"Hello."

The small light mumbled.

I took a bow, showing respect to it.

These forces, far beyond my understanding, had brought me to their base of operations and allowed me to see things I could not normally see. The least I could do is show my gratitude, lest I invoke their wrath.

"There they are! I was thinking we were missing a full set!"

Yellow chuckled, drawing near the brown light. The smallest one shifted away.

"Yeahhh, and you thought it funny to start all by yourself?"

It reprimanded its brighter counterpart.

"That's what I was saying."

Blue added, drawing near Brown.

"You don't have to whisper, the other guy is supposed to be here."

"I'm not whispering, she just made my text look like this."

"Hey."

"Hehe, my bad!"

Yellow chuckled.

I was still oblivious as to what this meant.

"How far along is it now?"

Brown asked.

"From the looks of it...Oh!"

Red gave a jump, shaking their head in distress.

"Ew, vomit party!!"

Yellow chuckled, pretending to throw up.

"BLEEEEH!!"

"Quit it."

"Alrighty."

"A cascade of organs...Burning oil...It smells good??"

"Smells reallllllly good!"

"That poor thing."

"You went too far back, I'm asking for the last thing that happened."

"Hmm..."

I could see them far more clearly now. The people that were within that brilliant light, their faces, their expressions. Yet, they remained blurry, only half visible to me.

"Iced tea...Some kids...An alliance...?"

"I like iced tea."

"A grave...senseless violence...Tissue box."

"Oh my gosh, we missed everything! Nice going, bub."

"HEY. You mean b-"

The blue light nudged the brightest one.

"No. He doesn't."

"Ahh, shoot. You're right."

"We'll just keep missing it if we keep arguing."

The blue light stepped towards me, crouching down beside the edge of the stage.

"Time passes faster in here than it does out there, just so you know."

I nodded in understanding.

I had failed to take in the sights before me previously. Or at least, to try and really comprehend them. Spying in on the lives of others like some peeping tom, I thought those too were just dreams. It had all happened. I was merely repeating what I'd seen, reporting on the carnage like as if it were breaking news.

"Look, he's all confused."

"Why does he talk so much?"

"He's doing the thing!! The thinggg!"

"...Thing?"

I saw their eyes light up in delight. Those four empty pairs of eyes, looking down at me with great intrigue.

"Narrating. He's narrating."

The red light chuckled.

"You've done a great job so far! I mean, I've been hearing ya talk your head off for so long! It was so interesting! You have such a way with words, Mr. Narrator..."

Yellow remarked.

"Better narration than you."

"Hey!! I'm great at it!"

"Yeah? Because a 'cautionary tale' should really begin on page one, not chapter four."

"Okay, okay fine. I didn't know he started. It's my bad! I thought I was just dreaming the whole thing."

"You thought you dreamed everything..? Really?"

"I've had some pretty long and detailed dreams. Like that one time I imagined an entire reenactment of The Great Gatsby with all four of us!"

"Kinda messed up the immersion there, buddy."

"Well why don't we ask the dear narrator?"

The brown light shone directly onto me, urging me to respond.

"Does telling a story out of order make it lose its meaning?"

She asked.

I shook my head in disapproval. She smiled.

"Nope nope! But it does make it more confusing..."

Yellow said, scratching their head in puzzlement.

I had been bestowed the duty of a humble narrator, to whom I was uncertain. But I knew this was what they wanted of me. I knew it even before they'd spoken to me. I'd been designed with an intended purpose after all, but I was never aware what such a purpose was. Could this be it? My reason to exist?

"Nice going, guys! You gave it an identity crisis."

"Let it sink in. It's a lot for such a small mind, I'm sure."

"Oi, I think she just called you stupid. Personally, I wouldn't take that."

"I didn't say that at all."

Brown finalized, drawing near. For the first time since my arrival, I could move. Finally feeling my feet connected to the ground, I took several steps back from her, nearly falling over, flat on my face. The light appeared directly in front of me, its previous comfort snuffed out, now an uncomfortably warm, distressing sight.

"Don't be afraid."

It said, attempting to sound soothing.

"Attempt...I'm sorry for scaring you. It's not my intention. It's just so nice to see a familiar face."

She said, her words reaching me like a warm embrace, and I was put at ease once more. A familiar face. She was smiling at me. I could see her face now. I could see them all so clearly, and yet my mind didn't connect the dots. They could not be the same people.

"That's a fact!"

Yellow interjected.

"Is that even relevant?"

Blue said, moving slowly away from the stage as well.

"I had to convince these nice people to even give you all a chance. Really, I begged. Pleaded, even."

Brown stated, turning to her fellow lights.

"How could you not be drawn to a face like this?"

The shining blaze disappeared before me, reappearing over my head, nearly blinding me in its intensity. My stance faltered, but I remained standing.

"Nothing can harm you here."

She said sweetly, this time from within my own head.

"That wasn't ominous at all."

Red muttered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Y'know, It may just be me, I still think this guy doesn't get it."

"What makes you say that?

"I see it in his eyes! Buddy, buddy, buddy, let me ask you something."

I diverted my attention to the stage once more. Now only the red and yellow lights stood upon it, the blue one having made its way beside me and Brown. I watched as the blue one shifted slightly around, 'nudging' the brown one. It wanted her attention.

"Why do I feel like you'll just make it worse?"

"SO! Narry-narrator, you hear me yeah? You see me?"

"Are we just repeating stuff over and over again..."

"Just let them finish."

I did hear them.

"Good on you! Can you...See this?"

Yellow continued, and I observed as they twirled around that stage, much to the disdain of the red one.

"Whaaaaat about this?"

They asked again, though they did nothing. Not so much as a twitch, not a breath. I cocked my head- no, adjusted my position at an angle, as if I'd missed something. I always seemed to be missing something, yet overly aware of every detail at the same time. An enigma that still confuses me, but I dare not ponder it too long. I nodded slightly.

"AH! Trick question..."

"Get to the point."

Blue interrupted them, still trying to catch the attention of the leading light. They paid him no mind.

"You make it what it is! You, giving us a mouthful of everything, because what's a book without words? And hey, Without pictures too? I sure don't read anything without pictures. They're the best part!"

The yellow one said, still brimming with enthusiasm.

"Hm..."

Blue hummed.

"I didn't know you could read."

"Not!!! NOT NICE!! Auuuughhwewewww!!!"

They bickered jovially.

"I'm the best at reading! And talking!! And explaining!!"

They stared at me once again.

"See, I just did a quadruple-backflip somersault with my eyes closed!"

They did not actually perform such an action.

"That's right! But they would've believed it if you didn't say that, right?"

I still don't understand.

Within all of this bright, blinding, endless nothingness, I felt something rising up inside of me. Scratching at my very being, threatening to break me apart from the inside.

I am afraid.

I do not know why I am, but there is a very real emotion, again, I was unaware I possessed them. Was I made for this, to simply spit back any information I deem fit, and relay it to god knows who? For the entertainment of what entity? For them? They are not the same ones I remembered. Living light, wearing the faces of the familiar. I had stomached enough of this revolting story, and frankly I wasn't willing to proceed.

They're all looking at me. Staring with those empty eyes, just a crude imitation of an expression. It was not comforting, and their light grew to an uncomfortable intensity. I don't even know who I am speaking to, but if anything other than them can hear me, I would like solace. Just one moment of peace of mind.

All four of them lined up neatly before me.
Only to vanish again.

"God, I hope we aren't a bother. Or an eyesore. That's the last thing I want. We aren't meant to intrude or disrupt the flow of the story. We're a novelty, really. We didn't care to make our presence known, but your curiosity is appealing. So why not exist? Why not scream it to the heavens? And you're just so confused, so frightened, so disgusted. But you keep coming back. You keep coming back because you cannot help yourself. You need an answer, an explanation. You want to see how it ends. You just can't help yourself, can you?"

Brown said.

I do not possess such an innate curiosity. I am content with my existence, may it be known to you or not. I do not want to proceed, you must understand.

"I wasn't talking to you, Narrator."

The four of them looked past me, somewhere farther than I could see. They blinked out of existence momentarily.

And then reappeared, more clear than ever.

"It's so nice to finally say hello. We return to our regularly scheduled programming, with a little joke, if you don't mind."