By Mattias Thorelli 22 - 24 May 2000 (my first fanfic... Originally written in swedish) Terranigma's Edge - part 1 -------------------------- The night had descended upon the village with impressive speed, and the happy murmur from the people around him in the house had disappeared. It had faded in a strange way. It hadn't slowly decreased, like it normally did when the villagers went to bed one after the other, it had just stopped in a matter of seconds. It was gone now. "Like it normally did..." That was strange. He hadn't been home for much more than a day and already everything that had happened had begun to disappear from his memory. He was back in his room, in his bed, and all the events since he was here the last time felt like a dream. This was where he belonged. He felt it. A sensation he hadn't felt in many years appeared in his chest. Still, he knew it well. Before the coming darkness he couldn't feel anything, though. No fear, no agitation, not even curiosity. He knew what was going to happen. He knew all too well, but was too drowsy to feel anything. The village didn't exist anymore. The voices around him had disappeared forever. Forever? Well, he wasn't sure. To him, it didn't matter anyway. Slowly and painfully, he rose from his pillow and looked around. His room still looked like it always had. Clean and tidy, but still with a distinct feeling that it was the room of a teenage boy. On the wall at the foot of his bed, there was a barely visible human figure. He had carved that in with a kitchen knife a few years earlier, and it was meant as a portrait of his best friend. She had liked it, at least she said so, but he himself had frowned at what he had caused to the poor wall. It looked like a human all right, but as a picture of his friend it wasn't at all right. He found it to look more like an old lady than like his friend. The Village Elder had of course been furious about the prank. Despite that, or maybe because of that, he followed up his picture with several others over the years, more carefully hidden, naturally. His carvings had actually become quite good, although he must be a little rusty now. He smiled at the memory. Suddenly, he realised something. He couldn't remember her name. The name of his best friend, with the beautiful voice and the little cautious laugh - it was gone. At first he couldn't understand why he had forgotten such an important thing, and thought for a while about leaving the bed and go study the carving more closely. Maybe he would remember then? But he hadn't more than moved his head to face the wall before he realised that it wouldn't do any good. He was too tired. He let his head fall down on the pillow again. The wall was gone. The darkness had already enveloped it, and his childhood memories with it. With a deep sigh he wrapped the blanket tighter around him, staring into the darkness of his room. He let his mind float as it pleased for a while. It didn't matter. After a while he noticed that a black surface was moving in the ceiling, much like the waves of the ocean on a calm day. He studied the undulating surface above, watching, as it slowly became more and more violent. His mind slipped again. Oh, the irony of it all... Drowsy, he finally flung out some meaningless words into the air. The words seemed to hit the blackness above like an autumn leaf on the surface of a lake, but then it sank, lost its ring, and disappeared. The sound of his own voice woke him up. How much time had passed this time? His bed was the universe. The room was gone, leaving only the bed, surrounded by the dark storming wall from all angles. It came closer. So this is what death looks like, the boy thought, closing his eyes. He desperately fought back his fatigue. Was he ready? He tried to focus his thoughts. A question appeared. He felt suddenly awake for a second. Could it be answered? No... He couldn't die now. Why? Why had this happened? What was the reason? Who had... Not yet... Must find the answers. Why did he have to do this? He tried to get up, but he could no longer feel his legs. Why? Who was he? Then all was gone, and he flew away into the black nothingness.