๐ Chapter 1:
It's a dark and quiet walk home. You cut through the park for a shortcut. A path you've taken many times before. Suddenly, the sky flashes. A shooting star cuts through the night. Then another and another!
You haven't seen a shooting star since you were a child. You remember those early lessons about their tails carrying dust and particles. But you also remember a different story. One about shooting stars collecting newspapers from all corners of the universe. Swept up, right into the tail as it passes by. Can you imagine? Most would quickly burn out, but every now and then, a charred article would find its way floating down into our atmosphere....
๐ Chapter 2:
Continuing home, you notice the wind is starting to pick up. The trees begin to rustle and a "for sale" sign can be heard swinging in the distance. For a split second, you catch a glimpse of a newspaper as it floats by, pausing only for a moment by your feet. Long enough to notice an unfamiliar name. Glenetch News? Never heard of it. The wind carries it away as you continue on your way.
A few steps forward but your curiosity has turned you around. The edges of the newspaper were burnt, weren't they? What was that photo of? You look for the front page once more, but it is gone.
๐ Chapter 3:
Finally home, you sink into the couch and turn on the tv. Tired from the long and particularly odd day, you close your eyes and quickly fall asleep.
๐ Chapter 4:
Startled awake by the sound of the television, your eyes begin to focus. The shapes turn into words on the screen as a poem starts looping. Grabbing the remote, you try to change the channel but it doesn't work.
After reading the poem for a fourth time (and yawning for probably your fifth), you decide to make your way off of the couch and over to the tv to turn it off. "I needed to get up anyways" you think.
๐ย Chapter 5:
Since itโs your first day off in what feels like forever, you head out to meet a friend for coffee. Sheโs picked a new spot that has recently opened. โYouโre going to love it.โ she tells you on the phone. The cafe is within walking distance but on a street youโve never been to before.
โ
On your walk, you pass a โfor saleโ sign swaying in the wind and you begin to quietly mutter a poem under your breath. "Every heartbeat set in motion..." The poem is memorized but why do you know it? โAhh, that poem on the tv!โ you realize, as you recite the very last line "...the mind is real estate for sale."
๐ Chapter 6:
Your phone notifies you that youโve arrived. Looking up from the map, you see an old house. โIs this the place?โ You start to call your friend but no longer have cellphone service. You text but it doesnโt go through. Walking up the stairs to the front door, it swings open before you and you step inside.
โ
This place feels familiar. "Have I been here before?" Alone in the room, no one answers. Maybe it's the crackling of the fire, but as you step towards the portrait, you hear a whisper "Come close. There are many stories to be told..."
๐ Chapter 7:
โHello?โ You call out as you walk down the hall. Suddenly filled with the embarrassment that you may have walked into someoneโs home instead, you quickly turn to let yourself out. But the room has changed. The fireplace is gone and the walls are now lined with floral stripes.
โ
Before you can even question what is happening, you hear the sound of a record starting to spin. There to your left is an old Victrola. The source of the melody. As the tune plays on, you find yourself swaying. Before you can place the familiar tune, the song comes to a stop almost as quickly as it began.
๐ Chapter 8:
Looking down, you see a stack of records that you swear weren't there a moment ago. Feeling unusually drawn to the album on top, you decide to pick it up and play it.
โ
As you pull the record out, a note falls to the ground. Written on it is a date: February 20th
๐ Chapter 9:
Suddenly, the musty smell of the room has floated away. You can hear the rustling of trees. You turn and see that a window has appeared. Running over, you raise the window to peer out of it.
โ
To your disappointment, it is only another room made to look like the outside. The nature sounds you heard are coming out of a small speaker on the ground. On a branch right in front of you is a single fly. “Does he know the way out?” you wonder.
๐ Chapter 10:
The fly takes off to the left. Your eyes follow and this time there is a hallway where there once was a wall. Climbing out the window, you head in the same direction, curious to where it goes, and relieved to walk away from what was a dead-end.
โ
Your walk is quiet except for the sound of grass beneath your feet and crickets in the distance.
โ
You see something on the path ahead of you. As you get closer, you realize it’s a postcard. You pick it up to take with you (to recycle later of course). It appears to be a long-distance love letter. Optimistic at least. The address is unfamiliar.
โ
Tucking it in your pocket, you keep walking.
๐ Chapter 11:
Up ahead, you notice an opening at the end of the hallway. As you get closer, trees come into focus and stretch out as far as your eyes can see.
Stepping into the fresh air, you close your eyes and take a deep breath. The scent of cedar and moss engulf you as the trickling of water can be heard behind you. You turn towards the sound.
The hallway is now gone and a river has appeared. You see a small boat pulled halfway onto shore. The sun is beginning to set and you are growing tired.
You step into the boat and lie down. The soft motion of the water gently rocking you to sleep.
๐ Chapter 12:
Drifting into a dream, you find yourself surrounded by clouds in a bright blue sky. In front of you are two figures.
The one has no features, but is entirely focused on the other, as though they are having an important unspoken conversation.
You call out for help, but neither respond.
๐ Chapter 13:
Fragments of the dream blink in and out of focus as you start to wake up. It is daytime once again and the sky is bright blue, much like the one from your dream.
โ
As you sit up in the boat, you realize that you are no longer outside. The clouds are merely painted on the ceiling.
โ
Stepping out of the boat and onto hardwood flooring, you wonder “Where is the river?”
โ
Beneath the boat is a small puddle of water and nothing more.
๐ Chapter 14:
The room is nondescript. No windows. No furniture. Only painted walls in a subtle hue and a closed door ahead.
โ
As you walk towards the door, a floorboard shifts beneath your foot, exposing something beneath it.
โ
You easily lift the board and see paper tucked inside. Gently pulling the paper out, you unroll it and find it is an old movie poster.
โ
You set it to the side and head towards the door thinking how much nicer the room would look if the poster was instead hanging on a wall.
โ
As you begin to open the door, a mechanical sound starts rumbling louder and louder.
๐ Chapter 15:
You walk into the next room. It is a cute kitchen with frilly curtains and cookie jars. You realize that the rumbling sound is coming from the fridge.
โ
The sound is rather abrasive in comparison to the teal walls and lace trim, so you open it slowly to see what is making the noise.
โ
The fridge is empty, except for two jars side by side, clanging against each other. One jar has cut-out paper hearts in it. The other has cut-out paper hands. “Why would someone collect such a thing?” you wonder. “And to keep cool...”
โ
You move one of the jars to another shelf and close the door. The rumbling sound has quieted.
๐ Chapter 16:
Over by the kitchen window is a table. You sit for a moment to collect your thoughts. “How did I get here?” you ask yourself. “Is this my home?”
The journey has made you delirious. You put your head in your hands and rub your temples for some time.
As you move your hands away from your eyes, you see a fresh cup of coffee sitting before you and a notepad with a pencil. On the paper are the words “wandered so far away”.
You pull out the postcard from your pocket. The handwriting matches.
******To*****Be*****Continued******
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Buggie is an art pop singer, songwriter, surreal sculpture artist, and writer from Ohio. This is her miniature world. When she isn't creating, she loves to watch something dark like the Dark Shadows original tv show, the Dark Crystal, or Dark City. She is a fan of tiny things and making miniatures. Buggie is her first solo project and she has written, performed, recorded, edited, and produced all of it herself. She is learning as she goes. She is also learning about SEO and feels like she should add some words here like Buggie club, Buggie singer, and Buggie artist.
Maybe she will start showing up in Google searches but we'll see... She'll figure it out as she goes.