Chapter 1
Chapter 1
That sound. I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. It was everywhere, and the world was already starting to black out. I was in a dream, my alarm pulling me back to the present. I sat up and took a glance around the room. Sunlight beaming, clothes strewn across the floor, the sound of the alarm itching into my brain.
I shut it off and dragged myself towards the dresser. I began getting ready, hesitating before at the door of my room when I was finished. Should I clean up the mess that was my room? Inevitably, I chose to leave it in its current state. I would fix it up later. Though, even when I leave with this plan in mind, I never follow it. I walked down the hall, making sure to avoid looking at the photos. Photos of my sister and me.
She moved to Paris a few weeks back. She said that someone was willing to hire her there. I didn’t pay much attention. I entered the kitchen, a yellow light shining through the window as the early morning sun rose above the horizon. My parents were in the kitchen, my mother at the stove. She noticed me as I stumbled in, rubbing my eyes.
“Good morning, Moro” She said.
I didn’t respond. I opened the cereal cabinet, taking a box and pouring it into a bowl.
My mom sighed beside me, “Moro, I’m cooking. You see the pan on the stove, right?”
I looked at the stove, my nose only now picking up the familiar scent of French toast. My favorite. My dad walked into the kitchen and paused. He looked at me, the cereal, then the French toast, nodding as he understood.
He took my cereal for himself and winked, “I’ll pass on the French toast.”
Today was more dull than usual but just that small interaction had a smile tugging at me. I sat down at the table and ate my French toast. The sun rose higher in the sky, and as it did, the kitchen appliances all gleamed in the golden light. I thought it was a bit much. My mother had been buying lots of appliances, coping with my sisters newfound absence. Even when she calls her everyday, it’s not enough.
I could even hear the phone ringing as I left the house. I turned on the car and the radio was already on, blasting music as I backed out of the driveway. Then, a voice cut through as I drove away.
“It’s a sunny day, but the world never fails to ruin it in some way, somehow! More sightings have been reported near Howard Street, where people allegedly moved cars with their mind! Wow, not sure about you, but I am staying out of the downtown.“
I welcomed the silence with the flick of a knob. The radio wasn’t a good place to get your news anyway.
The day at the car shop was slow as usual. Fixed engines, ran diagnostics, ate lunch. Before I knew it, it was over. I took off the overalls and went into the musty locker room to put it all away. As I opened my locker, Larry, with a slightly heavier than average figure, opened the locker beside me.
“Hey, Moro." He said, putting his overalls in his locker.
I nodded my head to him as I did the same.
"You want to go grab a drink later? It’ll just be me, Mary, and Kyle.” Larry slammed his locker shut.
I shook my head. Another sad attempt at socializing was something I didn't need today.
“Come on!” Larry said, “Kyle’s buying.”
I wasn’t keen at first, but Moro Bennett would never pass up on free drinks. I left the shop and got into my car with a plan to go home and get ready. Later, lights flew past the windows, making it through the tint as I drove through the city. I didn’t have an address, Larry never sent a text, but even without one, I knew I'd find him at the bar on Main Street. It was a staple, and when I entered, I had already caught a glimpse of Larry in the back tables. I pushed myself past the bodies of everyone in the bar and sat myself down, waving a hand at the waiter.
It looked a bit more lively today. Sports on the tv and the lights were dimmed down low. People occasionally started yelling, hoping for the team to score a goal. Or a touchdown. I wasn’t paying attention.
“Hey, Moro. Whatcha getting?” Larry said, taking a sip from an oddly colored drink.
I opened the menu, “Don’t know.” My eyes landed on the more expensive drinks.
Larry noticed, “Ha! I beat you to it! I tried to be generous with which one I chose, though.”
I nodded as the waiter came over and I ordered just as Mary entered the bar. She came over, shook my hand, and sat down beside Larry.
“Sorry, am I late?” She said.
“No, no. Me and Moro were just talking about the drinks we were getting.” Larry replied. He took a few mouthfuls of his drink.
“What did you do this time?” Mary asked.
Larry struggled to suppress his laugh, having gotten one of the most expensive drinks on the menu. Mary stole a sip, not wanting to burden Kyle with another high price to pay. She ordered and I got my drink, immediately downing some portions of it. Then, thankfully, Kyle showed up. Good thing he did since no one else wanted to pay for the drinks.
We got to talking. Correction, they got to talking. About work, about family. I wasn’t listening much, just enjoying the atmosphere and drinking. Until I was pulled out of my daze.
“What about you, Moro?” Kyle’s voice cut through my thoughts.
I wasn’t sure what he was talking about.
“What?” I replied.
“How’s your sister?”
And there it was again. The golden child. I didn’t want to appear rude, so I answered the same way I always did.
“She’s good. I think she’s adapting to life in Paris.” I said, taking a slow sip of my drink.
“Well I’d hope so!” Mary exclaimed, bumping a hand on the table, “I couldn’t live in Paris, I’d probably have a hard time adjusting to a place so different from here!”
I shook my head, “I’d never go to Paris.”
All eyes turned to me, making my stomach drop.
“But you’d visit, right?” Mary asked, provoking some thought into the matter, “I mean, your sister must be sad being so distant from her family.”
I sighed, having had enough.
I placed money on the table and stood up, “Why don’t you go visit her yourself then?” I said, walking away. I tapped Kyle’s shoulder, “Thanks, Kyle.”
I thrust open the door, tired of people asking me about my sister. How could they not look past me? How could they not go straight to asking about the one who went to work abroad, who actually followed her dreams and passions? I should’ve stayed home, and as I drove, I couldn’t get that moment out of my mind. I could feel the weight of how I left so abruptly. All eyes on me, for one moment.
My sister has always been praised for her skills, for her eagerness to try everything. She became a lawyer. She left for Paris. Now, all anyone can talk about around me is her. I’m invisible. As soon as I got home, I plopped myself onto my bed, shoes and all. Tomorrow is another day.
I stood at the foot of a pyramid. A tall one and a blue haze could be seen at the top. What was that? Why am I here? I looked around and found that there was no where to go but up. I climbed the pyramid, as I got closer to the top, my vision began to black out.
I put a hand below me, "Don't fall."
My vision began to come back, but... this wasn't where I was before. I wanted my vision gone again.
"What's going on?" My heart began to beat faster.
I was at the tip of the pyramid now, a large silhouette towered over me, horns and long arms. Lightning flashed across the sky and all around the silhouette.
“Who are you?” I yelled over the deafening crackles of the lightning, “Let me out!”
It was no use. It got closer. Until there was that sound again. The beeping I used to dread. My heart jumped in my throat as I woke up, my body being thrust forward as I sat on my bed. It was only a dream. The alarm continued to beep on my nightstand, but I let it beep for a little bit more. In this moment, I had not yet realized, that this dream was part of something larger. My life was about to change forever.
