The Love That Remains

I have been walking in loops for hours.

I am not tired of walking. The walls keep shifting colours and patterns. Sometimes, there are even words in languages that I can't read. I guess that those are hints, but the person forgot to write them in Chinese or English.

I listen to the sound of ticking. With each tick, I feel heavier. I glance at my hands that have lost all colours. I am slowly dying.

How long have I been here?

I scratch the back of my neck and find it sweaty. When I look at my hand, I find blood.

Well...this is not good.

Someone is laughing at my situation.

I look up at the black ceiling to find the owner of the voice. I find two giant purple eyes painted on the ceiling. Those creepy eyes blink at me with surprise and laugh again.

"You can see me?" I hear a voice.

"Why I am here?" I ask nonchalantly.

"This is a prison." The 'creepy eyes' snickers. I am sure that this thing has a bad habit of giggling non-stop.

"My master brought you here," It speaks with expectant voice.

I have no idea who this master is. I have been walking around for hours. The maze keeps changing, but this is the first time that I find someone to talk to...though, this person doesn't have a mouth. It's not even a person. It doesn't matter. I will compromise.

At least, I can speak to this thing.

"So, what type of creature are you?" I sit down on the floor and lean on the wall. I rest my arm on my knees and wait for the 'creepy eyes' to answer.

It doesn't reply. The eyes shift to the right and left. It's strange. I am surprised that I didn't have a heart attack yet. It seems to be watching out for something. Is it afraid of its master?

"Why are you not asking about the master?"

"Your master isn't as interesting as you." I smile at it. "You have pretty eyes."

"Really?" The 'creepy eyes' perks up. "You are the first prisoner to say that. The others always scream when they see me."

Can you blame them?

"They don't have good eyes." I chuckle softly. "It takes good eyes to measure the value of a beauty. You have beautiful eyes."

I can lie to save my life.

"I know." The 'creepy eyes' is proud.

"My master doesn't understand my value. I am the only one of my kind. I am the watcher and the guard of this prison. No prisoner ever escaped this prison under my eyes."

I don't know whether it's trying to be funny. I am literally under its eyes.

"They tried so hard. Some of them even broke down the walls." The 'creepy eyes' laughs like a maniac. "They don't know."

"What do you mean?" I look up innocently.

"The only way to escape is prison is...." The 'creepy eyes' pauses for a moment and squints. I wait quietly and try to look like a fool.

"By saying the passcode. There is no door in this dimension. If the person speaks the passcode, then they will immediately teleport out of this place."

It narrows the eyes on me, waiting for me to ask the passcode.

"Don't you get bored of this place?" I change the topic.

There is an immediate change in the atmosphere. The creepy eyes are full of tears. "I do. It's boring here. It's only fun if someone is here. But master only brings someone when he wants. The prisoners don't even last for a week. I live here alone for a long time...waiting for the master to bring something."

I guess it's hard for this thing. I will also get bored like this.

"Why don't you leave?" My neck is itching again. I don't scratch. The blood on my hand is dry.

"I can't...My master will kill me..." It starts to rain suddenly. I am wet in the tears of 'creepy eyes'. I can even taste the salty tears. Why the hell is it crying?

"Don't cry." I try to stop it from crying. If it keeps crying, I will drown in salty tears. "How about this? You say the passcode and leave for a while. I will stay here and guard the prison. If your master comes, I will take the blame."

The 'creepy eyes' stops crying, but the eyes are still moist. "Why do you want to do this?"

"I feel bad for you. You have such pretty eyes. Someone like you should see the world. There are a lot of interesting things...You should go to Paris. It's a romantic city."

I feel a little bad for the people of Paris.

"You will really take the blame?" The dumb 'creepy eyes' is surprised and excited at the same time.

"You are my best friend from today." It suddenly blurts out.

In your dreams!

I grin at it and say, "Yeah, we are best friends. Tell me about Paris when you come back."

So easy to trick...

"I will tell you everything about Paris." The creepy eyes are full of triumph. "I will be quick. Master will not know that I am not even here. Just stay put and don't attract attention."

Like I will be here when you come back.

"Go and have the fun of your life." I wave my hand. "I will be waiting for you."

"See you soon, Best friend."

I hear it mumble.

"Peek-A-Boo."

It disappears from the ceiling.