Meet the main character - you ✨
One day your whole world crumbles around you. Literally. The sky splits, and everyone you know turns into dust. You escape to the thousands of glowing portals to any dimension imaginable. Only you are trapped, and hun...
Ugh. Why do you bother! Bet Alice has no idea where any fading parallel is.
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Photo by HW Kateley
You safely land in front of the lighthouse. It's a pity that you're getting better at it, wouldn't mind tossing Alice somewhere above the ground. Or at least shove her out of the portal like it'd do to you and Lars. But, no, you close your eyes, and when the crackling stops, you're at the Crossroads. And right in front of the lighthouse for that matter.
You wobble and pant, and poke your numb tingling fingers. Alice whirls her head around, the ribbons unwrap and mimic. The tips flatter, and you shove one away from your face. Alice's clearly looking for something, and you squint into the same foggy sky. All portals have colour, some swirl slower, and yet those still look stable.
"You don't know which one, do you?"
Alice purses her lips and storms off to the lighthouse. You sigh. She yanks the door open and runs inside.
"I'll be right after you," you mutter and follow.
Her ribbons glide against the handrail and the wall on the left side as Alice climbs the stairs. Both of you pant, she stumbles on a stair twice but slows down only on the last flight. That's the one where you have to move sideways otherwise you won't fit. Her ribbons float and pat the narrow way, and yet Alice can't figure it out.
"Make way," you mock her from this morning and brush past. Step. Two– "Hey!" ribbons shove you in the back. "Ouch!" You hit your hands and knees– but then don't get up but dash, or more likely crawl, up the stairs. "Umpf." You tumble into the room and sprawl out of the floor.
Silence. Stares. Somebody pierces you with just one look, and shivers run down your spine. You glance up. Is that... a red sneaker? Hey, you do know that red sneaker!
The Hermit pulls the black hood over his head and jumps through the nearest portal. The surface shatters, sparks fly and it crackles. And then the portal goes still as if nothing has happened. You stumble up to your feet and walk closer.
"Was that the Hermit?" You look around the other side, but the black monk's already disappeared up the mountainous path. No snow in this parallel, just rocks, yellow grass and tiny white flowers. "Ah, sorry. Hi Deborah." You turn around and pull on a smile. Too awkward. You can't pinpoint it, but being around Deborah makes you uneasy.
The Star smiles back. She rocks her wheelchair out from the shadows, it loudly creaks and rattles.
"Stupid stairs," mutters Alice and creeps into the room. Her ribbons snake on the floor, and she turns the other way.
"That's Alice the Empress," you say and point her way. "And, apparently, I'm the World."
Deborah adjusts the plaid over her knees, and it drapes over the wheel. Her wrinkled scrawny hands shake. "I know, dea..."
