Diurne II: Cord to String
She looked ahead
And saw a Gate
That wasn’t there.
Twisting, Curling,
Coiling, Writhing,
Endless fibers
Cord to string.i
Each a choice.
Some a victory,
Others defeat.
But together bind,
Stronger for each other.
Even roads not taken,
May be trekked
In some unforeseen turn.
“I see you have taken my advice yesterday, and at least slept on the couch this time.” Amelia said.
Kora quickly brought her right hand up to where she could see… but the ring wasn’t there. She groaned, burying her face in the cushion.
“One day we might actually manage to get you in your bed, or a bed period,” Amelia chimed.
Kora sighed. Lying there wouldn’t change anything. She needed to get up to get any answers. It seemed no small injustice that she had to leave such a comfortable couch. “Hey, Amelia.”
Amelia smiled warmly as Kora got up. “You will be pleased to hear that you actually have time to get ready today.”
“That’s good. Start the day better, at least.”
“You can use my stuff in my bathroom, since you haven’t unpacked yet. I’ll bring you up your clothes so you can change.” Amelia said, walking over to the haphazard mess of boxes.
And so Kora went upstairs and took a shower, brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and felt much more like herself by the end of it. It felt strange using someone else’s shampoo, someone else’s toothbrush, someone else’s comb. Yet, something about them felt familiar. They must have similar brands, or tastes. Just like Amelia said, her uniform sat on Amelia’s bed when Kora stepped out. Of the bathroom. It looked as though she had even ironed them. How sweet of her.
Kora came back down the stairs while she tied her hair back with a green ribbon. Amelia was sitting on the couch, watching the television. She looked over to Kora, a look in her eyes she had never seen. “I think you need to see this…”
The TV showed a news report from the local news station. At first she couldn’t make out what was said, but it became clear as she sat next to Amelia.
“…have confirmation just in that the body discovered this morning is that of of local history professor, Dr. Galena Whitacre. Her body was found in the woods just outside of the old Oakheart furniture factory. The professor was reported missing yesterday afternoon when she didn’t show up for the first day of classes at Ahasteno University. Officials have said that her body appears to have been viciously mauled by an animal, though it is not clear what kind at this time. The damage to her body was so severe that the police were only able to identify her body with her driver’s license she carried. Due to the disturbing nature of her remains, we will not be showing them on air,” The reporter said against the background of emergency vehicles huddled in the middle of the forest. For a moment, she thought she could see…
Her heart felt like it was being squeezed for a moment. Kora raised a hand to her open mouth. The reporter continued, “Early analysis appears to suggest that Dr. Whitacre has been dead for somewhere around 48 hours. No witnesses have come forward at this time, nor is there any indication as to why the professor would have been out in this mostly abandoned part of Connoverton. We will bring you more news as the story develops. This is Jodie Garrett, Connoverton News.”
Amelia and Kora shared a look for a long moment. A strange feeling kept tugging at her heart. Was it surprise? Perhaps, but somehow it felt different. Somehow the shock of the news felt familiar, like she knew it was going to happen.
The train ride to school was quiet. None of the other students were talking, save for hushed whispers. Amelia seemed preoccupied with something. Maybe it was the news report? They hadn’t said much since they had watched it.
Suddenly Amelia whipped her head around to look at Kora. “So when are you planning to tell me about this boy you spent the whole evening with?”
Kora jumped at the swift shift in mood and laughed nervously. She scratched the back of her head. “Uhhh, what’s to tell, really? We kinda just ran into each other.”
“And then held hands and made the rounds at the festival for hours? I think not.” Amelia’s eyes narrowed. “You sly little fox, you’ve had a boyfriend this whole time and have been holding out on me, haven’t you?”
“Dear heavens, no. It isn’t like that.” Kora exclaimed, a bit louder than she meant to. She could almost feel the eyes of the other students turn towards the two who had breached the still silence of the tram car.
Amelia smirked, “Then it’s like that, huh? I didn’t know you had it in you to be so wild.”
“Yeah, no, not that either. Quit being so gross.” Kora returned quietly.
She looked away, staring at the passing buildings, trees, and cars as the tram steadily pressed on. She could see her faint reflection in the glass. She was… smiling? Kora raised her right hand to her cheek. No, she wasn’t. But…
In the reflection the ring from before rested on her finger. And her eyes were…
The moment she recognized it, her heart felt as though it were pressed against her rib cage. Kora whipped her hand around to look at it… but, it wasn’t there. She looked back at her reflection, and saw the shock she felt. The ring was gone. The eyes were gone. Had she imagined it?
Amelia looked to her curiously, but said nothing. Kora was relieved. She wasn’t sure what she would say if Amelia had asked. She shook her head. She needed to focus. So what, the report they had watched had set her off balance. She had her classes to worry about.
At the very least, one mystery from yesterday had been solved. The professor was missing because she had been killed. And what an awful death it had been. A chill shot down her spine with the thought.
But why? Something told her it wasn’t simply a wild animal attack, or random chance. It was unreasonable. She hadn’t even seen the body, or known the professor. Deep in her heart, she could feel an insistent pressure that told her something was wrong.
The campus had been dead quiet on their way to class in the Heronfield Sciences building on the east side of the middle ring. Even her Elementary Physics instructor, Dr. Fergus, seemed distracted as he reviewed the syllabus. He hadn’t even gotten through the whole packet when time was up.
Amelia had a class after, while Kora had a free slot till her next. She sat on a bench outside of the Yesod building and waited for Amelia’s class to finish. Yesterday, the walkways were bustling with activity, even while classes were in session. Today, though, they were largely abandoned. A lone student or two would come and go periodically, but otherwise the campus might as well have been deserted. The air was still, with an eerie silence that felt unnatural. She couldn’t even hear birds chirping, or leaves rustling in a stray breeze.
Trying to distract herself from the bizarre atmosphere, Kora picked up where she had left off on Phoenix Current on her phone. The tragic heroine, Claire was struggling to control the burning rage of the demon she had trapped inside herself while looking into the disappearance of a young child. The crowded city of Ahast, where she was searching for the child, made it difficult for her to keep the demon’s malice in check.
“It burned within, a crimson need to destroy. Every face she passed sparked an intense rush of rage, pushing her to claw and tear.” She read, turning the page. But the next page just said, “She is watching.”
Kora blinked. She got that strange feeling in her heart again, like it was being tugged from within. What the…
She flipped the next page. “She is watching.”
The next page. “She is watching.”
And the next. “She is watching. She is watching. She is watching. She is watching. She is watching. She is watching. She is watching. She is watching. She is watching. She is watching. She is watching. She is watching.” Over and over again across the entire page.
Kora stared at the words in disbelief. She closed the Cadabra app on her phone and started it back up, thinking maybe it had glitched out on her.
But when the book loaded back up, all she could see were those eyes, staring back at her. Kora yelped, dropping her phone as her heart felt as though it were caught in a vice grip. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Not again…
She could see it all. Her face, the face that haunted her every moment she closed her eyes, even when she didn’t realize it. Tears welled up in her eyes. Her thoughts were an unstoppable flood of memories, her own or someone else’s.
“Kora?”
The torrent of her mind suddenly rushed back into shape. She recognized that voice…
She opened her eyes, and there was Jean. Kora blinked. At first, she wasn’t entirely convinced she wasn’t just seeing things, caught between the churning chaos before, and the much more stable present.
“Jean, I…” She had intended to try and track him down after class, but seeing him so unexpectedly… all she could think of were fragments and misshapen half-phrases that didn’t fit together. What could she possibly say?
He looked down and his eyebrows raised. “Oh, you dropped your phone,” he said as he knelt down to pick it up, and hand it to her. “That sucks. Looks like the screen is cracked. Well, less cracked than demolished…”
She took the device, but didn’t dare look at it. Kora didn’t want to take a chance on what she might see… instead she locked eyes with Jean… which immediately seemed like an equally foolish decision.
They looked at each other for several of the most painfully awkward moments Kora had ever lived through in her short life. She had to say something, right? Gods above, why did she have to be so bad at this? What could she say after how she acted at the end of what was otherwise fantastic night? She had panicked at some stupid magic trick, and ran away.
But as they shared the look, Kora realized he was just as clueless as to what to say. Somehow, that made it all better. It wasn’t just her who was lost. She couldn’t help but laugh. And so did Jean. Like a joke with no setup, or punchline.
“I guess you aren’t any better with this kind of stuff than I am,” Kora said, shaking her head.
“Yeah, not really.”
They shared another laugh.
Jean nodded and looked back to Kora. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do less.” She replied a bit too quickly. “Except maybe jump off a cliff. Sounds painful.”
They paused for a moment, neither looking to each other. “So,” Jean coughed to clear his throat. “why don’t we just say we said our goodbyes and everything, and nothing… well, you know, else happened”
“I can live with that. You?”
Jean smiled. “Sure can. I’d hate to tarnish an otherwise wonderful evening.”
“Wonderful, huh?” Kora said, raising her brow.
“Well,” he started, chuckling nervously, “I mean, don’t you think so too? It’s the most fun I’ve had with someone else in a long time.” The young man blushed profusely. How could he say such embarrassing things so easily?
Kora couldn’t help but smile. Her cheeks felt so warm that they could probably fry an egg. ”Yeah…”
They shared a look for a moment. Kora still wasn’t entirely sure what she felt about him, but a part of her felt that she needed to find out, and she found it hard to argue against that thought.
“I… uh—” He looked to her, then the bench she was sitting on. “May I join you?”
She scooted over a bit to give him more room to her left. “Sure, yeah.”
Jean turned and sat down, pulling his green backpack from his shoulder to rest on the ground in front of him. He looked around, probably trying to seem casual. It didn’t really work. “So, what class do you have next?”
“You know, I can’t remember, actually. Let me see,” Kora said, bringing up her phone. But, the screen was cracked. In fact, it was so damaged that the screen didn’t seem to even turn on. “Shit…”
“No way. It doesn’t work?”
She shook her head and sighed. “Well, that’s that. I’ll just have to go to the store after class and get a replacement.”
“What a bummer. I’m sorry” Jean said, and he genuinely seemed to be. Kora had learned last night that Jean was pretty heartfelt. If he took an interest in something, he would give it his all. Even if it was a game of darts… and he turned out to be an absolutely atrocious player. The only bull’s-eye he could manage to hit was open air, and a lucky shot that hit the post on which the dartboard was mounted.
“Don’t be. It isn’t your fault anyway. I’m the one who dropped it.” Kora replied, stuffing her phone into her bag.
He nodded and they, once again, sat in an awkward silence. Kora tried not to look at Jean directly, in fear that doing so might make things even worse.
Thankfully Jean finally broke it. “Hey—uh, did you hear about that professor?”
A vision of Galena Whittaker’s mangled, lifeless body briefly flashed in her mind. Her heart felt that bizarre tugging sensation, but then the feeling was gone. “Yeah. It’s really sad.”
“No kidding.” He nodded. “There’s been this rumor floating around for the last year that the old factory is haunted. I guess the Professor must have gone out there to investigate.”
“Wait, why would she have been investigating something like that? I thought she was a History professor”
“Well, she was the advising staff and sponsor for the Lost Corners club. They are, like, a group that believes in ghosts and stuff like that. They go to supposedly haunted places to… I don’t know, find them, I guess?” Jean replied, scratching the back of his head. “I don’t know. I heard about it from some other students in class this morning.
“What if…” Kora started, looking to Jean. “What if she wasn’t alone that night?”
“Wait, what do you mean? Where is this going?”
She took a moment to think about what she was saying. “What if it wasn’t an accident, or random animal attack?” Kora shook her head and looked down at the ground. “Something just… feels wrong, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t know if it ever feels right when someone dies, even if it is an accident,” Jean started, “but yeah, I guess I know what you mean.
Just then a sharp ringing sound cut through the tense air. Jean took out his phone from his pocket and cursed to himself. “Sorry, I have a class a couple buildings away.”
“That’s right, me too.” She said, shaking her head to shoo away thoughts of blowing off the class, and other things she couldn’t bring herself to name.
“Can I—erm, well.” He coughed again to clear his throat. “have your—well—your number?”
Kora's heart skipped a beat, and she felt her cheeks flush with warmth. “yeah, sure.”
Jean handed her his phone, and she quickly typed her number in, and made a short call to herself. Then she handed it back to him. He smiled like a child given free reign at a candy shop. “I’ll – I’ll call you!” he said, and waved as he briskly started to walk away. A flood of students from the Yesod building came forth, swallowing him up in the crowd.
Unsure of what to make of the encounter, and perhaps more confused about what she was feeling, Kora stood up and collected her things. She gave the phone another look. It was pretty well smashed, almost as if she had thrown it from the top of a building. She cursed to herself in frustration, and stuffed in into her bag to take care of later.
Amelia came walking out of the building a few moments later, and the two walked to Kora’s next class.
Kora's mind was occupied with just about anything but what her Philosophy professor was saying. She was caught thinking through the entire awkward encounter with Jean, cursing herself over and over for every weird or stupid thing she did or said, which was pretty much everything. But, another part of her couldn’t stop thinking about the death of the professor, a woman she hadn’t even met, yet somehow knew. Kora felt like she could see the older woman running through the woods, broken and battered, trying to escape… what?
She idly scribbled in her notebook without looking at it. Sometimes it helped to clear her mind. Kora should be taking notes, or reviewing the syllabus as the professor did. But, the classroom seemed so distant to her in that moment. It was another world, somewhere her body sat. Instead, her mind was caught betwixt two opposing trains of thought on track for a collision course. Something needed to make sense. She needed answers, but one was something completely out of her own control, and the other something she was terrified to look into deeper. The problem was, she wasn’t sure which was which.
Kora walked out of class with the other students. Amelia joined her shortly after, just outside the building. They said little to each other on their way to the tram station. Amelia seemed just as preoccupied as Kora was. It was so strange for them not to be talking about something… anything. Anything but silence.
She took out her phone to look—and she had forgotten it was broken. Kora sighed heavily, which prompted her friend to look over.
“Oh dear, did it say something wrong?” Amelia said with a smirk.
“Just a stupid accident.” Kora shoved the phone back in her pocket. She could feel her cheeks flush in embarrassment. Great, just what she wanted.
Seemingly satisfied with the response, Amelia beamed bright as a lighthouse in a moonless night. How could a human possibly smile like that without pulling a muscle or something? “Well, there’s a shop just outside of town square that should have a replacement. We’ll take the T line. I’ve got something I wanted to go look at in town anyway.”
Kora hadn’t been to the town square since she had come to Connoverton two nights before. She immediately felt at ease in the almost idyllic scenery. Most of the Two or three story buildings that formed the loose square border were quite old, but obviously well-maintained. Their art deco style architecture gave a warm, almost regal atmosphere. In the middle of the square was a gentle grassy hill with a beautiful clock tower that probably reached about two stories above the surrounding buildings. Somehow, it just felt like home.
“Right, so it is just two streets down East Street, and a left. I think it was three doors or so past. It has a bright blue sign with red neon letters that say Tele-Tom. He should have something you can use there. Well, probably about as good as you are going to get without going out of town,” Amelia said, shrugging as she adjusted her beautiful black satchel bag on her shoulder.
Kora cocked her head. “Not coming with?”
“No, like I said, I’ve gotta go check something out I’ll meet you back here”
“Where are you going?” Kora asked.
“Oh, nothing too exciting. Something for school.” Amelia smirked. “Aren’t we the nosy one today?”
“Nosy. Me. Right, that totally fits.” Kora said, sighing and heading down the way Amelia had outlined.
Kora saw a couple sitting on a blanket, talking excitedly on the grassy hill in the middle of the square. She imagined it would be quite a pleasant spot to meet with friends, or a date. A mental image of Jean and her sitting together in place of the couple unexpected shoved its way into her train of thought. That was not what she wanted to think about at the moment. Her priority was getting her phone fixed, or replaced. Daydreaming could come later.
Unfortunately, as she came to the place Amelia had described, it appeared that even that would have to come later. A sign had been taped to the door with the words “closed for family emergency” hastily scribbled in black felt tip marker. Kora stared at the sign, as if willing the ink, and the meaning behind them back from existence. She felt a strange pull in her heart as she became more and more fixated. Her body felt almost as if it were being electrocuted by some unseen power source.
The unnatural feeling was enough to snap her out of the moment. She looked around herself, embarrassed inexplicably, even though there was no one around to see her. Sighing, she muttered to herself, “Fuck today.”
Walking back to the square, she was once again lost in thought. What in the world was happening? Nothing had made sense since she had come to Connoverton. What the hell was she even doing? She couldn’t even recognize her own mind.
Why should she care about the professor’s death, some boy she barely knew, strange dreams, or anything else aside from schoolwork? She had moved to a new place. It was only natural that she would be confused, or would get her priorities temporarily mixed up. She was just a college student. It was time she remembered that.
Back at home, Kora and Amelia sat on the couch in the living room watching TV. They both had a heaping bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. Supposedly it was a recipe Amelia had learned from her mother. Kora couldn’t argue with the quality, and found the flavor of the sauce nostalgic, like something her own mother would have made. Perhaps their mothers had both read from the same Cookbook? It wouldn’t be all that surprising. Kora’s mother had always faithfully followed the newest Agnes Tizard Cookbook.
They were watching a show called “In On It” where all of the contestants in a reality show are actors directed by the producers, except for one contestant, Joe, who has no idea that everyone else is an actor. The group is told that one of the contestants is working to sabotage all the others from winning, and the challenge is to figure our who the saboteur is. Of course, the real point of the show is to mess with the one who isn’t “In On It.” Kora enjoyed how the show took the conceit with reality shows that the producers script and stage things, and offered a unique twist on it. In a way, the audience too was “In On It.”
Joe had just opened the door to his room that had been filled completely with balloons when a news alert swiped across the screen, and a newsroom came into view.
“What’s this?” Amelia said, cocking her head to the side.
A man and a woman sat at a table, dressed quite nicely. Their names appeared at the bottom if the screen, but they faded away before Kora could read them. The woman spoke first. “We interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcast to bring you an important story. Early this evening, Connoverton Police received a report that Thomas McClure,” a picture of a pale, smiling man pantomiming a phone call materialized next to the woman. “owner of the local Tele-Tom mobile phone shop is missing. McClure’s family said that they haven’t heard from Thomas since midday, when he was called to tell him his mother was in the hospital after suffering a heart attack. He was supposed to arrive only an hour after, but never showed up, and he hasn’t returned any of the family’s phone calls.”
The man spoke now, “Connoverton Police have asked that, in light of recent events, we put out an emergency broadcast asking for any information on the whereabouts of Thomas McClure. If you have seen this man, please call the hotline below so the police may hopefully find Thomas and bring him home safely.” The aforementioned phone number sat at the bottom of the screen.
Kora sat frozen in place. Her veins felt icy, and her heart beat so hard in her chest, she feared it might shake her body loose.
He was just walking down the street when it saw him. He didn’t know what it was, couldn’t explain it even if he tried. He ran, but he wasn’t fast enough. She felt like she could see the man crawling in some unknown corner of the forest trying to escape… those eyes. She is coming
Kora slammed her eyes shut, and grabbed at her temples. A cold sweat gathered on her skin.
“Wait… isn’t—” Amelia said, the sound of her voice turning to Kora’s direction before stopping abruptly. “Kora dear, it’s OK. Just breathe.”
Warm, comforting arms wrapped around her. Kora looked up to see Amelia holding her. She was dumbfounded for a moment, but nodded her head and took in a shaky deep breath. She hadn’t noticed that she had been shaking, and quickly clasped her hands together to try and steady herself.
She whispered, mostly to herself, “What the fuck is happening?”
Amelia shook her head, but said nothing.
Two people she hadn’t known, yet felt she did, had gone missing in as many days. One ended up found dead. She knew that the same would happen for Tom as well. What did it all mean? Did she just have a recklessly overactive imagination? Or was it something more. Something she couldn’t even dare to speak of.
Despite herself, tears started to well up in her eyes. There had to be answers out there. Answers for not just what was happening to these people, but also how she felt so connected to it all.
Something told her that she knew where to start.
Nocturne II: Endless Fibers
Kora carefully stepped through a densely-grown forest. A thick veil of mist drifted silently through the trees in the night. While the fog made it difficult to make out detail, she could see all enough to make her way forward without being essentially blind.
Something drove her forward, pulling her heart towards a warmth just ahead. She ducked under a low-hanging branch before it smacked into her head. She also carefully stepped over a tangle of exposed roots on the ground that she surely would have tripped over if the fog had been any thicker.
Then, she could hear a clacking sound in the distance. It was like two sticks smacking together. Or two stones? As she got closer, she could tell it was the ringing sound of metal hitting metal.
Kora came to a small clearing, both in the wood, and the fog. Directly ahead was the silhouette of a strong figure, hammering at something before it. A large bonfire drew his silhouette, casting deep shadows across the cool dew-covered grass of the clearing floor. Kora could feel the impressive heat from bonfire even at the edge of the clearing.
The figure turned around, showing a man with a braided beard, and dark skin, sweat glistening in the firelight. He held a hammer in one hand, while the other held something at an anvil behind him. A smile shot across his face as he spoke with a deep, powerful voice that seemed to shake the very air.
“So, you have finally come. Welcome, Kora.”
Thank you!
I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into The Forgotten Arts. What are you excited for? What do you think about what you read? Let me know in the comments, or on social media! Don’t forget to spread the word, and share the site with your friends!
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