A Parallel Fantasy

Another text message lights up my phone. I rush to read it, nearly dropping my phone in the process.

Unknown: Go into the bathroom across from your daughter's room.

I do as the texts say and walk over to the bathroom. The lights are on and the door is cracked open. Fearing what might be on the other side, I slowly push the door open. No one is there.

Jim: Ok I'm here

Unknown: There's a glass container on the counter.

Unknown: Ejaculate into it.

I cringe at the odd message.

Jim: Why?

Unknown: Don't ask questions.

Unknown: You have 10 minutes.

The strange command baffles me. I look down at the counter and see the container. It's made of light blue glass and shaped like a turkey baster. I stick my head out of the door and scan the hallway. There's still no one in sight. Worried and confused, I grab the glass vial and hurry to my bedroom. My head is spinning. There's no way I'll be able do this with the thought of my kidnapped daughter is all that's on my mind. I stumble across the cold, white tile of the bedroom floor and plop down on the edge of my bed.

Jim: I can't do it why do you want me to do this!?

Unknown: 9 minutes.

I slam my phone down against the pillow, furiously undo my belt buckle and throw my pants off.

"C'mon...just focus," I mutter under my breath.

After a few minutes of helpless tugging, I snap.

"Fuck!"

Jim: I CAN'T DO THIS!

Unknown: 5 minutes

Jim: JUST GIVE ME BACK MY DAUGHTER AND I'll DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!!!

Jim: HELLO!?

Unknown: Say this out loud: "Time can't stop our connection"

"Time can't stop our connection?" I whisper.

Suddenly, a deep feeling of arousal overcomes me. Intense visions of my deepest sexual desires flash in my thoughts, causing me to become extremely erect. Everything that I see results in an even stronger physical feeling. Dozens of voluptuous, naked women surround me. I hear their lustful voices breathing and moaning in my ears, entrancing me deeper into my euphoric state. Soft hands, breasts and lips touch me all over. The feeling of pleasure increases more and more with every passing second.

"Yes! Keep going!" I shout out as my eyes roll back in my head.

In the distance, I hear a frightened shriek followed by, "Daddy, help me!"

It's definitely Emily's voice, but I'm too absorbed in my erotic bliss to care. The rubbing, licking and moaning escalates to the point of feeling as if every cell in my body is climaxing. Amidst the overpowering, sexual hypnosis, I feel one of the women place a glass vial in my hand and guide it down between my legs.

I squeeze the glass harder and harder until I blurt out, "YES!"

I experience the most incredible orgasm of my life, followed by a sudden jolt back into reality. I gaze down at the filled container, shamed and confused. The end that was originally open is now somehow sealed shut. I place the mysterious vial on the bedside table, pull my pants up, and run out of the room.

"Emily!? Emily are you there!?"

My desperate cries echo throughout the empty hallway of my home. I ransack the entire house, but Emily is nowhere to be found. My blood boils with rage. I rush back to the room and swipe my phone from the bed.

Unknown: Bring the container to the woods behind the house.

Jim: WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?

Jim: WHO ARE YOU!?

Jim: WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER!?

Unknown: Bring the container to the woods behind the house.

Unknown: Then you can have your daughter back.

Jim: So if I bring you the container you'll hand my daughter over right away?

Unknown: Yes.

Jim: Unharmed?

Unknown: Yes.

I stare down at the conversation in a disturbed daze, then shove my phone into my pants pocket. I pick up the container and run outside. Lightning flashes in the night sky as I open the back door. The wet grass chills the soles of my bare feet. Rain drizzles down on me and slowly progresses into a heavy shower. I pass by the spot where my wife's garden used to be. What used to be a beautiful display of vibrant, colorful flowers is now just an empty field of half-dead grass. When my wife died giving birth, our child became my only motivation to get out of bed in the morning. By the time I reach the woods, I'm soaked from head to toe. Water flows down the screen of my phone as I remove it from my pocket.

Jim: I'm here

Jim: What now?

Unknown: Find the tree with the red X.

I go to turn on the flashlight on my phone and realize that my battery is nearly dead. The moonlight will have to do. Raindrops splash against the leaves overhead as I desperately search for the tree with a red X. Tree after tree, I check from top to bottom. After about 10 minutes go by without finding anything and I feel my phone vibrate.

Unknown: Walk straight until I tell you to stop.

I quickly scan my surroundings, but I can't see anyone. I begin to walk forward. My eyes are locked on my phone.

Unknown: STOP.

Unknown: Turn 90 degrees to your right.

Unknown: Now walk straight until I tell you to stop.

I continue to do as the mysterious sociopath says. Lightning brightens the dark sky and is followed by a booming crack of thunder. I jump back in fear, catch my composure, and then continue forward. Looking down at my phone, I notice that I only have three-percent of my battery left.

Unknown: STOP.

Unknown: Turn to your left.

With my phone clenched in my left hand and the vial in the right, I look up from my phone and see a giant, old sequoia tree about 20 meters in front of me. The red X is in my sight.

Jim: I'm at the tree what now

Unknown: Hold the container against the middle of the X.

I run over to the tree with mud splashing up from beneath my feet. My phone buzzes as soon as I press the container to the center of the red X.

Unknown: Let go of the container.

Jim: You want me to drop it on the ground?

Unknown: Yes.

Unknown: Let go.

Puzzled by the bizarre request, I let the light blue glass fall from my hand. The container drops to the ground, but makes no impact. It goes straight through the earth, completely vanishing. My eyes widen in disbelief.

"What the hell," I mutter as I look around the base of the tree.

I fall to my knees and push my hand down right where I saw the glass canister disappear. It goes right through the ground. I fall forward into some sort of invisible opening in the ground. Not a very big opening, as only my right arm and head make it through. What I see terrifies me. Staring down at me with wide, unblinking eyes is a decrepit, old woman. My head sticks out of the ground, but I can still feel my left hand pressed into the mud on the opposite side of the opening. This place looks the same as the woods, but barren and lifeless.

I'm eye-level with a pair of scrawny shins. I look up and see the eerie, withering woman. She’s almost completely bald, with only a few strands of white hair barely intact with her scalp. A thin, white nightgown is all that she wears. Her wrinkled skin is covered in red sores and loosely hangs on her bones. I see the light blue glass clasped in between her emaciated hands. My lips quiver as I attempt to speak, but I'm too horrified to utter a word. Her yellowish, bloodshot eyes are locked with mine, never blinking. She grins and lets out a nefarious laugh, revealing a mouth filled with rotting teeth and bleeding gums.

She suddenly reaches down and pokes me in the eye with her trembling finger, pushing me back through the opening that I had fallen through. I fall into the mud with all of my limbs now back in the same dimension. Hastily jumping to my feet, I look all around me. The woods are still barren, but the creepy, old woman is nowhere in sight. My heart violently beats inside of my chest. I stomp at the spot where I had just fallen through, but the ground is now solid. Falling to my knees, I frantically feel around the muddy grass for the portal. Am I losing my mind? I jump up and slam my fist against the tree. Not only is the invisible doorway gone, but the red X is too. My face turns white in terror as I stumble backward.

"Daddy!?"

I turn around and see Emily running up to me with tears streaming down her face. A feeling of relief surges through me. Speechless, I pick my daughter up and hold her tightly in my arms.

"Are you okay!?" I ask.

She wipes some tears from her eyes.

"The scary lady made me do things. I couldn't move."

Her response sends a chill down my spine. I look her in the eyes and notice that red paint is smudged where she had wiped her tears.

"What do you mean? What lady?"

The paint is smeared on my blue button-down, and covers Emily's hands. Red raindrops drip from her fingers down to the dirt.

"The lady who lives in the tree," she whispers.

I put my daughter down. With trembling hands, I take out my phone and call the unknown number. It starts ringing and hear buzzing at the same time right beside me. From the knee-high sock on her right leg, Emily pulls out a vibrating phone. I feel my heart drop. The ringing ends as my phone dies. She hands me the phone and I nervously search through the history. I find one conversation, and it contains all of the text messages that I’d been receiving. I look at my daughter in confusion.

"She made me take it from next door. I didn't want to. I swear."

I try to call 911. There's no dial tone...nothing. Thunder booms as lightning strikes from above.

"Let's get back to the house," I say.

I pick up Emily and begin to run. Without looking back, I run and run. Flashes of lightning illuminate the dead, winding trees as I swerve through them. Exhausted and petrified, I finally reach the backyard.

"Where did those flowers come from, Daddy?"

I delicately put Emily down and look at the unsettling sight in front of me. My wife's garden is back. I walk up to the beautiful array of carnations in a trance. Unsure if I'm hallucinating, I reach out and touch the petals of a white orchid. They're soft against my fingertips.

"How is this possible?" I mumble.

Something suddenly catches my eye in the distance. The kitchen light in my house turns on. I think someone's inside. I quickly turn to Emily.

"I need you to run as fast as you can, find a grown-up next door and tell them to call 911. Say that there's been a break-in next door. Okay?"

Sobbing, she responds, "No! I don't want you to leave me!"

I gently touch Emily's face and tell her, "It will only be for a little bit. Everything is going to be fine. I promise. You need to go right now though. I love you."

She hugs me.

"I love you too."

I give her a kiss on the cheek and say, "Go now. Hurry."

Her wet, blonde hair trails behind her in the wind as she takes off. As I watch her pass by the garden, moments of my life flash before my eyes. I recall sitting on the beach with my mother when I was a child, my first kiss at the park, the day that I met my wife. Every significant moment I've ever had vividly plays in my mind. Then, it all comes to an abrupt halt. The storm completely stops. Not that it comes to an end, but literally freezes. Drops of rain sit completely still in the sky. The flowers that were swaying in the wind a moment ago are motionless. I look over to check on Emily. She's still positioned like she's running, but she's stationary.

"Emily!?" I shout as I sprint over to her.

The grass feels stiff and somewhat electric beneath my feet. When I reach my daughter, I realize that she's frozen in place. Stopped in the middle of a stride, neither of her feet touch the ground.

"Emily?"

I touch my hand to her back and instantly get shocked. My chest heaves as I hyperventilate. All of a sudden, a voice startles me from behind.

"I've waited a long time for this day, James."

I turn around in shock. With a big smile and her hands held behind her back, Emily stands before me. My eyes dart back and forth between the frozen version of my daughter and the one who had just called me, "James." I nearly faint. Emily swiftly holds out her palm toward me, locking my body in an invisible restraint. I try my hardest to move, but my body is entirely paralyzed from the neck down. As she raises her arm, I’m lifted off of the ground.

"It feels great to have this power again, and it's all thanks to you."

Her appearance is identical to Emily's, but that's not my daughter. I manage to compose myself enough to squeeze out a question.

"What do you mean? What’s going on!?"

She turns toward the house and begins to walk toward it, pulling me through the air behind her.

"You see, James...These woods have been my home long before you lived here. About 400 years ago, my 3 sisters and I were abandoned here by our parents. We were quadruplets, only 4 years old or so at the time. I remember feeling hopeless and frightened. Death was inevitable, you would think, but that wasn't the case. In some magical way, these woods protected us. Not only did they keep us healthy, but young too. As long as we stayed within the trees, we would not age or be harmed. We weren't aware of that until it was too late though."

I continuously try to wake myself up from this nightmare, but I remain trapped. We reach the open backdoor of my home. As I gaze into the house, I notice that some of the furniture and decorations have changed. She walks inside, pulling me in as well.

"By the time our bodies had aged sixteen or seventeen years, over 70 years had passed. That's when we began to realize our powers. Nothing compared to what they are now, but strong enough to draw attention from the public. We did what we wanted, when we wanted. Nothing could stop us. Our only true enemy was time, until people started collaborating to hunt us down. Many innocent women were slain because of us, and two of my sisters couldn't handle the guilt. They left the woods forever and vowed to never use their powers again."

Right in front of me, my wife sits on the couch. Tears stream down my face.

"Melissa," I say.

Her blonde hair shimmers beside her bright, white smile. She looks older, but still as beautiful as the last time that I saw her. Noticing how awe stricken I am, the fake Emily pauses her story.

She grins at me and says, "Yes, she turns out much happier this way. Being alive is always better than dead. Don’t you think? Look how much better your life is now."

My body rotates in the air toward the kitchen. I must be losing my mind. None of this can be real. I'm looking at myself eating chips right now. Am I in a parallel universe? Is this all just a hallucination? The version of myself standing in front of me looks even better than I do. We’re identical in every way, but he looks healthier and happier too.

I try to speak, but my lips are instantly sealed shut.

"Be patient, James. You'll get your explanation. Let me continue my story. I've been waiting a long time to share it."

I angrily scrunch my nose and eyebrows, the only parts of my body that I can still move.

"Gabriela, my only remaining sister, was a little different than the rest of us. She kept to herself. She wasn't much of a people person. She never even wanted to leave the woods. Years and years went by. My powers had become very strong. So strong that I learned to teleport to different parts of the world. With so much to do and see, I began to spend too much time out in public. I was nearly 300 years old when I noticed that I had grown a gray hair. Seeing that disgusting strand of gray was the first time that I truly felt mortal. I immediately returned home. When I arrived, the difference in my physical age compared to Gabriela's was very apparent. By the standards of today, she looked like she was in her early-twenties, while I seemed to be in my mid-fifties. That's when I knew that the woods had been inhibiting our ageing.

The entire time that I was out using my powers for enjoyment, Gabriela solely focused on becoming more powerful. She had gone far beyond mind control and teleportation. She learned how to travel to different points in history. I learned everything I know about controlling time from her. We trained together for many years, mastering our powers more and more with each passing day. We discovered so much about the way the universe operates, but there will always be secrets in life that remain undiscovered.

One day, Gabriela pushed her abilities too far. She became obsessed with learning everything about life and death. Her theory was that, if she could see the center of a black hole, she would know how the universe was created. I insisted that it was too dangerous, but nothing was going to change her mind. So, after hours of unbroken focus, she opened a window directly inside of a black hole. I was watching from at least 20 meters away, but she was just inches from the portal. A blinding light beamed through, and she vanished into a cloud of dust in the blink of an eye. That was the last time I ever saw her. The window sealed shut upon her death. It was only open for a second, but it was enough time to destroy my sister and turn me into the dying woman who you saw a moment ago."

I try to escape with all of my might, but the only thing that I can feel move is my heart pounding in my chest. Out of nowhere, the old woman's gaunt face and wide eyes appear in front of me. I let out a muffled scream through my sealed lips. The mirage of her creepy stare fades away and reveals the fake Emily looking up at me with an eerie grin.

"I know. I wasn't very easy on the eyes, to say the least. After the incident with Gabriela, my powers had to diminished down to nearly nothing. The end was very near for me. I knew that, if I took a few steps beyond the trees, I'd die instantly. And once I saw my reflection, that's exactly what I planned to do. One full moon night, I began to march to my death. Hundreds of years of knowledge and hard work, all about to be wasted. I was just a few steps away from the edge of the woods, when I saw you and your beautiful wife out in the backyard. So young and happy, you reminded me of how I once was...how I still longed to be.

Both of you lay on a blanket looking up at the stars, snuggled in each other's arms. I overheard your wife mention to you that she wanted to have a baby, and you agreed. That’s when the idea came to me."

I remember that night like it was yesterday. If only I knew that this psychotic witch was lurking in the shadows. I would've pulled her out of the woods and watched her die. I wish I could go back...I wish I could go bac to any time other than now.

"Over the years, my sisters and I had developed many spells that focused on eternal life. What we found was that death is inevitable, but it's something that can be avoided for many years. With no way to leave the woods and very little energy to put toward my powers, my options were limited. The only chance I had of continuing my life was to transfer my soul to a new host. Every aspect of my consciousness would remain the same, but my body would be brand new. I could only do this by fusing my soul with a human egg or seed before conception. I had no time to waste. I attempted to use mind control on both you and your wife, but I too weak. I could cast simple spells on you to control your emotions, but my power wasn’t enough to take complete control of your actions. My spirit was broken, but I wasn’t ready to give up just yet. So I walked back into the woods to meditate.

After putting my mind to it, I eventually came up with a strategy. You and your wife’s minds were just barely too strong to control, but a child’s wasn't. With all of that talk about babies, I knew that there was a strong possibility that you would have a child in the near future. I found a tree that stood out and created a time portal right near the base. The portal connected to the exact spot where it was made, eight years in the future. With my energy being so low, I was only able to make the opening large enough for a child to fit through. The fact that I couldn't go through to the other side made my plan much more likely to fail, but not impossible. I would have to lure the child to me.

So I mixed up a potion that gives off an extremely enchanting scent, only to the noses of young girls. After just minutes of placing the concoction on the other side, little Emily came running. Maybe you should’ve been watching her a little more carefully, but I’m very glad that you didn’t. Once she was just close enough to the tree, I reached out of the portal and pulled her right through. Now that she was in my dimension, I could make a connection with her mind to see through her eyes and take control of her actions.

From there, I sent her back to the other side and grabbed the first phone that I could find. It didn’t work, but it didn’t need to. Luckily, I had developed many spells to manipulate cell phones in the early 2000’s. I could use my powers to send and receive text messages that were only visible to you and me. So that’s what I did. I waited for you to put Emily to bed, sneaked out, and used little Emily to spray paint a pretty, red X on my favorite tree. You remember the rest after that. Don’t you? I mean, it did all just happen within the past hour in your reality."

Sweat profusely runs down my face. I feel the urge to vomit, but my lips are still sealed shut. All of this can't be true. What does she want from me?

She continues, "Once you dropped the container on my side of the portal, there was nothing that could stop me. I waited until you left for work in the morning. Your wife eventually came outside to tend to her garden, and I used my last burst of energy to knock her unconscious from afar and pull her body into the woods. Then, I stuck the container inside of her and my soul entered its new home. A brand new body for me, which would result in a brand new reality for everyone. Right when your seed merged with her egg, the reality that you know ceased to exist. Your wife’s death, Emily being born with your daughter’s soul instead of mine...Everything that you remember from the year 2009 and on never even happened. The version of reality where I'm not reborn is gone, therefore, so is the version of you hovering before me."

I stare back at her evil grin in terror. Either all of this is a dream or everything that the witch has just told me is true. If the latter is the case, then I created an alternate world where Melissa never dies...a world where we're still together. I feel the restraint on my body begin to loosen as the witch begins to speak again.

"Without you, this entire universe would never have existed. Thank you for giving us life, James. You’d be very happy that you did all of this, but you won’t remember. Use your last moments to take it all in. Be proud of yourself. Your soul will continue on in the version of you standing there in the kitchen. As for your daughter, her soul will roam the universe until she finds a new host. It was great to finally share this story with you, but it's time for you to go. Holding time still for this long isn't easy, even for a body as youthful as mine. See you soon...Dad."

She releases her grip on me and my body plummets to the floor. The memories of my past begin to flash before my eyes again. Melissa telling me she loves me for the first time...My wedding day...Emily's first steps. Countless great moments fill me with joy. I begin to feel weightless, as if I'm floating out of my body. All of a sudden, a bright light consumes me.

I stand in the middle of the kitchen, eating potato chips. I wipe my hands off on the side of my shorts and see Emily's adorable face smiling up at me.

"What are you still doing up? It's past your bedtime."

"Sorry, Daddy. I just wanted to tell you that I love you."

"I love you too," I say as I smile and give her a kiss.

Walking past Melissa, I say, "I'm putting Emily to bed. I'll be right back down."

She jumps up from the couch with big smile on her face. She gives me a kiss and then turns her attention to Emily.

"Goodnight, Sweetie. I love you so much."

Melissa hugs both of us at the same time and then kisses Emily on the cheek.

"I love you too, Mommy."

I walk down the hall and put Emily in her bed. She's definitely a blessing. Her teachers say that her test scores are the highest in the school. At the age of seven, she's already performing at a college level. Any father would be proud.

"Alright, Princess. Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy."

I'm very grateful to have her, and I can tell she's grateful to have me too. I make my way back out to the living room and see my beautiful wife curled up in a blanket on the couch.

She smiles and says, "Come sit with me."

I sit down next to Melissa and put my arm around her. She lays her head on my chest and the scent of her lavender conditioner flows into my nose. As I hold her in my arms, I think about how lucky I am to be this happy. I have a good job, a gorgeous wife, and a great daughter. I love my life. I wouldn't want to have it any other way.