It’s not real, she’s just cold, she’s just... just...
“I can assure you I am real, Rae,” the sundial said in Rae’s head. It was loud, it wasn’t talking to her ears, not even to her brain, it was talking to her soul.
“Wh-what...” Rae tried to get out a sentence, but couldn’t get it right. She was whispering in order not to alert Blake again,
“She is asleep, Rae. I can once again, assure you of that,” the sundial spoke softly into her ear, “take a look,”
Rae tiptoed her way to the small window. Luckily a tiny part of the curtains was still open. Rae could see Blake, she had fallen right onto her bed and completely passed out. That wasn’t something Rae saw a lot, either.
“You don’t have to worry about her waking, she will sleep until the sun rises,”
“H-how... how do you know that?” Rae asked, a little louder. She seemed to half believe the Sundial, regardless of if she wanted to or not,
“Because Blake, like you, once spoke to me. I gifted her what she desired, and she has been happy ever since,”
“So... you want to give me a gift... like—” Rae paused, “wait what kind of gift,”
“Anything,” this word echoed in Rae’s head, “just like others before her, she desired something and I gave her exactly that,”
“And that was..?” Rae questioned the Sundial,
“She asked for fame in a particular way, I gave her that gift.”
“T-thats it?” Rae asked, a little shocked, “so her whole... everything, that’s all because of you,” Rae didn’t really want to believe it, but she did,
“Yes, I gave her everything she asked for,”
“With no consequences?” Rae had to ask, expecting some sort of ‘be careful what you wish for’ kind of twist,
“Of course there were. She was told what those would be and she agreed,” the Sundial replied bluntly.
“What kind of... consequences?”
“You must know, she is not a ‘normal’ woman. Her body is designed particularly, you must notice her hair, her eyes, her face. She is designed to fit her ‘persona’ online, not to mention her obsession with the colour pink. It is not a punishment, but part of the package,”
Rae couldn’t believe it, it was like everything in her mind was suddenly being assembled into a giant puzzle, creating a picture of the truth. In all the years she had been friends with Blake, she had never noticed that her hair, her eyes, they don’t make sense. And it didn’t seem like anyone else on the planet had realised this either,
“She lost her true self, but was replaced by a someone better. She was able to become the famous celebrity that she is because of how she is designed,”
“But you just said she’s manufactured!” Rae was beginning to get a little angry, “that’s unfair and not fair, she doesn’t get to be herself,”
“That is not true,” the Sundial said, in a calm tone, but once again it echoed in Rae’s ear. She felt it rattling through her soul. It silenced her, “she is able to become herself when she is around one person,”
“Yeah and who would... that...” Rae stopped. She closed her open mouth and breathed in, “that’s me, isn’t it,”
“That would be correct, Rae Miller. She chose you, because she trusts you over anyone else. But she is unable to be herself when you are not present,”
“B-but how am I supposed to... to...” Rae stuttered, stumbled over her words. She had never been so upset and angry with an inanimate object, let alone a person. She wanted her best friend to be free, but she didn’t... wait.
“You said she asked for something, and you gave it to her?” Rae asked suddenly,
“I did,” the Sundial replied. Rae could almost make out the sound of a smile in the Sundial’s voice,
“Then... I want a gift too!” She asked, sternly,
“I allow it. What might you ask for?”
“I want Rae to be free from all of this, so she can be herself around anyone and not be confined by a stupid ‘wish’ she made when she was... h-how old was she?”
“Seventeen,”
“By a stupid wish she made when she was seventeen! I want her to be able to just live her life like it is now without being confined to it all!” Rae finished, finally, she had to take a couple breaths after that. She noticed the cold air as she exhaled. The Sundial was silent, it was deafening.
Maybe a minute had passed. Rae was still standing, she was rubbing her arms to try and warm herself up. Then Rae heard it again.
“There are many factors you are denying when you ask for this...” the Sundial went silent once more, letting the voice echo once again throughout Rae’s soul, “but I can allow it. For a large price, however,” the Sundial had to include,
“I’m prepared to do it!” Rae responded quickly, not scared of the consequences, only thinking about her friend,
“The price lies upon your shoulders. In order for everything to work out, Blake cannot simply ‘disappear’ off the face of pop-culture... she will need someone to replace her. And I’m sure you can guess who that will be,”
“Me?” Rae stated, rather than asked,
“Indeed,” the Sundial replied, “for the next 48 hours, you will replace Blake White as Rae Magenta. Your only requirement will be to complete her ‘charity livestream’ that will take place in two days, the final day. You will need to reach a required amount of active viewers,”
“W-why?” Rae said, shivering. She didn’t know if it was due to the cold of how terrified she was,
“I cannot tell you, what I do with them sits outside of what I am able to tell you,”
“No not that, why do have to do any of this?”
“Simply because... I want to,” the Sundial said bluntly, “there truly is no requirement for it, I just want there to be stakes,” the Sundial finished. Rae watched as it began to rattle a little. She was more than nervous now,
“B-but what happens if I don’t succeed!?” Rae asked, frantically,
“Let’s hope you don’t find out,” the Sundial replied for the last time,
——
“But what do I do!?” Rae asked again, “how do I do this, how do I entertain thousands to millions of people!?” She started shouting, to no reply, only the echo of her own voice repeating in the distance.
Rae fell to her knees. Had she seriously just agreed to all of this, she had made a serious commitment to all of this, having little to no knowledge of how to entertain an audience like Blake could.
That’s it!
Rae was ready to kick the door right down, but to her surprise, she twisted the handle and the door... opened wide.
She looked inside, seeing Blake fast asleep on her bed, face down. Rae ran over to her and rolled her to her side,
“Blake, please I need you to wake up!” Rae shouted, shaking Blake. She wasn’t waking up, “Blake, please! I need you to tell me what to do!” Desperation was audible in her voice, “Blake!.. Blake I’m... I’m sorry I didn’t do what you told me not to do,” Rae began to tear up, “I’m sorry... and I know that what I did broke our trust and... and I love you so much... and I just had to help you...” she wiped the tears from her face, “and I’m doing all of this for you. And afterwards, we’ll both be able to live together happily. Without this curse on you. I promise,”
Rae stood up. She took a deep breath. She walked to the balcony door and closed it. She hesitated, but chose to lock the door. She looked at Blake once again, still out cold, before stepping into the main room and making her way to her bedroom. She walked in, seeing her bed.
Everything was normal, but she just... felt like everything was wrong.
She took off her glasses, leaving them on the table next to her bed.
She took another deep breath before lowering herself into the covers. She closed her eyes, unable to think of anything other than her deal with the Sundial. She fell asleep, quicker than she’d ever slept before.
And she’d never slept so well in her life.