Harnessed Passions by Dee Jones

relatives she only knew by
name. Once inside, she closed the door quietly, shutting out the
sounds of the day and chaos of the world.
    The room was comfortably furnished with a
large over stuffed sofa and four cushioned wingback chairs. She
chose the one nearest her father's shelves of books, kicked off her
shoes and rested her stocking feet on the small ottoman in front of
her. Her neck ached, her head felt heavy on her shoulders and her
eyes were sore and red from crying. She took a sip from the glass
of wine she had brought with her before setting it on a small table
to her left.
    A book on animal husbandry sat unopened on
the table, one of her father's favorite selections. She picked it
up and began scanning through the pages of information, feeling a
little nostalgic as she leafed through it. The drawings were a
little more graphic then she would have preferred and the details
were far above present comprehension, so she laid it aside and
closed her eyes.
    The solitude of the room was exquisite and
Julia began to float away on a wave of contentment. Outside on the
veranda, the sounds of birds chirping cheerfully among the bushes
that surrounded the stone wall filtered through the stillness of
the room, as they sung their happy songs in the afternoon peace. A
gentle breeze blew through the open doors, rustling the sheer
drapery that hung across the doors. It felt warm and relaxing as it
brushed her cheek gently, lolling her into a soft slumber.
    A noise, soft and almost inaudible, echoed
through her seclusion bringing her reluctantly back to her
surroundings. It sounded at first as though a door had opened, but
she kept her eyes closed, hoping to regain the serenity she had
encountered a few moments before. The peacefulness was intoxicating
and she slowly began to drift away again. The rustle of the birds
grew louder and she resisted the sounds, unwilling to surrender the
small piece of paradise, she had secured for herself, but the noise
soon increased and she couldn't suppress waking completely.
    She opened her eyes slowly, reluctantly, a
frowned furrowing her slender brows across her tired eyes. The
birds didn't sound so peaceful any more, it sounded as though they
were making a nest in the bookcase behind her. She knew she would
have to put a stop to them, before all of her father's literary
collection had vanished into a pile of kindling. Julia surrendered
her seclusion with a heavy sigh, lowering her feet back into her
shoes as she prepared to put an end to the invasion.
    Suddenly she felt the room growing dark
again, a sharp pain exploding near her temple as pain quickly
spread throughout her skull. She fell forward across the ottoman as
the room began to spin; the floor came up and met her in a hard
thump. A heavy sensation pressed firmly against her chest holding
her down, while something soft covered her face; her lungs began
struggling for air. She felt as though she were being suffocated by
something large, thick and smelled of lilacs.
    Her head ached and she felt a slow warm
trickle, running down the side of her face as she tried to turn her
head to the side. A strangled, muffled sound echoed from somewhere
in the room, then Julia realized frantically it had come from
within her own throat as she continued to struggle to bring air
into her lungs. The explosion of a high pitched laughter made her
gasp for air as darkness swelled around her, taking her down
further into its waiting embrace. She briefly registered the sound
of movement against the carpet thrumming between her ears like
thunder and the whisper of something far off, distant, through the
denseness.
    Her name, she could hear somebody calling
her name and then she saw it; the brown oak casket opening to catch
her, as she fell through the pitch-blackness of space. The flames
of eternal damnation leapt out at her and she continued to fall,
never quite reaching her destination, yet never pulling completely
away. She heard her name whispered again, the