A Bizarre Conversation

T-4 Days to Incident

#Hours before sunrise, part 2

A strange conversation was going on between the doll and Cacey.

“Anyway…what’s next? What did they talk about?” Cacey was curious. This situation that she was experiencing now was already absurd. “Let’s just stick to it till the end.”

“The homeless man,” The bear scratched its head and asked, “What was his name again? Ah! Edward Lesseter Holmes!" The bear's face lit up.

“Holmes, as in Sherlock Holmes, Holmes?”

“Yes, that's right!”

“Okay! So?”

“Ah! The wine smelt like the sweet fragrance of the famous Shumukh musk.”

“That’s a perfume.”

“A wine that smells like Shumukh musk?” She said it out loud but, in her mind, she was like, “Well, whatever. It’s a dream anyway. Why do I need logic here?”

"YESss… It’s amazing, right?”

“What is so amazing about a boy drinking wine illegally with a dangerous old man?” In her mind, she screamed and then said, “Yes, yes, yes, it is. But what happened? Where were they?”

“Ah! I thought I saw them talking in a park. They were talking about some mysterious world. Abortion or something like that."

“Aboron? What kind of name is that?”

“How would I know? Let me continue.”

“Okay, okay…”

“So, they were in that park and talking."

“Did you get the boy’s name?" Cacey was restless.

“Cacey, come on. Let me continue the story!”

"Yes..yes…alright… but his name… Did you get it?" Cacey was really curious about the name but hesitated as she was guilty of interrupting her doll.

“Damnit, Cacey! Be patient!”

“Okay…” Cacey listened this time.

“They were talking about a strange world. Holmes, that strange man said, can take him there.”

“Oh my God! He’s a kidnapper. He is trying to abduct the boy!” Cacey shouted again in excitement.

The bear shook his head in disappointment. "Cacey..."

“Okay…continue.”

“It was a mysterious world. People can travel there if they can fulfill a few conditions. Time in that world is many times faster than in our world. Your wildest dream can come true in Aboron.”

“Huh! What a liar. There is no such place as that.”

“I know, right? Then again, you are sitting right in front of me, a talking doll.” As the doll said to Cacey, she thought, “Ah! That’s true, too. Then what… there is really such a world?”

Cacey asked the bear, “Then what happened? They went there."

“Nope! The man vanished into the thin air, like he was never there.”

“Oh my God!! Then it can really be true! But you said it was a dream!”

“Yes.”

“Then it may not be true at all.”

“Yes, you could be right. But again, you are having a jolly conversation with a doll. It could be true!”

Cacey nodded. "Hmm, it could be true then. If the boy goes, I will tag along. I want to see the world too.”

The moment she said that, the bear started laughing like a madman. To Cacey’s utter bewilderment, the bear doll started to shrink as it gradually levitated. It became the size of Cacey’s face and transformed into a homeless man.

Her inner voice screamed again: “He’s now like a homeless man? Like... that Holmes guy?” With that, her inside started to shake in fear, excitement, and bewilderment.

“Who are you?” Cacey was shocked. She was terrified again.

As an instinctive response, her mind thought, “To think I was talking to an imposter!

“Where is my doll bear?” With a wavering voice, she asked.

In this world, humans have some curious reactions to some events. Even if a couple lived for ages together, when one died, the other would not want to spend time in the same room or house alone, even for a second. This is the nature of humans.

The man laughed again. “What doll bear? It has been me all along," the man bowed and said, “Edward Lesseter Holmes, at your service, my lady!”

“What service? What lady? Give me my doll back. Where did you hide him?" Cacey started whimpering. She was feeling fear and sadness at the same time.

“He will be back by your side when you wake up.” The man mysteriously smiled. He brought out a wine gourd and drank something. “Ah! Divine taste!”

“Wake up? You mean it’s a dream?"

But with the aroma of the wine wafting to her nose and mesmerizing her, “Truly!” Cacey thought, “Amazing aroma! Is it musk? It must be! I’ve never experienced something like this!"

“Is that what you offered the boy too?” She asked with a straight voice.

“Why? Wanna try?” The man had that same mysterious smile on his face.

“If I’m in my dream, then even if I drink, it won’t hurt!” She thought and then asked the homeless man,“Please, can I have a sip then?”

The man laughed aloud once again. “Sure!”

“But that wine gourd is so small!”

“Dear Lady! If I can shrink, I can make things bigger too." He threw the wine gourd toward Cacey. As it slowly traveled through the air, it started to appear bigger... and bigger... and bigger. By the time it was in Cacey’s hand, it had assumed its natural size.

She thought, “This isn’t just old. This gourd looks ancient!” Cacey opened the cap and took a sip.

“Oh! My God! What kind of drink tastes this good?” She felt something divine was cleaning her from the inside. She thought, “Amazing, electrifying, unbelievable. I’m drinking wine! How did it come to this?”

“I know! Right?” Holmes was smiling again. “So, what will it be? Do you really wish to tag along?”

“But I don’t know him. Will he take me with him?” Cacey had a genuine concern in her voice.

“It’s me who opens the gate to that dimension. Who is he to take you there? If you say you wish to go, I will make it happen!”

Cacey’s inner voice screamed, “Cacey, what are you doing? Are you being seduced by this strange thing? You said it’s a kidnapping?"

"Then I will go. By the way, what’s his name? The boy, I mean.”

Holmes didn’t answer her immediately: “But remember, to get that opportunity, you will have to fulfill some conditions.”

“Please! Tell me that name! And what condition?”

“You will know when it’s time. And he is…”

“What?”

“...” Holmes said something, but Cacey couldn’t hear.

Suddenly, she felt someone was calling her by name. “Who is that?” She thought in her sleep.

“Ca…c…ey, Ca..c..ey….CACEY SUMMERS, WAKE UP!”

Cacey jolted upright from her bed.

“Wha…wha..What!! Who’s calling?” A bewildered Cacey rubbed her eyes, stretched her body, and yawned.

“Huh? It’s you, mom?” She saw her mom when she got to her senses.

“Cacey Summers! You’ll be late for school! Are you dreaming at a time like this?” Mrs. Summers was on her case. “Wait a moment? What is this smell? Beautiful? It’s yours, Cacey?”

“Huh?” Cacey was still in her sleeping mode. “What are you saying, mom? What smell?” Cacey sniffed the air and to her astonishment, the air smelled amazing.

“What the hell is this? It’s Shumukh Musk, as said by that mysterious thing! Was I not dreaming then? Clearly, I woke up just now! If it were a dream, then why am I smelling the musk? How can mom smell the same thing?” thought she, and she said, “You’re right, mom. But I haven’t bought any Shumukh musk!”

“Shumukh what? Musk? Do you even know how expensive musk is? It’s over a million Nordurljos Croner!”

“What!” Cacey scratched her head in disbelief and absentmindedly said, “But I drank some wine in my dream that smelled like this musk!”

“Cacey Summers! You drank what?”

"No, mom, I was having a dream; a man gave me some wine, and it felt so amazing after drinking it!” Cacey looked at her mom with a bright face, as if she wanted her mom to believe this was a true event!

“Okay Cacey! Enough! Now, go and get ready for school. The breakfast has been served!” She was about to exit the door of Cacey’s room when she turned back. “Don’t you ever talk to a stranger, let alone drink what he gives you! You hear me, girl? Remember your mom!”