Whispers of a Faded Dreamer

  They were interviewing another scientist now, remotely, with the screen split, one side showing the reporter and one side showing a female scientist with short brown hair.

  “You see them?” the reporter asked.

  “Yes. I have seen the spaceships and the aliens themselves quite distinctly. It’s interesting to note that not everyone who sees them can see them with the same clarity. In fact, some people can only sense the beings rather than actually seeing them.”

  “That doesn’t sound too scientific, Ms. Voth,” the reporter commented.

  “On the contrary. The job of a scientist is, first, to observe the world and, then, to try to understand it.”

  “So what is your assessment of these aliens?”

  “Any conclusions at this point would be premature, but, as a hypothesis, I think the aliens may be operating on a slightly different plane of existence. But I think that some form of communication with them may be possible. We haven’t had any success in that area as of yet but are excited about the possibility.” The woman was smiling now and gesturing as she spoke. “Oh, and it’s also interesting to note that we can see them on television. So, whatever they are, they can be recorded and broadcast through television signals. In fact, I see one near you right now!”

  The reporter looked around curiously as a dark, incorporeal being floated by, between the reporter and the camera. I shuddered.

  I watched TV for much of the afternoon. At about three o’clock, the door creaked open. Mom was home.

  “What are you doing here, Cara? Shouldn’t you be at school?”

  “I can see the aliens.”

  “You can see the aliens. Of course you can. Now why does that not come as a surprise to me?”

  “Maybe it’s because I’m adopted,” I muttered. I went to my room but closed the door quietly. If I had slammed it, she would have been sure to follow. I’d always felt like the odd one out in this family. Mom and I never really got on. We were just too different. Then, a couple of years ago, I found out I was adopted. That’s why she always favored Matthew, my younger brother, the biological child. I’m not sure that she’d ever loved me but, since Dad got sick, things had been even worse.

  Now that she was home, the house was no longer a refuge. I would have to go out for the evening or else she’d probably end up getting physical with me. She’d been doing that lately. I’d thought of calling child protection services but it was only two years until I’d be able to move out on my own and I didn’t want to have to switch schools. But maybe none of that would matter now.

  Quietly, I stuffed a jacket in a bag and slung it over my shoulder. I opened the door a crack. Water was running in the shower. I walked quickly to the front door, making sure I had my house key in my pocket. Then I slipped outside, locking the door behind me.

  The view outside was jarring. I could see five spaceships from the front step of my house. I prayed the aliens had nothing sinister in mind. But, even if that were true, how would I ever get used to this?

  My feet were already carrying me down the road. I would go to Dennis. He lived about a twenty-minute walk away. His parents were very nice. I ate there a couple nights a week. They never asked me prying questions about my family life, even though they knew my father was in the hospital.

  As I approached the door, I realized I was a little early. Dennis wouldn’t be home from school yet. I hesitated, trying to figure out what to do. Just then the door opened. It was his mother.

  “Come in; come in, Dear. How nice to see you! Dennis isn’t home yet but come on in and I’ll give you a cup of milk and some cookies I baked fresh just this afternoon.”

  She held the door open to me so I had no choice but to go in. And, to be honest, cookies sounded great.

  “Thank you,” I said as I followed her to the kitchen. I hoped Dennis wouldn’t be mad that I came to his house when he wasn’t home.

  But, as it turned out, he was. I could see it on his face as soon as he walked into the kitchen a little while later.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I thought I’d come over. My mom… you know.”

  “Why was she mad this time?”

  “Because I went home early.”

  “So that’s why I couldn’t find you after school. Why did you go home early?” He sat down at the table and picked a cookie off the plate.

  “Because of the alien spaceships. I was really freaked out. I just had to find out what was going on.”

  His mouth formed a hard line and he put the cookie back. “Aliens? Some people at school were talking about that this afternoon. I don’t believe in it for a second.”

  “It was on the news! People have seen them all over the world,” I protested.

  “There are plenty of things on the news that don’t turn out to be accurate.”

  “But…but…I see them!”

  Dennis pressed his lips together more tightly and I saw the jaw muscle on the side of his face clenching. He was mad all right.

  “I want you to leave, Cara.”

  “But that’s not fair! It’s not my fault that I see them,” I sputtered.

  “Someone told me that you were holding Jason’s hand in Math class today. Is that true?”

  “He was helping me! I couldn’t see anything! Did that someone tell you that part too?”

  “Why, yes. They did. They said you had a huge, freak conniption fit and then Jason held your hand to comfort you. Is that supposed to make it better for me?”

  “It wasn’t like that!”

  “Look, I told you to stop flirting with those guys in Math class and what do you do? You wig out and then start holding hands with one of them.”

  Tears sprang to my eyes. “Dennis, you’re not being fair.”

  “I want you to leave now. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” He pointed to the door.

  There was nothing more to say. Maybe this would be the end for us. I grabbed my bag and stumbled out the door.

  His mother’s voice floated out after me. “Cara’s not going to stay for dinner?”

  “No. She has somewhere else she needs to be.”

  I walked quickly down the sidewalk away from his house. But I had nowhere else I needed to be. I couldn’t go home yet; that was certain. At least I had indulged in the cookies. There’d be no other supper for me now. I walked to the public library. Maybe I could find more news about the aliens on the computers there.

  The small library was almost empty. I plunked myself down at one of the computers. I typed ‘Aliens news’ into the search bar. News reports filled the screen. But my vision was so blurred by tears that I couldn’t make out the words. I put my hand to my gut. It hurt too bad. Why was Dennis being so unfair? Why was he being such a jerk? He rejected me just when I needed him the most. I knew I should break up with him the next time I saw him. But he had seemed so stable, so perfect. And his family was so nice.

  Someone sat down in the cubicle beside me. Quietly, I wiped the tears from my face. I would wait and see what Dennis had to say tomorrow.

  “You okay?” I looked up to see Bryce.

  “Are you stalking me or something?” I snapped.

  “No. I’m looking online to find out what’s happening.” He dropped a bag on the floor at his feet with a loud thump and then started typing something into the computer.

  “Oh. I’m sorry,” I said.

  He turned back to me, the irritation gone from his face. “No problem. What, you having boy problems or something?” he teased.

  “How did you…” I trailed off as I watched his face.

  His mouth had fallen open in surprise and then he laughed. “I was joking. I thought you were upset because of this whole alien thing. I mean, that’s my most pressing concern right now.”

  “Oh.”

  “Do you want to talk about your boy problems?” Bryce leaned into my cubical and smiled. He really did have an attractive face, especially up close like this.

  I swallowed hard. “No. Let
’s just forget you said that.”

  “Fine with me.” He pulled back into his own seat and pressed ‘Enter’ to begin his search. “So how about these aliens?” he asked casually.

  Now it was my turn to laugh and he joined in. How about these aliens like how about this weather. “So, what do they look like to you?” I asked.

  “The ships or the aliens?”

  “Both.”

  “The ships look like some kind of black metal and the aliens look like black ghosts with legs and arms.”

  “Okay, that’s what they look like to me, too,” I confirmed.

  “And you were expecting that I might see them differently?”

  “I heard on TV that some people see them more faintly or something.”

  “So, what, are we more intelligent or just more spiritually perceptive?” he asked, leaning towards me again.

  “I don’t know. Maybe we’re just more unlucky.”

  Bryce laughed at that. But it wasn’t a mean-sounding laugh. I smiled and then I laughed too. This was all just too crazy. It felt good to release the tension I’d been carrying around all day.

  “What are you doing?” a male voice demanded.

  I sat up straight and looked to my other side. Dennis was standing there. My mouth opened in surprise but no words came out.

  “I come looking for you to tell you that I’m sorry and what do I find? You flirting with another guy again!”

  “Hey, it’s not what it looks like,” said Bryce.

  “Shut up. Cara, it’s over.” Dennis turned on his heal and stormed off.

  “Wait!” I called after him. “Wait! I don’t even like him!” I knew I shouldn’t be pleading but I couldn’t help myself. I stood up. “Dennis, I’m sorry. Please come back. I don’t even like him!”

  The librarian scowled at me from across the room. Bryce didn’t miss the cue. “This is a library, Miss,” he said in a high-pitched, squeaky voice. “Please stop with the screaming.”

  “I don’t even like you, Bryce,” I snapped as I grabbed my bag and strode away.

  “It’s Blaze,” he called after me. But I couldn’t have cared less.

  I had time to kill. I walked to my favorite place by the lake. It took forty minutes and, by the time I got there, I didn’t feel like crying anymore. It was probably for the best. Dennis was just so jealous. It was cute at first, like he really loved me. But, now, he was just angry all the time.

  I sat on the beach and absently shoved a perfect shell into my pocket. I’d have to hide it in my room. Shells still fascinated me but Mom objected to my collections. Like she objected to most things about me. Looking out over the water, I watched the sunlight playing on the waves. This beach wasn’t very popular and, being that it was a weeknight and not very warm, I had it mostly to myself. I scooped up cool dry sand and let it run through my fingers. So much had changed so quickly. I was scared. What would happen now? I sat on the beach and watched the sun set over the water.

  It was just after 10 pm when I crept into the house. My mother would be asleep by now. Matt would already be in his room and he knew better than to wake Mom up after she was in bed. She would be working the early shift in the hospital tomorrow. These days, Mom spent most of her time at the hospital, either working or sitting by Dad’s bedside. I got to see him once a week but he was mostly just asleep anyway.

  Silently, I closed the door to my bedroom, put on my PJs and slipped under the covers. My aunt had said that Mom was just upset because she was losing Dad. I knew that was part of it but it was also the money. We almost lost the house because of the ongoing medical bills. Now that she was working as a nurse, we might be able to keep it but we were in so deep… When I turned sixteen in two months, I’d be able to get a job and help out. I fell asleep thinking about money and how to help my family. But my dreams were all about Dennis.

  ***

  I opened my eyes and saw the grey light of pre-dawn filtering through my curtained window. The dream had been unsettling. Dennis was breaking up with me over and over again. I didn’t want to go back to sleep. Pulling my laptop from my bag, I flipped it open and surfed the net. I checked the news first. There wasn’t much new information. I was hungry but I didn’t want to leave my room yet. So I put in my ear buds and listened to some music. Several hours later, I heard the front door close and my mother’s car starting. Mom and Matthew were gone. Now I could get up.

  I helped myself to a big bowl of sugary cereal and then another. It was definitely a two-bowl morning. I took a shower and got myself ready. Then I sat on the couch and flipped on the news channel, watching with an eye on the clock. I had to leave in four minutes. I liked to time it just perfectly so that I would have to spend as little time as possible in that mandatory institution with its pointless monotony and over-crowded hallways.

  Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was one minute later than I was supposed to leave. I’d have to really hustle now or I wouldn’t make it to class before the bell. I grabbed my backpack, shoved my feet into my sneakers and sprinted through the door, slamming it behind me.

  I walked into my bio class ten minutes late. Detouring around the ships had really messed with my schedule. The teacher didn’t look up as I slipped into my seat. As luck would have it, bad luck that is, Bryce and I had most of our classes together. He stared at me from across the room. I ignored him.

  The day passed ever so slowly, with its boring usualness except for the spaceship parked in the Math and Chem classrooms. I asked to switch seats for Math because there was no way I was going to sit inside that ship in the dark. When Jason called to me for help, I made him come to my desk.

  “You don’t want to sit beside me anymore?” Jason joked as he crouched beside my desk.

  “No, it’s not that. It’s…”

  “She just likes being near me,” said Bryce from just behind me. His entourage roared with laughter. I ignored them.

  After school, I saw Dennis at his locker. He saw me too but he didn’t say anything. So neither did I. It was raining on the way home. I had been in such a rush that morning that I had forgotten a jacket.

  Bryce’s shiny blue car pulled up in front of me. He leaned out the window. “Want a ride?”

  “No, thanks.”

  “I’m not going to abduct you or anything.”

  “No, thanks.”

  “Come on, please? I wanna talk.”

  “I said no, thanks,” I snapped.

  “Fine.” He gunned the engine, a mini-tsunami splashing me in his wake.

  On the way home, I let myself cry. It was raining anyway so who would know? I had learned to cry quietly at home, without sniveling. I didn’t get in trouble that way. I missed Dennis already. He was my first kiss. I had thought he would be my one and only.

  I went into the house. Everything was quiet. I spied a note on the kitchen table. Leaving my wet shoes by the door, I went to the table to read the note.

  Help yourself to whatever you want for supper. I’ll be at the hospital for most of the evening. Matthew is at Grandma’s.

  – Mom

  She hadn’t even written my name on the note. I hopped into the shower to warm up. Then I pulled on some dry clothes. After I fixed myself a bowl of cereal, I plopped down on the couch. I kept hoping the phone would ring and it would be Dennis saying he was sorry and that we could go back to being like we were. I was so happy before. Stupid aliens. I clicked on the TV and briefly flicked through the channels. Nothing on. Finally, my flicking stopped when I reached a news channel.

  “Something’s changing.” The female reporter was clearly reading off-screen prompts. “There’s something different in the sky.”

  Chapter 3 – FUN

  I stood up, cracked open the front door and looked up into the sky. There, in golden text, scrolling upwards like in the Star Wars movies, was a message. My mouth dropped open as I read the words.

  If you are reading this message, Kingcade Worldcorp thanks you for your participation in this
social experiment. What you have just experienced is part of our new entertainment technology, Eclipsesys. We want YOU to be a part of this new adventure. Find us on kingcadeworldcorp.com.

  I scanned the neighborhood. The black metal ships and the apparition-like aliens were gone. I slammed the door shut and locked it. Hurrying to my bedroom, I grabbed my laptop and then headed back to the living room. As I plopped back down on the couch, I flipped open my computer. Then I typed the website URL into the browser. The site loaded.

  If you got our message, you are highly compatible with our technology - Eclipsesys, the entertainment technology of the future! Congratulations! You are a Dreamer.

  Eclipsesys interfaces with the human brain using Focused Unifarious Neurostimulator(FUN) waves. FUN waves are a highly specialized type of low frequency, non-ionizing, electromagnetic transmission which interacts directly with human alpha, beta, and delta brain waves.

  There was a reason I didn’t really want to become a nurse. On top of not liking blood, I also didn’t really care for this type of technical information. I could hardly believe it! Seriously? FUN waves and no aliens? Well, the no alien part was good, at least. I read more.

  Kingcade Worldcorp has an exciting opportunity for all Dreamers! Working for our Eclipsesys division as a dream hub, you can host this new form of entertainment at our Peaceful Sleep Clinics. This will be better than movies, better than television! Finally, an entertainment experience that the user perceives as entirely real! People will plug into units installed in their homes to dream your dreams with you.

  I clicked the page closed. Creepy. I didn’t want to read anymore. So it was a hoax after all! Guess Dennis was right. It had fooled me entirely. I vowed to try not to be so gullible in the future. Never just believe something - even if you see it with your own eyes, apparently. Well, at least there were no aliens to worry about. I watched some dumb show on TV. Maybe I could talk to Dennis tomorrow. Maybe things could go back to being okay between us.

  At just after eight, I headed to bed. I wanted to be in my room by the time my mother got home. With everything that was going on, I didn’t want to have to deal with her too. After waking up so early, I was tired and looking forward to a good night’s sleep.