The Omniscrolls

King Ashwin and Queen Adriana were loved by everyone in their kingdom. The couple were kind and generous and had everything they could ever dream of, except for a child. For years, they longed for the day they could have a son or a daughter, but their prayers seemed to go unheard. One day, one of the new maids at the castle, Lara, spoke of a secluded pond found in the nearby woods that was said to grant anyone with a good heart what they desired the most. “Anything we desire?” the queen asked. “Yes, your highness. Anything that is good, for it is a sacred pond,” the maid replied. The king and queen heeded her words and visited the pond to make their wish. Their prayers were finally answered a month later, when the queen realised that she was with child. The following year, she gave birth to a baby girl, whom they named Arianne. The princess treated everyone in the kingdom the same way her parents did. Life couldn’t have been better for the family until, one day, King Ashwin fell gravel...

I woke up in a hospital bed without a single clue as to how I got there. I tried to get up, but I didn’t have the strength to move a muscle. “What’s wrong with me? How did I get here?” It was then that a nurse walked into my room. “Oh, you’re awake. Let me call the doctor,” she said. As she turned to leave, I asked her what was wrong with me, but she looked at me a little confused and said she didn’t know what I was saying. “What do you mean? I’m asking you what’s wrong with me!” “Ma’am, please rest. I’m sorry I don’t know your language, but I’ll see if I can find someone to translate.” I was perplexed. Was I not talking in English? Was I even awake? The exhaustion I felt and the pain I was in were both unmistakably real, so what was happening? The nurse came back with a doctor, who introduced himself as Paul. He told me that a neighbour had found me unconscious in my yard. I tried to ask him what had happened, but he couldn’t understand me either. The doctors did several CT scans on m...

Three days had passed since I moved to the suburbs, but I had yet to see any of my neighbours. Everyone’s lights came on at night, but I never saw anyone on the road, neither during the day nor at night. One evening, I noticed a teenage girl looking at me from her window. I waved at her, but she just disappeared behind the curtains without even a smile. I thought I’d introduce myself to the neighbours in that house and approached their house. The girl from before opened the door. “Hi, my name is Grace. I recently moved into the neighbourhood.” “I’m Jo. My mom wanted to visit you, but she’s a little unwell.” “What’s wrong with her? I’m a doctor; maybe I can help.” “She has been having a terrible leg pain for the past three days.” The girl led me to her mom’s bedroom. Once we were inside, she shut the door behind us. There were three more girls inside, whom Jo introduced as her sisters. Jo’s mother was old and frail; she lay there on the bed before me with her eyes closed. “Come closer, ...

I received grave news in the morning from my cousin Frank. “Aunt Celia? What happened?” “It’s cancer. She doesn’t have much time.” I felt my heart sink into my chest, and my lungs felt like they were being gripped tight. Two years had passed since I left my hometown and never looked back—ever since the boating accident that claimed the lives of my parents and my twin brother. Frank was also with them that day, but he was the only one that survived. I always regretted not visiting Aunt Celia, but it hurt too much to even think about returning there. However, things were different now that I received Frank’s call. I couldn’t pass on the chance to meet my aunt when she was on her deathbed. I had to go. Aunt Celia greeted me with the warmest smile I had seen in a while. Even though the cancer had siphoned out all her vigour, her smile remained as radiant as it always had been. Just three days after my arrival, however, something strange happened: Aunt Celia made a miraculous recovery. Fran...

“Mommy, where are you?” I almost jumped out of my chair the second I was awakened by those words. Was it a dream? It felt too real, too close. The scrolls I had been deciphering were scattered both on the desk and on the ground. Perhaps I had knocked them over when I woke up. I got off my chair and approached my office door. The halls were empty, and there was no other sound around me. Looking at the time, I noticed that I had slept for two hours. I decided to resume my work, but moments later, the voice returned. “Mommy, I’m here.” It was a little girl’s voice, and it seemed to echo through both the halls and my office. I felt a sudden chill pervade the air as the voice dissolved in the distance. I stepped out of the office and looked around, but there was no child to be seen. I told the security guards about what I heard; as they searched for the girl, I put on my earphones on and got back to work. However, it was not long before things became stranger. “Mommy! Stop ignoring me!” the...