Unexpected

Unexpected

10% Plot-holes, 90% Absurd, 100% Impromptu

Short story by Ahh-Glenn and ZP

 

The story started as a girl who was living in a cave and a stranger happens to pass by. He puts food in front of the cave and she crawls out hesitantly towards the food. As he see her approach he puts more food to tempt her. Timidly she pokes the food and pushes it away. With his hands, he took a small portion of the food and ate it then he beckons for Glennis to come. However, as she came into to the light it was a face of a stranger and she runs further into the cave. He shouts, “I am tired of your shit!” he picks up the food and swallowed all of them, then walks away. After a few minutes he came back holding a blue soft toy; Stitch. It was her favourite toy. She ran out and steals Stitch from his hands and started playing with it. Just then, a black figure loomed over her head and a bag following after. She was trapped in the bag, but to her it made no difference. She got nothing to lose. Glennis waited obediently in the bag. As the bag came off she squints at the light.

*

She slowly absorbs the surroundings. She is in a white room without any windows, just the four walls. In front of her stood the man. She thought, who is he? The man was dressed in white. Neat and well-groomed, she cannot sense any ill-will from him. She cannot make out the ethnicity of the man. Someone of Asian descent? She caught a hint of a smile. What does she want from her? As the questions flooded her head she was rooted to the ground, unsure of what to do. The man whispers something but she couldn’t hear. Slowly she stood up. The man was a head taller. She leaned towards the man asking him to repeat himself.

*

The man took in the sight before him. The girl was kneeling on the floor, clutching onto a blue soft toy. Their eyes met. He could see the unease in her eyes. She had purple highlights running down the left side of her hair. Interesting he thought. The piercing on her ear caught his attention. Her name was Glennis, that much he knew. He leans in to ask her to stand. She frowned, slow to get on her feet. “I couldn’t hear,” she said in a trembling voice, leaning closer to her. He took a step back, visibly uncomfortable at their proximity. He took a deep breath, reached out into his pocket and pulls out a picture.

*

He pulls out a picture. She lifts her right hand and reached out for it but before her fingers could touch the edge of the picture, the man raised it above his head. Glennis glares at him. He smirked then lowered his hand slowly. When trying to reach out for the picture again, the same thing happened. She became annoyed by the fact that she was being made fun of. It was like he was playing a game of cat and mouse with her. On the fourth attempt, she stepped on his feet and snatched the picture out of his hands then she ran to the corner of the white room. The picture depicts a young boy and girl holding hands. The young boy had auburn hair with hazel eyes, while the girl was holding onto the blue soft toy that was now in her possession. Then she thought, who’s that girl and boy? How am I related to them?*

*

The man grimaced in pain, clutching his foot. He grinned as warm memories flood his mind. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the person he was looking for. But he had to make sure. He has been searching for far too long and trying far too hard for this to be just an illusion. He knew that prolonged time spent in this world leads to memory loss and distortion. Stories of wanderers who spent their entire lives lost in this paradise, trapped within their own dreams. Had he already become one? One of them? He had to make sure. He saw the girl, standing at the corner, clutching onto the picture, no shred of recognition on her face. Could he have been wrong? No it can’t be. Those were the same eyes he knew all so well. He strides forward and grabbed her hands. “Let’s go.”

*

His grip was firm on hers. No matter how hard she struggled, she knows deep inside it’s to no avail. By logic, he is a man, in terms of strength there was no way she could win. From the back she notices, the auburn hair from the picture. Could he be the little boy from the picture? Am I supposed to be the girl? However, Glennis have no memories of such boy. Where is he bringing her? Putting on a brave front, she asked, “Where are we going?”

*

He could feel her hand tensed up and recoiled from his touch, but didn’t put up further resistance. He was glad that she didn’t struggled, they didn’t had much time. He ignored her question. It was far easier to show her then to explain. He walked towards a door and reached out. A door appeared on the white door. He gripped the door knob and turned. He took a deep breath and opens the door. A familiar feeling of dread washed over him. This is the unfortunate side effect of travelling in this world. He gave an assuring squeeze to Glennis, hoping that she won’t be too surprised. Suddenly, he was swept off his feet. He held his breath as the pressure increased, crushing every fibre of his body. He gripped her hand tightly, praying that they would not be separated once again. Suddenly the ground appeared underneath him, he braced himself and landed on his knees, spinning around just in time to catch his previous cargo. He winced as she landed on him. A familiar scent of pine hits his nose. We are here he thought

*

Her question wasn’t answered. She pouts and followed behind him closely. He went through a door just as another door appeared. She felt a little pressure on her hand. Confused, she squeezed back. Before another thought could materialize in her hand, they was flying then falling. She landed on top of him. Quickly, she scrambled and stood up. Glennis brushed the dust off her clothes and offered the man her hand. He grabbed hers and stood up. She looked around. There was a swing made up of vines. A house that seem to have survived for decades. Then she noticed besides the swing, the rose bushes. It was the exact same spot as from the picture. She ran over and took the spot of the girl in the picture. Suddenly she was able to see faded people in front of her. An old lady holding the camera saying something. A group of children closing in but as they close in their faces become more and more distorted. Before she knew, she was being dragged down by them. Glennis screamed at the top of her lungs and waved her hands frantically for help and that was the last thought she had.

*

He took her hand and stood up. He glanced around frantically, staring into the horizon seemingly looking for something. He felt Glennis walking away from him. He spun around. She was walking to a crop of rush bushes. He called out to her but she ignored him. She was drawn to it like a moth towards fire. She ran and the man took chase. He could see the look on her face. Her eyes stared blankly into the distance, slowly widening in fear. He knew what was up. She screamed and waved her hands frantically, as if she was dragged down by invisible hands. He knew the programme had caught on. He knew the risk of putting her here into this world. The programme was trying to remove her, an abnormality in the system. He grabbed her hands, what felt like volts and volts of electricity coursed through his body. He screamed in pain, gritting his teeth. The pain was immense, unlike anything he felt before. Then everything stopped. The programme couldn’t delete him; that he had known for a fact. He gasped for air as he collapsed onto the ground, clutching tightly the now limped body. The blue soft toy hung limply by her side. Panic took over him. He shook her, desperate to see those eyes again

*

Her body shook as though there was an earthquake. She tried to open her eyes but she can’t; her eye lids felt like they weigh a ton. Her hands and legs were numb. She couldn’t move but she could hear a voice screaming out to her. A man’s voice. “Glennis wake up! I beg you! Just open your eyes of move your fingers! Please!” Achingly she tried to move her hands. Out of the blue, she felt the heat spread across her whole body. It’s like she was on top of a fire. The man’s voice grew softer and softer as the heat became hotter. Then another voice took over. Voices of little kids, whispers to be exact. “You don’t belong here.””Burn””Disappear”. In her head she saw images of the kids with distorted faces coming at her from all sides. She turned frantically looking for an escape. There, a small light. Immediately she ran towards it as fast as her legs could carry but behind her the kids were catching up. As she moves closer to the light, the man’s voice got louder. She was reaching. “Just a little more.”She told herself. As quickly as her hopes gathered, it ceased. The woman holding onto the camera stood in front of her. Her face was full of wrinkles, her eyes holds darkness, showing malicious intent. She mouthed, “Say cheese.”

*

Her body was limp. He frowned. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Maybe there was some glitch in the system he wasn’t aware of. He checked her pulse. This world was modelled after the real world. She was still alive. He reached out to her forehead and once again it felt like he was sucked through a vacuum. He was thrown once again onto the floor. This world was the complete opposite of the one he came from. The world was dark and black clouds strewn all over the sky. The atmosphere was ominous and hung heavily on him. This was Glennis’ inner world. It was strange; he had never done this before, entering someone’s mind. This had to be where her deepest fear resides. He glanced around frantically, trying to look for her. The programme he created had the ability to bring dreams to life by bringing people who were plugged into this virtual world he named Glenn. There were no limits here; anything you can imagine will come to life. It was a paradise and hell at the same time. He heard a scream. Running at full speed, he converged upon the source of the distress call. It was Glennis. She was surrounded by kids as they held her up by her limbs. An elderly woman had hands squeezed tightly around her throat. He could see the light in her eyes slowly fade away. He threw his weight into the elderly women. He could hear Glennis coughing and gasping for air. Before he could even glance at her, the kids who held her still appeared beside him, pinning him down to the ground. He struggled but it was futile. The kids had easily overpowered him. They were fuelled by Glennis’ fear. He shouted at Glennis, “Let go of your fears! This isn’t real! None of this is real!”Glennis barely moved, frozen, hugging the blue soft toy tightly, her body trembling in fear. The old women stood over the man, a knife materialized in her hand, “Glennis! This isn’t real! You got to trust me!” Cold sweats begin to break out on the man’s forehead as the elderly women slowly lowered her knife. His breath quickened. He struggled with all his might but couldn’t break free. The fear was too strong. Dying here would equal to dying in real life. As the tip of the blade touched his chest, the man winced in pain. Taking what he thought was his last look at Glennis, he shouted, “Ohana means family!” as the blade plunged deep into his chest.

*

The elderly women took a photo and moved towards her. This time she was trapped from both sides. As they closed in, Glennis held her legs close and began to rock front and back. Murmuring “Go away” repetitively. She was living in denial. Then she felt icy fingers on her neck, tightening the grip. She gathered all her strength and try to pull the fingers away but it was no use. The children have already surrounded and restrained her. She gasped for air. In between of holding onto her breath and trying to breathe, both were equally hard. Just then, she felt the icy fingers released from her neck. She could hear the man’s voice but she couldn’t catch what he said. Glennis reached out for the blue soft toy and held it close to her heart and began rocking back and forth again. The children and women were off her back. There was no one disturbing her anymore. Then she heard someone calling her name. She turned and saw the man being overpowered by the children. He was shouting something just as a knife materialized in the women’s hand. She strained to hear what the man was trying to say. Just as she moved closer, the blade sunk into his chest. “NO!”Glennis screamed in agony. Rage and horror filled her. She stared at the elderly women. “I’m not scared of you, all of you!” Just as those words were said, the knife together with the women and kids disappeared. She ran towards the man but before she could reach him, she lost control of her body and collapsed once again.

*

The man blinked. The sunlight hurt his eyes. They were out again in the pine forest. He took a breath in and stopped midway because of an immense pain in his chest. He clutched his chest, and grimaced in pain. His entire jacket was soaked. He pulled himself up, supporting himself with his elbows. Glennis laid right where he left her, her face so peaceful and calm. She had done it, he thought. I’ve done it, he thought to himself. He shifted his weight and dragged himself towards her. She began to stir.

*

She opened her eyes to a shadow in the blinding light. She was back at the forest. The shadow of the man. Then she stares at his chest. Unknowingly she reaches out to where he seemed to be stabbed. There were no wounds but he was covered in sweat. Thank goodness she thought. “You are the boy in the picture right?” He nods his head. “Then who am I?”

*

”Come,” he said, gesturing for Glennis to take his hand. He pulled himself up with her help. “Let’s go.”He directed her to the small clearing among the pine trees. She gasped as two young kids appeared in the clearing. The same boy with the auburn hair and the girl with the blue soft toy. The boy sat underneath the shade, fiddling around with his phone. “Why don’t you wanna come play with us, James?” The girl asked. James gave a shrug, and continued to fiddle with his phone. “Whatcha doing?” Young Glennis asked. “Nothing,” the boy replied coldly. He mused, how absurd, the soft toy is almost as big as her. It was rather cute the way she held on to that blue thing. “Why do you always play with your phone?” Young Glennis asked. Another cold shrug from the hazel-eye boy. “Wouldn’t it be good if we could all get inside the phone? Then stitch here will be alive and you could come play with us too!”Glennis beamed and exclaimed, throwing the soft toy into the air. The two kids then vanished into thin air. “Let’s go,” the elder James said. James closed his eyes and was then swept off his feet. The next moment he opened them, he was in front of a small dainty looking brick house. Inside the house were simple decorations. But one similarity stood out. The blue toy adorned the house there were mugs, plates and other stuff with the toy on it. In the bedroom there was a picture of the hazel eye man in a suit and the women in a wedding dress. A hint of purple on the women’s hair can be seen if one looked closely enough. On the picture, it wrote Ohana means family. James heard a gasp behind but before she could say anything, he grabbed her hand and they were once again whisked away. Rain drops splattered onto James’ face. He didn’t want to come back to this memory but it was necessary. Hordes of people were dressed in black crowded around a coffin. In the middle, stood a man with auburn hair, clutching onto the now soaked blue soft toy. He was trembling and sobbing uncontrollably as the coffin was lowered down. “Who is that?”James heard Glennis ask. Unable to bring himself to speak, he pulls out a newspaper clipping and passed it to her. James knew the content all too well. The headlines read TRAFFIC ACCIDENT; 10 STUDENTS, 2 TEACHERS KILLED! James breathed in heavily; he took Glennis’ hand and they were whisked away from the rain. They arrived in a white room, not unlike the room where James showed Glennis the picture. There was a old man lying on the bed, wires and tubes attached to him. Beside him sat the blue soft toy. Although his hair was grey, one could almost see a tinge of auburn. He laid there, seemingly in a coma. “The day I managed to create Glenn, you left me. I tried to save you, or whatever memory of you that I could by putting you into this world I created but you were lost.” James knew his voice was trembling but he couldn’t control it. “I’ve been searching for you ever since. 60 years, travelled through countless of worlds and fought god knows how many battle and yet we never meet. I thought I would never find you!” James trembled as he pulled Glennis close. Those eyes, he thought, those eyes he had dreamt for so many years were right in front of him. The pain in his chest had become more than a dull throb. He had dismissed it earlier. James staggered, grabbing onto the bed to regain his footing. His breathing quickened and became shallow. He glanced over at the heart monitor. It was a flat line. No not now! He panicked. The last thing he saw were those purple highlights, before his entire world went dark.

*

Once again, she was following him. They arrived at the other side of the forest. Glennis gasped, she saw the young boy and girl in the picture. She heard the girl call the boy James. She felt like she was watching a movie from afar. Just that these were all real and they were her memories. I am that little girl, she thought. “Let’s go.” The older James said. They were lifted and landed in front of a small dainty house. Inside the house was decorated with the blue toy that Glennis was holding onto. There were mugs, plates, pillows and other versions of it. They then moved to the bedroom, on the wall behind the bed was a picture of a man and women. The man with auburn hair and hazel eyes was dressed in a suit and the women in a wedding dress. She gasped, he is my husband. If that’s her in this point of time where is she in her point of time? She opened her mouth to ask but she was pulled away by James. Quickly they arrived at a field. The rain drops had began to moisten her clothes. The atmosphere was giving her difficulty to breathe. Further ahead a group of people were gathered. They moved towards the crowd. In the middle stood a man with auburn hair, clutching onto the blue soft toy. He was trembling and sobbing uncontrollably as the coffin was lowered down. That’s James. Seeing this scene she felt nauseous. Bits and pieces of memories seem to click and form a picture. Something about an accident. “Who is that?” She asked. James’ tear streaked face looked up, his hazel eyes bore into hers. He reached out and took something that seemed like a newspaper clipping and handed it to her. It wrote, SCHOOL BUS ACCIDENT; 10 STUDENTS 2 TEACHERS KILLED! Glennis’ eyes widen. I was one of the teachers! Her head spun. Before she lost her balance, James grabbed her and they travelled again. This time they had arrived in a white room similar to the first room that she was in; where James showed her the picture of the little boy and girl. However, in this room there’s an old man lying on what seems like a hospital bed. There were tubes and wires decorating his body. Beside his body there’s a blue soft toy. Its James, he’s dying! James then said “The day I managed to create Glenn, you left me. I tried to save you, or whatever memory of you that I could by putting you into this world I created but you were lost. I’ve been searching for you since. 60 years, travelled through countless of worlds and fought god knows how many battle and yet we never meet. I thought I would never find you!” As he was talking, tears seem to be like an uncontrollable water tap flowing down his face. For her, it felt like a thousand needles piercing her heart. She moved towards him and hugged him. His voice was trembling. No, his whole body is trembling. Out of the blue, his legs gave way. Still holding onto James, she felt his heartbeat slowed. She turned her attention towards the monitor. A flat line! No, not now! Not when she finally found someone that is willing to spend his life finding her. Not when she finally got out of the cave. Not when she don’t have to be alone anymore. She tries to recall what he had said. The program! He found her through the program even though she was supposedly dead. She held his body and focused on the cave that she stayed in. Their surroundings began to shake and changed. They went anti-gravity and moved backwards. They were at the cave again. She dragged James to the side of the cave and placed the blue toy beside him. Then she ran out, as fast as she could to the village to find the boy with auburn hair. Within minutes she was panting. She moved around looking through different kind of shops and stalls. As the night nears, the people in the village lessened. She began to lose hope of finding young James. He said he spent 60 years looking for her. Maybe she would have to do the same. She walked to the other end of the village where she bought the blue toy. The bells jingled, announcing her arrival. There was a boy with auburn hair inside. “James!” The boy turned around. It’s him! She grabbed him wasting no time at all, arrived back at the cave in an instant. Upon seeing the limp body, young James walked over and placed his hands over his heart and head. In that moment the cave was filled with a blinding light. Glennis was pushed far inside the cave. Her head hit against the walls of the cave. She squint her eyes. The lights that came from James had not faded yet. At the same time, memories filled her. Memories of her in real life. The first they met, the first time they went to school together. When they got married. The house they built. It felt as though she had lost her memories for a couple of decades and just got them back. The light surrounding James began to fade. Glennis looked closely. There was only one James left. She pulled his head onto her laps. Unknowingly tears filled to the brim of her eyes and overflowed. “James! Baby! I remembered everything. Please wake up!”However there was no reaction. Her hands traced his eyesbrows down to his sharp nose, his distinguished jaw and lastly his lips. She shook him lightly then harder and harder. “You said you spent 60 years looking for me. Now that you found me and told me everything we have been through. When I have recovered most of the memory you are just going to leave me here alone?”Glennis sobbed. “JAMES! WAKE UP!” James was jolted awake by Glennis’ scream. He sat up immediately and looked at Glennis. His hand was on her face then he held her tight. “Thank you.” He stood up, extended his hand out to her again. She took it to and they arrived at the dainty house they built.*

END

*
So yeah. this is written via whatsapp with a very good friend of mine.
so what we did was just to type out in the different point of view alternatively.
i'll be posting another story that after this before i start a whole new story plot or something else.
meantime, i hope you bunnies enjoy this.
goodnight midnight bunnies(: