The Dreamer

Chapter 7

"A portal?" Rose nods. "It'll be easier to get to Mexico."

"You really have everything here, don't you?"

"I try. I had to erase a few memories, sure, but it worked." I roll my eyes at her with amusement. "What? I can't go out much. Might as well try and occupy myself." I laugh and nod. "I get it. I didn't get out much either. So where is it?" She turns around and starts walking. Zeke and I follow behind her into a separate room.

There's tree branches and roots are twined together to make an arch. The room is basically empty with stain glass windows. Rose approaches the arch and just simply waves her hand in front of her. The branches glow a soft gold color before a dark void fills the empty space in the arch. It's just pure darkness. It looks like emptiness.

"All you have to do is think about where you want to go." And I did. I thought about Mexico and the void ripples like water. The black empty scene shifts into one of a busy street filled with stands. People sell all sorts of things. "Then you step through." Rose turns around to face me with a smile.

"It'll feel weird though, so don't be alarmed." She takes my hand and pulls me closer to the arch. "Good luck." I stare at her in confusion. She pushes me into the portal and she was right. I feel weightless and it's completely dark. Then, I hear the sound of people.

I suddenly open my eyes and see that I'm standing in the middle of the street with Zeke next to me already. "What just happened?"

"I think we just teleported," he responds. We look at each other before we get a bearing of our surroundings. Zeke and I went to the market area and look around. I kept stopping to look at everything. The decorations, the food, and musicians. It was amazing. I took longer looking at the sugar skulls though.

Each one has their own design. Unfortunately, I don't know a lot of Spanish, so I couldn't understand a lot of people here. As I look at the stand of skulls, I spot a small black skull that's decorated with painted flowers and lines and shapes with neon colors and its eye socket has what looks like gold gems glued to it.

I smile, but step away. I look up and see that the person managing the stand is talking to me, but I can't understand. I just stand there looking dumb and confused until Zeke came up and talked to him. I just watch as Zeke points to the skull I was just looking at and he hands him money. I just blink, watching this happen. Zeke picks up the beautifully decorated object and turns to me, holding it out to me. "You bought it?"

"It was obvious that you liked it a lot and you said you have a collection of these at home." I smile, gently taking it. "Thank you." I softly blush at the fact that he got me the skull and remember what I said. I look up at Zeke, still smiling like a fool. "I didn't know you can speak Spanish."

"I can speak a few languages." He smiles at me with a sense of pride in himself. "You know, I don't think anyone's ever got me a sugar skull from Mexico before." He laughs at me as I slightly nudge him. "Good thing I did then."

"Yeah, good thing." I look back at the skull and I feel another tug at my heart. As I thought about it, it seems so unreal, but I don't want it to end. I place one of my hands in my jacket pocket while still holding the skull with the other. "Why don't you take your jacket off? It's really hot." I shrug, feeling the sun's wrath already. "It's just more...comfortable," I lie.

"No, it's not. I can tell you're really hot." He's right, I'm extremely hot. I look down at myself, remembering why I always wear it in the first place. "You could pass out any moment," he says. I sigh and hand him the skull. I take off my jacket and wrap its arms around my waist, tying the sleeves together to keep it from falling. I couldn't help but feel a little naked without it. I look at Zeke whose just smiling. "Feel better?"

"Yeah, thanks." He gently gives the skull back to me and we continue walking. "So how are we supposed to get into the spirit world?" Zeke asks, but I only shrug. "I don't know. Do you think it's in the book?"

"Maybe, but I thought we read over everything." We both thought for a moment but came up empty. "Maybe we'll find something." Just as we're walking, I see a sign that's in Spanish, but it's also translated into English. "What about there?" I point to the mystical looking sign and Zeke looks. "A fortune teller?"

"It's not just a fortune teller. There's spells and stuff too." He turns to me with a you-can't-be-serious look. "You do know that they're mostly just a hoax, right?" I hold up a finger with a sly smile. "Keyword, mostly." I walk past him towards the store and he sighs, following behind me.

"Hello?" I step through the door and look around. It looks like any normal store only it is selling stuff like books, weird looking items, as well as other weird stuff. "Hello?" I called out. I glance around, but no one is here. "Maybe they're on break," Zeke suggests, but I don't buy it. "We need help."

"Who's here at this time? Can't you tell that I'm busy?" I hear a woman say. She walks out but she isn't what I was expecting either. She looks like a normal middle-aged adult. Someone who if you saw on the street and tried to guess her profession, this would be the last thing to expect. She's beautiful.

"What do you need?" She gives me a curious look and I answer. "I was wondering if you have a way into the spirit world." She looks at me, slightly tilting her head up while crossing her arms. "And why do you wish to know?" I look to Zeke who only looks back, raising an eyebrow at me as if saying it was my idea so I should answer. No, that is what he's saying. That's exactly what he's implying. "We have to find something important there."

"How important?"

"Life changing." More like curse changing.  Zeke clears his throat and I elbow him. "I see, give me a moment." Then she turned and left. "Great job Eira. This was a great idea." I glare at him and cross my arms. "Well do you have a better idea than wondering around the streets like chickens?" He turns away from me, pressing his lips into a straight line. "That's what I thought."

"Here we are." The woman walks back out with a thick and old looking book in her arms. "Let’s see what's in here." She lays the book on the counter and we all look over it. She runs her finger over it, reading it over. "Yep, you have to die to get there." My heart drops and my face pales. "What?"

She looks at my expression and laughs. "Oh, you're too funny. I'm joking." I sigh in relief as she just smiles. "No, I have to put you in a deep trance."

"A trance?" She nods and turns the book around so I can read it. "Right here. I need, and have, a special candle that I light while you both are laying down. I'll light the candle and the scent should lull you into a deep sleep. The candle also has a power that can allow your spirit to leave your body while you're still alive."

"Sounds powerful." She nods and closes the book. "It is. It could be very deadly if it fell into the wrong hands." She turns around, looking for something on the shelves full of stuff behind her. My eyes follow her movement as she picks up an ancient-looking box with weird gold designs covering it. She gently places it on the counter and opens it. I peek inside to see a normal looking candle. It's just white with weird dark gold symbols covering it.

"Follow me." She closes the box and walks to the back, taking the book and candle with her. Zeke and I glance at each other before following.  The doorway leads into another room with a few sofas and a seat. "Lay down."

"Do we have to pay anything?"

"Only after you finish your task." I nod and lay down on a sofa, hoping that I'm right about this. I hear Zeke lay down and shortly after I smell a weird scent. It overwhelms me with different floral scents. She starts humming and softly saying something in another language. I notice that it's not Spanish, however. I can tell that she's moving around us, but I don't feel anything. I just lay there, confused. "Done."

"What?" I open my eyes and sit up. "But we're still awake." Zeke sits up as well and turns to her. "You must be patient. It takes time." I sigh though, realizing I've made a mistake. "You may leave though."

"Do we owe anything for wasting your time?"

"No, count it as a gift for what awaits you later."

"What awaits me?"

"Go on." She waves her hands at us and we leave. Once we're back in the store, Zeke turns to me with a look and I roll my eyes. "I know, but I really thought it'd work."

"Come on. We should go find a place to rest." I nod as he gently takes my arm and leads me towards the door. As we're walking, I start getting dizzy and my eyelids grew heavy. My legs start to wobble and I lose my balance. "Eira?" I turn to see Zeke's worried expression, but he looks like he's ready to pass out too. "Zeke," I softly reply before I pass out.