“Are you okay?” Kylie asked. This was, after all, the first time she had heard about him going to a doctor.
“Yeah…,” Bones said. He let out a little smile as he lit his smoke. “Just probably pulled somethin‘ last night with all that sledgehammer action.”
“You really did a number on that wall though,” Christopher said, laughing at the memory.
“I know!” Bones replied, alternating between his cigarettes and coffee. “I’m surprised my own house hasn’t run away in fear yet.” He slowly got to his feet, popping his knuckles as he slipped his shoes on. “You can expect me back later, probably; let me know what happens in the cave, all right?”
“All right,” Christopher said with a smile and a nod.
“Right then,” Bones said as he opened the front door. “And be careful, too; I don’t want to come home to any kind of sad news.”
“I’ll make sure of it,” Kylie answered confidently.
James awoke that morning a few moments after Bones had already left for Springfield. It seemed very unusual to Christopher, seeing that he was actually, for the first time, awake before James was. Christopher didn’t think much of it and therefore had forgotten to even ask about what kept him asleep so long.
After a quick lunch, the three went around to the back of the house, leashing up Poppy and then making their way to Alena’s Cave. Walking along the stream, Christopher marveled at how wonderful the day was shaping up to be. The sky seemed to grow a more brilliant blue with each passing moment and tiny white clouds blew so swiftly overhead it looked as though they were really ships set to launch on an endless sea.
“I’m hoping since there’s no rain today…,” James said with Poppy’s leash in hand as the four arrived at the entrance of the cave, “…that it won’t be that bad in here.”
“I hope so, too,” Christopher said, pushing away the fallen branches around the entrance.
However, to their deep displeasure, the cave entrance had flooded even further. James took the first step in, handing Poppy’s leash over to Christopher before he did. The water came almost all the way up to his knees as he trudged forward, careful to keep to the wall of the cave where the water was its most shallow.
“It’s pretty bad,” Kylie said as she gripped onto Christopher’s hand.
“It’s not that bad up here,” James announced. He splashed further on into the cave. “It’s not nearly as deep.”
“I’d hate to see this place if it rains anymore though,” Christopher said as he led both Kylie and Poppy on ahead.
The four made their way down the passage, the water’s current swift at their feet as they approached the drop-off.
“It sounds like Niagara Falls down there now,” James yelled over the sound of cascading water.
The group made their way down the winding passage. It didn’t have much water running down it the times they had visited beforehand (it was mostly dampness), but now, however, water trickled down it in a multitude of little streams, and the ground was slick and droplets rained down from the ceiling in a hundred different places. It was almost like being under an indoor rain cloud. As the group reached the bottom of the chamber, things only got worse.
“The water is so close to the window now…,” Christopher said, being barely audible over the nearby falls. He noticed that what was once before a small series of streams tumbling from the drop-off was now a roaring deluge, and what was once just a tiny pool in the corner now almost completely filled the bottom of the chamber, covering even the large white cross painted on the cave floor. He made his way through the water and to the only dry area, which was directly in front of the magical window. For a moment he thought back to the strange happenings the night before. Something about the closer the water came to the window, the closer the bad things came. “I don’t think we’ll have many more trips here….”
“Maybe there won’t need to be,” Kylie yelled over the sound of crashing water.
“So I guess you will be the last one to get to go…,” James said, sounding a little upset at the notion that he may never get another chance to enter the window.
“Maybe I don’t have to go alone…,” Christopher said, nodding to James.
“Don’t tempt me,” James said with a chuckle. “Besides, Kylie and Poppy can’t pull the both of us out if we get ourselves in trouble in there.”
“Right,” Christopher said as James handed him the same length of rope that had been used so many times before. “Well, I guess I’ll go check things out.”
“Be careful,” Kylie said as she wrapped her arms around Christopher, a section of the rope in her left hand. “Come back to me.”
“Give us a tug if you need us,” James said.
“Will do.” Christopher smiled confidently to the two, pausing for a moment to reach down and give Poppy a quick scratching behind her ears.
Christopher took a deep breath, pulling up his courage from within him. Taking a confident step forward, crouched down and let both of his feet enter through the window. The cold came instantly, seizing his legs and burning him as strong currents of air blasted him. Taking a page from Bones’ previous actions, Christopher gripped his hands firmly against the cave floor and in one swift movement launched his entire body through the window, almost accidentally catching his head on the windowsill on the way down.
As it had before, the world around him disappeared completely, replaced by endless black nothingness. There was the familiar sound of something ripping or tearing, although coming much more loudly, since it was now his sound to experience. As he fell, or floated, in the darkness he counted down the moments until things would finally be normal, or at least familiar.
The room slowly came into focus around him; it looked pretty much the same as it had the time before. Everything still shone and glittered in the light, everything still felt strange. His heart was pounding in his ears and his lungs struggled as though they were filled with water. Remembering to signal that he was okay, Christopher laboriously made his way to face the window. He stared at James, Kylie and Poppy. They looked strange sitting there at the window, as though they were completely frozen in time. James’ mouth was open as if he had been frozen as he was talking. If only he had the ability, Christopher felt as though he would have gotten a good laugh out of it. He’d like James to be frozen mid-sentence more often. Instead gave a little thumbs-up, laboring to get his arms down as he turned back to the room to begin his search.
He wondered what he should be looking for as he bounded about the room. He checked the bed, yet found nothing of interest there. He checked the dresser, and still there was nothing that was in focus. Christopher turned his head about, scanning the room as best he could. As far as he could tell, there wasn’t a single thing in the room that didn’t shimmer or seem wavy as if it was underwater.
What am I supposed to find here? Christopher thought as he hopped to an empty corner of the room. He slowly placed a hand against the wall there. Instead of being smooth like a normal wall might, the wall felt as though it was covered in either sand or frost. He ran a hand down the wall, revealing a little five-pointed trail that sparkled and flashed brightly. The trail quickly reformed into, the bright lights slowly disappearing as the whole thing seemed to freeze back over.
Strange, but pointless, Christopher thought. He turned around, bounding his way toward the center of the room. He glanced back to the window. Kylie and James were still frozen in the same exact spot that they had been at before. Christopher wondered if time almost completely stopped for him in the room.
Christopher made his way to the door in the center of the room. It was the last place that he would try, for deep down inside he secretly wanted nothing to do with it at all. He didn’t know why he feared it so much. Maybe he just feared the possibilities and the unknown elements that might exist beyond the door.
Ever so cautious, Christopher slowly forced his hand down upon the doorknob. Be locked, he wished to himself, closing his eyes and givin
g the knob a quick turn. Instead of being locked, however, the door suddenly opened, revealing a brilliant golden light behind it. Christopher stepped back in shock as the door opened fully before him. The golden light was so bright it temporary blinded him. He brought his hand up to shield himself from whatever existed inside. Eyes tightly closed, he could feel his body burning. The light was so hot that it literally felt as though it was burning his skin away from his body.
After a few unbearable moments, a cooling air slowly formed around him. Even though his eyes were shut he could feel the brilliant light slowly creep away, and the intense red hue fade from the blackness. He opened his eyes, lowering his arm from his face. To his surprise, he was back at the cave entrance.
However, this was not the same cave entrance that he had entered earlier today. The pool was no longer flooded and the circular walkway around it was completely clear and clean. Sunshine filtered softly through the cave entrance. It was bright and warm, not constricted or blocked by the tree branches, branches that no longer seemed to exist in that version of the entrance. Christopher placed a hand against the wall, wondering if it was all real or not. It felt real enough. The stone was cold and smooth against the palm of his hand. The air felt real enough as well, and it was nice and cool. A breeze drifted into the cave, kicking up a handful of red and brown leaves. The leaves came to rest gently upon the water in the pool, which rippled and sparkled in the sunlight.
Christopher ventured out from the entrance. The woods were in full fall colors; the reds, yellows and oranges contrasting beautifully with the pale blue sky above. The entire ground was covered in the fallen foliage and the stream was but a mere trickle buried underneath it all.
“It’s a lovely day,” a girl said from behind Christopher.
Startled, Christopher wheeled around, almost falling out of the mouth of the cave completely. There, at the edge of the pond, sat a young woman. The woman had bright, brownish-blond hair that was softly blowing in the breeze. Her skin was pale and her eyes dark, yet they appeared kind. The woman’s lips were a dull red as she smiled, slowly nodding in Christopher’s direction.
Christopher stared at the woman in complete disbelief. Was this Alena? Even more disturbing was the creature sitting next to her. It appeared to be some kind of bear-shaped animal made completely of bluish smoke—the same kind of smoke that the rabbits in the house and the cat’s voice were made out of. The bear sat next to her, motionless and faceless. “Are you…?” he began to ask.
“Alena,” the woman whispered as she reached into her purse, pulling out a piece of white charcoal. She then went to work, drawing a picture of a large bird on the cave wall.
“What’s that?” he asked, still somewhat frightened at the sight of the blue bear made of smoke.
“He’s a friend,” Alena whispered as she continued drawing. “He used to be a really bad memory, but he’s changed now.”
“A bad memory?” he asked, staring at the faceless creature.
“Yep,” she said. “I call him Face, mostly because he doesn’t have one. He never really had one either.”
“What are you doing here?” he asked, finally remembering that he was here with a purpose, after all.
“I pretty much live here,” she said, turning to him and smiling. “I pretty much live here and there. Sometimes I live in other places, sometimes in other seasons. Right now I’m feeling like fall…. Tomorrow, though, I might feel like winter. I’ve wanted it to snow lately.”
“So you live here, in the room of the cave?” he asked. He was confused at her answer, which seemed to not really be an answer at all.
“The room,” she said as she attended to her drawing. “I go there to sleep sometimes. That’s pretty much my room.”
“I have to ask…,” he started, slowly making his way closer to Alena, and then stopping in his tracks as Face moved in closer as well. “Did you have us come down here…for the memories?”
“I helped,” she answered abruptly.
“Is there someone else here?” he asked, even more confused at her answer.
Alena looked toward Christopher and sadly shook her head, looking down to the ground. “No…no one is real.”
“But, you said that you helped?” he asked, still very confused yet not wanting to make Alena any sadder.
“I helped,” she said with a smile creeping back to her face. “I’m not the reason why the window is in the cave after all.”
“What is the reason?” he asked, hoping that maybe he would finally be making a breakthrough.
“The earth,” she whispered, looking around as though someone might be listening. “I think.”
“You don’t really know?” he asked, sounding a little disappointed.
“Sorry,” Alena replied, noting Christopher’s disappointment. “I do know that you helped me in return, if that helps you out any….”
“About the cellar of the store…,” he whispered. It was a subject that he didn’t exactly know how to approach. How exactly do you ask someone why they’re dead? Or how do you tell them that you’ve found their body, especially when said person is sitting right before you, looking as alive as any other person in the world?
“You’d like to know about it, right?” she asked, smiling happily as she fumbled through her purse, searching for something. “I can show you….”
“You can show me?” he asked, slightly concerned.
“I’d like to show you,” she said. “I’d like it if someone else out there knew about it. Maybe someday my parents can hear about it, right?”
“I don’t know,” he said. He thought about it. It had been so long, would her parents even be alive? “I’ll watch, though, if you really want me to.”
“All right,” she said as she got to her feet, dusting off her long powder-blue dress. “Take Face’s hand.”
“Do what?” he thought as the giant blue bear made its way over to him. He watched as the bear rumbled forward, tiny lines of blue smoke dancing off of its body as the entire surface of the bear’s form danced and swirled about. It stopped directly in front of him, extending a large, clawed hand.
Christopher timidly held his hand out, looking at the swirling blue paw of the bear. “All right…,” he whispered, trying to convince himself to do so.
“He’s quite harmless,” Alena said, noticing his concern.
“Right,” he whispered as he grasped Face’s paw. The moment their hands touched everything turned dark. Distantly, he heard the sound of music.
“These are my memories…. I was fifteen then. I’m still fifteen, though,” Alena said, her voice reverberating in Christopher’s head. Or could it be the other way around, and he was actually inside of Alena’s head?
Christopher felt his eyes being forced open; he could feel his feet moving beneath and his hands swaying beside him. However, he had no direct control over any of these actions at all. It was almost as though he was a passenger in someone else’s body. Christopher was filled with fear at the thought; he felt constricted, even a bit claustrophobic.
“Calm down,” she said gently. “Just watch…. These are my memories…. Just let go and you will be free.”
Doing as Alena said, Christopher relaxed his mind, and he could feel himself rising up out of Alena’s body and hanging in the air above her.
“There, that’s better, isn’t it?” Alena asked, although her voice did not come from the Alena that Christopher could now see below him. It resounded within his mind. “You can talk to me directly.”
“I can?” Christopher asked, giving it a try.
“We can talk,” she said. “No one else will respond to you.”
Christopher watched as the real Alena walked into the Bait ’n‘ Tackle shop, and, floating behind her, he followed her inside. She made her way past the display shelves to the back of the store, picking up a bottle of cream soda and picking through a handful of candies. A nice little tune played throughout the store, giving everything a comforting feeling. Alena slowl
y approached the counter, as if she was searching for someone.
“Mr. Leiter?” Alena asked, placing her items on the counter.
“Oh, sorry…,” Mr. Leiter replied, getting up from underneath the counter. “Didn’t see you there, dear…was stocking the tobacco….”
Christopher stared at Mr. Leiter. It was strange to see him in person, since he had already figured out what kind of person he was. He had cold dark eyes and a rough face. He looked as though he had been in a few fights, for he had a big scar running down the side of his face. He didn’t look as old as Christopher thought he would. This had happened a long time ago after all. He looked as though he was in his early thirties or so, from Christopher’s guess.
“It’s all right,” Alena whispered as she reached into her brown purse, searching for some coins.
Mr. Leiter placed her soda and candy into a brown paper sack, and then quickly waved her away. “Don’t worry about it; pretty girl like you doesn’t have to pay me a thing.”
Window in the Earth Trilogy Page 21
