The World-building Series: Book 1: Dimension

Chapter 1

We all have some preconception of magic. Some people believe in fairies, or star signs, or magic wands. But if you look closely, you'll very see that magic is weaves itself into the fabric of the universe. And that's only our dimension.

Cecelia had her own ideas about magic. She didn't believe in it at all. Life had dealt her a bad enough hand that tore through any innocence and naivete she may have had left.

It was late at night. She had left the apartment building where she lived with her mom to drive to her friends house. Staying at home when her mom was in a mood was impossible.

The roads were mostly deserted, she only drove past a few late travelers. Her mom's old lime minivan smelled like cigarettes and old trash, but it was the only car they owned.

The Golden Gate Bridge was flooded with tourists most of the time, but not at this hour. She'd seen it so many times that the tourists amazed faces annoyed her now.

She was driving across when she saw a girl sitting on the edge of the bridge. Immediately she pulled over to the side of the bridge and opened the door as fast as she could.

"What are you doing?" She asked, running over to the edge.

The girl didn't even look at her. Cecelia didn't know what she should do.

"I'm just sitting here, I don't get to see this place enough." The girl was wearing a plaid sweater, which Cecelia thought was pretty odd. They both seemed to be about the same age.

"But you could fall!"

"I'll be fine, even if I do." The girls wistful expression worried Cecelia, she wasn't going to let anyone die. She sat next to her on the bridge, hoping she could talk the girl out of it.

"Do you need me to call 911?" She wasn't sure why she thought that would help. If the girl was planning to jump, it was unlikely that she wanted them to come.

"No," The girl looked up at her. She had dark skin, but around her mouth and eyes were light colored patches. "What's your name?"

"I'm Cecelia," she said. "You?"

"My name's Sylvie."

"Are you from around here?" Cecelia thought she might be making progress.

"No. I'm from a long way away."

"How did you get here?" There weren't any cars on the bridge except her own.

"I..." Sylvie said. "I walked?" She said it like a question, which left Cecelia feeling more and more confused.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" She asked. "I have my mom's car."

"No." Sylvie stared out at the water. "I think I'll stay here for a little bit."

Cecelia took her phone out from her pocket. She went to dial in 911, but Sylvie suddenly screamed. The phone dropped from her hands and she looked over the edge. Sylvie was no where to be found.

She crawled forward onto the very edge, but she couldn't tell if Sylvie had jumped or ran away. Her phone had a crack down the screen now.

"I need to go." Sylvie's voice came from behind her, startling her. She tried to stand up but lost her balance, and started to fall towards the water below.

Cecelia was screaming. It took her a second to realize where she was, she didn't want to die!

The water came closer and she felt herself rising up, like she had landed on a rising cloud. Was she dead? She saw Sylvie still standing on the bridge, but she was looking at Cecelia.

"Hello?" she asked. She still didn't know if she was alive or if this was the afterlife. By now she had stopped rising any higher.

"Cecelia?" Sylvie yelled up at her. "You're alive! I did it!"

Cecelia was confused. What did Sylvie do? She had almost killed her. But if she could be seen, she was probably alive.

"What do you mean?" She said. The invisible platform started to lower, eventually stopping when it was level with the bridge.

"I saved your life!" Sylvie cheered. She was oddly happy considering the circumstances, Cecelia couldn't help her annoyance.

"No, what you did is you almost killed me. And I'm pretty sure I'm dead anyway and this is just a hallucination!" She stood up, looking around at the pure air.

"Oh my god... I'm so sorry!" Sylvie seemed to realize what happened. "This is all my fault!"

Cecelia tried to be nice, she always did. Everybody was so freaking annoying all the time. It seemed like she had to be constantly censoring what she said.

"Yeah, it is your fault. If I had just let you jump off the bridge I wouldn't be in this situation."

"Why would I jump off the bridge?" Sylvie asked, suddenly snapping out of her crying.

"Why else would you be on the edge of a bridge?"

"I was just thinking." Cecelia took a step forward. The platform was level. This made no sense.

"How the hell am I alive then?" She was only now grasping what was going on. "Am I awake?"

"You're awake."

"How did I survive then? How am standing on air?"

"I saved you," Sylvie said simply. "I changed the air density under your feet."

"That's not possible-" As Cecelia went to talk, a wall of air pushed her forward towards the bridge. Sylvie was smiling slightly.

"I'm really going to be in trouble when I get home. We aren't supposed to edit this world." Sylvie was muttering to herself. "You have to come with me."

"Go where?"

"The third dimension. That's the only way I won't get expelled, or sent to the ninth realm."

Cecelia walked to the bridge and jumped down off the air. She grabbed her phone from the ground.

"What the hell are you talking about?" In any other case she would have assumed Sylvie was just crazy, but she couldn't come up with an explanation for her still being alive.

"We have to go. I have to make sure that there's no impact."

"What do you-" Sylvie grabbed Cecelia's hand. The world became cubes. Then it unfolded, leaving the two girls in darkness