Return to the Labyrinth

The Labyrinth and it's attending characters are the property of Jim Henson. I wish I owned them, but life goes on. Any other characters are my own invention, meager though it is. The plot is influenced by the fairy tale tradition as well as my own imagination, so similarities may arise...as well as other things. ;)

“How are you feeling today, Sarah?” asked a soft female voice. Tired, she thought. So tired, as if she could feel it in her bones. She glanced up at the nurse standing next to her chair.

“Fine,” she said tonelessly, the lie leaving her lips easily. Her eyes drifted back to the open window, watching a spider working industriously on its web. Sarah wondered bitterly if the spider imagined its web before it began building it. The elderly nurse smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

“That’s good dear,” she said, “and did you sleep well last night?”

“Yes,” Sarah lied again, memories of the night before drifting through her head. She had lain awake most of the night, fighting off sleep any way she could. She was terrified of sleeping. It wasn’t what she saw when she drifted off, but what she didn’t see. A vast emptiness, a bottomless void just waiting to swallow her up. An empty place inside of her that used to be full. It terrified her, that blackness, and she would wake screaming and sweating, then try to stay awake as long as she could before sleep claimed her again.

She had been doing it for years now. She had gotten very used to being tired, to not sleeping. It took its toll on the mind though, the constant exhaustion. Eventually, she just couldn’t do it any longer, but she would do anything to avoid that emptiness of sleep.

“Did you have another dream then?” asked the nurse. Sarah’s lips twisted slightly in a parody of a smile.

“Oh yes,” she said, glancing again at the nurse, “I was a spider spinning a web in a window.” The nurse beamed.

“That’s wonderful, Sarah. You’ve made excellent progress.” Sarah merely nodded in agreement as the woman began to brush her hair. “You’ve done so well, in fact, that the doctors have decided to let you go home again. Won’t that be nice?”

Sarah blinked, her head swiveling to look back at the nurse. “Home?” she asked in mild surprise. The nurse nodded.

“Yes indeed,” the woman said, “You’re father is sending someone to pick you up. We’ll send you home with the medication you’ve been on for the last month, since it seems to help, and you can start getting back to your life again. Won’t that be nice?” Sarah gave a short laugh and leaned back in the chair once more. The nurse kept chatting on about how good her life would be out of the psych ward, but her patient wasn’t listening.

To die, to sleep. To sleep perchance to dream, aye, there’s the rub. For in that sleep of death what dreams may come… The longing words of Hamlet’s soliloquy ran through her head, her lips moving, but no sound coming out. She was thinking about finally being free of the watchful eyes of the nurses. She was looking at her wrists, the scars white and faded now, and she was thinking that this time she would do it right.


.:o_o:.


Several hours later Sarah sat on the massive stone steps of the old hospital. The cheery nurse sat beside her as they waited for her ride to arrive. They were determined to watch her till the end, she thought, as if just looking for signs of a relapse. Well, she could hold it together until she was away from the hospital. All she needed was a few minutes alone and she could finish it once and for all.

After a few more minutes of waiting the sound of a struggling engine could be heard down the road. Soon enough a small yellow VW bug churned its way around the corner and puttered up the hill toward the hospital. An older woman with wild and frizzy red hair caught up in a bun was behind the wheel. Sarah didn’t recognize her, but the nurse seemed to.

“Well, here you are dear,” she said as the little car came to a chugging stop. Sarah’s brows scrunched in confusion. The strange woman jumped out of the little punch buggy in a frenzy of energy and hustled over to the two waiting women. Sarah had no idea who she was.

“Sarah, dahling,” the woman squealed, “You look mahvelous.” She reached down and wrapped her arms around the confused brunette, either oblivious to or ignoring Sarah’s attempt to back away. “He will be so pleased to see you!”

“Do I…” Sarah began, but the woman cut her off.

“Of course you get to go home, dahling,” she woman gushed, scooping up Sarah’s small bag of belongings and wrapping a surprisingly strong hand around her arm. She practically yanked the young woman onto her feet. “Everyone’s just dying to see you.”

Sarah tried to dig her heals in, but the woman’s strength was incredible as she began dragging her to the car. “But I don’t…” she started to speak again, looking desperately back at the nurse behind her.

“Go on, dear,” the nurse said, “I know you’re nervous. It’s only natural to be nervous of leaving when you’ve been here so long. But you’ll be fine now. Go on with your Aunt”

“But wait…” she tried again, only to be cut off once more.

“Now, don’t be silly Sarah. It’s a long journey, and we really must be going,” the red haired stranger declared. They had reached the car and somehow the woman had opened the door and stuffed her inside. It closed with a click and before Sarah could get her befuddled head together the woman had slipped into the drivers side. The little car started with a shudder and a cough before starting back down the drive.

Sarah still sat in confused shock for a moment more as they sped away before turning to look at the woman who was most certainly not her aunt. “ I don’t know you,” she said in a slightly confused tone. “Who are you?”

The woman laughed and it felt like a million and one warm drops of sunlight landing on Sarah’s skin. She shivered. “Who am I? Why, I’m the one who will help you get your dreams back, my dear.” She said it as matter of factly as if she was announcing her intention to pick up milk at the store. Sarah didn’t know what to say.