I used to love The Rules - Conclusion
It’s been about a week since my last experiences with The Rules..
I made index cards with the rules on them to carry in my wallet just in case, even though I’ve got them memorized already. It’s easier to remember things when you don’t know what happens if you forget, you know? I’ve even been ending texts with two periods, just in case..
I kept thinking about the couple of comments which suggested that I should ignore the rules and that maybe it was a mental issue on my part rather than something supernatural like in the stories. At first, I was offended that people would suggest either of those things. After a while, though, I realized that they had a point. I did need to know whether or not this was really real..
I looked at the rules and decided that the safest set to test out was probably the set in my home. After a little more thought, I decided to not set that extra place at dinner. So, I cooked up some stir-fry and then sat down to eat, all by myself, with only my plate on the table. It was a little odd not to see that second setting and by the time I was half way done with my meal, the desire to get up and set that second place was almost uncontrollable. I fought through it and gulped down the last few bites as quickly as I could without choking, feeling proud that I won..
I tidied up, did the dishes, and finished out my evening. I only had to spin once, which was a relief because the bell tolled three times the other night. (I was just glad it tolled when I was in my living room and could collapse onto my couch because I was so dizzy that I could barely stand.) I grabbed my phone, knocked, and headed into the bathroom to do my toilette, making sure to keep my eyes on my phone the whole time since it was after dark, and then headed into my bedroom. I looked back into the kitchen as I knocked just to make sure that everything was right and the block was still under the window. Satisfied that I had followed every other rule, I climbed into bed and pulled up reddit to read for a while until I fell asleep. I heard a noise right before I fell asleep and almost got up to check it until I realized that what I heard was three light knocks so I stayed put..
The next morning, I slept late because the Breather had woken me up and it’s really hard to fall back to sleep with the blanket over my head and someone breathing in my room. I woke up and stretched before going over the rule cards that I kept in my room now. It was amazing how quickly glancing at them had become a morning routine like brushing my teeth. I slid out of bed and went to the bathroom, knocking quietly on each door frame of course, and looked up at the ceiling just for fun because I could. I was feeling happy and cheerful until I walked into the kitchen area and saw that the fruit in my fruit bowl was all rotten. I thought that could be coincidence, so I went to my refrigerator. When I opened the door, all of my food was rotten. I stopped dead in my tracks and gasped as tears sprang to my eyes. It was real. It was all real..
“I’m so sorry,” I choked out through my tears, “I’ll obey. I will.” I hoped that whomever had put these rules in place believed in second chances. I stood in place as I took deep breaths and calmed myself down. I took a few minutes to collect myself and then I pulled out my phone to take another piece of advice y’all gave me. I texted my landlord to see if he would stop by my place and literally pumped my fist when he texted back that he would be by at 3. I looked at the clock, did some math, and decided to use my day to find out more about my situation. I was scared, but I’ve seen enough movies to know that there might be a solution..
I started by heading down to the cute little coffee shop down the block. It was within walking distance but getting there took some extra time because I went ahead and made sure I didn’t turn the same direction twice in a row. Better safe than sorry, right? When I got there, I got my coffee flavored sugar milk and sat down to do some googling. I wanted to see if there was anything strange in the history of my apartment complex – there wasn’t. Next, I checked to see if there was any information about The Rules which wasn’t on reddit – there wasn’t. So, I finished my drink, packed up my stuff, and headed out to the library. This trip was a little easier since the way there was a straight shot and I made sure to cross the street right in front of the library so I only had to make one right turn..
I knocked discreetly when I walked through the door and turned to go to the desk. Within seconds of my second turn, I heard horns blaring, tires screeching, and someone yelling. I froze. I spun around and ran back to the door, making sure to knock as I ducked through it. Two cars had collided and it was my fault. It looked like no one was hurt, though both parties were going to need a lot of body work on their cars, which was good, but I had to be more careful from now on..Navigating through the library was stressful because I had to keep careful track of the turns I took as I looked through the supernatural/occult section while watching the clock to make sure I didn’t miss holding my breath; I was using my days out of the office to get into the habit of following the rules there as well. I pulled a few books but there was nothing helpful in them. I went to the psychological section and pulled out the DSM and a few other books in which I thought I’d find information about OCD. None of them said anything about real consequences of breaking the compulsions, only that people imagine things going wrong as a result, so I realized that it really was happening..
I didn’t repeat my mistake on the way home, paying very close attention to my turns. It was a stroke of luck, though, because I found myself distracted by cars passing with loud music or drivers with food in their hands. I couldn’t help but wonder if bad things were going to happen to them or if they were safe because they didn’t know the rules. Maybe ignorance really was bliss..As I walked home, I found myself counting each turn. This way, I knew that if I was on an even number, I had to turn left and an odd number meant a right turn. Happy to have solved at least one problem, I knocked on the door of my complex and headed to my apartment to wait for my landlord. I had planned to be sneaky about it and ask him if he could find a stud so I could hang a picture in the spot where The Rules were hanging but I decided to just ask outright since I knew it was not all in my head..I had just finished spinning when I heard two knocks on the door. I caught my breath and went to greet my landlord who walked in with a smile. When he asked me if everything was okay, I asked him if anyone else had broken the rules. He tilted his head to the side and asked me what I was talking about..
“You know, The Rules of the house,” I remember saying, “Has anyone ever broken them and, if so, what happened?..”“Oh,” he exclaimed, “I get it. If someone breaks the lease agreement, I give them a warning and then evict them if they continue to do the wrong thing. It’s happened a time or two..”“No. Not the lease. The RULES.” I was a little annoyed, “You know, don’t look at the Watcher and set a plate out at every meal.” I pointed to the framed list held up the index cards, “Those rules..”I must have been more agitated than I thought because he took a step back and held up his hands, “Listen, I don’t care what kind of rules you go by while you’re living here as long as your TV is turned down during quiet hours and I don’t have any property damage. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” With that, he ducked through my door and into the hallway where he tripped and fell down the short set of stairs..
I was stunned. He didn’t know what I was talking about. He also fell after not knocking. I was completely convinced that it was real now, and that ignorance of the rules didn’t excuse people from their consequences. I grabbed a pen and wrote Turn down the TV during quiet hours and No property damage on the index card just to be safe then I started thinking about the future..
That night was a rough night for me. It felt like The Rules were testing me after my two failures during the day. The bell tolled and, while I was spinning, I felt myself being watched so I had to close my eyes so I didn’t look in the wrong place. It wasn’t until I heard the loud boom of the TV expliding that I realized the bell tolled for so long that it was past 9 by the time I finished spinning. I hadn’t turned it down in time..
Later, almost as soon as I got into bed, I heard breathing in the corner and I had to cover my head for the whole night which was the worst. I took a slow, deep breath and peeked out from under the corner of my blanket and immediately wished I hadn’t. When I lifted the blanket, there was a grotesque face an inch from my eye. I barely had time to register its sunken eyes and pock marked face before I pulled the blanket back down and scooted my body back against the wall to escape the tongue which flicked out against the blanket..
The next morning, I knew that I had to do something. All of the people in the world were breaking these rules and risking terrible things and they didn’t even know it. It was terrifying and tragic all at once. So, I made copies of The Rules. I typed them up and printed them out on clean white paper: there was no place to buy parchment anywhere near my place. I folded them up and put them in envelopes which I slipped under the door at each apartment in my complex as I walked out to spread the word and keep people safe..
I also added a rule: Learn to love The Rules..