Shatter

A Story by Chris H.

An unmoving world, a forever change in reality

Soothing smell of peppermint, a sharp pain in the temples. A cloudless day, a blinding pain. Beautiful smell of maple blossoms, sting of pain. Soft chirp of robins, deafening pain. Nap. Supposed to be for an hour. Cards tonight. Texas Hold’ Em. At the neighbor’s. $5 buy in, $20 prize. Saturday nights. Plus his wife makes good cheesecake. 2:34. Nap for an hour. Cards to be at 4. Sleeping. Sleeping. Still sleeping. Long, long hour. Dream. No, nightmare. Beautiful nightmare. Man. Standing. Posed. Robust. Powerful. Grayed Hair. Full beard. White robe. Crown. Made of Wreath. Silver zig-zagged sword. In a white pantheon. Walls. Made of marble columns. Floor. White. Puffed. Clouds? On mountain. No snow. Warm, not hot. Rivers. Four of them. Flowing off all sides. Man. Alone. A spear. Flying. Into his ribs. Below sternum. Blood stains the robe. Pours on floor. Stands still. Cups hands over spear. Looks up. See into his eyes. Electric blue.

Wake up. 2:47. No. Not possible. Slept for hours. 2:47. Lay for minutes. 2:47. Sit up. Pure black shadow. Where I laid. Scared. Move arms. Leave shadows. More scared. Uncover. Large shadow. Legs? Move into light. Cast permanent shadow. Dark over bed. Stand up. Shadow left behind. Turn around. Push light into shadow. Shadow is gone. What is going on? Run outside. Black space follows. Jump. Shadow left underneath. In darkness. Can’t breathe. Move to light. Breathe. Can I move air and light? Try it. Scoop into spot. Bright. Tremendously bright. High pressure. Ears pop. Walk down road. Worried. Think I’m dreaming. Eagle. Frozen near ground. Wings spread in midflight. Dreaming. Yes, dreaming. Pet bird. Laugh. Walk. River. Ripples. Splashes. Unmoving. Walk across. On top. Shoes wet. Won’t sink. Jump. No splash. Run again. Anxious. Want to wake. Pinches arm. Nothing. Slams leg into rock. No pain. Climb hill. Cliff. Jump. Fall. Scream. Hit bottom. Bounce. My path, space. No feeling. Stand up. Think. Think. Think. WHAT THE HELL?! Calm, breathe. Calm, breathe. Cal…Panic! HELP!!!!! No one around. No one to hear.

Grace! Run. Run for hours. Sun never moves. Never get tired. Roads. Highway. Road. House. Black. Run through door. Splits. Run up stairs. Green carpet. Door. White. Knock. Knock. Knock! No answer. Terrified. Open door. Slowly. Slower. No creaking. She’s standing. Facing the door. Phone in hand. Black phone. By hip. Hair let down. Brown. Eyes. Looking at me. Blue. Cyan. Green sweater. Black jeans. White walls. White bed linens. Black curtains. Walk to her. Unmoving. Touch her hair. Soft. Silky. No smell. No perfumed smells. No vanilla. Cry. Scream. Shriek. Yelp. Bawl. Cry. Look at phone. Song on. Fall out Boy. Immortals. Only one note. Continuous. Move closer. Previous note. Closer. Note. Face at her hand. Kiss her hand. Stand. Head in her shoulder. Hours. Days. Years. Didn’t move. Never hungry. Never thirsty. Never tired. Always stiffened. Her hair always down. Always soft. Sun always up. Thought about moving her. Hold her. Might break her. Legs snap. Couldn’t. Just hugged her. Breathed. Ran hand up and down back. Breathed. Left.

Library. Closed. Window. Fist. Punch. Glass shatter. Doesn’t falls. Move pieces. No cuts. Research. On what? Universe. New model. Google interns. 12 cubic feet. Galaxies. Connected. Small poles. Bendable. Move one. No light. Gather light. Move another. More light. Idea. Stupid Idea. Why not? Psychology book. Open. Page 423. Brain model. Extensive. Bend poles. Move galaxies. Need light. Move in. Hard to breathe. Move air. Contort poles. Shift galaxies. A brain. Perfect brain. Milky Way. Very bottom. Tip of brainstem. Think. Stems die last. Breathe. Nothing.

Man. Collapses.