When It's Time to Move On

Door 4 - Chapter 54 - The Two of Us

"Hey, girl, wanna cool off a bit? It's a lil hot to be wrapped up," a tipsy-looking man drawled over to her, evidently under the impression he was being impressively suave. The man made the mistake of reaching out a hand to pull on her scarf.

"Touch that and you'll learn the fastest way to lose a hand." Zafina spoke sternly. Even through the haze of smoke escaping the man's mouth, his wary eyes were apparent, and he staggered away the next instant.

The actual rave turned out to be behind a barrier that was flanked by large, burly men who informed them of the entrance fee.

"So much for that, I suppose," said Harris.

"Please, getting in is easy. I actually want them to make it more challenging." Huey chuckled.

"I have always wanted to see what a rave was like," said Zafina.

"Three tickets coming up."

And with the blink of an eye, he was gone. Harris wasn't all too sure about letting him disappear in such a large crowd.

"He did live in the city all by himself, didn't he?" Zafina pointed out. "But it's nice that you care so much."

Harris shrugged as a sign of acknowledgment. He then felt someone put a hand on his shoulder; this woman behaved pretty much like a female version of the man who made a move on Zafina.

"Yes you have a lot of issues there, but leave us out of it." Zafina shooed the girl away quickly before she could flirt with Harris. "Is everyone high and looking for a hook-up here? I'm starting to feel like we don't belong. We'd be better off in that park."

Harris hadn't noticed the park until she pointed it out. He had no real inclination to be at the rave, and the park looked positively welcoming. Huey returned at that moment, holding up three tickets.

"Voila. Here we go."

"You know what, guys? I'll meet you both right back here. I honestly don't feel like it."

"Nice excuse. He's having a 'Genius' moment, huh, Zafina?"

"No, if you don't want to go, then it's fine." Zafina didn't throw in any remark over Harris's hasty excuse.

"Wait what-?"

Zafina led Huey away while Harris headed over to the park.

It had hit him unexpectedly, the fickleness of his situation. As he sat on a bench in the middle of the trees draped in auburn, he took his time to appreciate the environment; the air he breathed, the rustling of the wind, how the leaves swayed gently down from the trees. 

At that moment, he realized the ludicrousness of it all. He couldn't explain any of it, how he could be in such a beautiful place by walking through a door in a train station. 

But all of this would surely be coming to an end. This was the final door. Where he would go or anything beyond this was nothing more than the unknown. A twinge of fear was in the pit of his gut. He let the breeze lightly touch his face, wanting to embrace this gift the light had bestowed upon him.

Harris couldn't help but wonder whether any of it was even real, whether he was still lying in the hospital bed waiting for his death. All that was around him, be it the bed of autumn leaves near his feet or the clear blue sky above him -- it could all be a figment of his imagination.

His eye caught Zafina walking toward him. He hadn't expected any company, but felt glad to see her approaching; somehow, felt a little less scared.

"How come you're here, where's Huey?"