by Elena Carter
Tina changed into her favorite T-shirt and sweatpants, poured herself a glass of wine, and curled up on the sofa in the living room with the phone in her hands.
She tried calling Alice once again, but there was no response.
Feeling even more lonely and vulnerable, she texted Natalie and let her know how the day went, describing the conversation she had with Kate.
Natalie: OMG, I’m so proud of you!”
Tina rolled her eyes and smiled. Sometimes her best friends made her feel like she was their daughter.
Same words. How do they do it? Do they have some kind of a secret agreement?
Tina: Thanks! Feeling good about it. Just terribly tired.
Natalie: Why did you give her your necklace?
Tina: I don’t know. It felt like the right thing to do.
Natalie: Okay, T. Hope so.
Tina: What do you mean?
Natalie: I don’t know. I thought it was maybe protecting you somehow. Like an amulet or something? I mean, are you gonna be okay without it?”
Tina: I don’t know. I guess.”
Natalie: Very reassuring.”
Tina imagined Natalie rolling her eyes.
Tina: I mean, I’m sure I will. I was all right before I got it. And I have Greg helping me.
Natalie: And Alice? Any news from her?
Tina: Nope.
Tina took a sip of wine and looked at the screen. She imagined how great it would be to have different words there instead of that one. Something like “Oh, yeah, I just talked to her. We’re having lunch tomorrow.”
Natalie: I hope everything is all right. Try not to worry too much, okay? Please?
Tina: I will. Promise.
Natalie: I gotta go, bedtime for M&Ms. Text me tomorrow, okay?
Tina: Sure. Give’em a kiss for me. Good night.
Natalie: Will do. Good night.
Tina put the phone on the coffee table next to her glass and leaned back on the cushions. She closed her eyes. Her last thoughts, before she drifted off, were about Alice.
Tina stood on the sidewalk in front of Alice’s house. This time she remembered everything, and she knew it was a dream. She knew she fell asleep on her sofa after exchanging texts with Natalie. She felt calm and relaxed. And confident.
She took a deep breath. The air was just fine this time; she had no issues with breathing. Tina smiled. She felt that she had the situation under control. And it felt great.
As soon as she tried to take the first step to the house, she hit an invisible wall. She rubbed her forehead, reached out and touched it with her hand. There was a coldness, like a thick glass surface, but it wasn’t visible. Tina put her second hand on it and tapped lightly. She could feel it, she could hear the sound, but there was still nothing in the air in front of her. She thought she must have looked like a mime. The thought made her giggle at first, but after a few minutes of examining the invisible obstacle, she started to get annoyed.
Stepping back, Tina headed left. She kept her hand against the cool surface, hoping to feel it end, but the wall appeared to be everywhere. She banged on the wall with her fists, slamming them repeatedly, grunting with each swing as she poured every ounce of energy into her hits.
With a huff, Tina balled her hands at her side and glared at the empty space. Raising her leg behind her, she swung it forward and kicked the barrier. Her toe made contact with a thunk, and pain radiated across her foot, shooting through her bones and up her leg.
Tina dropped to the ground and grabbed her foot while cursing under her breath. She cradled her foot until the pain dissipated.
Pushing herself to her feet, she cautiously tested her weight on her injured foot. When no pain returned, she applied more weight to it and glared at the barrier.
With gritted teeth, she look around for a stone.
The street was empty, there was no one around.
That’s good, Tina thought. Wouldn’t want anyone to see me right now. And wouldn’t want anyone to get in my way either.
The thought surprised Tina. It wasn’t like her, but she shrugged it off and went to search for a stone.
At least, I can move easily this time. On this side of the wall, at least, she thought.
A few minutes of searching resulted in finding a handful of pebbles, but Tina knew they wouldn’t have any effect. She couldn’t see the wall, but she could feel it was thick.
I need a brick, she thought. She scanned the area again and spotted a construction site farther down the street.
How fortunate. Was it there before? I don’t remember, she thought as she headed there.
She was determined to break the wall and to get to the house. No matter what.
Tina came back carrying a brick in each hand. She stared at the house, imagining the invisible obstacle dividing them. She remembered more or less where it was, but as she took a step forward, she bumped into it straight away.
“Oh, come on!” she screamed, dropping the bricks and rubbing her forehead intensely. “Does the damn thing move now, too? Being invisible just isn’t enough?”
She picked up one of the bricks and hit the wall with it hard. She thought she heard a cracking sound.
Tina threw the other brick on the ground, put her hand on the wall, and hit it again with the brick. Another crack rang out, and she could feel the vibrations with her hand.
She hit again. And again. And again. She tried to hit the same spot every time, but it was extremely hard, considering she couldn’t see her target.
After a few minutes of banging on the wall, she needed a break. She dropped the brick and flexed her muscles, then picked it up again.
“I will get there. Watch me!” Tina clenched her teeth and glared at the house. She didn’t know whom she was addressing, she could just feel the anger and the determination growing inside her.
Tina took a step back and then another one. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and threw the brick at the wall as hard as she could.
She heard the loud bang and the sound of the glass cracking, and she opened her eyes. The wall became visible for the moment of explosion. Millions of little flashes of sun rays reflected in the shard, filling the air with shining diamonds. It lit up everything around Tina with a blinding light. And the next moment, everything was drowned in darkness.
Tina blinked and rubbed her eyes, but she still couldn’t see anything. As if that wasn’t enough, she also felt dizzy. She couldn’t figure out if she was still standing or lying on the ground. But she knew one thing: everything around her had changed. Even the air.
She took a few deep breaths—inhale on the count to four, exhale on the count to five. It seemed to help, so she continued for a few minutes, not thinking about anything else, just concentrating on her breathing.
When her head stopped spinning, she realized she was lying on a flat, hard surface. It wasn’t the grass near Alice’s house. But it wasn’t the road, either.
She ran her fingers along the surface. It was smooth, polished, and fairly warm.
Feels like a wooden floor, Tina thought. I’m not on the street, I’m inside.
She still couldn’t see anything, but the breathing exercises had helped to calm her so she could focus.
I need to sit up. And then, maybe, even stand up and move around. Slowly, very slowly, she told herself.
She rose carefully, leaning on her elbows at first, then slowly sitting up while still trying to hold on to the floor.
At least I didn’t hit my head on anything. Apparently there’s enough space. Just not enough light.
She sat there for a few minutes with her legs crossed. It was absolutely dark and quiet. The air was stale. Tina turned her head, hoping to see anything that could tell her what the place was. But it was still pitch black.
I need to try moving. Maybe not standing up yet, since I don’t know how safe that is and if I can keep my balance. But I need to move.
She was glad her thoughts remained calm to help her focus, instead of
making her panic, which would have been an expected reaction.
She pushed herself up on all fours.
Cat Pose. I feel like I’m doing yoga in the dark, but I’m doing it all wrong and started with Savasana. The thought made her giggle. And as she did, she glimpsed a flash of light before her.
Interesting. Is that how you turn the light on in this place? By producing sounds?
She slowly crawled forward, aware that she could bump into an obstacle at any moment.
Nothing was happening. No more glimpses of light, no sounds, even the air didn’t seem to be moving.
At least it’s not stopping me from moving. Tried that before—a very unpleasant experience. Tina wanted to say it out loud to check her theory about sounds and light, but she fear seized her vocal cords.
Maybe, it’s dark and quiet for a reason? Maybe I shouldn’t make any sounds to avoid attracting anyone’s attention? Maybe I don’t really want to see the things surrounding me? Like shadows.
A cold sweat formed on the back of her neck. Her heart pounded, and the pulse beat in her ears.
Get a grip, Tina, she told herself. If there’s no light, there shouldn’t be any shadows either, right? She clenched her jaw and murmured, “Get a grip, Tina. Right fucking now.”
Another glimpse of light flashed in front of her.
Encouraged, Tina cleared her throat. “I am not afraid.”
She continued crawling.
“Why am I even crawling? I’m not an animal. I’ll get up and walk.”
Another flash of light in the distance. Tina slowly straightened.
“How big is this place? How big can it be? It’s not infinite, that’s for sure.” She made a step.
“I’ll get somewhere. I’m in no rush.” Another step.
“I’ve got all the time in the world.” Another flash of light.
“In this world, or any other world.”
Tina didn’t know where the courage was coming from. All she knew was that she had to keep moving and to resist fear.
A very faint light glowed ahead of her.
“There we go. Light at the end of the tunnel.” She laughed.
Every step was more confident than the last. She even increased her pace.
“Almost there, Tina. Well done.”
She didn’t care what she was saying anymore, she just knew she had to talk.
“A couple more steps, see?”
After two steps, she trod on something soft. She stretched out her hand to examine what was blocking the light in front of her. She scraped some fabric with her fingers. It was thick, but silky and smooth at the same time.
“What have we got here? Could it be a curtain?” Tina grabbed the material with both hands and tried gathering it up.
“And if there is a curtain”—she kept pulling the smooth fabric—“then there is a window, I suppose?” She finally felt the edge of the curtain and jerked it aside.
Bright light instantly filled the room, blinding Tina for a moment. She stumbled back and had to hold on to the curtains to avoid falling down.
She stood there for a moment with her eyes closed, gripping the silky material tightly, both excited and anxious about what she was going to see through the window.
When she felt she was ready, she carefully opened her eyes.
“Wow!”
The stunning view in the window was a prize—a trophy for the battle she had won against the darkness and her own fears.
She looked at the sea; the smooth surface of the water was perfectly still, and the clouds were reflected in it as if it was a giant mirror. Tina leaned in closer to the window and peered down.
“Pretty high. Maybe thirteenth or fifteenth floor,” she said. “And the water is so close to the building. How is it even possible? I haven’t seen anything like this before.”
As she said it, she realized she was wrong. She had definitely seen the place before, years ago, in one of her dreams. She couldn’t remember the details, but she knew.
She gazed at the sea again. Tall, thin rocks that were the height of a medium skyscraper pierced the silky shimmering surface of the water in several places. One of the rocks had the shape of a sail—straight on one side, curved on the other.
Tina knew she’d seen the scenery before. But from a different place.
She looked down again. While the tall rocks were in the distance, there were also a few smaller ones, sticking out of the water much closer to Tina.
Two shark fins, cutting through the water in perfect circles around the smaller stones, caught her eye.
“Maybe not the best place to go for a swim then,” Tina said, trying to lighten the mood, because the sight of those fins made her heart freeze for a moment. “Not that I know how to get out of here anyway.”
She stared at the horizon again. The view of the water and those magnificent, gigantic stones was beautiful and relaxing. She could look at it forever.
Pushing away the thought about the sharks, she tried to remember when and how she had seen the view before, but she couldn’t.
Something flashed in front of her on the other side of the window, distracting her from her thoughts. Something small, bright, and fast.
Tina struggled to focus her eyes on something so small and close after she’d been looking into the distance for so long. When she did, and the colorful little creature had stopped zipping back and forth, she recognized the hummingbird from her dreams before.
“Oh, hello. You have no idea how happy I am to see you!” Tina exclaimed. She raised her hand to wave at the bird only to realize she’d been gripping the curtain so tightly her knuckles were white. She had to let go slowly and carefully, stretching her numb fingers, before she could put both palms on the cool glass in front of her.
“Have you come to help me? Did Greg send you? Can you please get me out of here? I’m ready to go. I’m so ready, you can’t even imagine!” Tina laughed happily.
The hummingbird hovered in front of her behind the thick glass.
“What do I do? Tell me.” Tina looked at the beautiful dark violet feathers that had a metallic shine to them. She’d always thought they were the prettiest and most interesting of all the birds. She remembered reading an article where it was mentioned they had an impressive brain and could recognize humans.
This one definitely came here for me. There’s no doubt about that, Tina thought. I just wish it could talk to me.
“You’re absolutely gorgeous,” she said with a smile.
The hummingbird darted closer to the window. As a ray of light reflected off its shiny feathers, the flash hit Tina’s eyes. Startled, she pulled back and slipped on the bottom of the curtain on the floor.
She fell to the floor, and everything around her went dark again.
Tina opened her eyes and gazed at the ceiling. It wasn’t that dark anymore, and the ceiling looked familiar. She blinked several times, trying to focus, and gripped the material she had in her hands. It felt different. Also, she noticed that blinking was now giving her an excruciating headache. She rolled her head to one side and shrieked from the pain in her neck.
The sharp pain forced her to wake up completely. She was looking at the ceiling in her living room and lying on the sofa in an extremely uncomfortable position. Her head was almost hanging down off the sofa, one leg rested on the floor, and the other one was bent at a weird angle. She hugged one of the cushions, while the other ones were scattered on the floor.
She tried to move, but even the slightest twitch sent stabbing pains shooting down the back of her stiff neck.
How long was I lying like this? she thought. I can see why it hurts to even move my eyes.
She knew she had to move somehow, though.
Letting go of the pillow she was holding, she tried to straighten her fingers and then stretch her arms, ignoring the pain. She grabbed the back of the sofa with one hand and heaved herself up, very slowly, trying to keep her back as straight as possible while avoiding moving her neck and head. W
hen she made it successfully to the seating position, she turned and rested her back against the sofa. She could feel the pulsation in her temples.
A sudden buzzing sound made her jump, sending a new wave of pain through her body.
“Shit!” Tina winced and tried to catch her breath, before looking for the source of the annoying sound.
Her phone was lying on the floor, half-way under the sofa, which explained the loud echoing sound. Tina bent down and reached for it, struggling with the stiffness and the pain in her whole body.
Flicking it on, the first thing she noticed was the battery was critically low, then she saw the previews of all the messages on the screen.
She scrolled down, shocked.
Mike: Are you okay?
Natalie: Where are you?
Mike: Please pick up!
Natalie: Please call back!
Why are they panicking? Didn’t we text before I fell asleep?
As she was going through the messages, she stumbled upon one that wasn’t from her friends.
Greg: I’m sorry.
“Great. That’s right. I don’t need any explanations of what the hell is going on. I don’t need any help when I’m stuck in weird dark places. Just text me a couple words and that’s enough.”
Tina jumped to her feet, forgetting about her aching body, but the sharp movement made her dizzy.
Swearing under her breath, Tina took slow steps toward the bedroom. She needed to get the charger for the phone, then she was going to make coffee.
“Coffee will make everything right. I know,” she murmured. “I’ll be fine. Everything will be fine. But first, coffee.”
“I’m sorry I scared you … again.” Tina sighed into the phone while stirring the coffee on the stove.