Feeling Uneasy: Chapter 1

The sky was bright and clear, like any other morning in the month of April.  She began pacing the beautifully landscaped grace in front of the aged mansion.  She turned looking towards the back of the large home and saw the cool, clean water slowly passing branches along a short boat dock just off in the distance.  She felt almost comfortable just staring at the goregous surroundings and being alone.  She hadn’t been alone for nearly a month.  She has had someone by her side, practically holding every inch of the way until they got to the mansion.

“How did I get wrapped up in this mess?”  the young woman pondered as she walked.

She thought back to when this journey began and a time when her life made some kind of sense.  She stopped again peering at the lake and her eyes went blank as she drifted into memories.

It was a cool evening in September.  She felt odd and uneasy most of the day.  There was something just not right in the air.  The feeling was inexplicable.  She felt as if some kind of energy or a strange vibe had descended into the atmosphere.

“Good eveing, miss,” the doorman greeted with a smile.

“Good evening, Mike,” Isabelle gently responded looking pass the man into the building.

“You okay miss?  You look sick.” 

Isabelle stared at the man, slightly irritated by the comment. “I’m perfectly fine.  It’s just been a long day.”

“I see miss.  Well, have a good night,” Mike offered, looking apologetic.

“You too, Mike.”

Isabelle smiled at the man and entered the building.  Isabelle ran up the stairs to her apartment on the second floor.  Once in her apartment, she laid down her jacket and purse onto the small sofa.  Isabelle proceeded into the bathroom just inside her bedroom.  Turning on the faucet, she splashed the cool water on her face trying to wash away her feelings of awkwardness and exhaustion from the long day.

“What is wrong with me?” Isabelle asked with her voice echoing off the small bathroom walls.

Staring in the mirror, Isabelle watched the reflection of her hand running through her dark brown hair.  She saw the sadness in her captivating green  The exact same eyes most people commented “they seem to see through my soul” nearly everyday passing by her on the street. Isabelle sighed.  Her eyes.  Her trademark.  There seemed to be no possible way to run from the fact there was something different about her, that could never be explained verbally. 

Isabelle felt her breath begin to quicken and her heartrate increasing.  She grasped the sink tightly, staring hard into the mirror while her hair felt slightly into her face. As she stared at her reflection, a light grew from within her pupils to the outer coloring of her eyes.  Isabelle fell as if she was somewhere else, perhaps in another world.  Trying to make the light diappear, she blinked rapidly.  Refocusing to the mirror, the lights in her eyes had gone.

“What the hell is going on?” Isabelle thought in confusion. 

Feeling as if every ounce of energy was drained from her body and soul, Isabelle felt her nerves would settle better in her bed.  For a moment or two, Isabelle just sat at the edge of the bed, when a loud bang came from the television room outside of her bedroom. Isabelle slowly walked to just under her bedroom doorframe.  She could feel her anxiety from head to toe.  Her nerves were shot and this wasn’t helping matters.

“I’ve called the police,”she called into the small apartment.

She hoped the quivering in her voice wouldn’t be noticed if anyone was cowering in the darkness.  As no response came her nerves began to settle. Making sure the apartment was clear, Isabelle quickly switched on the light on the left wall.  Glancing around the minute space she saw no one.  She shut off the light and walked back to her bed.

Sitting back on the edge of her bed, Isabelle covered her face with her hands, “Damnit, I must be going insane.”

The exhaustion once again took over Isabelle’s entire body and mind.  She felt uncomfortable.  Giving into her feelings a few tears escaped her eyes.  She gently wiped them off her cheek.  Settling herself into bed, she laid onto her pillow to find some sleep.  The gift of sleep didn’t come easily.  Isabelle would be on the verge of sleep when her body would suddenly spasm and she would once again be awake.  The sheer exhaustion from the lack of sleep drove her mad by the time the clock showed 4 am.

Staring at the digital numbers lighting up her room, Isabelle screamed into the darkness, “I’ve had it.  I need to sleep.  Work is going to have to survive without me today.” 

Isabelle picked up the phone and left a message for her boss Gary.  He was usually a laid back kind of guy.  He was quite cute with dirty blonde hair and deep blue eyes.  He always seemed to have a liking for Isabelle.  Even though he was quite friendly and easy to talk to, Isabelle always felt awkward around the young man.  The thought of even being near her boss gave her a chill.  Isabelle suddenly felt heavy and cold.  She stood from her bed and walked over to the desk chair which was draped with her robe.  Walking out of her bedroom, Isabelle headed straight for the kitchen. 

Turning the small light above the stove,  Isabelle filled the empty tea kettle with water and placed it over the ignited burner.  While waiting for the water to boil, she grabbed her favorite mug and a flavored tea bag.  Pouring the hot water, Isabelle could smell the scent of the tea bag coming from the steam into her nostrils.  The smell began to instantly lift the heavy feeling wondering around her mind that had entered in the bedroom.  Each sip of the delicious tea, warmed Isabelle’s body inch by inch as she sat at her round kitchen table.  As she finished the last sip of her tea, Isabelle put the mug in the sink and headed back toward her room. 
Returning to the softness of her bed, she felt as if she were a zombie. 

Isabelle laid against her pillow and for the first time in hours, fell into a deep sleep.  Though in a deep sleep her mind and body were restless.  Isabelle woke three hours later feeling groggy and unaware of her surroundings.  Realizing she was still lying in her bed, Isabelle grabbed the clock off the night stand to find the time was 8:30 am.

“My god, can’t I have any peace.  I’m just asking for five straight hours,” Isabelle whined.

She laid back onto her pillow hoping that sleep would come just as quickly as it had a few hours earlier, but she had no such luck.  Isabelle tossed and turned for what seemed like hours.  Deciding that her body needed to relax, she stalked into the bathroom for a long, hot shower. 

After coming out of the bathroom, Isabelle put her pajamas back on, towel dried her hair, and went into bed.  The heat must have helped, because the second her head hit her pillow she was back into a deep sleep.  Within a few mintues her mind drifted into a dream.

The glare from the sun shone bright in her eyes.  Isabelle glanced around but could see nothing but iridescent white.  All was silent and calm.  She looked toward what she thought would be a horizon.  Isabelle practically screamed out of fright, but kept quiet trying not to be seen.  A blue light shaped as a child walked slowly toward her direction.  She stared silently scared to make any sudden movement.  Within moments a pale yellow light came from behind the previous blue.  The yellow light was taller, more graceful in movement.  Isabelle began to relax.  The yellow light stopped in one swift motion, while a faded pink light came running into the landscape.  Isabelle felt frantic from the roaming lights and try to call out to the figures, but no sound came from her mouth.  The truth be told, she didn’t remember ever seeing her body.  She began to feel frightened and her mind began to race.  Suddenly she felt as if a vacuum was her ripping out of the dream as it would dust from a rug.

In an instant she was awake.  Startled by the dream, Isabelle began searching her surroundings nervously.  It became clear in a moment that she was in her room and not a single person or light was occuping her room besides herself.  As her awareness returned to normal, she tempted to glance at the clock.  The digital numbers showed 1:30 pm.

Isabelle stared at the wall, “Why can’t I just relax and sleep the way I did the other night?”

Isabelle thought back to Wednesday night.  She had fallen asleep at 8pm that night, which led her to think she was getting sick.  It felt nice to get an extended amount of sleep, rather than her usual six hours of sleep.  She wished it was like that last night.  Perhaps she wouldn’t being feeling as miserable as she did at the present moment. 

As she swung her legs out of the bed, she heard someone knock at the door.  Walking to the door she tried smoothing down her hair and look somewhat presentable.  As she answered the door, she immediately recognized the man standing in front of her.

“Yes?” she asked in a gentle, low tone.

“I’m sorry to bother you miss, but I was asked to give you this letter.  I thought you would be at work,” Mike glanced questioningly at her as the words spilled out of his mouth.

Once again, Isabelle was irritated by the middle-aged doorman, “I wasn’t feeling well this morning, and didn’t get much sleep.  Who is the letter from?”

“A young man.  He said that you would be up here.  He was confident that you hadn’t left the apartment since last night.  I thought to call the police, but I first wanted to make sure it wasn’t a friend of yours.”

“I didn’t talk to anyone else besides you last night.  By the way, what are you doing here this afternoon?  I thought you were on the night shift.”

“Oh, I am miss.  But one of the men called out sick so I did a double shift,” Mike answered with sweat building on the corners of his head.

“Are you okay Mike?”

“After meeting that man, I don’t feel right.  Oh, I don’t know, maybe it was something I ate earlier.  Well anyway, here is your letter miss, and if you need me to call the police, please don’t hesitate to call down.”

“Thank you Mike.  I appreciate your concern.”

Mike nodded to the young girl and quickly walked to the end of the hall.  Isabelle watched him get to the edge of the stairs and closed her door. 

For a moment, Isabelle thought back to last night when she heard the loud noise.  Her head began to spin thinking of the possiblity the young man was in her apartment.

Isabelle almost laughed, “That’s just crazy, how the hell would he have gotten out so quickly?”

She turned her attention back to the letter she received a moment ago.  Looking at the letter curiously, Isabelle flipped the envelope to the front.  Her name was scratched on the front in red ink.  She didn’t recognize the handwriting, but it didn’t seem to be a female’s script.  Slowly turning the envelope back over Isabelle felt as if it was something she should take cautiously.  Like a fire on a match that was getting close to her fingers, she had to know just when to blow it out as not to get burned.  The letter represented the fire in this case, and she carefully pulled it out of the yellowing envelope.  As she began to read her fuctioning mind froze with awe.

Isabelle,
I will make this letter as neat as possible, I usually have unmanagable handwriting.  I apologize for taking up your time, but the information I have for you is extremely important.  It concerns your mother and father.  I really can’t mention anymore of it, because I have fear for your safety.  I hope you understand.  I would like to meet you at the small café down the street from your building.  I will be there at 10 and will leave around 10:30 if you don’t come.  If you decide to come, I will be at the counter in the second stool on the left.  Once again, I wish I could extend more of the information I have for you in this letter, but it would be unwise to do so.  Too many eyes can see this message.  Please meet me there.
Sincerely,
J.P.

Isabelle’s hand became limp at the thought of her parents and the letter loosely fell to the ground.  She slunk down the door pulling her knees to her chest.  Tears began to stream down her face and she felt as if her heart would explode.  After a few moments, Isabelle gathered herself up from off the floor and went to her bedroom to get dressed for this meeting. 

She grabbed a pair of jeans and a lavendar tank top.  Deciding that it was probably not warm enough for only a tank top, Isabelle grabbed her navy blue zip up hoodie from her closet.  She pulled her hair in a tight bun, wanting to keep her hair out of her face.  Taking a deep breath, she looked at herself in the mirror that stood on the back wall of her room.  Her eyes were red and irrtated, the green didn’t seem so brillant as the night before.  She felt as if she were heavy and could see her body sink lower than usual. 

Suddenly she felt intense anger at the thought of this man knowing information she was vaguly aware of, Isabelle began to cry from frustration.  As she continued to watch the tears fall down from her eyes, slowly down to her cheeks in the mirror, Isabelle noticed a flash begin at her pupils as night before in the bathroom.  This time though, the light moved into the tears that gently caressed her cheek, she screamed out of fear, anger and saddness.  She covered her face with her hands and fell to the floor.  Wiping as much as she could from her eyes, she once again took a glance at the mirror.  Her eyes were back to the red, irritated form they were when she first looked into the mirror and the tears of light had disappeared.  Isabelle once again pulled her legs to her chest and laid her head on her knees hoping that somehow it would erase the whole day.  The exhaustion from her anger and crying led Isabelle into a soft, weak sleep. 

Dark crept over the bedroom, and the room was suddenly filled with the light of street lamps which lined the pavement just outside her apartment windows.  The busy traffic that had passed by due to people leaving their jobs to get to their families had slow to a low hum and scattered cars.  Isabelle jumped out of sleep when a dump truck passed by her apartment.

“What time is it?” the words that came out of her mouth, seemed forgein to her ears. 

Isabelle was amazed to find herself in the same sitting position she was in previously to falling asleep.  She stood slowly, checking her balance a couple of times as she walked to the clock by her bed.  The clock read 9:55 pm.

“Shit,” Isabelle screamed to the walls.

She grabbed her purse and headed out the door.  To her relief, Mike wasn’t at the door.  She didn’t feel like explaining anything to him.  Isabelle seemed to always get irrated by the doorman.  She felt as if he constantly asked her questions that were a little too personal.

“Oh well, no need to fret over it right now,” she thought as she eyed the café across the street.  “Here goes nothing.”

And with that, Isabelle put one step closer to finding out about her parents.