"I am trapped, I'm trapped!"

  "How did I get here?"

  "How do I get out..."

  He suddenly turns around to see a gleam of light coming from the cave. He looks through it, a haven: the sky is pink, unimaginable beautiful flowers, an oasis, the water is clearer than he could imagine, but he still can't seem to find anyone else. He groans, trying to open his pathway until he gets out.

  "I need to get going, build a refuge maybe? I don't know, I have seen movies like these, I'll start by searching for food, yes, that'll be okay, until I can figure myself out..."

  "Adelaide! Is this the ultimatum?! Did you drug me? Adelaide!"

  Sigh

  "Doesn't matter."

  He looks upon a mountain, in the center of the land, a huge mountain, he'd say larger than Everest, or triple its size. There seems to be a watchtower on top, larger than he could look.

  "I would be so lucky to stay on top of that watchtower, if I could at least I would know where the hell I am. I should find some high ground until night comes, well if night even exists here."

  He begins walking slowly, feeling uneasy, as everything is silent. He feels as if someone would creep onto him.

  "Is this a nightmare? Am I dead? Is this heaven or hell? I can't tell... God! Hear me! What have you done to me! Why?!"

  Suddenly he hears a noise, a thousand trumpets in the sky. He runs for his life, onto the womb he had appeared.

  "What was that?!"

  He is panting, murmuring his thoughts out loud.

  "I am not safe out there, I will make this my home... I'll try to build a barricade, help myself to sleep, I am not hungry though, what is going on?"

  He touches the cave, notices it's not made of rock, but of a soft material.

  "Good, it's clay. I just hope it doesn't fall on me."

  He starts collecting balls of clay from the walls, slowly blocking the entrance with them. Three hours passed, but he hasn't noticed yet, not until now, as he had finished.

  Panting, he murmurs to himself.

  "There you go, good enough."

  He yawns.

  "I'll lay down for a while, at least I know I am hidden in here."

  He lays on the cold ground, surprisingly comfortable.

  "I'll get up... Grab a blanket... I..."

  He had fallen asleep. As he begins dreaming, he sees his home; he is reading a newspaper.

  "Ah, everything was just a nightmare."

  He yawns.

  He starts to make sense of his surroundings.

  "What, this isn't home..."

  He looks through the windows horrified, he sees that everything is deserted, there is no Sun, an immense darkness, creeping over him.

  "Damn it..."

  Squinting his eyes, he manages to see his wife at the corner of the kitchen.

  "Hey, Adelaide! What did you do now!?"

  He stands up from his seat, he tries to reach his wife but everything just becomes larger, and larger. His hand stretches through reality itself.

  "Adelaide!!"

  He suddenly woke up, he sighs, drenched in sweat.

  "What a nice dream... Agh... I guess I have to get up, gotta keep moving right?"

  He gets up, starts weaving the hot air inside the cave, he opens a small hole with a knife.

  "It's... It's still daytime? Never have I... Never mind, so night doesn't exist here..."

  He sighs.

  "I have to get out eventually, I would starve either way."

  He touches the clay wall.

  "It's still fresh, good God..."

  He starts carving it with a knife, trying to make a human-sized hole so he could escape. One hour passes, he finally made it outside.

  "Well... That was something..."

  He takes fresh air in his lungs, then looks around for a possible source of food.

  "No food over there... Under there..."

  His eyes gleam on a tall tree that stands out from the rest, somehow carved.

  He walks towards the tree, touching the carving.

  "This was made by someone... Or something... Life may exist here, don't plan on figuring it out now though."

  He steps on something, he hears a crackling squishy sound.

  "What... That a fruit? So this one produces fruits..."

  He looks up, finding that the fruits hang at the very top of the tree, like a huge stick with a tiny umbrella.

  "Guess I have no choice."

  He starts grappling the almost sharp tree trunk, as he climbs it further, his eyes stay focused on the fruit, trying hard not to look down.

  Sweat drops through his cheek as the ground seems to get farther and farther, the sharp "scales" of the tree slowly tearing the fabric of his green shirt, without noticing, he reached the fruit.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "I... I remember... The day Adelaide gave me this shirt... We... We were young lovers, her and I... I wonder, did I... Did I really love her?"

  He shakes the thought off his head, focusing on the fruit, as he grabs it everything seems to merge, it melts between his fingers.

  "What... No... What is this?! Ade-"

  He reluctantly looks up, the sweat of his own skin becoming red...

  "I can't, I need to get off now!"

  He finally looks down, positioning himself to slowly descend, but as he looks down... A void smiles back...

  "No! Damn everything! What... What in the name of our God is happening?"

  His eyes feel like they are about to flutter shut at any moment... He tries to descend down the sharp tree, but as he does, everything fades to black...

  As he opens his eyes, he finds himself disoriented, everything around him seems to be gooey, the void taking the shape of dark tar, burning his feet.

  "Where, I... I need to be wary this time, I got no clue... About anything, so... I... Am I still alive?"

  He exhales deeply, his eyes blinking in motion.

  "I can't do anything, it will pass, everything is temporary... My God, I call for you, please... Help me..."

  His shaking body relaxes slightly, but explodes as he hears soft giggling. It seems to come from the right, left, and front.

  "AH! What are these voices?! Wait-"

  Adelaide... That giggle, I'd recognize it anywhere!"

  In a small moment of desperation, he attempts to run at full speed, but finds himself falling to the ground as the tar drags him down with strength.

  As he fell, he smeared his face on the black liquid, the voices seem to gradually fade.

  "Adelaide! Adelaide! ADELAIDE!"

  As he talks, his scream fades onto the black void. He can feel it consuming him slowly, until he sees no more.

  He tries to speak, but the words won't come out, he can only see a blurry vision, one that becomes as clear as familiar.

  "14 of December 1994, I remember the day as if it had happened yesterday..."

  He makes silence, only watching, remembering, sighing as the scene unfolds.

  There are 2 people sitting on a bench, it's raining, the grey wind hugging their wet clothes as they cuddle together.

  ("This... This is so wrong.")

  ("What you'd expect? Thought I made it clear that this was risky.")

  ("I know, I know... This is fun and all... but-")

  ("But what?")

  ("I don't know, I sometimes feel like we are wasting our lives.")

  ("Hah... we are indeed, wasting our lives, but ain't that the fun part of being young?")

  ("It isn't, it never was, this is so wrong, we should be in-")

  ("Oh what now?! If you're going to put an attitude get the fuck inside then.")

  One figure gets pushed aside violently, as it tries to cling at the wet iron, it's jaw gets smashed onto the slippery edge of the bench, then falls to the ground softly.

  The other figure sits still, as if offended.

  "No!"

  Everything begins to rot, their bodies dissolve into worms and beetles that begin getting into his eyes. He can barely scream horrified, but his brain speaks in a way his lips can't.

  (I... I'm sorry, I'm sorry Adelaide... I'm so damn sorry, one day I'll die, and when I do you'll be delivered from the monster that creeps beneath my skin.)

  He closes his eyes, everything turns to black, but he can't seem to feel anything anymore.

  He hears slow thumping sounds, figured to be the ones of his beating heart. He slowly opens his eyes as he gets up, yawning, limping.

  "I... Thought I'd be dead... Was that a nightmare?"

  He looks up, the tree no longer is there, he is in a completely different location.

  "Damn it! At least I don't... I don't seem to feel hungry yet... Wait..."

  He touches his right pocket, there seems to be an object inside, he gets it out.

  "What in God's name is this...?"

  The object seems to weigh the same as the air, though it appears to be made solely of pure gold.

  It is a decorated small statue of a beetle, pocket-sized, it has some words inscribed on it. He reads them aloud.

  "[Paenite, Adelaide...] what could this mean...?, doesn't matter... but I'll... I'll keep it! I'll keep it."

  He murmurs, tasting the words on his lips.

  "Paenite, paenite, hey... that wouldn't be an unfitting name..."

  He keeps walking, looking at that eternal pink sky.

  "If I'm going to stay in this new place forever, I also need a new name... May it be Paenite, whatever it means... That way I'd leave my past behind..."

  "Paenite... Paenite... Adelaide."