Not Enough - Part 3

Instructions

I fell down, creating a ‘thump’ kind of sound. I could barely see anything, I was in pitch black. Something bright glowed in front of me, creating an outlined square. The inside of the square glowed, leaving two separate sections in its wake. Colour began to show inside the sections. In the first section ― a circular building, surrounded by a cloudless blue sky. I stared at it, the shape reminding my of the building I live in. The second section started glowing, the brightness disappearing to reveal a quaint little cottage, surrounded by bushes, trees, and flowers. A memory awakened inside of me, showing me a vision of a younger, freer me, tumbling through a lush green pine forest. I smiled at the memory, remembering how I would come home with scratched knees and a long stick in my hand, grinning. Letting out a breath, I step towards the section with the cottage in it, my feet guiding me. I hold out an open hand, reaching for it. As I touch it, I exhale unsteadily. The cottage glows, as if it was happy for me choosing it. I’ve been longing to live in a peaceful place like that since my mother and I were evicted from the cottage, later hearing that it was destroyed. As if the cottage was mirroring my thoughts, it began to glow an ember red. I pull my hand away, watching in horror as the quaint cottage began to crumble, flames erupting from the windows. I shudder, wondering if that happened to the house that I lived in, that I loved, all those years ago. The area I was in began to mimic the burning of the cottage, glowing a dark red and letting off heat, like the previous area. I sat down on the black floor, my shadow lengthened by the red light, fatigued by the immense heat. I lay on the floor and close my eyes. I am awoken with the sounds of fingers drumming impatiently. My neck straightens to an abrupt snap of “What in the world is wrong with you?” I stand up, shocked. I see the silver-haired woman standing up straight, fists clenched. She begins pacing listlessly. “That was just two questions out of twenty, and my system told me that you were doing so terribly, it just cancelled the test!” She turned to me, her eyes flaming. “Are you an idiot or something?!” Now, let me say, the term ‘idiot’ is not a loosely used word in my world. It’s grown to resemble a word more like ‘imbecile’ or ‘retarded,’ or just ‘so incredibly stupid you shouldn’t even be living.’ I gasped. “What did you call me?” I asked aggressively, curling my hands into fists. The woman whispered something, and soon later the doors burst open behind me. A pair of cold hands clasp my shoulders firmly, and I turn around, shaking a little. I see a long, dark, hood, and gulping, I go over the possibilities of what it might be. ‘Police, security, Pura.’ I think. Gulping, I realize that the only possibility is that it’s a Pura. “Away you go, then.” The woman said lightly. She sat back in her chair, and I saw her back straighten, waiting for the next subject, before I was dragged behind a pair of doors, sliding shut into darkness.