Chapter 1

728 23 19
                                    


FIREHOUSE

Phoebe lay on her bed at night, her mind caught in a spiral. She struggled to collect any of her thoughts. Reflecting on the past, Phoebe felt she was left behind. She's alive, yes, and aware that Melody is content but all she is left is an empty pack of matches instead of a best friend. She knows change is inevitable and even fair, but her heart still aches.

She sighed and rolled onto her back, feeling the uncomfortable warmth of the room. Phoebe got up, opened the window a crack, and let the cool wind wash over her face. It was that kind of breeze that made you want to cry. She swung the window wide open and settled back onto the bed, sitting criss cross and gazing into the dim, cloudy night. Glancing at the clock on her nightstand, it read 12:47 am.

Still no sleep.
Phoebe took several deep breaths and then reached for a stuffed animal nestled among her pillows. Holding it close, she placed it in her lap and whispered, "What do you think? Am I being crazy?" Her head fell downward, lost in thought. "Mhm," She murmured in response to herself.

Some tears welled in her eyes. Now she was delving into nostalgia. "Crazy," She repeated silently, thinking of the memories associated with the teddy bear in her lap, dozing off a little.

 "Crazy," She repeated silently, thinking of the memories associated with the teddy bear in her lap, dozing off a little

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

I want out.
What?
Get me out of here.
No.
I want out of-
Phoebe, don't do this. You're overly tired. Go to sleep.

s̨̪̜̣̪̟̦̰̜͉̞̥̠̳̝͖̬̘ͤ̌ͪ͛͆͂ͧ̊͗̆̇̚̚͢͝ḙ̵̢̞͉͂͐͊ͮ̄̑̀ͅĺ̷̟͊͋͂ t̗̻̍ͪ͂ǎ̴̭͈̺̲̻̜̑ͥͣͩ́ͫ͌͌͆̀ͨ͆͐͑̒̉̇̈͌͌ͪͮ̉̅͠ͅ_̪̲ͨ̆̊͡͝ s̹̦ͫu̶̶̵̸̜̥̦͔͈̙̗̳̼̿̇͛̃ͦ̒ͯͫ̂ͯ̏̓ͪ͠͡ ŕ̶̵̢̛̟͇͇̻̜̼͔͓̲ͯͣ̍̀̆ͥ̋͛ͮͮ̚͢͞a̢̛͈͖̘͔̹̙̘̜͑̓̓̐̽̑̊̅̏̑͌͠ͅ_̤ a̸̴̵̦̖̘̝ͬͮͪ̋̔ͪͩ̎̃̚͞͞ŝ̶̡̝͙̣̤̱̣̣͖̘͇ͣ̒͐̈́̊̽̅̏ͤ͌ͅh̨̤̰́̆ͬu̶̸̦̯̮̙̪̯̥̩̰̯̰͔̱̐ͪͫͧ̔̊̋͊͒̍̇̽̒̄͌̊ͧ̐͜͠o̵̷̧̢̪͈̭̹̬͈͎̣͇̯̣̥͚̒̅̀̎̇̓ͩ̀̀̓̄͆ͦ̓̏̚͜͟͟͟͝͠t̢̛̥̲͕̝̀ͩ͒̏̆̀ͤͯ̎͘͞ę̴̟͎̼̰̗͚͍̤͕̠̒ͦ͐̊̓̆̐̀̃ͩͅȑ̶̸͔̟͎͉͔̹̙͍̱̖̤̤̣̒ͩ̅ͣ̂̆̽̓̋ͣ̎̓̀̕ͅă̸̢̛̙̘̩̜̮̜̼͚͈̦̟̥̰̰̟̟̪̬̋̈̈́̃̅ͩͭ͌̀͒ͬͭ̑̚̕͞t̸̡͕͙͇̹̰͙̮̳̰̩̤͒ͥ͊̋͒̎͛ͭ̓̔́̓̀ͭ̀̀̚͢͟͜͟eͩ

What?

What was that? No- what did you just say? I heard something. Why am I talking to myself like this??

sͯe̷l̼ͪ ť̞a s̏ͪu̩̎ ra̠ͅ ȧ̳sh́̅͆u̷͗ǫter̅a̲̤͠t͕̀e .

She opened her eyes, the welling tears now escaping. Phoebe's eyes widened with shock. "Oh." She whispered, barely audible. She got up abruptly and turned to where she had been seated moments  before, only to find herself still there, motionless.

Her body was laying there, unconscious, uttering ancient chants again. Phoebe's hands trembled as she observed them, now a ghostly blue. "No, no, no.." A surge of nausea rushed over her from her anxiety. She rushed to her body, attempting to shake it awake with no avail. Under normal circumstances, she would have remained calm and focused but the question that consumed her now was: Why did this happen and how was it possible without the spirit separation machine?

She ignored the unsettling scene for now, turning to the window once more. If I died right now... Phoebe wasn't going to entertain that thought. The breeze felt gentler than before but still as comforting, like a hug she longed to have.

Phoebe sat up quickly, gasping for air as tears streamed down her face. She raced to check her hands, relieved to see them be her own. She pressed them against her mouth to stifle any sounds. Phoebe forced herself to calm down, her thoughts gradually but surprisingly slowing. By 12:40, she got up and shut the window with a tired yawn. Wiping away the remaining tears from her face; she did so with little emotion.
She went to the bathroom, thankful to be greeted by her face in the mirror. Next stop, she went downstairs.

"Mom," Phoebe whispered urgently. When there was no response, she repeated, this time tapping her mother's shoulder, "Mom."

Callie woke up with a start, typical of a mom being woken up suddenly, Phoebe?— Jesus," She exclaimed, "You okay? What's going on?" She asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"I just had an out of body experience." Phoebe explained monotone.

"What?" Callie looked confused.

"Exactly what I just said, what else do I need to explain to you?" Phoebe snapped.

Callie raised her eyebrows briefly, not in response to the snap, but out of concern, "I thought you were joking..." She sighed and got up, "What happened, Pheebs?" Her tone now concerned.

Two MinutesWhere stories live. Discover now