Author: Alexander Fawn

He held the glass beaker up to the light.

He turned and surveyed the room with a grin. His family had been so understanding about his wanting to set up a laboratory in the spare room. This would make up for it. Nothing would ever be the same again. He knew that, when his work was taking him close to the end. He had endured and he had definitely succeeded. It would be a game-changer. More than that, much more. This was the stuff of mythologies throughout the ages. The world as he knew it would never be the same again. His achievement would eclipse the work of all the world’s greatest scientists. There would be those who would do anything to get their hands on what he held.

The university would have to admit that his reasons for missing so many lectures were completely genuine. He had tried to explain that he just needed time, a year or two, to complete his work. There would be huge repercussions, he knew that. So many negatives. None of his current friends and acquaintances would ever be the same. He knew, from his many conversations with his parents, that they would find it difficult to ever treat him as an ordinary son again. His girlfriend, who had always regarded him as fairly unusual, and wasn’t afraid to say so, would never come to terms with it. In fact, nothing in his life would stay the same. He would have to prepare himself for what was to come. Still, all this was of little consequence and such a small price to pay.

He took another sip. There it was again, a warm and invigorating glow throughout his entire body… immortality!

She was a busy person.

She got up before anyone else. She shampooed her hair and showered. She ironed a last minute shirt for her husband before he left for the office. She dropped the kids off at school, heard about her neighbour’s holiday, prepared a casserole for tea, did two washing machine loads and hung it all out, vacuumed through the front of the house, dusted ornaments, and walked the dog. She ate a quick lunch, did volunteer work in the afternoon at the charity shop, stopped to listen to her workmate’s complaints about local politicians, and did a quick shop.

She did all this in a single day.

It was on that same day that she ran across the street to catch the bus home, for the last time.

Her family was extremely wealthy and she had never wanted for anything.

This may have been the reason that she so often did exactly what she wanted. Naturally, she didn’t work and travelled a great deal. She first heard about the ‘tunnel of change’, the mystic journey to antithesis, from a friend who had invisible web internet connections with people who knew about such things. Being the sort of young woman who would give just about anything a go, she made plans. It had been revealed to her that located in an underground city in a middle-eastern country, famous for its vast network of subterranean tunnels, only a small part of which was open to the public, there was an amazingly special tunnel. It’s a passageway that runs along the back section of the city, and not open to the public. It is claimed that only those who can pass through the mystic barrier that blocks the midway point are able to walk the entire four-hundred metre length of it. She was told that it was irreversible. It was said that when you emerge you are guaranteed to see the world in a completely different light.

Within the week she was on a plane. On arrival she booked into a hotel and began studying the maps and other materials her friend had provided. On the following day she set out and without too much trouble used the map and diagram to find the relatively small opening to the passage. It had been cleverly camouflaged with a heavy growth of bushes. Once inside, after a few paces it opened up to a full height. Although the day was bright outside, she needed the torch that she’d been told she’d need to make her way. Half way in, she came to what had only been described to her as the mystic barrier.

It looked like a large, thick pane of frosted glass set into the rock. Tapping it with the torch told her it was solid enough to bar her way. She stood thinking for a while. Intuitively, she rested her fingertips on the panel and felt it give. She push slightly and her hand went through. She pulled it back and checked that no harm had come to it. Knowing the answer, she proceeded to gently part the barrier, much like opening a pair of curtains. She felt a little like Alice in Wonderland as she stepped through. Once she was on the other side, she stood feeling really pleased with her achievement as she watched the barrier close. As she made her way along the remainder of the tunnel, and noting a glimmer of light growing brighter at the end of it, she was aware of a tremendous sense of excitement building.

When she emerged, she certainly found that she saw the world in a different light.

She was now male, black and extremely poor.

He didn’t think about his former life very often.

It was just back there, sitting there, what was done was done. He never dwelled for too long on the fact that his dear wife had stepped out in front of a car, or the day they closed the factory and his job went with it, or losing the house, or the endless attempts to find work. He concentrated on the life that was his. The daily business of walking the streets, begging, seeking shelter, and taking care of the few things he owned.

Of course, there had been happy times. Although her short life meant they’d had no children, they shared a good life for a while. He had enjoyed his work, and had several friends they would spend time with. But this all seemed to be so long ago that it had all faded. The one time that he considered to be his happiest was when, at the age of eight, his father would give him rides in the wheelbarrow. It was such a precious memory and so powerful. His father would work in the garden at every opportunity, so the rides were many. He would climb in and clutch at the sides, while his dad would race around the back yard, at what back then he considered to be very high speeds. He would have to hang on for all he was worth to avoid being tossed out.

The night was very cold with a wind that howled through the streets. When he arrived at his favourite alley it was empty. He’d learned to ignore the stench of rotting vegetables that came from the skip that took the restaurant’s garbage. If anything, being close to it, the bulk of it served as a barrier against the bitter blast that swept through the tunnel. He set down his belongings and prepared for the night. He tightened all the buttons on his tattered clothes and climbed into his old sleeping bag. He then sat for a while with his back against the wall.

He closed his eyes and gripped the sides of the wheel barrow. Delirium took hold and a private ecstasy engulfed him. The down-and-out sat smiling.

It never failed.

He answered the phone.

A man’s voice came on, saying “Don’t speak! Just listen very carefully. Your future life depends entirely on you listening carefully to what you are told. Say ‘yes’ if you understand.”

He took a few moments to take it in, then said, “Yes.”

“We know what you’ve been doing,” came the voice.

He went to answer, then thought better of it. He remained silent.

“We have bank statements,” the voice went on. “We have copies of the cargo manifests, the sea container identification numbers, the shipping rosters and your deposit and collection sites throughout Europe. We have everything we need to alert the relevant authorities to your entire operation and send you to prison for a very long time.” There was a pause. “If you have understood this so far, indicate with a simple “Yes’”.

“Yes.”

“OK. Within minutes of this call you will receive instructions by email regarding the amount, together with the time and place for the drop. You will commit this to memory and delete the email. We have remote access to your computer and will know if you have complied. Follow these instructions and you get to keep your operations intact.”

“All clear so far?”

The man took a deep breath and said, “Yes.”

“Good. We know you’ll need time to make all these arrangements. We know where you work, the position you hold in the office and who your boss is. You’ll need to convince him that you need to take a few days off to deal with private matters. We have people there and you will be observed.”

Another short pause, then the voice said, “You have a busy time in front of you. I suggest you check your email.”

The man jumped in quickly and said, “OK. I think I should tell you that I work in a factory and my boss is a woman.”

After a short silence, the voice said, “Oops!”

Click.

It is a place where fantasies are born.

Neither here nor there,

But lost between the two.

In a soft bed at the end of day,

And the only one there is you.

–

Such reveries come without expectations,

Moving far beyond the test of time.

No exertions necessary,

Adventures gliding on a breeze,

No need to run or climb.

–

Dreamy, yet aware,

A filter between sleep and wake,

Something between day and night,

Seeing such creations idealised,

But contented with the fake.

–

Whispers heard and half heard,

In the seclusion of the mind.

Lost in a calm euphoria,

Forever being in the moment.

Joy of a special kind.

–

A journey through an ethereal trail,

No matter the compass askew.

Moving to a place where you are not,

Making all unchartered waters your own,

Moving gracefully through.

A place where a unicorn whinnies,

Where fairies dance and sing,

Fantasy in all its disguises,

Allowing visions that mystify,

They create each and everything.

–

Nothing invades this private sanctuary,

And all that thrives in a dream,

Untouched by life’s harsh reality,

And inner visions come flooding in,

That only the dreamer can deem.

–

With ideas lit by a trillion stars,

Where faraway whispers come and go,

With visions barely on the periphery,

With enchantment growing with such power,

That only the dreamer may know.

–

A place that can still all echoes,

With all illusions made real.

A place where no structure or rules apply.

A place where silence sleeps alone,

Where the tangible becomes surreal.

–

It is within this half-lit world,

Where harmless things remain,

Where forgetfulness is precious,

Where reason does not apply,

Where every wish is granted,

Across twilight’s vast terrain.

From the word go they had always taken it in turns to respond to the baby alarm.

They had bought the latest model. It had the works; two-way audio and a room temperature sensor. It was often the case that when the little one began crying they both woke up and had to think hard before remembering whose turn it was, but it usually got resolved pretty quickly. On this particular night the baby had been silent right through to the middle of the night, when all of a sudden its cries came over the speaker. He came to, realising it was his turn. He began to pull his covers down and swing his legs out when he heard a shushing sound. The baby could be heard murmuring softly as a melodic humming started. He smiled as he recognised it as some kind of lullaby. He rolled back in and pulled the covers up. After a while, everything went quiet again.

He was just drifting back into sleep when he was startled by a hand coming over and giving his shoulder a squeeze.

She whispered, “Thanks honey.”

The key that she had worn on a chain around her neck since childhood was gone.

It wasn’t until she returned from a three day trek along the Gokyo Lakes and Renjo La in Nepal that she found it missing. As mind-blowing as the thought of it was, she would have to return and search for it. She simply had no choice. It was a small, ornate key that was given to her by her widowed mother before she died. It was extremely precious to her, not only because her mother had passed it on to her, but because it unlocked a great treasure. Her father, long before he passed away had bought a collection of gold coins at auction to be passed on to his daughter in the form of an inheritance. These precious coins were placed in a similarly ornate, metal strongbox. This small fortune was held in a bank vault and could only be opened by the lost key.

Needless to say, there had been no trekking, no coins and no strongbox. Her parents were still alive and living in a retirement home.

In truth, there never had been a key, but she would keep looking for it!

He was sitting on a bench in the park listening to the voices in his head.

He could hear them clearly. He was smiling, as though he was joining in to some strange conversation. People out to lunch, walking past, were staring at him, especially when he closed his eyes. He was in another world. The subtle changes in his expression ended with a knowing smile. Without warning he stood abruptly. He pulled the mini earpiece out as he made his way back to the office. That was the end of the story.

He just loved audio books.

It was his second visit to the extrasolar planet to carry out maintenance.

He was hoping that this trip would be more of a break than the last one. That had been drawn out big time by his being given the wrong microchips for the spaceport’s upgrade. It had been a disaster, with him being stuck in limbo for a week on standby, waiting for parts. Although this job was only a two-day stint, he figured he’d have all of the second day to be a tourist. He’d been told that the city had lots to offer with artificial intelligence technology being widely used. As long as he was careful not to enter the slum sector, he’d be all right. Apparently, many of the failed robotic projects had resulted in rogue automatons going AWOL. They now controlled a small shantytown on the edge of the city. This was now an area forbidden to humans.

The first day went well, with no hitches occurring during his carrying out the repairs. The second day was all his. He used the audio guide book to move around the city. He’d had a fascinating day by the time he was due to return to his sleeping quarters. Whereas the guide had been an excellent help during the day, he found that the navigational system was playing up on his return. He knew enough to know that there was some kind of interference concerning the directives he was receiving. It was at the point where he realised that the surroundings were no longer familiar and that he was definitely lost that it happened.

Walking past several large, rundown hangers, he heard a door creak open behind him and before he could turn he felt a blow to the back of his head. He had obviously been out cold because when he came to he found himself strapped to a table and surrounded by several androids all jabbering incoherently to one another. As far as he could tell they were excited. They fell silent and stood aside when the apparent leader approached.

The battered-looking robot picked up a scalpel and giggled.