Sink (Complete five-hundred pages) (Moving to Kindle Unlimited in 30 Days)

6

[WARNING: If chapter 6 and chapter 7 start to bore you, read the synopsis of the two long chapters below, and then skip to chapter 8.

[Spoiler warning: Psychiatrist Liz takes a plane with her assistant Debbie, where she reads Debbie's gift to her, a newspaper that defiles her ex-husband for his accused crime of having sex with his high school student Alison from his English class. After reading the newspaper article and feeling guilty for her mysterious past sins against her husband, Liz and Debbie land in rainy California, and drive to a hospital where doctors are studying comatose Alison in her dream state; then, Liz speaks in sleeping Alison's ear and plays the role of a character in Alison's dream, a boy named Cole Diamond neither Liz nor the doctors have heard of; then, Alison sees frightening, faceless men in full black suits who try to chase her. But she and Cole Diamond (whose voice is played by Liz whenever Liz speaks) escape the black-suited, faceless men, and then Alison's dream ends as her natural REM cycle shifts, and Liz loses communication with Alison. Now, skip to Chapter 8.]

The News, The Doctors, The Patient

Onboard American First-class, Liz and Debbie reclined; Liz stared at the ceiling. Her eyes unfocused, Liz lost sight of the ceiling altogether; it dissipated into moving pictures that swept her off to someplace else that tied her stomach in knots yet infused her senses with smells of purple daffodils and sea-salt air . . .

(She looked into the bouquet of white flowers in her hand, which bounced along with her rehearsed steps; her arm wrapped in the grey-haired man's beside her, whose face smiled but whose eyes grew watery with nostalgia; she felt the pull from her long white dress--she looked back-- carried by two young girls her age who couldn't help but smile with tears. She looked forward again, and up at the altar, and saw the red rose pinned to the man in black--)

" . . . Excuse me miss?"

(--Black clouds veiled his face--) . . . The ceiling reappeared.

Liz felt light fingers touch her shoulder.

"Excuse me ma'am?" said the flight attendant. "Would you like anything?"

"Um . . ."

(New figures danced under club lights; one man was dangerously close, his hands on her midsection; she felt sweat bead her forehead . . .

"Would you like anything?" he said. "You want a drink?")

She said, "Whatever you're having . . ."

High-pitched laughs made Liz jump in her seat.

" . . . They don't allow flight attendants to drink on duty," the attendant said. (Liz frowned at the woman's blushed crooked-smile. "Thanks for considering us little people though, ma'am."

Liz's throat was still warm; she looked passed the attendant's shoulder and spotted grey clouds flash red and blue from the wing light in a dark black sky. She was surprised how late it must already be . . .

"Ma'am, would you still like anything?"

Liz's throat tightened. She hesitated before she spoke; her voice was soft and almost inaudible.

"No, thank you."

"Okay, ma'am. You'll let me know."

Liz reclined and her eyes reached the ceiling before the high-pitched voice spoke again--

"How 'bout you ma'--"

--Liz felt the window seat quake and she sat up to find Debbie occupy the corner of her chair--

"I would like two éclairs, one chocolate one hazelnut, cream in one, none in the other, plus some water, milk, and a martini?"

"Why of course," said the attendant. "Let me grab those for you. May I first see your ID for that martini?"