time in days.
You cast a glance backward, but I wasn't there.
But scrawled across the bathroom mirror...
THE BODY IS NO BODHI-TREE,
THE MIND NO MIRROR BRIGHT,
SINCE NOTHING AT THE ROOT EXISTS,
ON WHAT SHOULD WHAT DUST ALIGHT?
---
You and I can finally go their separate ways.
You tossed a blanket from the bed.
You dozed, and lay in bed for another hour before stretching out and raising the computer's cover.
You pushed the ON button and watched the screen flicker.
1:08 PM
You sat along the bed's edge and stared.
Something else was written on the screen, behind those characters.
No, in front of them.
You leaned closer.
You read these shapes from the forehead of the face reflected in the screen:
YKE BOOY JS TXE BOOHI-TPEE,
JXE MJNO, O MLRPOR BRJQHT,
TOHE OAPE JO WJPE TKEN AIVATS GJAN,
IESJ OVSI QN TKEN ALTQHT.
---
You rose from the bed, turned once to face the door, and descended the staircase to the bathroom.
In the mirror, the letters were clearer than before.
THE BODY IS THE BODHI-TREE,
THE MIND, A MIRROR BRIGHT,
TAKE CARE TO WIPE THEM ALWAYS CLEAN,
LEST DUST ON THEM ALIGHT.
You gestured, and the reflection wiped its hand across its forehead.
You drew an arm back and stared at its shirt-sleeve.
The letters, written in black grime, had not smeared off.
They remained as legible as before on the face of the reflection.
---
You sat breathing in the faint stale smell of the room.
You felt the pressure of unseen eyes.
You heard the silence bearing down.
You asked a question.
And I replied.
---
I stood behind the door.
You stood in the shadows, as I did.
You opened the door.
---
You and I walked down the stairs together.
I opened the bathroom door.
You walked in and stepped into the shower.
I waited outside and listened to the echoing rain.
You finished, and I stood facing the foggy mirror once the bathroom was empty again.
---
You stepped into the sunlight for the first time in days.
You cast a glance backward, but I wasn't there.
But scrawled across the bathroom mirror...
THE BODY IS NO BODHI-TREE,
THE MIND NO MIRROR BRIGHT,
SINCE NOTHING AT THE ROOT EXISTS,
ON WHAT SHOULD WHAT DUST ALIGHT?
---
You and I can finally go their separate ways.