by Elena Carter
A sudden gust of wind pulled the empty paper cup out of Tina’s hand. The squirrel ran off, startled.
The wind picked up a bunch of dry pine needles off the ground, and they whirled in the air in a mini-tornado. Some got tangled in Tina’s hair, and she let go of Greg’s embrace, struggling to get them out. The storm blew dust in their faces, making it hard to breathe.
Greg grabbed Tina’s hand. “We need to go, now.”
She stumbled, the wind knocking her off her feet.
“What’s happening? Greg? I’m scared.” Tina didn’t know if she was crying from fear or because of the dust in her eyes.
“It’s okay. Don’t worry. I’ll get us out of here.” He pulled her closer. “Hold on to me, tight.”
As Tina clung on to him, she saw through the tears in her eyes that the huge pine trees surrounding them were almost bending to the ground. A tree branch flew past Tina’s hand and got caught in her loose hair, making her scream from pain. She closed her eyes again and pressed herself into Greg’s chest.
A loud noise ripped over her head, as if a tree had cracked in half, and then everything went quiet and the wind stopped.
Still shaking, she tried to turn her head and open her eyes without letting go of Greg’s neck.
They were standing on a deserted beach. The familiar colorful strip of sea glass shimmered in the rays of the setting sun, and the gentle splashes of the waves lapped at the shore. There were no more trees, no more storm, no more dust.
Tina buried her face against Greg’s chest and burst into tears of relief.
“What was that? What happened there?” Tina had calmed down a bit, but the storm in the park had shaken her. “Is the squirrel going to be okay?”
“I knew you’d get attached to her straight away,” Greg said. “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. I’m pretty sure it’s safe for all the inhabitants of the world. I think it was a surprise for the guests.”
“You mean for us? But why?”
He shrugged. “Not sure. I think the world was trying to chase us away. Not all worlds are hospitable, Tina.”
“But what did we do? Besides, you said you’d been going there for a while, right? Has it ever happened before? Or is it me who’s not welcome there?”
“I wish I could answer all your questions, love. But I’m not sure. I have a theory …”
“Which is?” Tina arched her eyebrows.
“I think it had to do with the favor I was going to ask you for.”
“Favor?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “It’s important. But I have a feeling that particular world didn’t like it.”
“This is getting more and more intriguing. What on earth could you ask me for that could piss off a whole world?” Tina’s eyes widened.
Greg chuckled softly and shook his head. “Nothing criminal. I’ll explain in a minute. See, I’m not a hundred percent sure about this theory. But there are unwritten rules. Some worlds follow them strictly, some turn a blind eye.”
“Like what? What are they about?”
“Like the permitted level of interference.”
“I don’t understand.” Tina wrinkled her forehead. “Can you explain?”
“I’ll try. See, I have certain knowledge. You know, me being what I am now, after …” He stumbled, avoiding looking Tina in the eyes.
“After you died?” Tina bit her bottom lip. She didn’t want to pronounce those words either, but she figured someone had to.
“Yes.” Greg nodded and exhaled. “After I left our world and became a free soul, wandering throughout the universes I received access to certain knowledge. Pretty much unlimited access. It’s part of the package, you know.” He grinned. “I know things. I see things. But there are limits to what I can do with that information. You know what I mean?”
“Like sharing these things with me?”
“Kind of. Certain things, at least. Even bringing you here wasn’t easy. Some worlds are more open to visitors, while others are all about strictly following the rules and not admitting strangers. It doesn’t always work. But I’m happy we managed and your heart was open to it. Some people are too skeptical, and their disbelief and doubts will never let them see other worlds. The worlds, obviously, don’t welcome people like that either. But you wanted to come here, subconsciously, without even knowing it.”
“I guess I did.” Tina nodded. “I always believed there was something out there.”
“Oh, you have no idea how much is out there.” Greg shook his head. “But coming back to the limits, there will be obstacles on the way for travelers like you and Alice.”
“Alice?”
“Yes, we’ll talk about it later, love. Let me make my point.”
“Sorry.” Tina blushed.
“It’s okay.” Greg reached out and stroked her hair tenderly. “Now, where was I?” He rubbed his chin. “It is believed there is a certain balance that needs to be maintained. You know, balance between those who know and those who don’t. Every time this balance is threatened—for example, if we wanted to affect something or someone in a different world, it would have to involve them finding out the truth about existence of other realms—there will most likely be issues. Something preventing us from doing it. Or even consequences once we succeed. In other words, it’s always some kind of a risk.”
Tina’s eyes grew wider.
“I didn’t mean to scare you, honey.” Greg sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “But I do need you to know these things.”
“It’s okay. I’m okay. I’m not scared. A bit confused, maybe.” She bit her lip. “So you wanted to ask me for a favor that will eventually threaten this balance, right?”
“Pretty much. I don’t think it’ll threaten the balance that much, but we need to be aware of the risk.”
Tina nodded. “I understand. What is it about?”
“It’s about Bob.”
“Bob?” Tina stiffened. She didn’t expect to hear the name of Greg’s friend—the one who died with him. Hearing his name made her hair stand on end; it was a reminder of what had happened—not that she needed any kind of reminder, though. But she had been getting more or less used to seeing Greg, and to talking with him, as if he was still alive, just traveling somewhere. Hearing Bob’s name brought back the memories. They flooded her with a tsunami of emotions she wasn’t ready for.
Greg buried his face in his hands. He was silent for a couple minutes, while Tina tried to bring her breathing back to normal.
“My love, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry it makes you feel that way. Look, if you’re really not ready to talk about it, I’ll stop. I don’t want to hurt you … any further.”
“It’s okay.” Tina shook her head, trying to get herself together. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be acting this way. I’ll get a grip.”
“It’s not about getting a grip. I totally understand the way you feel.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Really, if you want me to stop talking about them, it’s okay.”
“Who do you mean by ‘them’?”
“Him and Kate …”
“Kate? His wife? Oh my God, what happened to her?” Tina was about to jump up to her feet, pressing her palms into the ground.
“Nothing. Nothing happened to her, honey. She’s all right. Well …” Greg rubbed his forehead.
“Go on, tell me.”
“The night before the … accident,” Greg winced, “Bob and Kate had a fight. A very bad fight. It was actually the last time they saw each other. He got really angry and left, spent the rest of the night at his gym, and the next day he called me and asked me to go with him to pick up some equipment he’d ordered. In the car, he was telling me about what happened and how he wanted to make things right. But he never got the chance.”
A lump formed in Tina’s throat. “What did they fight about?”
Greg sighed. “Really stupid, as most of the fights usually are in couples. She suspected he was cheating on her.”
“Oh my God!” Tina
squeezed her temples. “Was he? That doesn’t sound like him, from what I heard.”
Tina had been planning to meet Bob and his wife for a while, but never got round to it due to everyone’s busy schedules. They always said that when they had more time, they would all hang out together, but while Bob was setting up his new gym in a neighboring town, they were just too busy. Since Greg was helping him, Tina heard a lot about them, and she would always ask Greg to give Bob her regards as if they knew each other. And Tina and Kate followed each other on Facebook.
Tina thought about Kate a lot after the accident. On one hand, it would have made sense for them to connect and to bond after the tragedy that took their husbands. On the other hand, Tina couldn’t force herself to write anything more than the generic condolences. She was hiding from her pain, and she was afraid that meeting Kate and talking about what happened would bring even more pain.
“No, he wasn’t cheating. He loved her with all his heart,” Greg continued. “He would never do anything like that.”
“Why did she suspect it?” Tina asked.
“He used to work a lot. He’d stay in the gym until late at night sometimes. Truth is, he was trying to earn some extra money. He started working with a few clients individually, even when the gym wasn’t completely finished. Initially, he was putting the money into setting up the gym. But later, new clients were showing up for workouts or self-defense lessons, and he figured staying after working hours was a good way to make extra money. He was putting all the money he earned aside and wanted to surprise Kate. She wanted to open an art center for kids, and he wanted to make her dream come true. But in order to keep it a secret, he didn’t tell her anything. He’d say he was ‘working’, ‘busy’, ‘had things to do’, ‘had some people to see.’ Eventually, she got suspicious so she asked him. But Bob was one stubborn bastard.” Greg chuckled. “Instead of telling her the truth, he got engaged in a nasty argument.” He sighed and shook his head in disapproval.
Tina blinked back the tears. “He should have told her he was doing it for her. I can’t even imagine what she feels. If that was the last thing that happened before he … before you …” Tears ran down her cheeks. “I should have reached out. I was selfish. Wallowing in my grief. I should have been there for her.”
“Don’t blame yourself for anything.” Greg put his hand on Tina’s knee and looked her in the eyes. “Look at me, Tina. Listen to me, it’s important. Do not blame yourself for anything. Your feelings and your actions were completely justified. There isn’t a single right way of coping with this. You were looking for yours. And you had absolutely no idea what happened between Bob and Kate.”
Tina nodded, swallowing her tears.
“Now, the thing is, I want to help Kate. She is destroying herself with guilt. And Bob, of course, wants her to know he was never cheating on her and to tell her where she can find the money.”
Tina raised her eyebrows.
“He was putting cash aside because they had access to each other’s accounts. He wouldn’t have known how to explain it and didn’t want to spoil the surprise.” Greg rolled his eyes. “So ridiculous, all of it. I always hated secrets. He sighed. “Anyway, what’s done is done. Now, she has no idea about the cash hidden in the house, and he wants her to use it for something that will make her happy.”
“Like opening an art center.” Tina nodded. “I understand. You want me to talk to her, don’t you?”
“I do, honey. And I will absolutely understand if you refuse. I know it’s hard. And it’ll be really tricky to explain where you got the information from …”
“Oh, my God, I didn’t even think about it!” Tina bit her lip.
“Yes, I have no idea how she will react if you tell her you’ve been talking to me. And this is the interference I was talking about—bringing another person into this, sharing the knowledge with someone who might not even be ready for it. Look, babe, it’s not an easy task, I know. And again, I will understand if—”
“I’ll do it, Greg.” Tina placed her hand on his arm. “I’ll figure out how to do it. Easy or not, it has to be done.”
Tina lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Ever since she woke up from the dream where Greg asked her to talk to Kate several days ago, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She hadn’t been able to concentrate on anything. Her phone was full of messages from Mike about the deadline she had missed. The article she was supposed to write was actually almost done, but she just couldn’t finish it. She couldn’t make herself get to work. Every time she sat down at the desk and opened her laptop, her thoughts would float. And, in the nighttime, she didn’t have any dreams.
She couldn’t completely get rid of the guilt, in spite of all Greg’s reasoning. A voice inside her head kept telling her, You should have reached out. You should have been there for her. Can you even imagine how she must have been feeling?
Guilt was an old companion of hers, ever since she was a kid. Tina would always find something to blame herself for; she’d always look for where she went wrong, even in situations she had absolutely no control of. It was her Achilles heel, she knew it, but couldn’t do anything about it, even though people had used this weakness to their advantage numerous times.
She always felt guilty, and she was always trying to make things better.
So now, her thoughts were racing as she tried to figure out how to make Kate feel better.
She knew she had to tell her about the money and clear Bob’s name; she just didn’t know how. Her vivid imagination was creating all kinds of possible consequences, some including Kate calling the police or mental health services.
She had no idea how she could knock on Kate’s door and say, Hey, how have you been? Oh yes, by the way, I know there’s money hidden in your house.
Tina moaned and buried her face in her hands. She was tired, confused, lost, and had a terrible headache from all the stress she’d been under.
Her phone buzzed again, and a message lit up the screen.
Mike: Are you okay? Getting worried.
Tina read the message without unlocking the phone, let out a sigh, and put the phone down again.
“Okay, Tina, enough. Get up. Get yourself together. Call Mike. Finish the work. And then you’ll think about the rest.” As always, in stressful and confusing situations, she gave herself a pep talk.
The phone vibrated again with an incoming call. She stared at the screen. Predictably, it was Mike. Tina sighed and pressed the green button, sitting up on the bed.
“Hey, Mike, I’m sorry. I couldn’t respond earlier.”
“Finally! Well, at least you’re okay. Are you?”
“I am. Just needed to sort something out.”
“Did you?”
“Nope.” Tina sighed. “And I’m really sorry for running late with the article. I’ve got literally several sentences left, and then I’ll quickly go over it to proofread.”
“That’s great. I really, really need it today. I can even proofread if it’s easier for you.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it. I can’t even think straight now, to be honest. I might miss something.”
“Can I help you? With whatever you need to sort out?”
Tina paused for a moment. “I wish you could,” she said with a sigh. “It’s all kind of complicated.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. But you’ll think I’m crazy.”
“I thought that was an established fact?” Mike’s laughter on the other side of the line made Tina smile.
“It is. But you might not be aware of the gravity of the situation,” she retorted.
“I’ll take the risk. Wanna grab a bite and chat after we finish the project?”
“Sure. I’ll go finish it now. I promise. I’ll take a painkiller, make myself a nice strong coffee, and go finish the work. And I’ll text you when I’m done. Deal?”
“Deal. Talk to you later.”
“Yup. See you later.” She hung up and flo
pped down on the bed again. “Mike is good. Don’t let him down, Tina. You have two minutes, then you’ll get up and go do the work. Deal?”
And in response to her own question, she nodded and got up off the bed.
“Wow,” Mike said. “Tina, I don’t even know what to say.”
His plate was half full. He’d put his fork down when Tina started telling her story and hadn’t picked it up since.
“See. Told you it was crazy. And complicated.” Tina shrugged. “And you probably thought I was exaggerating.”
“Maybe a little bit.” He chuckled. “Seriously, though, it’s a really tough situation. What are you thinking of doing?”
“I don’t have much choice.” Tina stared into her plate of cold spaghetti, trying to decide whether she should bother eating. “I need to go there and talk to her. It has to be done. I mean, I did have a crazy idea of sending her an anonymous letter, but that’s stupid, isn’t it?” She glanced at Mike.
“You know it is. And you know it’ll freak her out even more.”
“I know. I guess I’m just scared. Too scared. I don’t even want to imagine the drive there. And I don’t know how she will react. And I don’t know what exactly to tell her. I don’t know anything.” Tina dropped the fork on the plate and pushed it away in frustration.
“Hey, hey … It’s okay.” Mike reached out and took her hand. “Don’t be upset. You’ll figure it out. We’ll figure it out together. Look, I have an idea already. Two ideas, in fact. Which one do you want first?”
“How would I know?” Tina attempted to smile. “You’re confusing it with good and bad news, it seems.”
“Yeah, that was a silly question. But it did cheer you up a bit, didn’t it?” He winked. “The first idea is to get the hell out of here and go somewhere else to actually eat something, because our food is cold and it looks like we’re not going to have it. What do you say?”
“I’ll say yes. I’m definitely not having this pasta. And I’d like to change the surroundings. What’s the second idea?”
“You mentioned the drive to see Kate. Well, I thought, maybe I could go with you, so you don’t have to do that drive on your own?”