Waking up

The bright sun fell into the small room where Tang He slept in.

This time, all he dreamt about was light. Light in all colours imaginable!

It got brighter and brighter first and then dimmed again. He saw strange white and yellow lines. He even saw something like his birthmark.

On his belly a bit below his navel was a small darker area. 4 identical leaves could be found there if one wanted to. Though most people who saw it would only notice a couple of irregular lines. Nobody really cared. Many children had spots on their skin. Even though this one was a bit on the bigger side.

As the sun rose the rays fell lower and lower on the wall where Tang He's bed stood.

It was a very simple bed. Straw for the bedding with a cloth on top. In the winter the whole family would sleep together on the big bed Tang Mei and Tang Fang owned. They only had one expensive big fur to warm everyone in the cold nights.

A fireplace was not cheap to have and sustain so the Tang's only had a small fire going in the parent's room and only when the cold was too bad for them not get warm together. Wood burned too quickly and charcoal was expensive.

In the summer the brothers had one room and his sister another.

The only reason why Tang He could even sleep alone in one room was because he snored really loudly and often murmured very incongruous nonsense. Sleeping with him would be torture as Tang Guo explained it once.

Since then Tang He would sleep in the old storage shed, where they had always stored straw and grain.

A new shed was built by the Ma family after some bickering on the price. Not a happy day for Tang Rong and because of his grogginess Tang He had a couple of more difficult weeks then. The boy slept alone since then and only in the winter he would sleep with everyone else.

Hence, Tang He always had the sun to greet him in the morning. The brilliant rays finally reached the child's face showing his unkept black hair and average face. Even his mother never found him too handsome, but there were boys worse off.

His eyelids fluttered and slowly opened.

Frank finally awoke from his long slumber.

Looking through the window he gazed into the azure blue sky.

< So beautiful! >

'Ah, Warm and Comfy!'

The long-missed sight of the sun drove away all left sleepiness he had.

< Where am I? >

< What happened? >

< Didn't I die? >

'Who are you? I can't see you?'

< Who am I?! Who are you? And why am I not looking at the sky anymore? >

'Sky makes me sad.'

< It makes you sad? Wait…what? >

'Where are you? I hear you but don't see you?'

< Hmm…Let's see… I died, I woke up and I can't seem to move… Hmm… But I do see the sky, hear the wind, smell the grass and feel the itch on my back… >

'Woow… you speak really good!'

< …Ehh, and you can't? – So, who are you? >

'Tang He! Son of Tang Rong my papa!'

< Hmm? Eastern Style names huh? Okay… >

< So Tang He, why am I in your body? >

'My body?'

After a small pause

'I don't know.'

'You are in my BODY?'

Tang He started shaking his head in confusion. Aggrieved he shouted:

"I don't know! Who are you?"

< Calm down! Don't shout! >

He didn't listen and continued:

"You are that demon my mother told me about!"

"I remember. Mama said not to listen to you!"

Frank was bewildered from that reaction. Interestingly he actually remembered some kind of sweet taste, he never should have tasted before.

< Strange. Hm… >

< Calm down! I can't do anything to you, I think >

< And aren't your sentences perfectly fine? >

Surprised Tang He sat up from his lying position.

'Wait what?'

'You are right!'

'I can talk!'

Full of ardour he started:

"M…nam…is…Tang He!"

After saying his name in a slow but steady manner he sprang up and started laughing and jumping around with the happiest face he ever made.

Watching the spinning room around him made Frank slightly nauseous but this feeling strangely came and went as it intermingled with the happiness he felt somehow.

< Why do I feel so strangely happy? >

As saying his name aloud was not really something for Frank to be proud for, he was a bit astonished. Of course, he WAS happy too.

He was alive!

But Frank wasn't happy enough to have tears running down his eyes.

< I seem to feel everything you feel! >

Frank wasn't sure how that would be possible as medical technology deemed things like that impossible, as different brains would feel the same things differently depending on their wiring.

'Hey my head hurts! Stop thinking so much, demon!'

< Your head hurts? Where? >

'Ahh, the front of my head… prefron….cort…x.'

< Prefrontal cortex? How do you even know that word? Aren't you like 12 or something? Wait no you are 9 as of today. >

< Why do I know that? >

Linking memories should absolutely be impossible. There was once a big clinical trial in the Netherlands where they tried to implant complicated memories and deemed it to be unfeasible.

'Ahh! Stop thinking!!!!'

< Oh, sorry. It seems that me thinking to hard brings you pain. >

< Let us take it slow then… >

< Do you feel any different today? >

'Hmm? No, dreamt about a shiny light. No cars this time…'

Suddenly Tang He stopped dancing and just stood there with a serious look on his face.

< Shiny light huh? Interesting … huh What is it? >

Noticing the frown on his face Frank asked.

'What is a car? And why do I know that my dreams showed them?'

< Wait what? Have you never seen a car? >

< Sure, you live in a rural area and your family works in a farm. But how do you not know about…? >

At that moment he seemed to remember seeing lots of carriages pulled by horse-like animals under a bright blue sky.

< Wait! >

< Blue sky???!!! >

< How is this possible. The sky should be grey and full of clouds. To counteract the warming-effects >

< Why is it blue? >

Frank was totally stunned by his realisation. Blue sky with some white clouds - the same as in his childhood.

< Where is this? And when is this? >

Agitated Frank screamed. Of course, the only one to hear him was Tang He and these questions just made him even more confused.

'It is summer and we are in my room.'

Feeling He's confusion Frank was even more upset. Forcibly trying to calm down he started again:

< Okay… I died … I woke up again … I am somehow emotionally linked to this small boy … I can't really move besides slightly influencing the sight … >

< To sum it up: I am trapped and I don't even know what year it is or where on earth we are. >

With a final sigh Frank calmed down.

< At least it is not a full version of shut-in syndrome. That would suck! >

Listening to the monologue of the demon Frank made Tang He very curious:

'What is this shaaat-in suundromm?'

Remembering his own children and their constant bickering and asking he answered:

< Shut-in syndrome is when someone feels everything but can't move. No one around him knows he is alive, but he can clearly hear you. Often such patients would be miss-diagnosed and pronounced dead. >

'dayagnooozzed?'

< Yes, that is a procedure in which … >

Wide-eyed Tang He listened to this inner voice explaining this and some other medical jargon to him. Why and How questions are very easy the make but can be very difficult - if not impossible - to answer and Frank liked the feeling of answering questions to kids so he continued. He even contemplated becoming a teacher once.

Sadly, being a teacher was a very ungrateful job in his country. Low pay, lots of work, annoying parents. This made him decide to go into the material sciences and he was indeed successful there.

'Oh!! I remember those toys in white rooms! They are just like in my dreams. Tell me more about them!'

< That is a laboratory – Where I worked. My team wanted to build a space elevator >

Feeling the confusion again. Frank continued:

< Err… That is a road to the sky, where you could go up and down and visit other worlds >

'WOOOOW'

Tang He had his mouth wide open and tried to imagine how it would be to walk into the sky on this road.

'Wouldn't you fall of? But maybe you could bind yourself to it…'

Very satisfied by that reaction Frank and having Tang He occupied by his own thoughts he started thinking again:

< So it seems I can access his memories and He can see mine albeit mostly in his dreams. >

< He had those dreams for a very long time, so why did I only now wake up? >

Suddenly Tang He stopped and exclaimed in his thoughts:

'Ahh who cares? Stop thinking!'

< Ohh…. It's his brain. Still developing and not able to process my thoughts. >

< But why am I even here? >

'Stop! If you ever do it again I'll go to mama and tell her everything!' Tang He threatened.

< Okay, okay I'll try and not think too much. >

< Does this mean you won't tell your mother? >

If you could see Franks face you would notice a slightly wise and sly expression. Luckily Tang He couldn't see it.

'Naa, mister helped me with talking. And mister is very kind when he doesn't think too much.'

< Don't call me mister all the time >

< Call me Frank! >

< And nice to meet you, Tang He! Hopefully we'll have a nice time! >

With a very happy face Tang He turned to the door and started heading out of the door.

'Let's fetch some water!'