The Seastone Chair

Darkness

The endless searching was a constant drain on my energy, making me exhausted most of the time. All I wanted, all I needed was to find my way back home. Things weren’t going well for me here and I knew time was running out for me. Half the time I didn’t know if I were coming or going, and truth be told, I was usually going. It had been almost six months now since I slipped through that portal in time that sent me to a parallel realm. It was great, at first, I loved being here, seeing my face again, experiencing the drastic changes, but this life for me was not meant to be. Out of tragedy came a nightmare—my nightmare and I had no choice but to find my way back. There was only one thing that made sense in my mixed up crazy world.

I was cursed—never had a moments peace, moving through space and time, no rhyme or reason to any of it, and now I had to get back home. In this realm, I’d been hung out to dry, tried and convicted of a crime I cannot truthfully say I didn’t commit. After all, I’m the one that moved the body, and because of that brazen move, she was dead. I couldn’t take back my actions, I could not erase the events that led up to the fiery crash. All I could do was keep hiding in the shadows at night, and hope I wouldn’t be caught and sent to prison. The mere thought of that life sentence hanging over my head gripped my heart like a vice and made it difficult to breathe. It was a judgment call, either way, it seemed that woman was going to die.

I climbed out of bed and headed into the bathroom. Facing the mirror, I gasped, seeing the purple bruise on my jaw and blackened eye. Memories flooded back, the recollection of a barroom brawl rushing through my mind like a movie on fast forward. I gripped the sink trying to stay upright as each blow of heavy fists reverberated through my body as if they were happening now. A right to my jaw, a left to my stomach that had me doubling over, and finally the one to my eye that sent me down like a ton of bricks. The force of the last blow must have knocked me out cold, and how I wound up in this shit hole of an apartment, I’ll never know.

I turned the faucet on and splashed cold water on my face, wondering what today would hold for me. I couldn’t take much more of this insanity. I had to go back and find that portal, make the jump to home and make sure it never sent me back to this hell hole. What if I never found it? What if I couldn’t go back home? That one thought sent my stomach churning as I turned and dropped to my knees, hugging the toilet bowl as dry heaves began. Each churn of my stomach sent acid rushing up my throat, burning its way to my mouth but never escaping. My vision blurred from the intensity of it all filling my eyes with fresh tears as I waited for the sensations to pass.

As much as I wanted this all to end, neither realm held a good life for me, forget about happiness, I was doomed. I shook my head and rose to my feet, went back to the sink and rinsed the acidy taste out of my mouth. I stared at my reflection again in the mirror. At least this face, though swollen and bruised, wouldn’t have people staring at me in disgust and horror, that I was sure of. I reached up and rested my palm against my cheek. Oh, this did feel wonderful, the ability to touch smooth skin untouched by scars and third-degree burns. I needed to bask in this moment for a few more seconds because if I could I chose between being a freak, or going to prison, I’d choose the freak.

In both worlds, I was a pariah, and being a pariah came with a life sentence for me. Grabbing a clean shirt, jeans and hoodie, I dressed and headed out. A quiet dusk settled over the city as I headed to the outskirts of town, back into the woods that I’d grown so familiar with these past few months. When I first came through that portal I had no idea where I was. When I left the woods that first time it had taken me weeks to find the exact spot I had woken up in, and then a few more days after that to locate the dark hole. There was familiarity in my surroundings, buildings, street names, shops, and I recognized people, but that is where the resemblances ceased.

It was like I’d stepped into the same century, but with enormous differences. Each realm had distinctive advancements. Where I was a freak after being in a horrific car accident that left me disfigured for life, cancer, and drug addiction were the main killers of men, but in this realm where jail loomed over my head, there were miracle cures. The technology was advanced, crimes were no longer common and it was a more peaceful place to live. That was a definite upside to this parallel realm and some days I wanted to stay here and not return to where people looked at me with pure hate and disgust like I was a monster about to eat them for lunch. If only I could be the disfigured me here, where people were kind to one another and seemed to genuinely care about mankind.

I knew it was only a matter of time before my luck would run out and one of the face recognition machines on the street would pick me up and I’d be hauled away to live out the rest of my days in a solitary cement cell. That is the other huge difference here. You don’t get to lift weights, watch television, or even eat lunch with others in jail here. Every crime gets you a small solitary cell with one window for the duration of your sentence. The irony of this whole thing was that in one realm I was the victim of a fiery car crash, while in this one, I caused that same accident. It felt like fate didn’t like me much in either realm and I was doomed to suffer no matter where I was.

I stepped off the curb, pulling the hood of the jacket tight around my face as I moved toward the woods and away from prying eyes. I had to try to jump through that portal, find some way to close it behind me and learn to accept my disfigurement. Crickets chirped as I made my way to the path. I didn’t have a lot of time before darkness would settle in like a heavy cloak and make it next to impossible to find that inky black hole in the ground next to a fallen birch tree. Once I made it through the heavy tree line, I started running full out, deeper and deeper into the woods. I heard a snap and slowed my pace, stopped, looked around but saw nothing so I continued. Just a little bit further and I’d be standing on the precipice.

Fresh pine assaulted my nose, reminding me of the air freshener I had in my car back home. I ached for home, to reclaim the life I thought I didn’t want. Why was fate being so cruel to me? Was there something I was supposed to be learning here? Maybe that familiar scent meant something, perhaps it was a good sign, something I could bask in.

Just as I was about to step through the line of Evergreens that led to the Birch trees and that portal, I noticed someone on their hands and knees beside the fallen tree. It was clear I wasn’t the only one to know about this window between realms. I watched as he rocked back, gathering leaves as if to cover it up. I couldn’t take the chance that he was somehow going to close the portal, not until I went through it anyway.

“What are you doing?” I asked, stepping into the small clearing.

He looked back at me over his shoulder. “I knew you’d be here tonight.”

Shock rushed through me. How did he know who I was? Or better yet, that I would come back here on this night? Just what was going on here?

“Who are you?”

“I’m the one that created this portal and now it’s time to close it up. I’m sorry but I cannot let you go back to where you came from,” he said matter of factly.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve put me through here? What I face if I’m stuck here?” I demanded. Anger sent heat rushing through me like lava pouring out of a volcano. I couldn’t go to prison. I wouldn’t!

“Yes, I’ve been watching you from the moment you were thrown through the hole. I’m sorry things didn’t pan out better, but this is what you’re left with.”

Left with? What in the hell was he talking about? “I have to go home, and you’re going to make sure that I get there.” What I wouldn’t give for a weapon at that point, something forceful to convince this man to let me pass.

“We cannot have two of you in your realm.”

I hated how calm he sounded as if this were some everyday occurrence. “Two of me?”

The man stood and faced me. “Yes, your doppelganger is in your realm now. If I let you pass through one of you will die.”

“Then so be it. No matter which realm I’m in that is a certainty.”

“I’m really sorry Jared, I cannot let you go back through. I need to close it and make sure it stays shut.”

He turned his back to me again. I would only have one shot at this. I had to run as fast as I could and make that jump right over him and through the depths of that hole.

My fists clenched at my sides. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, preparing myself for my next move. My mind drifted to the smog, horns, and sirens of police cars, people running around talking, obsessed with their cell phones. I needed that life back. I opened my eyes and lunged forward, running to close the distance between me and that portal. The man turned just as I launched myself over him and I went head first into the portal falling, my arms and legs flailing and then...darkness.

WC: 1817

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