On The Other Side

Creeping my way up the abandoned lighthouse, I feared the staircase would give out with every creak that resounded throughout the lighthouse. Even so, that didn't slow my pace, or my curiosity.

Upon reaching the top, I gawked about the ancient lantern room filled with webs, dust and undiscovered stories. The moonlight shining through the broken glass windows, illuminated a small black notebook that aged with the tower.

I dusted the cover before peering into its contents, only for a mystical light to blind me as I felt myself drawn into the pages.

I found myself lying on sprawled out on my back, grimacing at the radiance of the sun. I found the whole ordeal peculiar, just till a few moments ago, it was the dead of night, now it was daylight.

"Pardon me, young lady" a gentle soft voice called out, "Are you alright?" he asks as he knelt down beside me. I sat up and gave a small nod, "Yes, thank you".

"If I may ask?" I prompted myself as a proper lady should, "Where am I?". The boy who looked to be my age, stared back at me with obvious astonishment in his expression.

With a cleared throat, "My apologizes for my rudeness, you're at the outskirts of Triaze, a town well-known for their magic shops and magicians of all kinds"

Silence swept between us, "Come again?" astonished at his words, "Magic?" mild disapproval crept into my voice. "Come, I'll show you" he implores as he lead me by the hand.

If I thought the lighthouse was mystical, then this town is literally a fantasy. The bustling townspeople sang and danced about as music vibrated the air. The suns heat didn't seem to trouble them at all, nether did the packed streets.

"Excuse me" I called out to him, "I didn't catch your name back there" I projected over the music.

"Arkath" he called back to me, "What is yours?".

"Seraph" I replied with a smile.

The sound of trumpets caught our attention, "It's starting" he mutters to himself as he pulls me to his chest, "Seraph, look up" he instructed.

The townspeople grew wilder and louder by the second, while my curiosity grew with their enthusiasm. I noticed Arkath shielding me from the people around us. They were throwing their arms at any direction, uncaring if they bring about harm.

Suddenly, elements of the earth covered the sky, splashes of water, small fires, blowing winds and banquets of flowers rained down on the people. It amazed me that the fire didn't harm anyone, it was simply aesthetically pleasing. The whole show was.

What emerged next was even more ethereal, to the point I thought my eyes was playing tricks. Flocks of fairies flattered about as they casted their magic and smiles upon the townspeople.

Their magic enveloped our senses, I've never felt more confounded as I saw myself gazing at the milky way, floating in space.

"Arkath?" I murmured softly.

"Seraph?" he answered

"No words could describe how amazing this is" I eagerly told him.

"I get what you mean, this only happens once a year" he elucidated to me, "Most people participate for the bonus though" he adds.

"Bonus?" looking up at the purpled eyed boy.

"The fairies give out a bonus of $20,000 to those deserving of it" he says looking down at me, "Like those who have been donating, financial troubles and so on"

"But the sad thing is, the fairies fall for lies easily so just about anyone gets the bonus" he adds

"That's unfortunate" I sympathized. I looked down, that was when I noticed that my legs keep fading out. "Arkath? I think I'm heading home" I blurted out in a panic, grasping onto his arm.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, "Stay close" he whispers into my ear. I complied as I hugged his waist. In a flash we were at the place we met, on the outskirts of Triaze.

I looked up at him with questioning eyes, "I use teleportation, but I can only use it to places I've been" he explains as he looses his hold of me.

A book falls out, it was the same small black notebook. "I have the same one" I exclaimed as I surveyed the terrain looking for it. It lay near the bark of a tree.

"I found it at an abandoned lighthouse before waking up here" I recalled to him. I opened to a random page before reading the contents with Arkath. He winced at the words, as if he was familiar with it.

"That's … my diary" he says in disbelief.

"How can this be your book when you're holding yours right now?" I queried.

"I don't know, but I know I wrote that" he pointed out.

I was fading up to my elbows at this point, we needed to figure this out quickly.

"Do you have a pen?" I asked him, flipping to an empty page.

He handed me a pen, I wrote my name on the page.

"Open your book to this same page" I directed him.

To our surprise, there in the pages of the small black notebook lay my name. Arkath wrote his name, again, it appeared on the notebook I owned.

Both notebooks are somehow are interconnected. We both knew, without having said aloud, that we can talk to each other through these books, even worlds apart.

He leaned over his book and I over mine, with our lips inches apart, we whispered to the other, "Goodbye, see you on the other side".