LUCK'S DIARY: A Change in Fortune

CHAPTER 6

They sat and stared at the book in a stiff, heavy silence, not sure what to do next. Finally, Vincent slowly pulled the book towards him and turned to the first page of the book and skimmed through the text. Nearing the bottom of the page, he recognized a few of the characters on the torn page he had. 

"Keone, run to my office and grab the green and black folder please." he required, "and grab a pen too."

Vincent looked up from the book when he didn't hear a response from Keone or heard any signs of movement. She was slumped in the chair with a distant look in her eyes, almost like she was in a completely different world. He wheeled over to her and tried shaking her out of it but it didn't work. He was starting to become increasingly concerned but he remained calm and went to fetch some water for when she woke up. He placed it on the table and got the stuff from the office then set to work.

About half an hour passed and Vincent only had a paragraph from the first page translated. He peered at Keone when she started twitching and taking deep breaths. He intervened when she started scratching at her throat and wildly thrashing around in the chair. He grabbed her wrists and held them tightly in his hands, he might be wheel-chair bound but his upper body was still functional and in great shape. Her fit lasted for another minute before she finally calmed down. It was calm for a few more minutes till she shot awake, nearly knocking down the chair in the process. Her eyes darted around the room before settling on Vincent. He let go of her hands and handed her the glass of water which she took gratefully then chugged within seconds. He waited.

When Keone eventually calmed down, she turned to Vincent who went back to translating the book. She opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it, hesitating for a brief second and contemplating telling him what she saw in her head. It was so bizarre and completely unexpected. Terrifying. 

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, you know," he said.

She looked over at him and wrapped her arms around herself, feeling a chill run through her body.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you, I do," she paused, "I just don't know where to start."

"Well, the beginning is always a good start if you ask me," he chuckled, trying to lift the mood, and it worked.

"Ha, ha Vince," she sarcastically remarked, "you know what I meant."

Deciding not to dwell on it any further, Keone began recounting what she saw while in that peculiar trance-like state.

Keone's mindscape

Keone groaned softly at the sunlight in her eyes and rolled onto her back, feeling around for her curtains. She opened one eye and looked around when she couldn't find them, only to realized she fell asleep in the living room...again. She got up and shook off the sleep then walked towards her bathroom to freshen up. She yawned and turned the knob, pushing the door open. When she reopened her eyes, her bathroom was nowhere to be found, instead there was a room comparable to that of the grand entrance of a prodigious mansion.

The ceiling was towering with enormous crossbeams running all along its surface. The walls were a marvelous gold with a shifting pattern of simple hourglasses, all different sizes. She looked to the side, and her jaw dropped in shock. At the center was the biggest, most magnificent, most awe-inspiring staircase she has ever seen -and probably ever will see- in her entire life. It was made of the most exquisite wood Keone has ever seen, and the same gold as the walls. It stretched and wrapped all the way up to a singular door at the very top of the room.

Walking towards the staircase, she finally noticed the floor. Well floor was a bit of a stretch. She was walking on it but not at the same time. Looking down, all she saw was an endless expanse of space with brightly lit stars. 

"Where in the world am I?" she asked out loud, not expecting, but hoping for, an answer.

Reaching the foot of the staircase, she was about to step onto it when the floor suddenly gave way. She flailed and screamed while falling before she was plunged into darkness. After a few seconds more of falling, she saw a quickly approaching light. She closed her eyes and braced herself for impact. Instead of the ground, she landed in...water? Jumping to her feet, Keone found herself in a glass box that was rapidly filling with water. She started panicking and kicking the glass to get out, but it wasn't breaking. 

The water was already shoulder height and swiftly nearing her head. Keone floated to the surface to get the last of the air in the glass box before diving under the water to look for another way out. She didn't see any and went back to banging on the glass. Her air was almost out and she was getting lightheaded. As she was about to take her last breath, she delivered one last blow with all her strength and it cracked just as she passed out.

Keone shot up alarmed and gasped for air, taking in as much as she could. When she was finally breathing normally, she looked around the room she was in. It had the same design as the first room she was in minus the staircase. She shakily got up stumbled to the other side of the room where a large oval table lay surrounded by ten chairs. At the center of the table, a golden hourglass sat atop a small pedestal. The sand on the inside of the bulbs were golden and glimmering in the candlelit room. Small speckles of light flickered and floated aimlessly around the hourglass, none following a specific path or pattern. 

Keone stalked forward and the speckles of light started moving more sporadically and got brighter and brighter, but still she advanced. The sand in the bulb was close to running out and as the last grain fell, time slowed. It quickly came rushing back and all the lights were pulled towards the hourglass then exploded in a burst of energy, hitting Keone with so much force she was knocked out.

Back in the kitchen

"And then I wake up and I'm back here." Keone finished recalling what happened.

"That was a lot munchkin," Vincent stated, rubbing her shoulder, "Do you want to go lie down for a bit? Get some rest?"

"No, no I'm fine," Keone assured, "I just need a minute to fully calm down."

Keone hoped her smile was convincing enough, and even though Vincent looked doubtful, he understood she needed some space so he went back to work deciphering the diary. After some time, Keone turned towards him and looked at the paper that had the deciphered part of the diary. Picking it up she read aloud,

"It's been a few million years since we were created to rule over the universe as the Ethereal Beings. We created many realms with even more galaxies filled with thousands of different planets, each with it's own unique lifeforms and plant-life. I was starting to get bored as nothing exciting enough ever really happens when you just sit and watch over a practically empty universe and pick whatever you want to give good or bad luck to. Hence, I decided to start this diary where I'll be writing down things I think are important enough to remember."

Keone placed the paper back on the table and tried processing what she just read. Ethereal Beings? Rulers of the universe? Luck? Considering what she's been through, it should've been no problem for her to believe what she just read. But she couldn't. This all just felt like a very long, realistic dream she'll wake up from any minute and go about her day as usual. 

Even though she knows everything that happened up till now was indeed real, one can hope.