Dream Walker

Chapter 28 | The Sweetest Gift

The rich chocolate of the brownie exploded across Callie's taste buds, sending an immediate rush of dopamine to her brain. The pleasure was divinely, orgasmically exquisite. She sighed as she felt the muscles in her shoulders relax. It was amazing how much stress could be relieved with a little bit of chocolate. Her nutrition professor would have disagreed, but that woman had obviously deprived herself of the pleasure of chocolate for too long to understand.

It was finally Thanksgiving break, and Callie was giving thanks for the brief respite from her classes. She had not yet received grades for the previous week's exams and assignments, but she felt confident that her efforts had paid off. It was finally time to relax and take a few days to not think about school.

For most of her peers, Thanksgiving break was an opportunity to travel home, spend time with family, and indulge in a large quantity of food. Lyn and Quinn had already departed for their respective homes, the former more eagerly than the latter. Quinn loved his parents, but their relationship came with more defined expectations than Lyn's family. Lyn had been overjoyed at the news that all of her siblings would be present for that year's gathering.

Both had invited Callie to spend the holiday with their families. They knew she had no plans to go anywhere for the break, despite the casual hints dropped by her mom in recent texts. Though spending time with the Warren family had always brought her comfort, she had declined Lyn's offer as well. She had never spent time with Quinn's family, and that was reason enough for her to stay away. An introvert at heart, despite her attempts to socialize more, Callie had been looking forward to having a few days alone in the apartment. Besides, she had important things to accomplish.

The large plate of brownies, however, had distracted her from her plans. She had been out running when Quinn had left for the airport, but she had returned to find the plate and a note sitting on the kitchen counter. The note had read: "Alex dropped these off for us. Guess you'll have to eat them all. ~Q"

Alex could have innocently made the brownies for her and her roommates without knowing Lyn and Quinn would be leaving. He certainly knew she was staying in town, because he had asked at their cram session before the last physics test. A small part of her wondered whether he made them just for her. Either way, she was enjoying the hell out of the sugary gift.

After indulging in a few too many brownies, Callie returned to her main objective. She had been practicing the meditation-like technique for crossing the veil almost every day, so it came easily when all other distractions were blocked out. With no companions—besides Layla—to make noise, she found her calm quickly. She was sitting on a pillow on the floor, her back propped up against the side of her mattress. For once, the sleek black cat was sleeping rather than staring at her. She appreciated Layla's soothing presence regardless, but it was nice to meditate without watchful eyes.

The image she created behind her closed eyes was that of Cyril's office. She pictured the imposing mahogany desk, the intricately carved chairs, the low sofa, the beautiful floor she had graced with vomit during her last visit. With the clear image in her mind, she allowed herself to passively slip through the veil.

Her previous traveling had taught her not to worry about pushing herself through the veil. It was easier to just let go. One second she would be sitting in her room, the next she would be in the location she pictured. That's what usually happened. Things turned out very different this time.

Instead of her body being perched on the wooden chair in Cyril's home like she'd imagined, she found herself suspended in nothingness. Opening her eyes was of no use—the space around her was worse than a starless night. It was the darkness of a void, where nothing could exist for long.

Pressure built in her chest as she imagined her air running out. Was there oxygen in the void? She couldn't calm down enough to attempt to breathe. She worried her lungs would simply collapse. Were her feet even standing on solid ground, or was she floating in some nebulous ether?