What happened?! Where’d that light go?…

Esper couldn’t make sense of what he’d just experienced. What was that? The pulsing purple light was like nothing he’d seen before. It raised hairs on the back of his neck and he felt like it was still somehow on his forehead, right between his eyes. He felt like he was still seeing the light, although not as bright. It made him nervous, but he was also curious about it. It came and went so suddenly. What if it comes back again?! What was it?

Still on the floor, Esper slowly moved each of his limbs, checking for injuries and painful spots. My head hurts. Did I fall? I should have… He carefully rolled over, then sat up and patted himself in several places. I think I’m okay…but am I really? I don’t feel bruised.

His head, however, was pounding and he felt a bit queasy. He leaned his head forward and cradled it in both hands for a few minutes before rigorously rubbing his brows and then touching his forehead. He looked up to peer across his room. He squinted into the dark but couldn’t see much, although he didn’t think there was anything unusual or out of place...now.

He needed to go over what just happened in his head and sort it out. He took some time, while sitting on the floor, to listen for odd noises. It’s really quiet. He sniffed the air for strange scents and found there were none, then held out his tongue to taste the air. There is something different there.

He leaned back against the side of his bed and scratched his right ear. He stayed there awhile, thinking deep thoughts, then started to stir. I guess I’d better get up to make sure everything is okay.

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Esper thrust out his arms and legs, which felt stiff, and pushed off the ground. He stood up with some trouble because of his great size. What rotten timing. I need more sleep! He stretched up to his full height and promptly hit his head on the low corner ceiling.

Ow! Crap..my head! I always do that. He wished he could have acquired a larger living space since this place is really too small for him, but competition for housing is fierce and he’d had to settle for a space that was less than optimal. He had told his friends that he had found a trendy “tiny house” and that it was all about the great location, so central to everything.

Oh, my head, ow. Esper told himself to shake off the pain and started walking towards the bedroom door. He felt dizzy and like he might throw up, but he mustered the strength to keep moving. He checked around the doorway and then once more around the entire room, but didn’t see anything weird. So he proceeded down the hallway leading towards the front of the house and into the next room.

As he passed by the shimmer wall in that room (his favorite space with its many vertical layers of crystal displays), he noticed that the strange taste in the air was stronger. I have no idea what that could be, he thought with concern. It tasted kind of bitter and salty on the tongue. He didn’t think that was good. There didn’t seem to be anything visible in the air that could be the source, and there were still no strange smells. Just this weird twangy taste on the tongue. For safety sake, maybe I need to go outside.

He rushed out of the room, down the next hallway to the front entrance, and bounded out quickly through the doorway, into the fresh air and open space. He took a deep, long breath. So cold! The rising sun was just coming up over the eastern horizon, bathing the SNOW-COVERED?! valley in brilliant orange-red colors.

WHY is there so much SNOW? It should be melting by now.

Esper was shocked. This was not the landscape he expected. He must have awakened early, before the snow had fully melted. He was awake too soon. How disappointing. Because of the weather, he thought he’d better stay home a while longer before venturing outdoors. But he was hungry, with little to eat at his place.