Chiral

Stranded In Parallel [Chapter 9]

“I’ll ask my coworkers tomorrow what’s fun to do here,” Mom mentioned that night at dinner.

“You have to work tomorrow?” I said, finally looking up from my plate of food. “Isn’t it your weekend?”

“Right, I forgot to tell you,” Mom nodded, sighing. “I have split days off. I’m off again on Tuesday. Which is when we take you in for another treatment.”

I sighed and nodded. “Ah.”

“I asked my job for that arrangement so we could keep those appointments.”

I nodded again in understanding. My heart fluttered slightly at the idea of having uninterrupted time with the person in the notebook the next day.

“But hey,” Mom continued more hopefully. “I’m in early and out early, so we can maybe do something in the afternoon.”

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As expected, Mom got ready and said her goodbyes before I had barely fluttered my eyes open. Once I was awake, however, the prospect of returning to the notebook was too exciting to allow me to go back to sleep.

After freshening up, I pulled it out and splayed myself out on my half-made bed. Nothing had been written since my farewell. With barely any room left on the second page of our exchanges, I began on the next fresh set of pages.

“You may not be awake yet, but I am. I wonder if it is the same time in this world as it is in yours. At least I wanted to tell you about myself before you have to explain more of this parallel world stuff to me.

You were right. Natalie is a girl’s name. If my mom realized I was talking to a boy who was also older, I might get in trouble, but since we’re in different worlds, I guess it’s fine. I could even tell you what I look like, so you can imagine who you’re talking to. I have straight, dark hair that goes halfway down my back. I’m pretty skinny. That’s just from not eating a lot cause I don’t always feel good. I have kind of bad teeth. I mean, I brush them, but they are crooked… just a little bit. I never got braces because my Dad said I didn’t need them. I think I didn’t get them because I had other things to worry about.

I live in a two-story house with my mom. Actually, an apartment. We just moved here. Which is where I found this notebook. I guess I already told you this part. If our worlds are parallel, does that mean this building exists in your world too? Like, we could even be in the same place at the same time? Maybe I’m misunderstanding this whole parallel thing. I think I’m just going to wait until you can explain it to me.”

Tapping away at the open pages, I struggled to think up anything else to tell about myself. A sudden growl from my stomach saved me from having to think about any more details to share.

I dared to bring the notebook down with me to the kitchen table. I kept taking glances at the pages while I made something to eat. Ohanzee hadn’t written anything back, so I couldn’t help but read what I had written before. As I ate, the words also ate at me.

In my books, the characters always described themselves as pretty or handsome or strong or delicate (but strong in other ways) or smart or brave. If I were a character in a book, people would have stopped reading out of pity upon reading about such a main character told in such a way. I smushed the notebook flat against the kitchen counter and studied the spine, deciding whether or not to tear the page out. Would the words and the paper still be there for Ohanzee? Would he notice the signs of something being written and erased? Would I even be able to write something bold enough to flatter myself?

Before I could make up my mind, fresh words began to appear below mine.

I didn’t expect to wake up to such exposition. You sound like a lovely person.

I bit my lip. I felt my face get hot. Realizing that I had left the pencil up in my room, I dashed up to retrieve it. I ended up back downstairs with my breath heavier than it should have been. Skipping years of P.E. will do that. I intended to write something in return, but I guess Ohanzee had taken my absence as an excuse to continue writing.

Today is a free day, so I won’t have to leave for classes. But saying that, I anticipate my hallmates will be suspicious if I sit all day seeming to do homework and journaling. I am… not yet ready for this… predicament to reach others.

My writing hand was at the ready as the last of his words appeared on the page. The word ‘predicament’ passed my lips silently several times.

“I’m sorry if my… curiosity is a problem. I can say that I have kept this a secret the best I can. Well, the only person around who might notice something weird is my mom.”

Your curiosity is normal. This situation is not an ordinary occurrence for either of our worlds. You are not responsible for anything that happens to me or as a result of this crossing of lines.

I sighed and toyed with the pencil between my fingers. My eyes crossed Ohanzee’s words over and over. “Are you thinking you want this… predicament… to reach someone else? You seem to understand it, unlike me. Is there someone in your world that you would take care of this sort of thing?”

I don’t know, he wrote slowly. And there is no threat to you if someone here discovers me and these exchanges. Regardless, the very least I can do is sate your curiosity. And I’d like to compare notes with you. Figuratively. To confirm a few details.

“Go ahead. Ask me anything.”

Keep your eyes on the page to the right.

In the blink of an eye, the following page began to take on lightly scribed lines traveling up and down the edges of the paper. The seemingly patternless scribble faded into nothing at the top and bottom. As the drawing continued, however, I began to see the familiar shapes that I had seen in countless textbooks and posters in my school’s classrooms.

I placed my pencil on the paper just below the trailing scribbles of the crude map. “That’s North America. Most of it. The continent. Our… land. Where I live.”

I am glad I was able to make it legible for you. I drew it out from memory. The land is without doubt a constant in our… in likely all parallel worlds. Now, if you could, please mark a point in the vicinity of your location.

I grasped the pencil hard and studied the map the best I could. Without borders or any proper landmarks, it was hard to tell where North Dakota was located, but I knew for sure it was somewhere in the middle. In my hesitation, Ohanzee jotted down another comment.

To the best of your ability.

I pressed my pencil down into the paper somewhere in the center of the drawing, carefully scraping the lead around to make a decent, legible mark.

I thought so, He responded without hesitation. Rather, I knew so. We are in the same place at the same time, just in different worlds. You mentioned the word Dakota in one of your writings before. There are people not far from here who use that word to identify themselves. That is something consistent with our two words, perhaps with some variation. Now, do you notice anything about this location? Geographically? I will save you having to write out several guesses. Our location is at the center of this mass of land. And land has power. It may have been this power that brought us together.

I smiled at the thought of Ohanzee being possibly somewhere within reach, even if that was somewhere unreachable except by words. I began to write out something to fill the void of writing.

“Is that power your magic that you mentioned before? Your non-magic?”

People around the world seem to call it by various names. We call it Elohi here. It is an understanding of the power of earth and the planet and nature and all living things. The way the sun and moon appear on a cycle, how the waters of the sea rise and fall, the way things live and grow and die and return to the earth. Countless things.

You asked if I lived in an… apartment, if there was such a thing in my world. I’m afraid that is something unique to your world. I live in a great academy here, built long ago upon this place of power for the study of Elohi. It exists as the center of our nation.

It is by some force within Elohi that has caused this crossing of worlds. Yours and mine. And this is not the first time such crossings, intersections have occurred, it seems. There are studies of this phenomenon. That means signs, evidence of it has been explored before. Worlds crossing. Affecting each other. Imagine… a branch falling from a tree unexpectedly. Coincidence, or the result of a storm in another connected world? Indeterminable. But us? There is a strong connection present between us, these pages, and the ink upon them at the epicenter.

Which is why I am afraid to expose this… situation to others, especially the elders. As a student, it should seem obvious to turn this over to someone more knowledgeable, to study it and deconstruct it. But that may mean that I lose you. That we lose each other.

As quickly as those last couple of sentences were written down, they were scribbled and crossed out with rough, dark lines.

I’m sorry, I feel like I could be overwhelming you. I don’t know if I’ve answered a single one of your questions.

I glanced over the remains of the crossed-out words. I fiddled with the tip of my pencil before writing out a response. “I think I get it. Elohi and stuff. Even if it may be strange compared to the stuff in my world. I am glad at least that it could let us come together.”

For this little bit of time, at least, He responded with hasty, slightly sloppy writing. I mean, it is almost the end of mealtime here. If I don’t head down now, I may miss it and go hungry. Forgive me.

I smirked and glanced across the counter at my plate from breakfast, still decorated with crumbs. Don’t let me stop you, I jotted down, following it with a simple smiling face. For a few moments longer, I stared at the remainder of the blank space on the page, just in case Ohanzee wrote more.