Overlap

Chapter 28-A: Stubborn Curiosity

<11/02/2010 - 06:00 | 559 Motion Street, Austell, GA, USA>

Coming out of the rude awakening I had from the typical alarm clock, I sat up in bed after the snooze, slowly coming out of the zombie state that is morning grogginess. Cold as the air was on my skin, I didn't want to move just yet. I was stuck there with the sheets halfway wrapped around myself, hypnotized by the crazy sensation of my mind going from blank to something more.

"It's still early," I groaned, fighting against the urge to lie back down into bed, but my memories from yesterday began returning to me in parts. I knew already what I was in for, that I would have to go back to school in this Tuesday morning. As always, I knew it was best to start the morning with breakfast.

After putting on some clothes to get to the kitchen and eat my cereal, I let myself enjoy the silence, as I was the only person awake in the house still. Halfway into my meal, I was able to ponder a little more what happened to me yesterday. By now, every memory I had despite being chaotic and disordered was at my fingertips. It felt so unreal, like a crazy dream that should have never happened... But as I sat here now, having confirmed the date and my own status, I knew it wasn't a dream.

Yesterday really happened, didn't it? I wonder... I didn't feel any different since waking up; a tiring sensation of my brain lagging behind since I took so long to come to any level of alertness, though I wasn't comparing the feeling of being half asleep to being wide awake. I remembered yesterday more clearly as time ticked on, recalling the sound of her voice, the emotions I felt, the stories I heard, and the buzzing sensation in my head that was no longer here. But I wanted to be certain. "Lumina?"

I glanced around my empty dining room, waiting on a response. After a few seconds passed, I heard nothing at all. "Is anyone there?" Knowing I was the only human awake in my own house, I didn't mind asking aloud, but once again, nobody replied to me... I guess that proves it then. Lumina is no longer connected to me. She actually wasn't lying about that prospect.

Finishing my last bite with utmost comfort, I let the fact sink in while the current reality brought me the shadow of happiness and relief. Whatever mental breakdown I was having yesterday was finally over. As I hoped for earlier, I would never have to hear Lumina's voice again... My own thoughts are now my own thoughts, tied only to me, felt only by myself, private as a man's thoughts should be.

With that effect, I happily washed my own bowl and started getting ready to walk to the bus stop alone again, though not before I take care of everything else. It would take me 45 minutes to get ready anyway, which is why I set the alarm for six in the morning when the bus comes at 7:45 A.M.

Once the others were awake and I was out the door by six-fifty, I took my own calming pace towards the bus stop in peace, walking in the brightening dawn as if everything had gone back to normal. Things really were back to normal now, that's what I had to tell myself. I would never have to hear her voice again, which meant I was no longer crazy or at risk of going to a mental institution...

Still, the stories she told me yesterday were so far out there. I never realized it until just now, but she and I had been talking to each other for pretty much a majority of the entire day. That's why I could so easily recall what her voice sounded like. She exchanged so many words that some part of me was somehow used to it already. My mind was irrationally expecting her to just suddenly jump out and say something. Now that I was finally waking up in full, it put me a little on edge.

Partway to the bus stop, I turned my gaze back to the open sky again, revealing constellations of such beautiful star formations. The sight above me froze my footsteps, demanding my attention and critique once more, the montrum of the stars still holding me in a vice, but there was more to their story now. As I gazed up to the galaxy, I realized that behind every star is a possible story, sometimes with life, and sometimes without. Somehow, the stars up there reminded me of the Altiri, while the frigid air from yesterday reminded me of the cold snowy world that was Karnak. Somewhere, mixed in with all of those stars, Altiri such as Lumina are spending their time in their own world, trying to stage off boredom, purging humans as a way to make their lives more interesting.