“Dear Darcy Platt.
We regret to inform you that this property has been purchased by Charlemagne Property Co-Operative Services. Thusly, this corporation will be converting this apartment building into condominium units. You will have the opportunity to purchase the apartment at market value. If you are unable to purchase this unit, or are not interested as such, please accept this letter as notification of required removal from the unit effective in 30 days.”
Shocked, she dropped the letter to the ground. How could this be? She was being evicted? She had lived here for 5 years and not once has the property management company ever let on that the building was for sale. And ‘opportunity to purchase the apartment at market value’ was not something she could even contemplate purchasing, especially not with her just having lost her job earlier that day.
She felt the blood rise into her face, flop sweat forming on her forehead. She felt both hot and cold, a pulsing headache pounding in her temples. She was in disbelief at the day's events, but she knew that they were indeed factual. Feeling her chest tighten with anxiety, she ran into her hallway and put on her shoes.
She only had one thought on her mind. It was a thought that she did not know why it had presented itself at that particular moment, or why she was acting upon it so willingly. Shutting her door hastily behind her, she entered the apartment hallway with one destination in mind: Marina’s Book Shop.
Chapter 8
She burst through the front door of Marina’s like a crazy woman running away from an invisible assailant. Her usual sort-of-straight hair was in manic disarray from the sudden wind that had begun to blow fast and furiously at her back as soon as she escaped the subway station. She must have looked like a genuinely eccentric individual, or at least a homeless one, to the casual passengers on the subway that she came across on the short trip from her apartment. Her sweat pants seemed to have gotten more stained from incidents she couldn’t even recall, and her sweater was covered completely in dog hair and mammoth lint balls. She hadn't even had time to tie up the laces on her running shoes, and nearly tripped over them several times on her way out of the desolated subway entrance. All in all, she was a Class A mess.
As always seemed to be the case when she visited Marina’s, there were absolutely no other customers browsing the shelves or chatting about recent new releases or rediscovering old favorites. The shop seemed to be as empty as ever. In fact she thought that the store may have been closed to the public, but seeing as it was relatively early in the evening, she nixed the thought as quickly as it entered her head.
Griffin sat at his usual perch at the cashier area and she found herself making a quick beeline towards him. Instantly noticing her intensity and half-crazed look, the older man immediately put down the book he was reading and sat it atop the long, darkly wooden ledge and turned towards her.
“Miss Darcy, are you ok?” he asked, his deep voice full of worry. His wrinkled forehead folded into a thousand little lines of concern and Darcy felt her heart melt a little. If it wasn’t for her state of delirium, she thought she would hug the man right then and there – embracing the awkwardness and all. “You look…”
“Insane? I know,” she interrupted him. She looked around the shop deliriously, scanning for Marina's whereabouts but also double-checking to confirm that the shop was truly indeed void of customers. She didn't want an audience to witness her current state of apparent mania.
“I need to speak to Marina. Where is she?”
She almost didn’t recognize the urgency and ruthlessness in her voice. She sounded demented – the tone totally worrisome to her very own ears. Before her, she took notice of Griffin growing visibly uncomfortable at her shrill tone, despite the obvious fact that he did not bat a single eyelash above his enormously blue eyes.
“Is there something I can help you with? Marina is busy at the moment in her office,” he continued. “Maybe a glass of water or a nice cup of tea, perhaps?”
Without even responding to the man’s gentle words offering assistance to settle her current agitated state, she instead opted to turn around and head towards Marina’s second floor office. Though it seemed longer than that, it was only days ago she had heard the imaginary sounds of the argument between the older woman and the invisible man.
Griffin tried to follow her but she was too fast for him. Before she even noticed how fast she was indeed marching, she had bounded up the shiny oak steps to Marina’s office. A light was turned on inside the room but the door was closed, evoking an ambience of eeriness to the already bizarre situation. She felt momentarily guilty for being so curt with Griffin, but she knew that if she didn’t do what she planned to do at that exact moment, her unbelievable opportunity would be gone forever.
Without even knocking, she turned the knob that was nearly the size of her waist and used whatever force she could muster to open the door. She felt a slight tug at her shoulder which she hoped would not turn into some sort of pulled muscle situation later that evening. She did not want to risk the chance of knocking on the door only to find Marina not wanting to see her at that moment, and so she threw herself into the office with fervent strength. The pain in her shoulder began to blaze at her most recent exertion.
Marina looked up immediately from the documents she was reviewing at her causal perch behind the oak desk. The desk itself was colossal, almost the size of Darcy’s dining table. Bare except for a few sheets of paper, a pen and a lamp, the desk loomed wide before the diminutive woman, making her look even smaller than she already was.
“Hello Darcy,” Marina said as Darcy walked hurriedly towards the desk. Darcy noticed that the woman didn’t even sound remotely surprised or taken aback from her rude entrance and boisterous attitude. “Please, have a seat.”
Pointing to the lone chair that sat before the desk, Darcy sat down quickly.
“You look puzzled. Stressed even,” Marina continued. “Not yourself.”
“I am not myself,” she replied, her voice low and oddly serene. She attempted to catch her breath but her rapidly beating heart and sweaty forehead made that impossible to achieve.
“Today has literally been the worst day of my life and I feel like I am falling apart. I don’t know what to do.”
Tears began to fall upon her reddened cheeks without any kind of warning. She was not normally an emotional person by any means, and she felt embarrassed at the raw admission of emotion before Marina. She prided herself immensely on not showcasing her emotions as easily as her friends and family did. She felt that tears were an incredibly personal event that should only be shown to others at perhaps a funeral - or after the kind of terrible day that she’d found herself just having to endure.
“Losing one’s job is not easy,” Marina said, staring intently at her.
Darcy was surprised for the umpteenth time that day. How did Marina know she lost her job? Was it that obvious? Was there a nanny cam in her purse, recording and tracking her every move?
“How did…” she began to say but it was now Marina who interrupted her abruptly.
“I know everything and nothing. You are a special person, Darcy. I hope I know the reason why you have come to see me today. As you have said, you have had the ‘worst day of your life’ and being here before me you would like to change that, yes?”
Darcy couldn't help but nod. She felt exhausted, drained and exhilarated all at the same time. She felt small and miniscule in the chair she sat upon, and also pathetic at her current state. While she did indeed have a completely disastrous day, at that particular moment she felt immature for not being able to handle it like an adult (whatever that had meant exactly she wasn’t sure), but she knew it wasn’t falling into a puddle of tears, babbling to a middle aged woman who ran the bookshop she loved so much and entertaining the insane notion of entering a fictional world where she would be the perfect teen in a perfect world, leading a perfect teenaged experience.
“The absolute worst. And it’s not even as though my life
would be less awful tomorrow”, she finally said, her voice teeny-tiny. “I feel like I’ve lost control. And what’s funny is that the only thing I could really think of whilst all of these awful things were happening to me was…”
“My offer,” Marina answered her. “All you’ve thought about was the possibility of you becoming the heroine of the books that you’ve loved so much as a child, and still love so much as an adult.”
“Yes,” was all she could mutter. After talking with her best friend for most of Saturday, and trying to distract herself with 'life maintenance' as she had called it on Sunday, the idea of Marina’s offer always seemed to infiltrate her thoughts. The rational part of her mind, which she noted was all she seemed to act upon in recent times, reminded her of the impossibility of the book shop owner’s offer. But the magical part of her, the part that was catered to and made effervescent while reading these teen fiction books, told her to suspend her beliefs and just do it - Nike style.
“I am glad to hear that,” Marina stated, getting up from her desk and slowly walked towards her. Looking as well poised and put together as she always did, replete with bun and all, she leaned against her desk and looked deeply at Darcy.
“You are saying that you would like to say yes to what I’ve offered you? The chance to be the lead character, if you will, in the types of books that you like to read so much?”
“Yes. I would just LOVE to be in these teen books. Any single one – I can't afford to be picky right now. I can’t handle this adult stuff. I can’t handle the constant difficulties of making decisions that are so important. Of the prospect of finding another job. Or finding another place to live!” she said, noticing her voice rise, but she felt helpless.
“Then close your eyes,” Marina replied, her voice low, calm, and strong. “It is time.”
“Right now?” Darcy declared, surprised. She didn’t know that now was going to be the exact moment that her life would change for the better. She was sort of expecting having to change into some sort of ceremonial cloak and listen to some Enya-inspired music – not sitting in an office chair in dirty sweat clothes.
“Do you know of another good time? Now is when we will make your dream come true,” Marina soothed. “Close your eyes.”
She did as she was told and closed her eyes, the room suddenly blanketed in darkness. She sensed the lamp in the room being turned off though Marina did not make any movement, no matter how minute.
She felt Marina’s soft hands upon her closed eyes. They were cool – and welcoming to the heat that had just been released from her expulsion of tears.
“Just breathe,” Marina asked. “Just find your breath and find your way. Just be.”
Darcy listened to the instructions and focused on her breathing, relishing in the oxygen entering her lungs and then being dispelled through her nostrils. Her breathing became calm, and instantly her mind began to clear. She had begun to forget about the day’s events, and silence and darkness began to blanket her entire body.
She immediately began to feel as though she were floating. It was sort of like when she had had her wisdom teeth removed a few months ago at the Dentist's office. She felt both light and like she was levitating all at once.
Giddy with excitement and her mind, as usual, racing with many, many questions (what would happen to her normal life? Who would take care of the dog? What would she look like as a teen?), she felt herself floating higher and higher, like a rogue balloon flying to the heavens after being let go at a child’s birthday party. A cool breeze fell upon her cheek and she felt more alive than she’d ever felt before. A gentle buzz began to sound from within her very core. It was like she had just ingested about 100 cups of coffee and the caffeine was pulsating in her veins.
She soon realized that Marina was indeed a magical woman. And after watching paranormal movie marathons on television and supposed true accounts of near death experiences, why couldn’t this proposition of entering a fake world a-la Neverending Story be true for her? Her life had always been safe, risk-free and semi-boring, making her the perfect candidate to have something unbelievable ludicrous but supposedly feasible happen to. Something otherworldly was indeed happening to her at that moment, and for once in her life, she wasn't worried about what was going to happen.
Chapter 9
“Good Morning, sleepyheads! Today is going to be a balmy high of 84 degrees. Better get your suits on and head on down to Chester Bay before there’s no room left on those sandy white beaches!” the radio voice blared, a near perfect blend of Ryan Seacrest and Jay-Z. She tried to reach around to turn the blasted thing off, her hands reaching out and grabbing all around her but touching nothing. The night table that was usually by her bed wasn’t. Her hands instead touched something fluffy and soft.
Momentarily confused, she did what she always did when she found herself in such a state and in a bed: she pulled the sheets over her head, deliberately blocking out the outside world for as long as she possibly could. She hadn’t noticed any sunlight in her room, which she found odd as she clearly couldn’t afford any kind of decent blackout blinds and thus didn’t have any, but did not think twice about it. She became aware of the luxurious feeling of the bed sheets (silk, she thought, I can’t afford silk sheets!) underneath her skin. With the sheet firmly draped over her head, she finally mustered up enough courage to open her eyes.
A shred of light tried to infiltrate through the sheet, but like the rest of the room, it was mostly dark under the cover. She had a hard time making out anything in the blanketing darkness, except for her glowing legs, which looked abnormally long and shiny. She ran her hands down them, marveling at how Amazonian and freshly waxed they felt. She couldn’t stop touching their softness, until she suddenly remembered what happened (or seemed to) just moments before in Marina’s office.
It all came back to her, firing and all, nearly causing her to faint. The strange night at Marina’s Book Shop, the weird paranormal activity of the conversation that was had between Marina and the invisible person, the argument that no one heard but her, the doors slamming and loud whispering that didn’t even make Griffin look up from his post as Store Master, and the notice that her apartment was going to become a condo. And the conversation between herself and Marina where she agreed to the unbelievable idea of becoming a heroine in a teen fiction novel.
She quickly brought her hand up to her head, rubbing her left temple at the sheer painfulness of remembering the previous day’s catastrophes. The short but momentous discussion she had with Marina that seemed to have thrust her into this completely preposterous situation, seemed foggy and untrue. However, upon touching her new legs once more, she knew something fateful had truly indeed happened. But to what extent she wasn’t completely sure and was rather reluctant to find out. She blamed this on the non-hangover headache that made her head literally feel like it was going to burst.
“No way!” she screamed out loud, shocked by the sound of her voice. She looked around thinking there was someone else in the bed with her, but as far as she could see, it was still only her and her freakishly long legs. Her voice sounded gravelly and husky, as though talking was some sort of new concept for her.
I sound like Lindsay Lohan, she thought. It can’t be. There’s no way Marina could have made this happen. Things like that don’t happen. They don’t happen to me or to anyone because they’re impossible!
She took in a deep breath. The sudden intake of air caused her to get a cramp in her stomach, but with every succeeding breath, the pain elapsed. She attempted to gain composure and calm herself down but she realized that was not going to happen. Not now, at least. All of her senses felt heightened, new in their tenacity. Her heartbeat was racing a million miles an hour, and she felt hot and sweaty. Given that she was under the cover, she gathered enough strength and threw down the sheet over her body.
You can do this! Darcy continued to think to herself, her thoughts a never-ending monologue. You’re probably just dreaming and will wake
up any second. And plus, a really huge, mega plus, you’re a 30-something old woman who thinks she sounds like Lindsay Lohan. You’re obviously going crazy.
The darkness she encountered under the sheet was characteristic of the entire room: nary a sliver of light was discernible. After taking a few more short seconds to let her eyes adjust, Darcy began to feel around herself in the permeating darkness, her arms tentative and cautious. She sat up slowly in the bed and slowly stood up. She turned to what she thought was her right (she didn’t know – she had absolutely no internal compass) and walked straight into the apparently fluffy nightstand she had groped earlier.
She felt the soft, deep, plush carpeting below her feet, a drastic difference to the usual sale rugs she bought at IKEA. The carpet almost made her feel like she was getting a massage just by walking on it.
She moved her hands quickly now over the low standing fluff ball, aka night stand, trying to find something she could use to get some light into the room. Hoping to find a cell phone or a lamp of some kind, her hands touched what felt like a remote control. Not wanting to turn on a stereo or television or something of the like, but also not wanting to remain in darkness, she hoped for the best and pressed several of the buttons on the tiny remote in her hands.
She instantly heard a gentle buzzing sound that was a cross between a microwave and an electric razor, and suddenly the room began to slowly brighten. The remote control apparently served the purpose of opening the floor-to-ceiling drapes that covered three mammoth windows that took up the entire left side of the room.
This isn’t happening, she thought as the room around her became lighter and lighter until the blinds reached flush beside the nearby walls. From where she stood, all she could make out were some treetops and an expansive blue sky. She squinted as she took in the site, and for a moment, her headache disappeared and she felt better.