Chapter Nine

Darkness cleared, and light brought with it colour. There in the light was a girl. She was small, two dark pigtails bouncing on either side of her head as she ran. Petra watched her run around the table, giggling. She had a healthy tan complexion, and large dark eyes. Petra couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the little girl felt familiar.

The room she was in was small, with only a dining room table and wooden chairs around it. Petra tried calling to the little girl, but the words stuck like they were glued in her mouth. There were photo frames hanging on the walls, but the images were blurry. Petra blinked, wondering if something was wrong with her vision. She looked again, but nothing changed.

A different laugh made her turn around. A boy stood next to the little girl. He was only a head taller than her. The two of them chased each other around the table, laughing, squealing with glee. Petra tried to speak again, but no words sounded out. Then she heard a different, more mature female voice. The voice held a sense of familiarity, but she couldn't place who it belonged to. At the sound, something constricted at her heart. A sharp reminder, a nostalgia of something long lost. She looked around trying to locate the owner of the voice, fearful and uncomfortable with these unexpected feelings creeping into her veins. But there was no one else there.

Petra moved towards the doorway hoping to find the person in the next room and as she did, the whole room began to spin. She had never been at sea, but this was reminiscent of a rocking boat simulation. She tried to grab a nearby chair to steady herself, and as she did the room settled. Her hand did not hold the chair, but glided through.

Petra noted that the scene had changed a little. Now, there was a checkered tablecloth, and four plate settings on the table. The photo frames still hung on the wall, but the images in them remained blurry. Petra squinted, opening and closing her eyes, hoping that would work. It didn't help. Behind her someone was singing. The female voice carried with it notes of joy and affection. Petra turned around, a feeling of delight coursing through her. It was the birthday song, and the voice made her heart fill with excitement.

Before her were four people, none of whom she recognised. The little girl and boy, and what looked like two taller, older people. All she could make out were their frames. Much like the photos, their faces were blurry, and unrecognizable. Even so, her heart told her that there was something comfortable about the scene before her. Like a warm bed on a cold day, or a pair of shoes that fit perfectly.

There was cake and balloons, they were clapping, cheering and singing. She couldn't shake the feeling of closeness she felt towards these strangers, even though she knew she'd never experienced this. This had to be some kind of simulation, she decided. That was the only thing that made sense.

A balloon popped, jolting Petra back to the scene playing out before her. The little boy laughed and ran from the room, and once again it began to spin. Her legs shook and warbled, and her stomach churned. Petra grabbed for the closest chair, but it disappeared before her eyes.

A thick smoke of darkness crept into the room from all around. The people, the photos, and the room itself were sucked into a vacuum of darkness and vanished. Petra was alone now, the dark caressing her and she was falling. She fell and fell, screaming, shouting, flailing into the void.

She tried to grab onto something to stop the fall, and that's when she hit the floor. Her body ached, and her head felt like it had been ground into mush.

Petra sat up, blinking against the bright lights around her. She had no idea where she was, or how she'd gotten there. Her mouth tasted weird, and her ears were buzzing.

"Petra, Petra? Are you okay?" she heard someone saying. This voice, even though it sounded a little distorted and so far away, was one she knew very well.

"Ez?" she called, not quite sure from which direction it was coming from.

"You're okay. You're safe; we're safe now" she heard him say, and felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

She groaned, her eyes fighting to close, then she succumbed to the darkness once more…