David
“David!”
A frantic female voice echoed through the dark void. Opening his eyes to the sound, he found himself in a black abyss. He felt weightless, almost like he was floating in the air. Felt nothing around him but also felt everything touch him, though he didn’t feel scared. He felt calm living in the darkness. There was a peacefulness in the quiet, in the dark. The only sound he could hear was his breathing bouncing all around him. Attempting to take a step, he found he couldn’t move like his body was paralyzed.
“What the hell?” his gruff voice echoed all around him, till it felt like it was consuming him. His own words replaying in his head, getting louder and louder till his ears were ringing, then it suddenly stopped. What is going on? He thought to himself, not wanting to speak aloud, to repeat the echo in his head.
Taking a few deep breaths, he closed his eyes to concentrate. Searching his brain, he was looking for his last memory or any memory. Nothing. He couldn’t remember anything about his life, how he got here, or even where he was. He couldn’t even remember his name. The only memory he had was the female voice that woke him moments ago.
Am I dead? The thought repeated in his brain as he tried to figure out what was going on. Is this Heaven? Is this Hell?
Suddenly there was a child’s laughter, piercing through the quiet. He found he was able to move his head slowly toward the sound. The laughter was still wrapping itself around him. It made him feel alive, and yet he felt calmer than he had a moment ago. Turning his head completely to his right, he found the source of the laughter. He saw a bright golden light, pouring its way into his abyss, slowly getting bigger and brighter by the second.
He heard a soft echo bouncing around the void until he realized his own feet making the soft clicking noise. He doesn’t remember moving but suddenly he was able to move his feet toward the light, toward the laughter.
Heaven
The only word he could think of. This has to be Heaven. This light is so bright, and I feel at peace. I must have died and now I am going to heaven. Do I need to remember what happened to me? Am I becoming reborn?
A few more steps and light fully engulfed him. In an instant, the sounds of people screaming, car horns, and gunshots filled his ears. Holding his hands to his ears, hoping to muffle the horrific sound. Looking around for the source of the sound, the light around him suddenly became brighter and brighter, till he couldn’t handle it anymore and he scrunched down close to the ground, closing his eyes.
What the Hell is this.
The light only got brighter and the sounds got louder and louder until he couldn’t take it anymore and he let out an indignant roar until that was the only thing that he could hear, blaring in his ears.
He screamed until he could no longer hear it echoing in his head. His eyes were shut so tightly, his eyes were starting to hurt. As soon as it all happened, it all came to an end. He could no longer hear the ear-splitting noises and the light that shone like a million suns no longer blinded him.
Taking a moment to calm his breathing, he moved his hands off of his ears, having them still ringing from the commotions. Taking a deep breath he opened his eyes. He was staring at a light brown shag carpet. He was still scrunched in a small ball. Taking a moment he stood up slowly and allowed his eyes to adjust to his surroundings.
The walls around him were white, with pink curtains covering the windows, as the sunlight fought to shine through. A twin bed was in the corner of the room, a pink comforter, matching the curtains wrapping itself around the small mattress. Unicorns and rainbows live on the walls and the child-sized dresser.
Am I in a little girls’ room?
Looking over the room, he wasn’t sure what was going on, felt dizzy as his eyes couldn’t settle on looking at one thing. His eyes would look over at the curtain, then bounce over to the ladybug lamp, then to the pink fuzzy throw rug, then back again. He almost didn’t even notice the bedroom door start to open. He felt his blood run cold, feeling guilty for standing in a little girl’s room, though he truly had no idea how he got there.
The door opened wide and a little girl about 3 and a half feet tall, with aburn wavy hair. She looked to be about 5 years old. She walked by him and headed over to a little table in the corner of the room next to a wide window. There were a few chairs set up around the table. She already had some stuffed animals sitting in them. Though two chairs were left empty.
“Are you going to be joining us?” The little girl asked, she still hasn’t looked toward him.
He stood still, unsure if she can see him. They stayed in silence for what seemed like hours, but one minute or two had passed.
“Are you able to talk?” She asked, looking up from the table, looking right at him.
“Me?” he asked, pointing to himself, relieved the echo was left behind in the dark abyss.
“Of course! Who else would I be talking to?” She beamed. He finally got a good look at her face. She had fair skin with a small number of freckles that danced on her nose. She looked familiar to him but he could tell where he had seen her before.
“So, would you like to join us?” She asked pulling him from his thoughts.
“Join you for what?
“For our tea party, silly!” she laughed, walking over to him, she extended her hand for him to take. He stared at her for a moment.
“But…I…I” he paused, confused as to what is going on.
Her hand was still hanging in the air, waiting for him to take it with his own, after looking into her brown eyes, he took a deep breath and grabbed her hand. Smiling she lead him to the little table in the corner of the room, offering him one of the empty seats while she took the other one.
Sitting down, he looked at the items on the table and they all made for the perfect tea party. A white teapot with flowers painted on the side. White teacups with the same flower, sitting on top of matching saucers. There was a sugar cup and a milk jar, although, they lay empty.
“Did Mr. Snickles send you?” She asked.
“Who?”
“Mr. Snickles. He was this man that I had tea with last week, he told me the next time he comes he was going to bring friends, but I haven’t seen him since,” she said matter-of-factly.
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t know a Mr. Snickles.” looking back at the table, he went to grab the teacup that lay in front of him, only to find his hand went right through it. He reached for it again, only to have the same thing happen again. “Wha….”
“You know, I should have known Mr. Snickles didn’t send you. He was all dressed up and looked clean.” She said innocently.
Looking down at his clothes, he wore blue jeans that were covered in dirt, and a black shirt, that looked like a dark stain in the middle. His hands were covered in mud and he could only imagine what his hair looked like.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was coming to a tea party.” He took a deep breath, letting the air seep deep into his lungs. “What’s your name?”
“Aubry.” She laughed. “What’s yours”
He stared at her for a moment, trying to remember his name. “I…I don’t know.” He admitted sadly.
“That’s exciting! You get to make one up.” she was practically jumping in her seat with excitement.
“I think I know any names.”
“Oh come on. You must have heard a name at some point in your life.” She wined, getting bored with this game.
His mind wandered back to the distraught female voice that woke him up earlier. David. “David”
“Out of all the names you could have come up with, and you picked David.” She groaned, rolling her eyes. “You could have been, Cricket, or Nemo!”
David laughed a little at disappointment at his new name. “Can you tell me what is going on? I am a little confused as to how I got here.”
“We are having a tea party.” She said innocently. “Are you sure Mr. Snickles didn’t send you? You guys act a lot alike.”
“We do? How so?” David asks. Maybe some information about Mr. Snickles might help him figure out what was going on.
“He also asked a lot of questions, and he showed up the same way you did. Through my closet door.” His eyes followed the path of her finger as she pointed to the closet door. His brows furrowed. “Where do you guys come from? Mr. Snickles said he come from a dark place, but he didn’t tell me anything else. I put a night light in there to make sure it wasn’t dark anymore. Was it dark for you?”
He looked deep into her innocent brown eyes. “No darling, I could see everything just fine. Thank you for the light.”
She smiled at this, going and taking a ‘sip’ from her teacup, making a slurping sound.
“Aubry” A gentle female voice called the girl’s name from another room. Tingles instantly went through David.
“That’s my mom.” The girl laughed. I think it’s my turn to help with dinner, that’s always my favorite part.” She got up from her chair and ran toward her door, before turning back around. “Will you be here when I get back?”
“I believe so. Enjoy dinner.” He smiled, watching the smile on her face grow.
Once she left, David was alone in the room once more, with more questions than answers. Standing from the small chair, he walked around the room, looking for anything that could help him. He found a mountain of stuffed animals, a pair of ballet slippers, and many clothes.
He looked towards the closet and a chill ran down his spine. Walking over he tugged at the door, and they opened with ease. To his relief, clothes were hanging up, with games and more stuffed animals high up in the closet. Letting go of the door, he gave a little laugh.
“What in the world is going on? I must have lost my mind.”
He sat down on the edge of the little girl’s bed, his head in his hands when suddenly all of the hairs on the back of his neck stood up when she heard a deep raspy voice, coming from the open closet.
“David……David……”
