Asher Redemption - Chapter 3: My Sister's Room

Okay.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVxUyq8NWU

I've said a lot already, but thankfully there's a lot to tell, so it's not like I'm moving too fast. However, let me take a little break from the personal narrative that characterizes this auto-biography to explain a few things you'll need to know.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7g2vesvjN

Remember how I was saying that I always had the impression of being haunted in my house? Well, not to get too depressing on you too fast, but since you asked, you should know that everything about Hell was pretty haunting. That's because Hell was an exact copy of the mortal world we all used to belong to, minus 99% of its light. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dPYUQIAGS

Is that a rough and biased estimate that I made instead of an objectively-determined statistic?copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3E1xibADv

You bet.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDxqE4igDW

To understand just how time periods and different dimensions work for dead souls like myself, try this. Close your eyes and imagine a lonesome blue globe suspended in space: Planet Mars. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡMsSV80GK6H

Just kidding! Earth.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4plwYmvBd

Picture the world you know, with its land masses, bodies of water, cloud patterns. Think about the infrastructure and human activities that have shaped the physical structure of the planet.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbVYpTXfpI

It doesn't have to be a super fancy visualization to work. Now simply imagine a watch, below the globe. Or a timeline. Or Max's hand from Life is Strange—it's all the same. And imagine you using that watch, or that timeline, or that hand to change the time period. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8X5Z0beXu

It doesn't matter in which direction you're traveling: You could be going forward in time, or you could be going backward. But what happens to the Earth?copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡicHPAXBSGd

The answer is that it changes. The world is never the same for any two separate times, even if they're only minutes apart. Do you know how much can change in a minute? copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2avcU5DZkU

Earth can be significantly different from moment to moment, and it can be radically different from year to year, from decade to decade, and from one century to another. To the historical layperson *cough, cough* who is changing the time in this thought experiment, Earth may often seem like a completely different and unexpected world. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pzOxmNp2f

As time passes, regardless of its direction, you'll see different architectural structures, if any. The landscape will change. Mountains will be pushed up with time, and volcanoes will switch from an active to a dormant state and back again. Regional temperatures and even the planet's overall climate will change, affecting the traits and distribution of species as they're forced to adapt in order to survive their new conditions. Rivers will dry or fill up, glaciers will rise or disappear, and coasts may be swallowed by the waves.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDZMOj3VqV

Again, suppose you're looking at the planet from space, and it's—I don't know—1639. A long time ago.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSblGnBtbH

Never mind the landscape of the world, or the politics of the planet, or even the people. It really doesn't matter. Just understand that, for that particular time, the world had a very distinct appearance.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡt070EW883D

You've probably been picturing the Mortal World this whole time. Which is also known as the Mortal Dimension. There are two other dimensions I know of: The Heaven Dimension, and—of course—the Hell Dimension.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9orPnmEKEx

How would I define a dimension? Good question. You probably aren't too familiar with the idea, so here's my best attempt. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5r3EmX6ON

The same Earth is the location for all three dimensions. For a particular time—such as 1639—the Earth had a certain layout, and that layout was used by all three dimensions. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡbx064tQNto

It could be likened to changing the channel. The same screen is used for the viewing of different channels or different forms of inserted media, such as music CDs or movie disks. It's not the best analogy because you can't watch two things on a single screen at the same time, but it should give you a better idea of what I'm talking about nonetheless. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtlLzP0Xeb

Speaking of which, I wished I could change the channel at my house. That is, to something other than static.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMtV1oxb8y

The three dimensions were different versions of the world, and although they had their structural differences, they were all pretty similar to the Mortal World. It's like the Mortal World was the default, and changes in the Mortal World resulted in changes in the dimensions that depended on the Mortal World.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3nJYDIFYP

Now that you're a bit more familiar with the whole thing, let me go back to what I was saying.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9vRcK5UcY

Another thing that made Hell haunting was the simple reason that unless you had the money to operate your magic time-traveling, teleporting watch, you were basically stuck reliving a very important day over and over again.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWvmUDb4ap

And it was not your birthday.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡw883OyDhZW

But I'm guessing you already knew that.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzz9yy7mqw

I was standing near the front door, lost in thought. I stayed this way, caught in my daydream, until something very unusual and unexpected happened, all at once and out of the blue.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡyS9OMKZEX8

I got a grip.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡKkITQfPyUB

Finally able to move on, I started to move. My bare feet sank into the furry carpet—its warmth a nice contrast to the fiery pain of the unforgiving ice outside—and passed gracefully over the tracks my father had laid down.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0YRCyPExV

Which means I almost tripped on them again. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxkHmLjAhI

I ignored the dining room, making a direct move for the stairs. These were also carpeted. With each step, I felt my memories pressing down on me with increasing heaviness. They were suffocating me, and then seemed more intense than ever because that day was the last day. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UPI5MNn9p

The memories had been around me the entire time, and everywhere. Even for a person such as myself—who by nature was self-absorbed and lost in her own world—my external environment had been inescapable, and that external environment in which I'd been dwelling for so long was, quite frankly, the past.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡrL3pbkTP7N

The memories had only become more maddening with time. As a result of Satan's brilliant idea, my mind was constantly reliving the past. It had been caught, tangled, and lost in the past as though I'd fallen into the river of memories, not that such a river existed. (The closest thing I knew to such a river was the underworld's River Lethe: The river of oblivion.) copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡerolM4no4K

It was impossible to be sane in such an environment. Anchored to the past and weighed down by its baggage, it was impossible to move forward.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡyktXSUaBmn

Until God's Reinvention Program.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡ99nOrE6GiA

But maybe I lied back there, when I suggested there was no true river of memories, or at least not in the underworld. Because for me, that's what my sister's room was.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡlyBEaP8WWz

In the middle of the steps, there was a break, where I had to turn 180 degrees to continue upward. Which meant now I was facing the front of the house. As I neared the second floor, sunlight hit my eyes and made me squint. The light was coming from Victoria's room. At the top of the stairs, I took a right, and the moment I stepped through her open doorway, the memories came back to me. My eyes started to water.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkfXjzjWLB

Because of the brightness, obviously.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZ3QHo77lX

Before I go on with my extremely objective, rational, and unemotional account, let me make something clear. I visited that room often, and I usually didn't get so nostalgic. The only reason that day was any different was that I knew it would be my last day there. I couldn't see any reason for ever returning—major emphasis on ever—unless I failed to redeem myself in time, but I was going to do everything to ensure that didn't happen. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡfv3Fs1KnIl

Missing the window wasn't an option.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡspAI4nyA03

Let me start off describing Victoria's room with telling you that it was something of a mess.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6UY8PdibM

That's a total understatement.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRX4LxS3sB

She liked the color red. And the color yellow. And all things neon, and bands, and books, and music. And that was—no, I am not exaggerating—clearer than crystal when you peered through her door. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7ZPzsesi7

Her walls had had their own color, once. It had been a nice white which went with the rest of the house. Then Victoria decided to buy a bunch of posters and print a bunch of pictures and plaster them over her entire room. Over practically every open area of wall space.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHOVSEE9Wg

But it was cool. It looked fun, and it looked exciting. And whenever I was in a mood—whenever I was apathetic or downright sad—all I had to do was come in, because her door was literally always open.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4rRhagmJO

She had a TV in her room, which I thought was really cool. I wasn't old enough to have a TV in my room, Mom and Dad said. She had several bookshelves stuffed with a diverse and, dare I say, eccentric collection of narratives, and whenever I wanted to read something new she would lend me hers.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡeafHiMO3xR

"Mi cuarto es tu cuarto," she would say. Which means, you know: "Your room is my room." Kind of like "Your house is my house," which is basically meant as a welcoming expression. She liked to say things in Spanish, showing off what she had learned in high school. She had to take two years of a foreign language in order to graduate. It was one of the requirements. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2RZigsvPl

Her accent was actually really bad, but I never told her that. I thought it was cool.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDWcbmZskA

If you weren't blinded by the sunlight when you walked into her room—she always pulled her curtains back and left her windows wide open—then you were blinded by her choice of colors. As you probably guessed, her artistic nature didn't stop there: It was reflected in things such as her personality and fashion style. She was easily the kind of person who could wear heels, sunglasses, large, gold-colored hoop earrings, a sunhat, red pants, and a yellow shirt at one time—with a certain combination of necklaces and bracelets—and manage to look good in it. She was confident, loud, opinionated, and positive.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡNL9F83jMF9

And everybody loved her.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡccusmXNk4p

She was African American, like our parents. Her dark skin had a warm and golden glow, and she had long, straight, chocolate-colored hair. She did her make-up every day before heading out, and boldly: In her mind, make-up was just another set of brushes and paints and the skin was just another canvas. A dynamic; ever-changing canvas on which new ideas could always be tried. She lived her life creatively, and bizarrely; passionately, and fully. Not caring what others thought.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEGIwBihKO

And she helped me do the same.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡcI44kzglYi

I walked across the room to kneel beside the bed. I reached underneath for a brass knocker. I pulled, and out slid one of two drawers. Reaching my hands inside, I scooped out a decorated, silver chest. It was small and light, and thus easy to carry around. I hoisted it onto the bed, and was about to push the drawer shut when something in the back of my mind made me stop. I thought for a moment, then slipped my hand inside until I felt the smooth and glossy surface of a photograph. Victoria used to have it out on full display, protected by glass, until I told her how I felt about myself. I didn't even have to tell her to put it away. I never... I don't think I ever gave any indication of how it made me feel to see it. She just knew. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRLX6svF88

She was that type of a person. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dAPadNHqx

Part of me warned against it, but curiosity got the best of me, so I stole a glance at the photograph. It was old now, though it looked quite new since it hadn't been many years old at the time of the time freeze. It was a picture of Victoria with her younger brother. She was smiling broadly, and she had one arm around his shoulder. Whereas she looked comfortable—confident, even—her younger brother looked timid, and reserved. His skin was light like mine, and he had the same dark hair. His large, emerald-green eyes—adorned with long, dark lashes—were familiar. There was depth there, intelligence, and sadness.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5uTiNJU5w

He was young in the picture, maybe eleven years old, and was slim. His hair was a little long for a boy's, covering his ears and hovering around his face, although it didn't reach past the shoulders.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfwr15brOk

That's because it wasn't up to him, I thought. I put the photograph back, and closed the dark, wooden drawer. Then I turned my attention to what lay on the bed. I reached for the silver chain I wore around my neck—specifically, its hanging pendant, which was a small key. With it, I unlocked the silver chest. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wz51mQJi9

Unlike most of the objects in my surroundings, that chest did not exist in that house on Christmas Eve of that year. I'd bought it, whilst in the underworld, to protect my stash of drachmas. That's why whenever I put the chest somewhere, it stayed there. Unlike everything else in the house, because of the—you guessed it—time freeze.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2cglIsRPwJ

It was the same with the key, and the chain—which I'd also gotten while here in the underworld, using drachmas as currency, of course—and that's why I could transport those things, too. It wasn't like the photograph, which actually did belong to that fateful day. I wanted to take the photograph with me, but I couldn't: I could try to, but the reality was that the moment I'd take my eyes off it, it would vanish and return to the drawer under the bed.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJB9A80MTI

I'd also bought a beanbag chair. And pens and sheets of paper to write. And I'd grown a small collection of books. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡs7nqPw81ep

But I couldn't take any of those things with me, or at least not yet. When reading the details of the program, I'd learned that all of those underworld-bought items would be brought up to Heaven if I made it there, and if I so wanted. So I wasn't too worried about leaving them behind, though I did make sure to find them good hiding spots. copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡdEikI98IRE

You know, so that nobody would break in and steal my hard-earned riches while I was gone.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93MeZFeBRx

The only purchased goods I hadn't hidden away lay across the bed, not too far from the chest, and they were mostly warm winter gear. That meant things such as green snow boots, purple gloves, and a long, black winter coat.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYHNsG2bgk

I unlocked the chest and pulled it open to reveal shining gold drachmas. Satan had enchanted them, such that light seemed to emanate from the coins themselves. Such that in utter darkness, they were clearly visible. Then I dumped the contents onto the bed and counted my money.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUzWxViz6W

The results left me feeling slightly but not terribly disappointed. It wasn't much, but it was enough.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QeoSCUOUJ

Five minutes later, I stood in front of the mirror, admiring myself. My jet-black hair cascaded down my shoulders, and my gold wrist bracelets peeked out from underneath the long sleeves of the black, detective-like coat. My black-and-gold backpack had been packed, and I now wore appropriate clothes considering the outside weather. I gave the room a final sweep of my emerald eyes, and then raised my watch-sporting wrist. I manipulated the device via touchscreen, choosing my destination. That is, a time and place where there should've been a fairly unoccupied Registration Center.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvsSKMF2ga

If all went according to plan—which, let's face it, never happened—the decision would decrease my wait time substantially.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡQq6j4zkWqX

I gave the room a salute, then vanished into an array of neon blue pixels.copyright protection177ＰＥＮＡＮＡqvk6eIl23P

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