The Girl made herself comfortable before the fireplace. The flame warmed and waved at her while she listened to the drifting voice of Mr. Nemo,

“ I apologize for the Nothings,

it’s not very often

                 a human arrives here.” 

He sighed, as if tired of making words, slumping in one of his chairs as one leg folded over the other, pushing his fingers together. 

She shifted, she was tired too, “So, that’s what those annoying voices were,” she thought.

“I still don’t understand why I’m here.” She blurted, almost indignant.

Nemo smiled at her tone,

         “Of course,

         I don’t mean to be rude. “  

He stood,

“This

                 way.”   

The fire winked goodbye                               stair. 

                                      winding

He lead her               up     the  

Warm iron began to feel cold the farther they moved.

The First Floor

To the side and over the railing light wavered in a soft and shining blue, “Like we’re underwater,” she mused and from the corner of her eye, she caught the soft silhouettes of slippery, shaping things when----

The Second Floor

was piled with books that vanished____________________________________and reappeared. They shuffled around with a life of their own when---she could have sworn she saw some type of horrible hardcover pounce from a shadowy bookshelf, dragging a small paperback flapping and wailing into its wooden depths.

She cringed, the books were life-like...

and predatory. 

Nemo chuckled, “you’ll have to forgive that.

                                         It’s natural selection, a dime store

                                                         novel

                                                 has no chance against a classic.

                                         They usually get eaten alive.”

“I never knew books could do that!” the horror traced her voice.                

                                                 “I can tell,” he snided,

                                                 “there is going to be a lot

                                                         you never knew.”

The Third Floor

           trailed up and they hesitated before a trap door.

“Girl.”

She called herself to attention.

“These next

                 few floors

you must close your eyes and not open them for any reason.”

His voice seemed more solid, standing beneath the door his hair was thicker, face more detailed. She could see the lines against his thin face, the slight unevenness of his teeth, his eyes were dark and...

“empty” The startled thought popped into her head. 

“Why can’t I open them?” Her curiosity spurred her from the unnerving thought.

“Have you ever experienced a non-existence?” 

The deep pits of his eyes rolled towards her, 

the soothing, drifting presence was gone

“No.” 

“Nemo is something that should not be,” hissed the voice inside her head. 

“Would you like to?” Stagnant eyes stuck to her.

“No.” She wished they would peel themselves away, they seemed to search inside her, invasive, desperate. 

“Then keep your eyes shut and follow the rail.”

Relief washed over her when he turned away.  

#

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Her hands kept to the rail; however, she couldn’t hear the steps of Mr. Nemo anymore. Her own clanged upon the iron steps.

“I would be careful if I were you.”

The voice in her head chimed. Its voice was different than her usual monologue, more annoying, but it seemed stuck to her ever since she fell. 

“I know,” it was exasperating, “he’s a stranger.”

“Oh-ho! Then I suppose then you also KNOW where we’re all going from here?”  

 “No, of course not I---“

“Good.” 

It settled into a fitful silence. She would appreciate it, but if it knew something---

“Could you tell me? It would help a lot if I knew what to do from here.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” If the voice had a nose, it would be up in the air so high a bird might fly in it. 

 “Why not?”

The frustrated sigh echoed across her mind,

“Fine, but I’ll only say this. Things are about to get quite complex for you in a little bit, so stay sharp and---“  

“That’s not even a hint!” She thought, “If you hadn’t noticed, it’s already complex in the silliest way!”

 “Well, that’s part of the fun, I suppose.”

“What? It is not---can’t you just---Hello?”

A strange space was left inside her head where the voice had once been.

         “Hello?” She stamped in her own frustration, “YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE!”

“Why are you shouting?” Rang a very tangible voice in her ears.

She clapped her hands over her mouth, she didn’t want him to think SHE was crazy. Then again, she supposed that in this…Wherever They Were, talking to yourself was most likely a totally normal turn of events.

“N---nothing.”

She thought she heard Mr. Nemo mutter under his breath, “That’s the spirit” but she couldn’t be sure.

Her gaze followed his when she realized, they were on the very top of the tower that shot its way past the mists.

                         Nemo guided her to the edge, “Look down.” 

Her eyes f 

               e 

               l 

               l

 She saw the winding street, the elevated grey on the echoes of crumbled concrete, “that was where...“ she thought.

“That” Nemo confirmed, “Nowhere, capital ‘N’.” His voice had a bite that traced the word:  

Nowhere

#

From the top of the tower, she could see the twisting paths- all of them empty. As if, in that small space, the world had been tossed into silence. 

She looked up at Nemo, “Nowhere?”

         “This is the reason you’re here.”

Her eyes traced across the impossible world. She didn’t want this, didn’t want wherever she was and... 

“I don’t WANT to be here!” She cried out, a sudden tantrum of realization as she slammed her fists into the hard ledge. She ground her teeth, thoughts surged, and slammed again, 

“I didn’t ask to be here” 

again 

“I didn’t ask to be alone,” 

 again 

“I didn’t ask for them to chase me,” the sound of their horses echoed 

 again 

“I DIDN’T ASK FOR MY FAMILY TO---” 

 again 

 “Shhhhh” the voice soothed, “not yet.”    

The encroaching wave of memories receded as the Girl grasped Mr. Nemo’s sleeve, 

“Just send me back,” she pleaded. 

He yanked back, a look of fear crossing his face at her outburst as he shook her off, 

 “It’s not like you have a choice!”

  “Why not!”

She sniffed, he sighed, voice traced with pity,

“Because, you simple thing, you were brought here by will and will alone. Someone wanted you here and I can’t send you back.”

 “But wasn’t it you who----“

“I’m afraid not. I was only the one that found you. Now, if you’ve composed yourself, this way---“

A brisk walk to the other side, where a widow’s walk jutted out, as she began to spin her questions more frantically than before. 

“Then why did you-”

         “Because,”

He said, looking out over the edge where Somewhere and Nowhere collided. A torrent of chaos swirled along the border where bowler hats twisted and Nothings wailed,

 “Right now is a very dangerous time.” He finished

Her eyes grew large as she took in the sight, “What is that?” 

“Where realities collide; and more importantly for you, why no one can send you back. Your world is a mixture of all this.” He gestured towards the cacophony, 

 “Now that it’s in conflict, where you’re from doesn’t exist.”

She looked out over the border, she could see the tiny hats marching and nothing all at once; and in the middle, just past the narrow line where the opposites met was--- Somewhere Else.

 “What is that place?”

She asked, eyes falling to a world where things were constantly shifting. Occasionally, the world would disappear all together, then reappear in its own magnificence, fall apart and build again. 

Trees sprang from emptiness shaping into looming willows cracked with lightning

         withering

                         blooming

Multitudes of people swarmed and quickly vanished to make way for something new.

“A very dangerous reality, “ chewed Mr. Nemo, sour.

“It looks interesting,” she mused, “who lives there?”

“A faceless man.”

Her mind trailed to The Grey Man, everything about him in a constant state of upset just like---

“To enter Somewhere Else is to trap yourself in your own consciousness with the reality called Mr. Noh.” He interrupted,  she nodded quietly and followed Mr. Nemo as he opened the trap door at their feet,

“Remember that when you get there.”

#

Gingerly they headed back

                                 down

                                         the

                                                 stairs.

The new information flooded her mind. So this was her new world. It would have to be, unless…unless she could manage to make things right. What happened, she wondered, to make it all break like this? 

The familiar voice answered her,

“What held the realities together is gone.”

 “What happened? Did someone take it?”

“Well, maybe. Regardless, it is very much missing.”

“If it’s missing it can be found, right?” He mind was excited at the thought, its tone filled with a hopeful shine, maybe Mr. Nemo could even---

“Wait, Girl, don’t ask that---“ 

“Mr. Nemo!” she practically shouted, “What if I found the thing that puts them back together?” 

Nemo paused at the foot of the stairs,

“Yes

                                     the missing  

piece.” 

His voice was drifting again and hard to grasp, but that didn’t quell her excitement.

“If I find it I can go back!” 

“Of course,

         but

wouldn’t

         it be dangerous,

for such a young

         Girl.”

“You don’t think I can find it?”

“Do you know

         What

It

         is?”

“…”

Mr. Nemo sighed with relief,

“As I

         thought.”

“Do you know? Maybe if you---“

“Call

         it off,

dear. It’s

a wonder

         you still

exist at all.” 

When they reached the very bottom, she opened her eyes, only to see a giant dictionary rear its monstrous cover to devour a helpless classic.