The Golden Orb

Today is a new day, but it feels off just as any other. I am still stuck in my loop of axiomatic late-night mistakes. I have a problem...but that's what life’s about, isn’t it? Well anyway, in the shower I go to wash away the residue of smut from my mind, body, and soul. Someone once told me water has healing properties or something witchy like that. Let's hope they're right because I sure need it. I think I want to look how I feel today. So yeah a T-shirt, hoodie, sneakers, dark glasses for the win, and I’m out the door.

I decide to stop at the coffee shop on the way to class to get breakfast on the go. When I walk in the door’s bell rings to let them know I walked in. “Can I get an americano with whole steamed milk please?’ What a douche drink. I mean who still drinks cow milk anyway, blech. The barista slides my piping hot Americano across the counter. “Americano for Bevan?!” I walk over and reluctantly pick up the cup to see if they misspelled my name. They did, pet peeve number three, but that’s irrelevant, I need to jet.

As I'm walking out the door a mysterious woman crashes into my shoulder almost making me a scalded americano. I notice a little black book by my foot and call out to her to stop, but she kept going. I rush through the crowded sidewalk trying to keep her in my sights. As I maneuver through this sea of pedestrians, she just seems to get farther and farther away. I reach a crosswalk and have to stop. Peering through the horde around me, I see the figure of a darkly cloaked woman. She glances back for a second, we make eye contact, and she ducks off into an alley. I run halfway down the block and make a left into the alleyway. There's a blinding flash of light, and as I raise my arm to shield my eyes it flashes and disappears. Determined, I search every inch of the alley looking for a trace of her. Where did she go? It's scientifically impossible for anything, let alone a whole human, to just vanish into thin air. Right now I cannot comprehend what I just experienced, and I need to get to class.

While making my way towards the lecture hall, I’m wracking my brain trying to rationalize this morning’s events and I still can’t make any sense of what happened. I finally make it to the lecture hall, just in time to slink into a decent seat, and wait for the professor to arrive. Professor Mena walks in, greets the class, and begins his lecture. As I pack my things to leave the lecture hall The professor wraps up his dismissal speech, about the research prospectus due in two weeks, and ends with “The expert in anything was once a beginner.” Thanks for the insight, Prof. I feel my phone vibrating in my backpack. Looking at the screen, it’s an unfamiliar number. I hesitantly answer the phone, and I’m met with deafening radio silence. I call to the other line, but I still hear nothing. As I start to ask who is this, the phone call disconnects. I inhale sharply because that was a bit frustrating. I absolutely despise when people hang up on me, pet peeve number forty seven.

At this point, my stomach is starting to growl...ferociously. I need food now. There’s a cafe not far outside of campus. I guess I'll head that way. I’m walking towards the pile of savory deliciousness that is to be my lunch and my phone rings again. I recall this number from earlier, so I quickly answer. Immediately there is ear piercing static for a few seconds. My whole body cringes at the sound. And then, silence. An altered voice that sounds straight from a horror movie says “Blessings on your gift, may you manage it well, The book shall guide you”. I get a strange sense that this voice belongs to the woman from earlier today. The phone disconnects again. What not again, what blessing, and what bo- wait are they talking about the little black book with the strange symbols? My phone dings for a bank notification. It must be my parents sending me some cash. They’re always worried about their struggling graduate student, I appreciate their love language. I unlock my phone and open my banking app. Either I am going blind or there’s a serious glitch in the system. My jaw drops to the ground when I see that my checking account balance reporting twenty thousand dollars more than what I expected to be there. I don't know anyone in their right mind who is willing to give me twenty grand. This has got to be a huge mistake.

I take off running down the street back to my dorm because i need a safe space to figure all this nonsense out. I slam my front door closed, apologize to my roommate for the noise and sprint into my room. As soon as I close my door, I fumble through my backpack looking for the black book. I find the book and set it on my desk, hoping that somehow by opening it with good intentions my brain will magically translate what it says. I take a deep sigh and open it. The lights do a hard flicker and then a glowing orb rises from the book. My eyes are open so wide I think my retina might detach. Should I engage with this thing or just close the book and try to pretend I still live a normal life? I take a huge breath, inhale...exhale, I have to know where this money came from. I gently reach my hand out to touch the outer edge of the golden hued sphere, I'm sucked in. The sensation feels as if my consciousness was swiftly pulled away from my skin. I can sense my senses but I can't actually feel them. I'm trapped in what is seemingly an eternal darkness. I hope this isn't the blessing they were talking about.