Ertifferrah Written By: Elay Understood CHAPTER 40 WHERE'S OCTAVIOUS...Elay TV Content Creator

 

School wasn’t the same without Octavious around and Erica didn’t know if she could stand a third day without seeing him.  After class, she caught up with the guys that he hung around with and asked of his whereabouts. 

His best friend, Fortney Wiles, answered, “Man, you trying to get up with him too?!  For the past two days my boys and I been calling him, and no one answers the phone.  We even went to his house and no one answered.”

“Really?”  Erica replied.

“That’s not our Octavious you hear me?  He would have told us if something was up.  Even if there was an emergency, at least he would have tried to text a brother.”

“Yeah, so you know where he lives?” she asked them, cajolingly.

“Ow, shoot, look out!  Octavious got you so open like that.  He got you coming to his house?!”  

The guys slapped hands and laughed.

“Guys…” Erica pleaded as she blushed.

“Well, since, you really want to know…” Remy jotted down the information on a sheet of paper and handed it to her while verbally directing her which way to go.  

“If you’re familiar with that area, then you’ll be fine!” he shouted over the bustling crowd of people who spilled into the halls.  “If you run up with him, give us a holler!”

 One thing was for sure, it was a lot faster getting to her house than to his, so taking her brother’s junk car, without a doubt, was the way to go.

**

Up the hill she drove, praying it wouldn’t stall and roll back down. Looking around for the address was a little tougher than had expected.  In a neighborhood like this, maybe the owners thought visible addresses were an eyesore to their property.  Whatever the case may be, Erica never imagined that this city could hide such immaculate mansions as these.  

Then it appeared: eighteen twenty-five.  Feeling a little nervous as she stepped out the car and headed towards the front door, Erica saw the mailman approaching.  

Oh, great!  Making a quick escape, she ran to the side of the mansion and hid behind some bushes, watching him from there.

Arms filled with a handful of envelopes, he stuffed the letters through the slot. Next, he opened his tote and pulled out a package, sat it on the ground, then left.

Just as she was about to move from the hiding spot, the front door opened and someone slowly stuck their arm out.  The arm had bruises and scratches all over it.

Remembering her car was in the driveway, she panicked, thinking that whoever got the package would see the car.  

A minute went by and then she raced to the car, opened the door, and was about to put it in neutral so as to not cause a scene upon starting the loud engine when she saw the curtains rustle and someone move away from the window.

The door opened and out came Octavious.  He had on metallic grey shorts and a white Haynes tank top.

“Erica! Erica, stop!” 

So excited, she almost forgot to put the car in park and then she slammed the door shut and ran towards him. 

“Wait, I need you to park your car in the garage,” he said as it opened quietly.

“Okay.”

Before the door finished closing, Octavious was already at the car knocking on the window.

“Woah!  You scared me,” she said, her smile turning into startlement and severe worry as she caught glimpse of how bad he looked before the lights flickered out. Gasping in astonishment as tears filled her eyes, she said,  “What happened to you?!”  Unable to get any words out, he held his hand in the air and motioned for her to follow him into the house as the dim, fluorescent lights flickered on.

“Sorry about it being so dark in here,” he said.

“That’s okay.  I’m just glad I caught up with you,” she replied, following behind him.  She scraped against something kind of sharp.  “Ow. Octavious, wait, can you slow up a little? I, I still can’t see.”

“Sure, better yet, take my hand,” he said softly.  “Erica, I’m really happy you came to check up on me…after what happened to me, you were the only one I wanted to see.  But I didn’t have your number and honestly, the way things are turning out right now, calling your house may not have been such a good idea, to begin with.”

“Really, what makes you say something like that?”

“Erica, I think I’ve got a lot to tell you.”

**

“Would you like a glass of water or something?  I’ve got juice!  You’d like some of that?”

“Sure, thanks!”

“Don’t mention it.  Come on, let’s go, you can bring that upstairs with you.”

“Okay.”

“You have to excuse the place for being so dark down here, it’s just that I’m feeling a little down…and I knew my friends would run-up to the windows to see if they saw me, you know—that is if I kept the curtains opened.”

“What about at night…wouldn’t they have seen it when you turned on a light?”

“Thick curtains.  We have thick curtains.”

“Ooh-okay.”

Up the stairs, they walked as Octavious led the way.

“You know, from the outside, you have a really beautiful home,” Erica complimented him. 

“Ahh, thank you, but remember, my house in Akasha was twice as big as this.”

“Indeed, I guess if you compare this place to my home here on Earth, you still got me beat by a mile!”

They both laughed agreeing.  The closer they got to the second floor, the more light became visible, revealing a gorgeous setup, instantly reminding her of Akasha.  She fell in love with how a piece of her native land was brought to life in his house. Somehow, in Octavious’s mansion, his parents were able to replicate a part of Akasha, and there it was, in living color.

A rush of comfort drifted over her, soothing the nerves that had once been taught.  She felt totally worry-free after seeing the second floor.  “Wow, this is amazing!”

“I know, and thanks,” he proudly said.  “You know, I haven’t seen your house back in Akasha!  I’d love to!”

“Well, this house we’re in right now is about the size of my house in Akasha…” her voice trailed off.

“That’s nothing to be embarrassed about!  Hell, you could live in a mud house for all I care!  It wouldn’t even matter because, with a girl like you, I know the house is filled with lots of love and hospitality, how else could you have been created?”

“Octavious, that’s so sweet!” She smiled ear to ear. “Octavious, I’d be delighted to bring you to my house.”

“Excellent,” he said calmly as he inhaled deeply, but his breathing became more of a struggle as he strained to take in the fresh air.

Leaning in front of a white door, he stopped to catch his breath, clutching one hand around his side.  “This is my bedroom. I’d like to show it to you—that is, if I don’t die on you, girl,” he joked seriously.

He was in pain, and she could tell.

“Octavious!  Octavious, are you okay?” she asked in a panic.

There weren’t words for him to speak as he opened his clenched eyes and looked at her as if pleading for her to feel his pain.  Gurgling sounds came from his mouth as he slid down the door. “Erica!”  he yelled, begging for her to help.  “Erica…”

Then he blacked out, leaving her once again all alone.

He was simply too heavy to drag into a room so she couldn’t lay him on a bed and see how he was.  The next best idea was to make a makeshift bed there on the floor.  Not wanting to leave his side, she remembered that it was only her who could take care of him, for she dared not call 911.  Doing that would only stir up more trouble.

Taking it all in, she ran into a room that seemed to belong to someone with a fetish for blue because no other color was in sight.  Erica had never seen so many shades of blue in one place.  If she had more time, exploring would have been a possibility, but she was on a mission.

Something in one of the corners of the room caught her attention. It was a wall-length fish tank, filled with thousands of tropical fish! Right below that, a well-polished, Baby Grand piano; the color black. Erica was drawn to them, filled with fascination as the water bubbled and the back-light of the aquarium lit up the moment she struck a chord on the piano. All the fish seemed to stop and stare at her suddenly. 

“Woah! That’s creepy! I better get Octavious a pillow and a blanket and get the heck out of here!”

A breeze blew by, knocking over two sheets of paper off the piano. Erica couldn’t resist, she had to read what was written on them.

“This looks like, like a song?” Though she couldn’t read the music, she was still able to read the lyrics above them.

The words read:

In a jar

Behind the glass

And in the corner of the room

Was an object

Of a floating figure

And she wondered to whom the shadow belonged to…

In a jar

Behind the glass

Emerged a girl who looked so sad

As the painless of her skin

Detrimentally blended in

-with all the hurt

and all the pains

of a life lived here self-contained…

in this jar

behind this glass

She watched the life of her go past…

I saw her eyes

She locked in mine…

And telepathically, she cried-

HELP PLEASE, OH, HELP ME PLEASE!!

There is something hollow after me!

It’s getting dark…

It’s closing in…

I’M GETTING SCARED…

So scared

All because I’m trapped in here…

Can’t go no… where…

I feel my life’s beyond repair…

*

The words chilled her; it was as though she connected right with them and whoever had written them. Not wanting to acknowledge the possibility that maybe it was the young lady from the mirror who had written them and that this could maybe be her papers, her, her room…?

Looking up at the aquarium again, to her surprise, all the fish were staring at her. The back-light fizzled out and she felt that same cool breeze that knocked the papers off the piano; it brushed past her, but she swore she heard it whisper “Ertifferrah!”

Shaken, Erica ran out of the room wanting nothing more than to be with Octavious.  Yes, despite his unconsciousness, knowing he was there physically would be enough to shake the chills that ran throughout her body.  After seeing that thing in the glass back there, she kind of wished she hadn’t chosen that room to look for his stupid pillows.

Out of breath, in a daze, and about to pass out as well, Erica made it to the spot where Octavious was.  He’s up! She thought.