Gone

3. Noticing Umbworld

I jump at the sudden, explosive sound. Jolting out of a refreshing dream, I rub my eyes as I look around.

I think I'm seriously going to inflict some high standardised pain to whoever decided that blowing things up, when someone is clearly sleeping nearby, is acceptable. Pardon my dreams, why can't they?

I remember noticing the room's floor and what Sal had said from when I was last awake.  Should I go look for him?

I get out of bed, pushing away the floral-patterned quilt, and a slight chill runs through my stiff, and yet dazed muscles. I guess walking for miles and then resting for days doesn't do much good, then.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the thick, slightly warm and soft carpet that reaches my feet instead of the expected cold floor.

My feet tingle slightly as I walk on the feathery carpet towards the window, and open the blinds when suddenly another blast coincides with the sudden light exposure.

My heart starts beating harder at the coincidence and with heavy breathes I look outside to see a beautiful, sunny, warm morning, and am taken aback by its beauty.

My bitter mood takes a turn for the better as slowly, but surely, a smile tugs at my lips. The smile stretches till my eyes through warm cheeks as I continue looking outside in awe.

The sky is uninterruptedly filled with the colour that I used to paint it in my childhood, the perfect 'sky blue' colour from my long forgotten colour palette. I can hear the bird's slight chirps through the pristine glass which lets me see the beautiful green blades of the fresh grass and pretty, healthy trees.

I excitedly reach for the bolts of the window and open it. The scent of fresh rain and moist soil wafts sweetly in the air and the musical chirping of the birds grows louder.

Some mysterious figure can be seen behind the thick branches of the growing trees and I squint, trying to see it better.

A single nearby tree quivers, many dark green and yellow leaves falling from it. In response, a black crow flies from on top of some shaken branch and straight towards the window. Towards me.

I scream, loudly. My voice comes out slightly croaky, as if my throat is tired from the long rest. Putting "analysing organs" as the last thing on my to-do list, I quickly reach out to close the window before the crow comes to peck the soul out of me.

It felt like it was going to do much worse.

When I look out through the glass again, the crow was already swerving the window to fly off at someone else, and I notice that only this particular tree had been shaking like it had caught a cold in the middle of an otherwise silent forest.

I couldn't hear the birds at all now through the glass and my deep breaths, the dark silhouette was gone.

Another thumping sound comes from outside my room and I'm still just as shocked by it as I was the first time all due to the stunning distraction that transitioned in between. I glance one last time towards the picturesque day, willing myself to remember every detail, and then walk over to the door in order to go out and investigate the source of the cacophony.

I stumble slightly as my feet reach the wooden floor at the carpet's edge but my hands hold the wall and the bedside to save myself from a fall.

Such grace in my movements!

I shake my head. I should probably not exert my tired legs too much.

Promising myself to not wander for too long, I reach for the cold metal handle and sigh slightly before turning it, dramatically readying myself to meet Sal again.

I probably owed him my life seeing that I don't know what exactly would've happened if Dave caught up to my actions before Sal found me.

I push the door but it doesn't budge. The jingling of the lock and the hinges echo through the door as I try again.

The freezing floor beneath me not being the only thing that was chilling me till my last bones, I try again.

I'm locked!

I kick the door with my dominant right leg, the heavy wood hurts it almost instinctively and I feel like holding my leg and falling to the floor.

I'm locked?

The memory of Sal telling me that the door would remain open for me fleets through my memory and I wonder who is out there as another screeching bang resounds from outside.

I'M LOCKED?!

I grip the handle again, trying to figure out what type of lock it has when I realise...

It's a pull door.

I pull it and it opens with ease, the movement graceful and fluid.

I should probably hire someone to cringe and face palm at my activities right about now.

The hallway is quiet and dark. The walls around me have a plain cream wallpaper with a tinge of grey rose.

The wooden floor beneath me is chillingly cold as I walk on. The hallway opens into a living room with a theme of leaf green.

It's a pretty house, is my first thought. The main wall has a wallpaper of a huge printed leaf.

As I walk closer, I can see small painted dews on it, giving me a fresh day's vibe immediately and waking me up simultaneously.

A red carpeted fabric floor grazes my feet as I dodge hardwood furniture and comfortable looking velvet couches to reach a dark wooden door which seems like it would lead outside according to the furniture's setting.

I walk the spacey route that leads me there and wonder if I'm ready for the outside world yet.

Bright sunshine bouncing off every tree and the smell of dewy grass with the hint of a recent rain everywhere? Yes, please!

I pull the door first but it doesn't seem to have the same mechanism as the previous door.

So I calmly push it, trying to fight the urge to panic again. It didn't open again.

I shake the door back and forth swiftly and aggressively this time, my plans to not panic drowning in the flood of anxiety that I was having.

The same thump from before resounds right behind me and I jump. It's loud and close, louder and closer than before.

A nearby unknown object hits my right foot hazardously when I jump, and I can hear only my own shouts as the darkness lulls me into it again while I worry about only one thing.

Would that refreshing dream in which I was riding a bicycle while savouring some sweet milkshake as the wind waved past me continue or not?