UNHEEDED: Undone Realms Book 2

Ch. 19 - South, When the Harvest Ends

Marcella can create dream worlds.  She is more powerful than anyone Oliver has ever met.  She tells him not to worry about whether his dreams are real or not.

"Everything is real, Ollie.  If you experience it, then it's real."

Oliver thinks she might be saying this because he's a crazy person now and is therefore unable to distinguish states of existence that should be very distinguishable.  It's meant to make him feel better.  He tries to believe it but is a little afraid to.  The confusion he feels is one of the last remaining vestiges of his sanity.  It's hard to give that up, even if it does cause him pain.

Avie describes what Marcella is doing for him, though it's clear she barely understands it herself.

He can't go home.  It turns out that there really is a world containing the apple orchard he'd dreamed of, but the entrance to it has been sealed off.  Even powerful Marcella does not know a way through. 

This realm cannot be his home either.  Avie says that it's making him really sick, which of course he already knows.  Avie says it's not safe for him to stay here either, so Marcella is making him a new home. 

"Oliver, I had no idea she was capable of doing such a thing.  That's why she kept all of her research notes for all those years.  She's been working everything out.  She never really gave up realm work, she just gave up journeying.  All this time, she's been trying to figure out how to do something no one else ever has before.  Can you imagine?"

Yes he can imagine.  Lots of things.  That's his problem, in fact—too much imagining.  But in this case, he has no idea what she's talking about.  Sometimes Avie forgets Oliver is no longer of sound mind.  He has trouble connecting her words to thoughts that make sense in his head.

Avie isn't really looking for a response from him in this case, thankfully.  She keeps talking.  "Marcella calls it a pocket realm, but what it really is is a large Fold—a Fold within the Fold, but big enough to create its own mini-universe.  Like a bubble world."

She goes on to describe a place with an energy pattern combining that of Avie's realm and Oliver's home realm, weighted more heavily to that of Oliver's realm because that's what Oliver needs—he needs to live somewhere where the energy is closer to where he was born.  Because it will have its own unique energy signature, one that the authorities have no way of detecting, it will be safe to open the Fold to it. 

Apparently, Marcella can do this crazy thing, which is ironically very close to what Oliver had hoped could happen.  Only now, he is beyond hope.  He is sure something will come along to mess all of this up.  He has left everything behind in his life—his home back in Oklahoma, the life of a migrant laborer, his family, his world, and now Avie's world.  But he can't leave Avie behind. 

Oliver wonders if he is supposed to live in this pocket realm, this fake Fold, forever all by himself.  How is that any better than the life he's living now?  Is it better to be sane but alone or insane but with someone you love?

These thoughts come to him like a train approaching its destination, then depart just as quickly.  He forgets to care just as he'd forgotten to be careful.  He is uncaring and careless now.  How Avie can still love him, he has no idea.

***

Marcella works day and night on Oliver's pocket realm.  It isn't fast enough.  The authorities are everywhere.  They could choose to search and test the hotel at any time.  And Oliver is worse—much, much worse.  If he isn't blabbering on about apples and the stitch in his neck and quotas, he's saying nothing at all, just staring out the window of his room at the parking lot and the strip mall across the street.  He lets Avie hug him.  He kisses her, and when he does, it's almost as though he's back to normal.  There's no contamination, no right or wrong energy.  The energy they create together is all that matters.  They lie entangled and for a while there is a peace between them that Avie is certain he feels just as much as she does. 

Oliver's hand brushes across her belly.  He scoops her close to him, her back pressed to his chest.  "What's different about you?" he asks her.

Avie closes her eyes.  They are both different from when Oliver came here three months ago.  Her differences are much more subtle compared to his, though they won't remain that way much longer.

Oliver doesn't notice the weeks of sickness, her frequent trips to the bathroom, and the exhaustion that hits her every afternoon.  Despite being unaware, he does sense that something has changed in her.

She doesn't know if she should tell him or not.  Marcella cautions against it. It will make his departure so much more difficult.  He may refuse to go at all and that would be disastrous.  Yet, he deserves to be told.  It is his child, after all.  And who knows, it may bring him some solace if he realizes the reason she can't go with him isn't because she doesn't love him enough to risk realm sickness, it's because it's too big of a risk for their baby.  He'll understand that, won't he?

Avie sighs and turns so that she can see his face.  It's unusual now for him to be so concerned.  Even though she hates it when he's in a state of total unawareness and apathy, she still doesn't want to say anything to cause him more distress.

"I haven't been sleeping enough lately, that's all."  It's true, she hasn't.  Thoughts of what's happened to Oliver and her role in it keep her awake most nights.

He nods and kisses her forehead, wrapping his arms around her.  "We'll be moving south soon.  I'll get a job with the lumber company my pa worked for and then you won't have to worry no more, Avie.  You'll see."

Avie lowers her head to his chest so that he won't be able to see her tears.  "All right Oliver.  We'll go south." She takes a long pause hoping he won't hear the waver in her voice.  "The apples are just about picked.  There's nothing left for us here anyways."

A/N:  Now we know a bit more about the pocket realm Marcella is creating (though there's still a lot more about it to come). What do you think? Will this inflated-bubble-fold-pocket realm be the solution Oliver needs?  Will Marcella be able to finish it before the authorities reach the hotel? Will you be able to handle the suspense?

Today's chapter is dedicated to a reader whose comments I always look forward to: @AlysiaDLC12. Not only is she an insightful reader, but she is very encouraging and I've really come to respect her opinions. She has three stories up on Wattpad as well, so check out her profile and introduce yourself to her sometime!