A Blink Away

1. White nights

The rhythmic ticking of the mechanical clock was perfectly synced with the slow, battering of rain against his gothic house. Beyond the window, laid a ground so arid that the simple fact trees were able to emerge from it was a miracle, albeit they were pale and barely breathing. Above this macabre scene, was a sky that matched the same colour palette; a shade of blue that evoked nostalgia for events that have yet to happen, as static grey clouds were glued onto the background.

An old lady was going through an album, protected from the rain by her small tent. She was Emyr's neighbor and he felt nostalgic staring at her. She would look after him when his parents were away on business trips. They had been neighbours since he was four, back when his family first moved in. Her smile comforted him while they were gone.

As his parents settled down and their important meetings became more scarce in between, so did Emyr's days with Mrs. Ceri Howell. The Welsh woman used to have her friends over in that very same tent, enjoying lunch and much gossip. Sometimes they'd be inside and Emyr would hear beautiful music played on an unseen piano. Like his parents' meetings, the old woman's gatherings also slowed until it was just her and her brother. Those days the only music that came from the house were sorrowful tunes; sad notes but still beautiful, like a lamenting angel.

On the rare occasions he got to see her, Mrs. Howell's expression was weighed down with blatant sadness, like a face set in stone. Emyr never mustered up the courage to offer comfort to her. As he ponders on various reasons explaining why his neighbour became a loner, an awful feeling crept up his spine the moment he realized that sooner or later, everyone he cares about will either leave him to pursue their own life or simply leave this world.

- "A sad fate indeed."

As the clock rang seven times, the day's last beam of sunlight managed to slip through thick satiny clouds and, as it goes through the window, it is engulfed in the room's darkness. The night reached them much faster than it used to a season ago. The rain stopped and a ghastly fall breeze made the few remaining leaves dance and twirl on thin branches.

As Mrs. Howell went back into her house, Emyr sighed melancholically and exited his room as his mum called for dinner. While he was walking in the hallway to reach the stairs, he noticed that the objects in his field of view were more vibrant against the dimly lit surroundings, in a way they seemed more, real; The contour of each object was more defined and yet paradoxically, did not, in any way overshadow the other brilliant aspects of the object. His eyes felt like they were slightly popping out of their sockets, begging to be freed, all in a silly attempt to get a better view of this thrilling phenomenon contrasting with his boring daily routine. 

And then it all vanished. Emyr blinked multiple times, but in vain, the effect was gone.

- "My eyes must be sore, I didn't get much sleep last night."

His mom, dad, and younger sister were all enjoying spaghetti meatballs in a big pot at the center of the wooden table. Both his mom and sister shared the same name- Ymir- and could have easily been mistaken for twins if their ages aligned; aside from rosy cheeks and freckles on the tip of their noses, they both had hazel hair. His dad, Arthur, had a big bushy beard and was very muscular, the complete opposite of his son. Not feeling especially hungry, Emyr contorted and winded up the spaghetti on his fork, staring into a fuzzy point in space only he could see.

- "Stop daydreaming and eat, you don't want to be even scrawnier than you already are, do you!?"

When he got out of his daydream, he heard a buzzing sound. At first, he fooled himself into thinking it came from everywhere all at once, but when the initial surprise passed, he noticed the buzzing came only from whatever he was staring at. But ordinary objects like a cookie jar shouldn't make such noises! And strangely enough, a buzzing cookie jar was not the strangest thing in all of this madness. It was his family. They kept eating their spaghetti as if nothing was going on.