Twisted Roads – Twisted Horror Stories by Matthew Tonks

The Book of Words

They say everything has an ending, everything ever created, from the beginning of time until the end. Everything has its complete journey mapped out, and we, all of us, are but pawns with no real abilities, just those we are given.

It seems like a crazy thing to believe, I know. I found it hard to at first. But once you see the truth for what it is, once you see destiny, you change somehow; you become something different. Well, that’s the way I see it anyway. I could be talking out of my arse for all you know, but maybe I’m not. If I’m not, can you see the truth as I have?

I’ll start with a question and then build on from there.

Have you ever had déjà vu?

Don’t say that you haven’t because we all have. A lot of people like to think different things about déjà vu. Some make reference to ‘The Matrix,’ thinking it’s a hiccup, a reset of the systems because something’s gone wrong. Balls to that idea. Others think it’s like an echo of an alternate reality. It gets worse as the ideas get more convoluted. Believe me, once you begin down the rabbit hole, you have to keep going just for the sake of sanity.

Anyway, I was fortunate enough—well, maybe fortunate is the wrong word to use. Instead, let’s say I happened to find the truth about everything, and when I say everything, I mean existence as a package deal. There are no niggling questions about what if it means this, or what if it means that. I found out firsthand the true reason behind what déjà vu is, why it happens, and how it happens.

That’s what I wanted to share with you—no, not wanted, that’s the wrong way to put it. Rather, let’s say I had to share it with you because it’s what I must do; it’s written that way. Before I get caught up in all the little details, because that’s not what this is about or what I’m writing about, I want to tell you about our path—the one that’s written before we’re even born, the path that he or she wrote for us.

Okay, I get that feeling, the one where you just rolled your eyes. It was the he or she part, right? It’s always that part that gets the eyes rolling. Every time I do this, every time I repeat THAT part, eyes roll. I get it, and that’s okay because most people want to believe God is some old white dude with a long flowing beard and a sheet draped over his bits for clothing. So you go ahead and do that; it’s not a problem, really, I’m cool with that. But my story isn’t going to paint that picture for you. In fact, my story really isn’t going to mention much about him or her again, only in passing. Kind of like a reference annexed at the bottom of the page.

Now we’ve got that part over, I’ll continue where I was before I interrupted myself.

Déjà vu, what is it? Well, let me guide your mind’s eye for a moment. How do we tap into such a mythical idea as the mind’s eye? It’s more about listening than seeing. So close those big ones and picture a book. For the sake of the experience, we’ll call the book Life. Now the cover—well, it can look like anything, but let’s say it’s a picture of a beautiful blue sky with a couple of soft white clouds floating about, and the word LIFE is stamped on the front in big bold letters.

Are you with me? Have you got it so far?

Great, I knew this would be an easy one for you to understand.

Now, open it up and turn to the first page. If we are doing this right, it should be blank, as is the second, and that’s okay because they always are, from what I’ve seen anyway. That should start to change by the time we get to the third, as there should be some words written there, not a lot but a few.

Let’s be daring and skip a few pages. Honestly, I don’t care how many, as many as you think you need to skip, but don’t go to the end. No one really wants to know how life ends, right? Now, if you’re like me, and most other people who find this, you’ll go forward a few pages from this point in time, hoping to change what’s already mapped out for them. Just like you did then. I know you did it, I felt something. I’m sure you did too—a cold shiver, nausea, arthritis?

All these things and more are signs, and then there’s déjà vu. That’s when your mind’s eye takes something in and turns too many pages forward, recalling the words you read, making it seem like you’ve lived this moment before.

When in reality, you just knew it was going to happen because you’d read it.