Author’s Note: This was originally written for the prompt “Write a 1,000-word story showing a character making a difficult choice”, but I also thought it fit the current Monthly Evermore Theme of Forbidden Knowledge. It was also heavily inspired by Lovecraftian horrors set in the 1920s era.
Read while listening for maximum immersion:
Before Alice could call out to her husband, the words got caught in her throat. As she peered over the dark journal which seemed to open by itself, her breath escaped her. Raymond was still in the other room enjoying his glass of red wine while she was to use his study. The strange symbols stared back at her, distorting the soothing jazz record he was playing. Alice looked over her shoulder to make sure the door was shut and slowly pulled out the wooden chair.
Her own studies were the furthest from her mind, instead becoming occupied with her husband’s work. She felt like a little girl snooping where she shouldn’t, but what she saw was too disturbing to ignore. The writing was certainly Raymond’s hand and yet, it didn’t seem like him at all. It was far more erratic, troubled. Her own horrible nightmares flashed through her mind, instinctively turning to another page where she saw the incomprehensible Thing she had dreamed.
Closing her eyes, she tried to forget. She tried to forget the suffocating dark expanse, the writhing limbs, the slimy touch brushing past her cheek…In order to free herself from the memory, she flicked to another page, opening her eyes again to read Raymond’s words:
“My dear, lovely, little Alice, you will soon know the embrace of Oblivion. Oblivion, you shall see, is not to be feared, for I have seen it as you do. I have seen the Thing you dreamed. You have nothing to fear. Just like Mary before you, my lovely, little Alice will meet Oblivion’s embrace and be free at last.”
Her heart pounded as though they were the foreboding war drums of ancient people, fighting back against Death’s call. She turned to another page where a grotesque photograph of Raymond’s late wife greeted her. Could it have been some cruel joke from one of his patients? No, it couldn’t be. Alice wanted to cry as a lump formed in her throat, squirming to be set free.
Could her Raymond ever hurt her? He couldn’t possibly, surely. He was the one who had eased her suffering. It was he alone who had made the nightmares stop. Her curiosity to peek at the unspeakable image betrayed her, and upon seeing it again, nausea overcame her. Alice would have fainted had she not caught herself, but the noise alerted her husband’s attention.
“Alice? Are you quite alright in there?” he called out.
She inhaled sharply, trying to gather her composure. “Yes, I’m afraid I nearly fell asleep. I didn’t mean to startle you,” Alice replied.
“Well, don’t push yourself too hard. Your studies will still be there tomorrow,” his affectionate voice made her want to go to him immediately, so he could explain away all the terrible things she saw. Her inner voice could not oblige, however. She decided it would be best to visit her mother, she would know what to do. But how could she leave without alarming Raymond that something was amiss?
Carefully lifting the dark journal, she placed it into her satchel along with her belongings and came out to where her husband was sitting.
His face became twisted with confusion as he looked up at her holding his glass of red wine. “What are you doing? I thought you were studying for your exams.”
Tears threatened to burst forth upon seeing her Raymond. This was the man she loved, was it not? Then why had her breath quickened to a panic? Why had the face she adored seemed so suddenly strange? Gripping tightly onto her satchel, Alice resolved to follow her intuition.
“I am, but I seem to have left a book I need with my mother,” she said.
Raymond raised a single brow and set down his glass. “It’s going to be dark soon. I’d rather you not go out when it is, or else I’ll worry.”
Alice forced a smile. “Oh, there’s no need. You know how close she is.”
“Even so, why not just stay here and fetch it tomorrow? Perhaps you’ve only lost it.” He rose to stand beside her, reaching for the satchel. Alice backed away from him without thinking.
“I haven’t lost it. I know right where it is,” she clutched onto her bag, holding it close. “I won’t be long. Now, please Raymond, don’t worry about me and continue as you were.”
A single moment of silence lingered before he said, “Alright, but make sure you come back soon. I can’t have anything happen to my lovely, little Alice.”
The words brought back the image of Mary deformed beyond recognition, causing her to hasten towards the door. Before she could leave, her satchel got caught on the brass knob, spilling out its contents before them on the patterned rug. The dark journal fell perfectly open to reveal the unspeakable Thing. Alice jolted her head up to meet Raymond’s gaze, her eyes widened in horror.
“Ah, so you’ve found it. Perhaps sooner than I would have hoped,” he said as he bent down to grab it. When he saw Alice moving away from him, he continued. “There’s no need to be afraid. Now you know what awaits you. Don’t you see? Your nightmares were never horrible imaginings. You have a gift, something that only exists once in a lifetime.” Raymond drew near as she was frozen in place.
He caressed her cheek with the utmost tenderness, Alice melting under his touch. Her inner voice failed her and she succumbed to the squirming, writhing Thing in her mind’s eye. The lump in her throat was relieved by overflowing tears as a cloth of strong ether enveloped her.
Alice fell back into the dark world of her dreams she so desperately wanted to forget, the familiar ooze crawling all over her body. Thousands upon thousands of limbs reached out to grab her and called out her name in comforting, hideous whispers.
Floating towards the embrace of Oblivion, Alice found that she was free at last.
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If you enjoyed this horror story, check out some of my other ones:
There's such a wonderful tension between a cosmic horror that is bound up in a very human betrayal. I really enjoyed the domesticity in the opening, which is already threaded through with the suggestion of other forces, before we lean into something altogether Lovecraftian - as almost everyone has pointed out. Really enjoy the simplicity of this, but also how rich the characterisation despite how economical you've been with word count. Real sense of craft, Coral!
This is so creepy and weird... love it. "Free at last..."