Tobi’s past constructed itself as a labyrinth in her mind.

This labyrinth was in constant twilight, with wind that whipped tall, evergreen hedges that made up the walls of its gnarled pathways. She was always in a sprint through the maze… her mind’s eye saw her strong, thin body from behind as if she were separate from herself.

She watched her own black hair swirl about as she ran, looking this way and that for any sign of another person… some change that would indicate progress. Never did the winds settle in the labyrinth, there was perpetual storming. Lightning struck and violent marble clouds pushed across the sky.

It was an unendurable place, a torment that kept Tobi awake at night and stole her away from reality during the day.

The only being besides herself that Tobi ever saw in the labyrinth was Midnight. The memory of the first time she had noticed him remained intangible… as though he were simply there… and that, one day, she had become aware of his presence.

The labyrinth was not unique to Midnight’s existence.

Tobi could feel his aura at all times, while awake and in sleep. She was aware that even when she projected, he was with her. She wondered if he were simply some invention of her imagination… he never came close enough to be touched, never made even the most diminutive of sounds.

She had decided to call him midnight after feeling the calm that the sight of his black fur brought her.

Without ever experiencing his coat beneath her fingertips, she often slipped into a comfortable trance while imagining its softness and warmth. The white of his teeth contrasted the raven of his body magnificently… he was the most beautiful animal that she had ever seen.

To be continued…