Fortress

«Soi» Opening [1]

Fragment 1
"Soi" 
2080

Opening

Robert was in his room. It was nearing morning. He was still sitting at the computer, working on a project. His brown eyes were becoming harder to keep open, and his black curls, falling onto his face, distracted him even more. After a few minutes, the rays of sunlight started to break through. Afraid to check the time, he lay down to sleep.

"Wake up, please," someone said in a sweet, childish voice.

Robert felt someone tugging at his arm. He opened his eyes and saw a little girl. He was no longer in his room but surrounded by an inky void, constantly shifting in shape. This space was literally nothing, but Robert couldn't explain that even to himself. Although there was no surface to stand on, the girl stood calmly, as if noticing nothing but Robert himself.

"Who are you? What is this place?"

"My name is Mary."

"Where are we?"

The girl ignored the question. "Come with me."

Robert stood up, adjusted his glasses, and followed his new acquaintance. Mary's appearance contrasted sharply with the surroundings: light hair, big green eyes, and she looked no older than seven.

"We've arrived."

"Where to?" Robert asked in confusion.

"The store," the girl said with absolute certainty. "I want candy."

"Mary, there's nothing here."

"Really?"

Suddenly, Robert heard a deafening honking noise. Everything before his eyes abruptly changed. The black nothingness instantly transformed into a noisy city. Robert found himself standing in the middle of the road in front of a candy shop, just two steps away from his home. A furious driver got out of a car and started yelling at him. A little dazed, Robert apologized and quickly stepped off the road.

"Sleepwalking?" he thought.

To his surprise, Robert wasn't panicking and was relatively calm, possibly still not fully realizing what had happened. He entered the store.

"Good morning, Mrs. Grace."

"Morning? Boy, it's almost one in the afternoon!"

Robert looked at the wall clock, and it read 12:59.

"How long was I wandering around? How did I manage to open the door? The door! Where are my keys?!"

In a panic, Robert ran home. Upon reaching his floor, he found the door wide open. Fortunately, he hadn't been robbed. He changed his clothes, made himself some coffee, and sat at the table.

"What was that?" he asked himself.

To be honest, Robert still wasn't sure if he was awake. After some coffee and a little rest, he pulled himself together and sat down to work. Turning on the computer, Robert resumed working on his project. This time, he didn't stay up until morning and went to bed closer to midnight, but thoughts of it happening again kept him awake. After an hour or so of insomnia, he eventually fell asleep.

"Wake up. Wake up, come on."

Robert opened his eyes and saw the familiar, incomprehensible space before him, but this time, standing before him was not a seven-year-old girl but a beautiful young woman.

"I'm here again," Robert said in a trembling voice.

"I've been waiting for you, waiting for a long time. Shall we go for a walk?"