A Self-Study Within A Broken Mind

When I came back to the room, it was empty. The invisible laptop stood open on the table. It was best to keep it tucked away somewhere even if it had infinite battery life. I walked around the small enclosure and wondered if Lila ventured out into the darkness beyond the wooden cage. I turned the walls see-through for a moment to see if I can spot them, but in turn was overcome by something new. My mind instantly ventured to Rebecca, but it could not be her. A distant light illuminated in the “sky” the entrance to a cave on the beach. I knew this place. Everything else around was still dark. It was a scene ripped right out of the story, recreated by Lila. I hesitated at the top hatch. Could I get outside and interact with the things created in the blank space? I climbed out onto the sand supported by nothing. The gradient of those tiny grains faded to the dark, as if supported by a black cloud. It allowed my weight, behaving as if it was real sand. “Lila?” I called out into the scene. ...

The small black spot in visible white space was motionless until it exploded to encase me. It was a sort of tunnel that reminded me of the Dream Vestibule that Ernie took me into. Whatever happened to that guy? He was fun. He also mentioned JJ. Was that the flawless shroud , or the person who made that invisible cloak ? Did Ernie age out of his human skin? Was he a full Garavand now? Maybe I’d meet him later. The tunnel snapped shut around me until I was standing beside Fiona again in some virtual ‘scape of a tropical island. “What took you so long?” she asked. “Fear, mostly,” I replied. “Where are we?” “A virtual realism ‘scape,” she said. “One of the few Japanese islands that is not underwater yet. They just accepted that their country will eventually sink even with the desalination nation pulling water out, and began waterproofing everything. Now they have buildings half-underwater that sway with every tsunami and can operate like ships. Smart people adapt to unforgiving natu...