[Elias adjusts one of his sleeves while he waits, dusts imaginary dust off of his lap. There's a moment of silence before he starts but it's only a matter of a couple of seconds.]
Have you ever considered why the Eye is so terrifying? Why the Beholding has enough power to be one of the great terrors? Yes, I suppose you have given the terror that grips you when others try to reach out to it. But even that cannot compare to the vast depths of it, Jon. It goes far beyond the nightmares you walk each night.
She was four when she first noticed it. An eye. Singular and unassuming. One might even believe it to be a ball but in her childish mind she knew it to be an eye. Watching her and studying her.
She was five when she first told her father of it. They had been together since her birth had claimed her mother and he would do anything for her. But this was something his mind could not comprehend. He laughed and told her that she had such an active imagination. Of course she knew that wasn't true but her tears simply lead to sweet comfort that did nothing to stop the stare of that eye just beyond his shoulder she now cried on. Unwavering. Unblinking.
At ten she found herself fearing anything round, refusing all objects that could have eyes on them. Bears and dolls were all sure to cause her to scream. They were at a loss and the good doctor finally called in an old friend to the sessions when she was twelve and no progress had been made in two years.
An empty room devoid of glass. All eyes had to be covered with thick goggles with a matte material to avoid a reflection. Anything round? Forbidden. Yet she still shook as the pair of men entered, refusing to look their way. Especially at the guest of the good doctor. Her fear only grew as she slapped her hands over her eyes and kept swearing that the eyes were now all around her. She could see them in every color and the walls themselves were watching her as much as the men were.
The guest requested time alone with her, a request that was granted. There were no cameras now. No secret windows to observe. Only hope that this guest would be able to aid her in her plight. For that reason, there was no clear record of what lead to the tragedy in that room. Word of mouth changed the story each time. To this day there is only one man who can tell you for certain what took place in that room
[He pauses and has a sip of his coffee. He hasn't allowed Jon any room to speak and he doesn't allow it now either despite the pause.]
With someone so close to the eye, so haunted by it, I wondered if I could build something from her. Of course I readily accepted the invitation and watched with wonder as she pressed her hands so tightly to her eyes that it seemed she would push them to the back of her skull. After ensuring that I would have time alone with her, I began to speak and actually convinced her to uncover her eyes.
She told me that every surface in the room including the pair of us was made of eyes. That they all stared directly at her and came from a point in the room. It brought a smile to my lips as I told her to stare back at them. To stand up to the eyes rather than fear them. I needed to see what would happen even though I knew it was impossible for her to have the strength to withstand the full force of the Eye tearing into her very soul. Never the less, she did as I said while I sat there with a notepad and pen utterly transfixed as she attempted to have a stronger will than the eyes around her. This lasted a matter of minutes before I could see the exact moment her soul broke and she screamed.
Without hesitation, she grabbed the pen from my hand and started to stab them into her eyes over and over again until the liquid poured down her face. Even then she didn't stop, still trying to brutally destroy all traces of her eyes when they came rushing in to save her. They tried to save her but in the end the blood loss and trauma was too great and she died on the floor of that room.
Her last words as she rattled out a breath with a smile was this: "The eyes are gone, daddy. It's so dark now."
[With that, Elias falls silent, allowing Jon to absorb his tale as it finishes.]
cw: self harm, eye gore, death
Have you ever considered why the Eye is so terrifying? Why the Beholding has enough power to be one of the great terrors? Yes, I suppose you have given the terror that grips you when others try to reach out to it. But even that cannot compare to the vast depths of it, Jon. It goes far beyond the nightmares you walk each night.
She was four when she first noticed it. An eye. Singular and unassuming. One might even believe it to be a ball but in her childish mind she knew it to be an eye. Watching her and studying her.
She was five when she first told her father of it. They had been together since her birth had claimed her mother and he would do anything for her. But this was something his mind could not comprehend. He laughed and told her that she had such an active imagination. Of course she knew that wasn't true but her tears simply lead to sweet comfort that did nothing to stop the stare of that eye just beyond his shoulder she now cried on. Unwavering. Unblinking.
At ten she found herself fearing anything round, refusing all objects that could have eyes on them. Bears and dolls were all sure to cause her to scream. They were at a loss and the good doctor finally called in an old friend to the sessions when she was twelve and no progress had been made in two years.
An empty room devoid of glass. All eyes had to be covered with thick goggles with a matte material to avoid a reflection. Anything round? Forbidden. Yet she still shook as the pair of men entered, refusing to look their way. Especially at the guest of the good doctor. Her fear only grew as she slapped her hands over her eyes and kept swearing that the eyes were now all around her. She could see them in every color and the walls themselves were watching her as much as the men were.
The guest requested time alone with her, a request that was granted. There were no cameras now. No secret windows to observe. Only hope that this guest would be able to aid her in her plight. For that reason, there was no clear record of what lead to the tragedy in that room. Word of mouth changed the story each time. To this day there is only one man who can tell you for certain what took place in that room
[He pauses and has a sip of his coffee. He hasn't allowed Jon any room to speak and he doesn't allow it now either despite the pause.]
With someone so close to the eye, so haunted by it, I wondered if I could build something from her. Of course I readily accepted the invitation and watched with wonder as she pressed her hands so tightly to her eyes that it seemed she would push them to the back of her skull. After ensuring that I would have time alone with her, I began to speak and actually convinced her to uncover her eyes.
She told me that every surface in the room including the pair of us was made of eyes. That they all stared directly at her and came from a point in the room. It brought a smile to my lips as I told her to stare back at them. To stand up to the eyes rather than fear them. I needed to see what would happen even though I knew it was impossible for her to have the strength to withstand the full force of the Eye tearing into her very soul. Never the less, she did as I said while I sat there with a notepad and pen utterly transfixed as she attempted to have a stronger will than the eyes around her. This lasted a matter of minutes before I could see the exact moment her soul broke and she screamed.
Without hesitation, she grabbed the pen from my hand and started to stab them into her eyes over and over again until the liquid poured down her face. Even then she didn't stop, still trying to brutally destroy all traces of her eyes when they came rushing in to save her. They tried to save her but in the end the blood loss and trauma was too great and she died on the floor of that room.
Her last words as she rattled out a breath with a smile was this: "The eyes are gone, daddy. It's so dark now."
[With that, Elias falls silent, allowing Jon to absorb his tale as it finishes.]