Almost in transcendence, Hailey lapses from that moment into another:
"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP." A poppy song plays from her radio that she has not heard in a long time while her alarm clock goes off.
"Stop it!," she screams, smacking the alarm clock beside her.
"What the heck? How did I get here? Why am I in my apartment? I was just in the coffe...."
She pauses in silence as she looks at the kitchen counter. The science magazine she had earlier lays open on the counter. She rises slowly in disbelief that the magazine is there and she is back in her apartment. Walking towards the counter slowly, she focuses quickly on the content of the opened magazine's page.
'....Let's hope DSS will find interesting new territory and as its new engines propel it into the unknown, scientists will be here monitoring its success. The new MGP, or Magneto Gravitational Propulsion, engines are the first of its kind being tested within space. For years scientists have tested the technology for the new engine and upon planning for this mission, the engines were added to the blueprints, and then came into fruition. In an intrepid move to add it to the plans of the probe, the project's director admitted he still had doubts about the new engines. He mentioned to SCIENCE NOW in a brief interview: "I see stability in the system, I really do. Our testing procedures have made the MGP a prime candidate for reliability and speed. However, research and testing have also shown a few caveats of using the system. Riffs in the gravitational pull upon other objects it encounters, at least theoretically, have been recorded but those objects help the MGP work like it does so there’s a good chance that there’s no real impact. It's hard to say at this point whether the system has other things we're unaware of since we’ve tested and retested every outcome before building it. Having it in space now is probably the best testing grounds we have as it would have eventually made it there anyway and I'm proud of its current, theoretical, success." We will release an update on its progress in next month's issue of SCIENCE NOW. Stay tuned for more exciting news about the probe's journey...'
Hailey does not understand any of the stuff she just read. The warmth of her downtown apartment with its iron-like lattice spun window covers, all painted black, barring the cold from the winter outside, she finds comfort now but worries about what has happened so far. Hailey notices the time on her alarm clock and today's date. It's the morning of Dicenah the 5th. She remembers being in the coffee shop this afternoon, the man who offered the bagel, and the feeling that was pressed upon her chest as she stood in line there. No ounce of solace can be offered to her as she places her head into her hands and starts to cry.
At an earlier time and far away in the Great City…..
Surrounded by a large group of people standing in one of many Great City centers, Allijah screams out loud:
"If they pull it off, it will upset the balance in the..!!!," Allijah stops in mid sentence as a tall man approaches Allijah in the Great City's center while the tall man is holding up his hands at Allijah in an attempt to calm him down politely without saying anything. The tall man had climbed down from an almost soapbox-like podium to go to Allijah in an attempt to console him.
The group of people are gathered to hear a speaker talk about changes in other worlds. They typically hear this from council people who stand at center on a designated day, periodically. The outburst from Allijah was supplemental to the news that his planet, though foreign still even though he had one time called it home, was about to start a new chapter. Unbeknownst to Hailey, it actually centers around her and her soon to be revealed destiny but Allijah knows this because of prior conversations with the tall man. The tall man and Allijah have had a good relationship so far here and the tall man was aware Allijah would be there, hear the news, and start ranting. He had been trying to spot him in the crowd before and while the news was being announced by the tall man’s councilmember counterparts so he could talk to Allijah, but couldn’t spot him until now.
The tall man, approaching Allijah quickly and looking around as if he is making sure Allijah's words have not disturbed the others in one of the centers of the Great City. The tall man bellows a little as he lowers his voice almost to whisper to Allijah:
"Yes I am aware of that. Time has come for their world to experience a new phase of life, to endure a new beginning, no matter what the consequence. If they decide to go along with this, then it is their destiny to do so Allijah. We are not to interfere. Do you understand?" The tall man in a golden flowing robe fervently mentions as he tries to persuade Allijah.
"I do. But Hailey…I cannot come to terms about what will happen to her. She has lived without me protecting her so far and only recently time has offered me the chance to guide her. If I can offer her the path to peace at the end I will try, is all I'm saying." Allijah whispers, looking into the tall man's eyes in emotional distress.
"What do you want Allijah, the perfect ending?! It will never truly ‘end’ until this plan is fulfilled." The tall man says in an outburst.
“She has led such an honorable life as a widow within that cruel world she is bound to come here but if you interfere with its course you may as well burn her into repetition." The tall man says slowly unhinging his passion from the moment as others look at them both, all of who are trying to determine the subject of their discussion.
The tall man now waits for Allijah as he motions to move away from center to beside a small building where no one can see or hear them. Allijah starts to talk again, though in a calmer voice, as they walk closer to the side of the building:
"It's unfair is all I'm saying. We've all seen how it ends. It hurts me the most because it's her."
The tall man puts his right hand on Allijah's shoulder, bringing him in closer as the tall man responds:
"Your words, your presence, lovingly compelling as it is, need not be overwhelmed as they have been recently. She has done good and she will continue to do so as long as you do not push her over her limits! The time, the place, have all been determined. We just need her to do this last thing and I know it hurts that it’s her, Allijah. If it were any other soul, there would be a you there doing the same thing you are now."
Allijah settles, draws his hands to his hips and bows his head as he disconcertingly continues to listen to the tall man while biting his lip:
"I'm sorry Allijah. I do not mean to be detrimental of what you are trying to do but the brief yet intense pain you felt when you entered this world could not be changed at your time. Hers will be different. If it were me Allijah I would let her fall softly into a meadow of pillows surrounded by chamomile and lavender, and wake up in this new life. But you know, just as well as I do, she must continue on but most importantly be GIVEN the chance to continue."
"Yes." Allijah mumbles.
"If you continue this course you may not ever see her again, and you know this son! Their world needs this. Their world, your old world, my good friend, will be better once the veil has come off. Again this is not about Hailey and her destiny, this is about their world. Our souls and theirs. Wouldn’t you want to see everyone again? Wouldn’t you want to see her again?" The tall man says, frantically trying to convince Allijah.
"But I won’t see her again….maybe you’re right...I don’t want her to suffer and I don’t want to suffer without her here.......Thanks. I’ll give it some thought." Allijah says walking away towards the countryside of the Great City. At this point, Allijah is just trying to end the one sided conversation.
The tall man tucks his chin in and his concerning face turns to a smile then says.
"I knew you’d understand my boy! Take care Allijah, and do not alter her course! It may have grave consequences for their world and ours!" The tall man yells as Allijah walks away.
"Okay." Allijah says looking back nodding and picking up pace as he starts to run back home.
While running, he tries to push as hard as he can to circumvent some of the pain of what may happen to Hailey, and then suddenly stops. Down on his knees, he looks down at the dirt road beneath him, emotionally exhausted, and clutching the dirt as if he's squeezing it in frustration.
"I know what happens. I know if I'm not there beside her, she’ll continue on without me. I’ve made it here but I’m worried I will never see her again."
"How can I make her strong without interfering with what will happen to them all?"
In a moment of clarity, he smiles and raises his head, turns around slowly at the Great City, and says:
"I know what I have to do."
Later, on Gannicus…
Hailey remains heavily perturbed. With the radio starting a new song, Hailey rises up in shock as she listens to the song's whimsical lyrics:
'...Life without you girl has been so hard...But one day I'll reach across the stars....Reaching out to you with open arms...I'll bring you back to me from afar....No matter where you are....I'll always be reaching out to your heart...'
Moved by the song, she gets up to grab a picture of her and Allijah taken a decade ago when he was alive. Alive is a word used too loosely by humans but for this text, it’ll work. As the song continues to play she caresses the wooden frame. Lightly touching it, she notices the dust that has collected on the picture and she begins to say:
"Too long, Allijah, I've been without you and I could really use your company right now. I'm so lost I don't even know where to begin...I wish you were here with me....I wish I could tell you I love you."
The song's moment has passed as rain clouds approach for this morning's storm outside. The DJ from the radio begins to speak about the next lineup of songs as she moves to it and cuts it off. She wants to keep what she said to their picture, and the moment that just transpired, separate from the next song's mood. She wants to hang on to this moment, forever. Thinking back to when Allijah died and now laying on her bed, she passes out from exhaustion.
Eyes closed but moving rapidly, her heart races within a dream. Allijah appears just as she wanted him to when she was thinking about the song. "I will always be here waiting for you sweetheart." Allijah says in the dream as he holds out his hand. Surrounded by rays of sharply wrapping blues and grays of light, a whistling from behind him breaks through. Lightning strikes beside them as she looks in all directions to try to recognize where she is at - her vision is blurred momentarily. Wind blows her hair against her face. Allijah remains reaching out yet undisturbed from the elements within the dream.
"I've missed you so much Allijah!" She screams and starts to cry in the dream as she looks at Allijah now in a comforting smile looking back at her. The events around them have her gasping for air and struggling to say what she wants to. A heart that's suffered so much is often desperate for healing.
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"Me too babe and I wanted you to know you're not crazy. There's a reason for all of this....I can't say right now...but soon....you'll be by my side once again. Think back sweetie. Think back to when I was in the hospital and it will all become clear." Allijah says passionately trying to console her.
"Okay. But I don't know what you mean? Wait...baby....please don't go!..."
As Hailey starts to cry within this dream-like state, she tries to reach out to Allijah, still smiling as he slowly moves away. The rays of light flickering around him envelope him until the only thing she can see is his hand still reaching out. The darkness conquers the dream briefly and the very first thought that comes to her mind is Allijah laying in the hospital. Hailey hears a clanging sound and opens her eyes:
"Oh my God! Allijah!" She screams aloud inside Allijah's hospital room.
"Hailey what's wrong?" Allijah says calmly with a smile as if Hailey is playing a joke. The beeps from the heart monitor in the dark lit hospital room echo in her head as she covers her mouth in shock to see him, again, laying in his hospital bed.
"Baby it's okay, I'm right here. The nurse was just gathering the dishes from my breakfast to send back to the kitchen. I'm fine sweetie. You were asleep. I'm sure he didn't mean to." Allijah says, still trying to calm her.
"I'm sorry Ma'am I didn't mean to wake you." The nurse said now pushing everything out of Allijah's room. As the nurse leaves, Hailey locks on to the male nurse's appearance, noticing his thick glasses, pulled back shaggy hair, and goatee.
"I know you! You were the man I bought the bagel from in the coffee shop!" Hailey exclaims.
With Allijah and the male nurse now busting out laughing, the male nurse responds: "I'm sorry Ma'am but I've never sold a bagel, let alone in a coffee shop. Sounds like you've had a good dream, huh?"
"Yeah she's been here all week worried about me so she hasn't gotten any good sleep." Allijah says now pressing his stomach as the laughter has brought him a bit of pain.
"I don't know who you are....but I know you were there...and this whole thing has something to do with you!" Hailey screams in despair and disbelief.
Laughter stops from her outburst as the male nurse replies: "I'm sorry Ma'am, I truly am. I have to go now but I think some good rest for you would be best." Angrily, she slowly sullies back into her chair, shaken from what's happening. She looks back and forth between the male nurse now leaving and Allijah.
"Hailey I'm not sure what's going on but you were asleep. I'm sure everything is fine now. Come over here and let me hold you." Allijah says softly.
"Oh...okay." Hailey mumbles looking at Allijah's assuring smile and trying to crack one. As she sits beside him in his hospital bed, Allijah motions for her to come closer. As the two hold each other closely, Hailey finds warmth and comfort as Allijah's heart beats inches away from her ear. The tension in the room passes as she calms down and listens to his heart. The monitors from within the dark lit room give her a steady pace to wind down.
The hospital room spins slightly as she closes her eyes. Their old world's star, rising slowly in the center of Allijah's hospital room, burns the atmosphere in oranges and reds. Dark clouds begin to rush away from the burning glow as Allijah's eyes squint towards it. Inspired by the star's omnipotent presence as it washes away the doubt of darkness he and Hailey feel, he begins to whisper to Hailey lovingly as he pulls her closer to his lips to whisper:
"Sweetie, I dream of a better place for us both all the time and so far nothing in this world has given me the slightest indication of what it'll be like when I'm gone."
"Don't say that Allijah. There are answers everywhere so don't talk like that. I know you'll be okay and we'll be out of here soon." Hailey interjects as she tries to speak past her impending sleepiness forgetting she has been in that very spot, uttering the same words to him before.
"What if I'm not babe? I know there are answers all around but they're not solid. I mean think about this world’s religion. Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. Like maybe there’s more to it or all lies." Allijah asks, trying to persuade her to listen.
"Baby please. You know when you talk about stuff like this it upsets me." Hailey emotionally responds as her voice starts to tremble.
"Hang on babe. Just listen to me for a second, okay? .....haha....the going away stuff or that there’s a bunch of questions to how this world works? Haha." Allijah says pulling her chin towards him gently, trying to get her to look at him. Now looking at Allijah, Hailey gives a sleepy smile to listen to Allijah as he continues:
"What I'm trying to say is I know there are paths all around. Gannicus' World Church and scripture talk about being a good person to yourself and to your neighbor. But I've heard other stories outside of it like ascension to other worlds depending on what kind of person you've been in this world. Wouldn't that be better than what the World Church says? All these other explanations give so many colorful endings about life but now babe, I see them all the same."
"I don't understand." Hailey mentions quietly, pausing and looking up again at Allijah for clarity. She starts to realize this is not the first time she's heard him speak of this before. Before he continues, she makes sure she is prepared to intently listen as the recent events of her wandering through time come back rapidly.
"I just want you to know that I've been thinking about all these possibilities now and lately and I've come to the conclusion they're all right. Some give such a creative ending to life and this world, tragic conclusions to our lives and all, but I've really missed being a kid and not setting one path for my life. I guess because I was so pure spirited it never occurred to me I should think about it - I was just a kid. I do now, however, remember how I felt and I'm sure everyone did when they were a kid. At least for now, I've given my adult mind a reset about the afterlife because I want it free with no attachments to what anything else says, especially the World Church. I've just tried to be a good person without going to temple all the time or putting on a robe and venturing out into the woods like a sacred man and I think like most folks, I've been okay." Allijah says, starting to chuckle.
Hailey smiles and giggles then looks at Allijah waiting for him to finish. As she listens closer, time starts to slow as Allijah speaks:
"What if we're all meant to go home in the afterlife? Like it was our responsibility. Leading a good life here will prepare and reward us with something special when we pass, like going home. Why does it have to be what anything else says? I imagine for most people it will unchain them. They've been bound by what something says, or give up the creativity to dream up one because of this life's ups and downs. If people are able to dream of their afterlife what's to say they won't be freer in this life?"
"Anyway, wouldn't it be wonderful to find out that we are here to learn about? The very essence of life maybe? With me holding you here, listening to my own words, babe, I don't think anyone can write a book about how our lives have turned out. Our lives in this world are never the same so why should our afterlife? I did not see me becoming sick in any book I've read." Allijah says passionately embellishing what he has felt since being in the hospital.
As he lays his head back on the bed, now inspired to tell her more about what he's been thinking, he reaches out to hold Hailey's hand and continues:
"I've been dreaming of places. Places that are nice and weird and won't make much sense here in this world. It's been hard to succumb to what anyone else says about it now. I mean...if we fail to conjure up what our afterlife...all on our own....are we doomed to suffer repetition? If we can't come to terms on being somewhere else after this life, much like our goodness in this life is our responsibility, what's there to 'catch' our mistake? I love you so much and don't think I'd be somewhere without you though... honey?.... this is pretty important to me." Allijah mentions as Hailey now starts to close her eyes listening to him.
"I love you...and I know what you mean." Hailey says starting to yawn with her eyes still closed.
"I just hope wherever you want to go you will let me come too." Hailey says quietly now resting her head on the bedside.
"Hailey if I were anywhere else and not with you, I'd reach across the stars to show you the way back to me. If I did it correctly, we'll never be apart and who's to say that's why we're still together in this life? I can't help but wonder what it'd be like though....What this life means and how hard it'd be to see you again if I left. I love you so much so I don't believe it'd be hard, sweetheart." Allijah responds now looking down at her falling asleep. Hailey's eyes are fully closed as the room continues to spin. Tracing his words back to this moment knowing it's been more than once she's heard him say this, she starts to dream of her recent event's future moments.
"If you can still hear me as you dream babe, know just like right now, I will always be talking to you no matter what time or world you live or dream in." Allijah says as he starts to cry. Allijah looks up at the room's ceiling, inhales a deep breath, and watches the star now burning brightly outside cast yellow rays of warmth all across the room.
In closure, he starts to speak again but this time to himself. He thinks about what he's said so far to Hailey and does not know Hailey can still hear him. She's being thrown in an in-between and tossed around with moments throughout her entire life flying by her in a tunnel of spinning lights and random blurts of sounds of moments past. Allijah's words bleed into Hailey's mind as he continues speaking:
"Maybe that's it. Time, space, and all these other forms to explain different aspects of reality are flawed. What if they can't be applied because they cannot solidify what I'm doing right now as I speak to her while she dreams. What's to say she can't hear me? What if she is somewhere else and can still hear my voice. That transcends everything ever explained by any one man. It also means if I go tonight I'd be able to talk to her again because as her mind wanders in other places like if it were conscious in this world, I'll still be able to talk to her in my next life. That alone tells me our consciousness and not the body, time, and the space in between her and I, transcends beyond this existence. That tells me nothing I've ever read can answer the questions I have now."
Allijah closes his eyes to rest as all the testing and procedures he's had to endure have left him little energy. At bedside, Hailey remains lost in a dream.
When Allijah finally reaches the depths of the dream realm by falling rapidly to sleep, he stands in a city that's surrounded by blissfully laid concrete and stone, marble that's been given the utmost smoothness with purple inlays and gray veins stretching out along its perimeter, and the cleanest streets surrounded by turning leaf trees. The contrast of hardness with the warmth of the colorfully turning brown and yellow trees makes Allijah smile and to his surprise, Hailey stands beside him, hugging him and laying her head on his shoulder. Looking out at the bay beside them as they hold each other, they notice something flying around in the sky. The only thing so far that's been lucid has been their slight movements within the dream and the assuring feeling they've found each other. To their surprise, the object flying around is a man, a hu-man. He comes so close to them in an attempt to try to stop so he doesn't hit them, he puts his hands out, and flips repeatedly then stops. Looking up at them and laughing at his failed attempt at landing, he speaks:
"Hey there....uh....where am I? You guys look kind of strange..."
In chorus both Hailey and Allijah look at him seriously and respond without will as if something is speaking for them: "Home."
The man stops laughing then looks intently at the both of them in confusion then replies: "I don't understand. What do you mean?"
Together again acting as if their words are in sync, Hailey and Allijah reply: "You've been here before. It's your real home."
Allijah now stepping away from Hailey to clarify what they just said to the man, smiles and continues speaking to him alone: "We're all called back home sometime. This is where you're meant to be."
The hu-man appears to be shaken as Hailey and Allijah’s spoken word is a bit foreign. It’s not like an accent from someone who is not native to a land but an indistinguishable tone in how they spoke their words. Hailey draws Allijah back, pulls on his coat's collar with both hands then kisses him and smiles. They both move to hold one another as the man stands up. Looking on at the man as he shakes his head, then gleefully darts off to fly around the city, Hailey realizes who the man was. Without a word to Allijah on who she realized she had just seen, she conjures her biggest smile yet, then, draws Allijah in closer in excitement and joy to say:
"I love you so much babe! I finally understand what you said!"
"Uh...I love you too sweetie but....I don't know what you mean?" Allijah says with a smirk then tilts his head trying to understand what she's talking about. Spinning around the bay side in emphatic joy and looking at the man, still flying around with a big smile on his face, she responds: "It's all this baby! It's all this and more! It was never about me, it was about you! I've been trying to figure out all of this. This time in the hospital and the coffee shop, my apartment and the song....it all makes sense now because it was for you babe!" She feels unchained to anything at this point. There is nothing binding her mind to any one event, time, or place. As she spins, she slowly loses sight of the man flying around as the scenery in the city starts to pull away in the dream. Kept in the moment, she does not realize the dream is coming to an end. Allijah crosses his arms, laughs, and looks at Hailey, still happily spinning around in excitement, as the dream starts to break down piece by piece. The area furthest away starts sliding down. The bay starts to drain quickly and quitely. The stones under their feet start to slide away like they're being pulled into quick sand. The trees burst off their leaves with the rest fading out of existence. Now, the two lovers standing near each other appear like they're under a spotlight, laughing and dancing, on a universal stage.