Out There... A Twenty Four Hour Short Story

Source: Pixabay

I remember that first night when I looked down at her...

I didn't know what to think... or say. I didn't even know if it was possible to say anything. So I looked over at Josh instead. He seemed to smile at me, and even though his lips didn't move, I heard him clearly.

"How does it feel?" He asked.

I smiled back at him. But I didn't really have a response. How was I to describe how being out of my own body felt like? I still knew that I was me, myself. The only difference I could point to was that I was looking down at my own body, lying down on my bed. While I, this thing that now constituted me, hovered up here, watching in tentative curiosity.

"I err... don't know yet." Surprisingly I could respond too. It seemed like the words erupted from my being itself.

"You'll get used to it." Josh said, still smiling. "Come on, let me show you around."

Somehow, he led the way out of the room and I followed. It felt strange at first, being able to move around like that so late in the night. And with no restrictions too. I felt like a bird that had been caged it's whole life, only to be suddenly set free.

Josh had taken the lead that day and I had followed. He took me to the best places. Places I couldn't have known of their existence even if I lived twice. It was an almost unreal experience to have, and I didn't want it to stop...

But it did. At least at the end of each night for the first few weeks...

Until that night, that fateful night...

Josh had swept me not just off my feet, but off my body it seemed. And I was hooked. I couldn't wait for every new night, and for every new journey to start. The sights and places were piling up, and the planet seemed to be getting smaller by the day...

And eventually that night, it had become too small...

"Come on Lucy, let's go see something entirely different."

"But Josh, that's err..."

"Outside the planet, I know."

I was scared, and I felt the need to be careful. Even though I was still the curious little girl inside.

"Do you know anywhere out there?"

"Of course Lucy, don't be scared. We're headed for Madam Maxime's."

"Who?"

"Madam Maxime's. It's at the edge of the universe. You'll be thrilled there beyond all of this here."

Josh had a way with thoughts, and words, and all of that. I mean, he did thrill me, every single night. And one more otherworldly thrill couldn't possibly hurt. Or could it...?

It took eight nights to navigate our way to the edge of the universe. And eight more nights to return. The five nights we spent there were the best I could ever have wished for...

Ever...

...

But now I'm lost...

My body lies deep down in the ground, buried long before we could return. And I'm stuck up here, with Josh. The thrill has long worn off, and the wilderness of freedom I used to love now feels more like a prison. An eternal prison...

If only I could find a way out, if only...

Then I would love to look down upon her once again...

Because now I would know what to say about how it does feel...

Like death...

THE END

#SladenSpeaks

---

Written for @mctiller's Twenty Four Hour Short Story Contest

Prompt was: we're headed to madam Maxime's at the edge of the universe.

---