Stepping into Alexis’ room felt like it was walking into a haunted mansion in the middle of the night. The door creaked open with very little effort. The hinges connecting it looked like they were about to fall off at any moment. I walked into the room with utter silence. It had taken a lot of convincing on my mother’s part in order for her to drive me all the way to downtown Fairfax.
“Alexis?” I called. If there was anyone that understood the very nature of the bells, it was her. I made my way up to her bed with careful slow steps. The bed was empty. On the floor sat a mirror shattered into one million different pieces.
A mirror? I thought to myself as I looked at it from up and down. Glass rained out of the placeholder. Looking into it, I could see nothing but the dark empty canopy that had once held its reflection.
My hands grasped onto one of the drawers, pulling it open as quietly as possible. Inside were hundreds upon hundreds of different bells. I picked one of them up and rung it a little bit. The dinging sound traveled through my ear drum, leaving behind a ring permeating more than tinnitus. I felt a sense of peace after I had rung it—a sense of relaxation.
I took out another bell and rung it into my ear. My brain started dancing, wrestling to get out of my skull. I knelt to the floor, dropping the bell and grabbing my head with my hands.
Alexis walked in.
“I knew there was somebody inside my room,” she said. “I could only wonder who…”
***
Luckily enough, Alexis was kind enough to allow me to enjoy milk shakes at her place. I explained to her how the bells were giving me a lot of trouble—I explained to her how one of the bells she had given me drained me of a lot of my energy when I rung it inside of Rachel’s ear.
“So I wanted to figure out the source of why the bells were acting this way,: I said. Alexis took another sip of her milkshake.
“The bells do carry a magical source of energy. I found them around the wasteland that I tried to show you,” she said. I listened in carefully, wanting to hear more.
“Unfortunately, I’m afraid that there requires a reasonable amount of study from a text in order for you to come to understand the raw power within them…” I sighed, taking another sip from my milkshake to cool myself down.
“Ok, can you tell me how I can get the information that I need.”
“Follow the wind,” she said. I looked at her, annoyed that she was giving me another one of those cryptic responses. “I’m serious. Follow the wind, and eventually you will be led to those that are willing to give you the information you need in order to discover the truth you are looking for.”
“Ok, but let me ask you this. What were you thinking when you handed me one of the bells? Surely you must have known of the great power that lies within them. Also, how was it that you ran into the bells in the first place?” Alexis quietly drank her milkshake. Her silence indicated that she would rather not answer.
“I can tell that there are a lot of questions on your mind, but for now, go to the empty field and follow the wind; there you may at least find some answers.”
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