An Owl's Rise

After swiftly turning around, Evelyn could not stop staring at the woman in front of her.

Tears began falling down her eyes just as they had when she first saw Mason this morning. Yet the emotions behind these tears were even more intense.

"What are you crying for Evelyn? Did something happen at school?" Her mother said, walking up and giving Evelyn a hug while patting her head.

For several moments Evelyn just pushed her head into her mother's shoulder and cried profusely. Letting out emotions that were flooding out of her.

Her mom continued to pat and comfort her without trying to pry into why she was crying, and Evelyn felt that she wanted to drown in the warmth she was feeling.

'Maybe I should just stay here. Things seem off, but as long as I do not think about it, the pain in my head fades. It will be easier just to accept this life of happiness.' Evelyn thought, just a moment away from letting go of her uncertainty.

"Sister, wake up!"

For a second Evelyn's view flashed and instead of seeing her mother, the figure of an owl with tuffs of fur that looked like horns on their head was standing in front of her, fighting off what looked like a tangle of roots.

However, this vison only lasted for a second before she was back with her family.

At some point they had all sat down around the dinner table and were enjoying their meal.

"Aralee?" Evelyn whispered faintly, a name coming to her mind when she pictured the figure of the owl she had just seen for only a moment.

"Did you say something Evie?" Mason asked, a look of concern on his face.

"I know you have a lot on your mind, but you should eat first. Thinking without any energy is not good for you." Evelyn's mother said, passing a bowl of mashed potatoes towards Evelyn.

Longingly she reached out for the food that smelled delicious and was drawing her in, but she caught her outstretched right arm with her left.

'I cannot eat this. I will be dragged further in if I do.' Evelyn thought, her sharp instincts having returned after seeing a glimpse of reality.

Just moments ago, she had been willing to discard all of her doubt, but now every bad feeling and inconsistencies she had seen in this world came rushing back to her at once.

Standing up at the table, Evelyn startled her family, and each of them began asking her what was wrong, when she slammed her head into the side of the table.

Immediately she felt a sharp pain as she imagined this action would bring her. Exactly as she had imagined it.

The hit to her head also helped to clear up the fag around her mind momentarily, and she was able to come to a revelation in that moment.

'None of this is real.' Evelyn thought.

Her memories were still scrambled, but she could distinctly recall that she had long since left this life behind her.

"Evelyn!" Her father screamed, getting up and rushing towards her.

Miraculously the sever injury she should have inflicted on herself was already gone, by the time he reached her, but this only added to the evidence that this world was not real.

"Stay away from me." Evelyn said, jumping back from the concerned family that had been approaching her.

It was at this moment that the entire room began to shift and warp, as if trying to correct some sort of mistake and reset to the ideal fantasy it had been depicting.

However, Evelyn did not allow herself to be pulled in and managed to keep the scene from changing as it had before whenever she was getting close to realizing something was wrong.

When she looked around the room again, she saw that it was distorted and could not seem to keep up its appearance. It was constantly shifting from the perfect fantasy of her life and what had been reality.

On one side of the room, it was the bright and clean idealistic home, and on the other it was dark with bottles and cans of alcohol littered all over the place.

"Evelyn, what are you doing? Don't you want to be happy? Isn't this your dream? We can all be together again here if you just let go." Her mother said, standing within the area that was still projecting a fantasy of the life Evelyn could only wish for.

It took her a great deal of willpower, but Evelyn, who was standing on the edge of reality and fantasy stepped over the line into the horrible world that had once been her life.

In only a single instant the fantasy bled away and all that was left was the truth that Evelyn remembered.

The warm home had completely vanished and her family that had been perfect before, had taken on vastly different appearances.

Her father was the one that had changed the most, now taking on the appearance Evelyn had glimpsed earlier when first seeing him in this dream world. What he really looked like in life.

Before her now was the abusive drunk that had beat her and her brother after their mother's death.

However, he was far from fine, with several bullet holes in his torso and blood gushing out of him. Exactly how Evelyn remembered him while he was dying after she shot him.

Her mother also was bleeding profusely out of her side where a stray bullet had hit her when the police had charged in to subdue the bank robbers.

Worst of all though, was Mason. His stomach was cut open and his throat was slashed with blood gushing out of him.

Each of her family members was now how they had been the last time Evelyn saw them.

"Evelyn please, it is not too late! Are you really going to let us die again!?" The visage of her mother said frantically as more blood poured out of her and her body began fading.