Earthquake Weather

Chapter II

 When she opened her eyes, the skin cracked like baked clay, each lash painfully separating from the other. Settled dust in her lungs stirred as she took a breath. Starlight pierced her sight and blinded her. Slowly, she draped her arm across her face and sat up.

The starlight adjusted and darkened. A breeze caressed her back, a dampness to her clothes. She looked about her to find herself surrounded by blades of grass wetted by dew. She was in a body unknown to her.

"Isabella."

A long lost name once hers. She faced the speaker. A young man at her side knelt, casting her in shade. She smelled him and knew he followed her.

"You will awaken soon."

-

Blythe woke up at seven in the morning unable to sleep longer. Her body felt restless, completely opposite from yesterday. She brushed her teeth and sat with Adam for breakfast.

"Don't be worried," Adam said, forehead creased, "but the superintendent came by when you were sleeping."

"Why?" She munched on some toast.

"Apparently one of the tenants saw someone fall from the building yesterday."

A crumb caught in her throat. She coughed and rushed to drink water. "What happened? Are they okay? Did they die?"

He put his plate in the sink and waited for her to stop coughing. "No one found a body or anything. The guy was far away and by the time he got to our building, there was no one there."

"Holy crap, that's insane." She refilled her glass of water and chuged it down, suddenly feeling immensely thirsty. "I wonder what happened."

"The superintendent said the guy probably saw someone drop something and thought it was a person falling. So, I don't know. Hopefully it's nothing. Just be careful on the balcony, okay?" He rubbed her head and grabbed his keys. "I'm too broke to hold a funeral right now." He chuckled and then frowned. "That was in bad taste."

She shook her head at his back as he left. What a weird guy.

She checked her emails. Still no work to be found. A hopeless pit tugged at her stomach. She made herself a cup of tea and drank it on the balcony, watching the rising sun, the purples and oranges haloing the clouds. Out of curiosity, she glanced at the ground below. A car-sized crater cracked the cement of the parking lot. No way a falling person would've made that. Must've been furniture or something.

She spent the rest of the day snacking on small things and playing The Sims 4 because there was, again, nothing else to do that day. An hour before her date with Daniel, she got dressed in something other than sweatpants and put on eyeliner to at least look presentable. She arrived at Tim Hortons first and bought herself a small coffee so there was no excuse to have to agree to another date, if talk of it came up.

She settled down in a booth by the window and texted him that she was there.

"Great. I'm pulling up now," he said.

She took a small sip and felt the coffee scald the tip of my tongue. Her nose wrinkled automatically. Damn it. It's always too hot.

The door jingled as it opened. She turned to look but it wasn't Daniel. She slumped back in her seat and tried to take another sip.

After a few successful attempts, she looked up to see a man that wasn't Daniel slide into the seat across from her.

Her confusion was barely concealed. An awkward smile graced her lips. "Sorry," she put her cup down, "but that seat's actually for my friend. He's gonna be here soon."