The Hollow Between

“You’ve been locked in this house for 3 months, Nora. It’s time to get up and do something. I can’t watch you rot anymore! I love you too much!”

Nora rolled her eyes and forced a smile. Iris was like that. She liked to disrupt… everything. She was loud and took up space, but she was one of the only friends who stayed through her derail following Eric’s death. Nora winced at the thought of Eric. “I can’t,” Nora stated flatly. It wasn’t a plea; it was a wall.

“Sure you can! Look, there’s an Office Outing happening tonight, and even though you’ve been missing for months, we would love for you to come!” she paused, gauging Nora’s facial expressions. “It would be fun, it’s downtown and all spooky themed. There’s a fortune teller or whatever there too, who knows… maybe!” Iris stopped herself from making a very stupid joke. “Come on, let’s get ready!”

In a huff, Iris grabbed Nora and hoisted her to her feet. “I said, come on, let’s get ready!” she said, first feigning anger and disappointment and then bursting into joy at the final “let’s get ready.” She was doing all she could to get her friend into the world again. Eric died, but Nora shouldn’t have to die too.

Nora decided to placate Iris and feign joy. She would go along with this Office Outing tonight. She thought it might even offer her some time to escape and forget, if for just a moment, the sting of grief that tinged and burned her every fiber. “Okaaaaaay,” Nora huffed, feigning exasperation.

Iris let out a happy “Yip” and practically skipped out of Nora’s room and into the bathroom. Nora could hear her clinking and clanging as she pulled out every hair styling and makeup tool one could imagine. Nora followed her into the room, knowing full well she wouldn’t exit for hours. Iris always decided when they were ready, and it was rarely when Nora felt such.

***

Nora felt the dress Iris picked for her was a little too sheer and thin for the weather, but Iris insisted she looked great. It was usual for Nora to defer to Iris’ will on most things fashion. Iris had a gift for aesthetics. She knew pretty, and she knew how to emphasize pretty. It was practically a gift. Even so, Nora was freezing as they walked side by side down the path to the local park where the outing was being held. As they rounded the corner to the park, they could see groups of people surrounding small, warm balls. It was too far away to make out, but Nora was certain they were bonfires.

As the girls drew closer, the music and noise of the event began to come into focus. There were loud, spooky classics being blasted throughout the party. Nora counted 5 food trucks all lining the lot, waiting for orders.

“They really outdid themselves this year!” Iris exclaimed, pointing at the bonfires surrounding the area. Nora had been with the company 5 years; this was the biggest Fall Outing she had ever seen them put on. Nora scanned the grounds when she noticed a curious tent.

“It’s that fortune teller I was talking about, we can check it out later, come on!” Iris grabbed hold of Nora and pulled her over to the food station where most of their office “friends” stood. They each seemed a bit surprised when their eyes landed on Nora.

“Wow, it’s been a while, Nora, how are you?” Janice was always the kindest, inviting everyone to talk. She’s always the one to break the ice.

“Oh, you know!” Nora worked hard to put on a smile.

The night passed slowly compared to usual. Nora just couldn’t get her mind off that tent. Iris and she usually stayed together, but Iris was drinking and having fun, and Nora didn’t want to be “that friend,” the one that ruins all the fun. Something about that tent drew her in.

“Nora!” Janice called, “GET OVER HERE!” she yelled playfully, snapping her back into reality.

Nora smiled, grabbed a glass of wine, and walked over to the group. Smiling, she raised it up. “To friends,” she said. “TO FRIENDS,” they all laughed, clinking their drinks together at the rim. Nora glanced over at the tent again; this time, it was glowing with a faint blue. She took a sip from her drink and turned her attention back to her friends.

As the night drew on, the girls’ words became slurred and slow. A few began filtering home, leaving Nora time to sneak off. Iris was flirting with John from the office, and that gave her an opportunity to slip away.

Usually, Nora was sure that these “Psychics” and “Fortune Tellers” were all lying freaks, but something about that blue light called to her. She had to know what was up. She didn’t really know what she was trying for, but she just had to try. Need and grief are far more powerful than reason, and just the idea that she might experience something was enough.

As Nora approached the tent, the blue light began to come into focus. Nobody else seemed to care, and she was the only one approaching the tent. As she did, the light began to pulse and cast shadows that seemed to tell a story, one side reaching and the other receding further away. It was otherworldly. Nora felt as if she was approaching something she might not escape, but like a black hole’s event horizon, the gravity was too strong and pulled her in. Her feet moved of their own accord, and her eyes fixated on the tent’s opening.

Nora reached, first hesitantly, and then with decisive force. She pulled back the cloth curtain and beaded opening to the pleasant scent of burning incense. “Come in,” trained an old raspy voice. “You need help, don’t you?” A pause—though not long enough for Nora to answer—“nobody comes here without a problem, dear, sit.”

“There’s someone attached to you, or you are way too attached to, they can’t let go. They… He. It’s a He. You lost your lover, dear?” Nora was stunned. She was still standing, hadn’t said a word, and this woman just guessed? No. How? Nora’s mind was reeling. More than that, she felt an intense need. Maybe Nora could talk to him. Maybe death wasn’t the end—“Oh no, it’s the end, dear, we can’t bring him back.”

Nora gasped. “What the fuck?”

“Sit, dear,” this time the woman was sharp. It wasn’t an invite, it was a direct order. Nora felt herself stiffen. She walked over to the chair swung over for her, and she plopped in. She felt empty and full at the same time. What that meant even she didn’t really know. “Give me your hands.”

Nora did as she was told. “You want to see them again?” Nora nodded. “You have exactly 24 hours. Return in that time or risk everything.” The woman grabbed her hands. She was cold and dry. She began whispering odd enchantments, her eyes rolled back into her head, replaced with black orbs. The world around them began to fizzle and pop. Her body vibrated like electricity. Nora whipped around and the world spun around her. As everything came into focus again, she found herself in an empty room. Or was it a room? There were no walls. But it was very empty. It wasn’t cold or warm. The air was thick, almost sticky. Nora felt her stomach drop.

She looked down at her feet that were buried in some kind of sand. It felt like a fine white powder. Nora soon realized she was barefoot, wearing a sheer white dress that flowed a small ways past her knees. Her mind was reeling, still unsure of what happened, where she was, maybe even who she was at this point.

The world around her was foreign. It was obviously there and quite real, but it felt completely wrong. Nora couldn’t explain why.

“Nora...?” She stopped. Shock, disbelief, grief, and need all surfacing and swirling together into an emotion that just couldn’t be named. Frozen, Nora breathed; she didn’t dare move, not even blink. “Nora? Why?... You shouldn’t be here. What did you do?” Nora turned around, her head spinning. Her eyes landed on his face; through tears, his face came into vision. Eric. He was right there. Alive, well, speaking. How? Why? Who cares, Nora thought! He was there! In front of her!

“Eric!”