Now winter is at hand on this blustery day of November 2, and I am happy to settle in a new place before the snow sets in. If it weren’t for the help of my uncle and aunt, I’m sure the paperwork and the stress from my move would have taken a lot longer than it really did. Now I am settling in my new living room after I just put the last of my belongings away and a large weight is lifted from my shoulders. I am at the point where I just wanted to get my unpacking done so I ended up setting everything outside of their respective box and haphazardly place them in a spot that may serve to be their permanent spot. Right when I was about to establish the plushest chair in my town-home as my spot, I look down to find that the Beastie has already claimed it as his spot. Mind you, he has no qualms about claiming all of the furniture as his own!

That dog...I tell you, he is a character, this one.

This apartment is my newest acquisition and a gateway to re-establishing some sort of modicum of normal life’; getting back on my own two feet so-to-say. I sometimes feel I am doing this, not for my own benefit and comfort, but for Lucy's. I guess you can say that the darn dog has in his mind that I am his human - and yes, not the other way around. Probably because I wait on his every beck and call. I was feeling guilty for not walking him as much during my apartment hunt yet everything worked out in the end. I have a place and a stepping stone to slowly integrate into this world and he has a full belly, food, and a personal servant. Win Win! We have a nice symbiosis or at least a coexistence that works. I guess that’s all that matters.

In the past two weeks, I had dream disturbed sleep almost every night but it doesn't affect me as much as it used to. The images and events disappear with the light of day and I guess I can also attribute that to my 'therapy dog', Lucy. Oddly enough, while I'm sleeping, the only time I have lucid awareness about myself, what’s going on around me and my situation is in my sleeping state. When it’s back to the waking world, I'm back to feeling like I don’t know who I am or how I belong. It's as though a part of me is asleep in the waking world until something snaps me out of it. 

It’s okay, though. It’s an ongoing process of self-discovery but at least I’m not alone and I’m finally taking the initiative to rediscover or reinvent who I am. 

My new flat isn’t too big and extravagant. I climbed up the stairs to the 2nd floor and open the four-paneled, frosted glass door to bring up the last of my belongings and set them down in the living room.

“Are you sure you have everything you need, dear?” Aunt Cissy asks as she unpacks my dishes and other kitchen items that her and Uncle George provided me for my big move.

“Yes, Aunt Cissy!” I yell from behind my overtly large box that is light in weight but filled to the brim with items for decor. I find a nice empty spot by the couch and settle next to it with my xact-o-knife.

“If you’ve forgotten anything, I’ll come by and drop it off.” Uncle George calls from the hallway. He makes his way into the kitchen to help my aunt fill various the empty cupboards.

“Thanks, Uncle.” I respond as I cut the box open. I end up dumping its contents on my couch, sorting through what’s meant for the living room or my bedroom.

“Well, don’t hesitate to call us if you need anything.” Aunt Cissy supplements as she wraps up her organizing session and grabs her coat. Uncle George helps her put on her coat, before grabbing his own and shrugs it on.

“We’ll stop by in a few days to see how you are settling but if you notice that something needs repairing or just feel lonely, don’t be a stranger.” Uncle George says warmly as he hold the door open.

“I will. Love you, both!” I respond and wave as they close the door behind me and left.

“I guess it’s just you and me now, pal.” The only response I get is a loud snore coming from my favorite chair and when I chance a look, sure enough, Lucy is fast asleep. It’s as though he were the one unpacking all the boxes and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning getting everything into those boxes in the first place. I lazily look around and find today’s paper laying on the coffee table by me.

Headline:

“Two suspects apprehended for murder escape custody…”

I am too brain-dead to really want to read the paper yet when I look at the mugshot of the two alleged suspects, I can’t help but feel like I recognize them. I reach out and place my fingertip on their stippled likeness when I suddenly see a flash of light like a hole burning on that very image and opening up to a room. 

I watch as a mesmerizing scene unfolds before me: the image of the two people in the paper become more lifelike and less like 2D printed images. I jump up from my seat and watch at a hologram like image take over in my living room and the two men now standing before me life-sized and menacing. When I glance around my room space, it's like looking through a sepia lens filter and all my walls are overlay with a transparent library wall covered from ceiling to floor in book. With the two escapees convicts hanging out in my room having a heated discussion about something, I glance down behind them and see two bodies. Presumed dead if these men were in the slammer for murder.

What’s going on?

I look down at myself and see that I’m not invisible and I pat myself to make sure I really am still here. My fingers graze the coffee table top because the clear almost plastic wrap layer over it looks tangible, yet when I touch it, my fingers go through the table layer and come in contact with the wooden surface below it. No difference other than I seem to have a phantoms of an unknown room over my own living room. Out of curiosity, I stand back and watch the scene play out in a loop before me with the men jumping out of the page, room change and all.

Both men are bulky in stature underneath their clean cut suits, pressed shirts and tailored pants. From the expression of one man, he seems to have been in deep thought about something while the other man seems to be pacing wildly and throwing out ideas at the first man - rather violently if I may add. I watch both move at an almost inhuman speed pacing around the room and then stop as they found an item in a bookshelf to my right that happens to be a pile of boxes in my room. They both rush over to the spot and reach for something obscured by my actual boxes but when I’m about to see the first man pull out the item, the scene reverts backs to my normal room and I’m just standing in my same spot, a bit flabbergast at what just happened.

Did I just have a hallucination or did something really weird just happen?

Definitely not what I expect when reading a news headline but maybe I just need to clear my head and get some fresh air. Let’s not think about what I saw or thought I saw now because I think I’m slowly going crazy and I don’t think I have the capacity to acknowledge that just yet. 

Yeah, I need some fresh air.

“Alright, Lazy Lucy, let’s go for a walk.” I say as I rub the Weimaraner’s head to wake him up. Lucy perks up, cracks his eyes open and then stretched, yawning loudly. After a few shakes, he groggily walks to the hooks behind the front door and sits so that I may put his collar on. “I’m sure you could use the exercise as well seeing as you worked so hard to maintain your title of laziest dog while everyone worked hard with the move.”

I swear, the dog glares at me for the comment and using an annoyingly high pitched tone usually reserved for petulant children; I patronizingly rub the mutt’s back and brush off his attitude. “Well, I memorized the old neighborhood so, it should be fun getting acquainted with this one. I'll need to start to mentally map all the streets and shops all over again. At least it has been a good routine for us both; getting us to leave the house and exercise physically and mentally.” 

In fact, our apartment is not that far from my aunt and uncle’s house and just slightly beyond where I would turn around during my strolls. It’s still about 20 minutes away by car so the walk is a bit of a distance to walk. Not too far that I can’t go and visit, and not too close where am reliant on going back to their house for assistance all the time; honestly, just the right distance to spread my wings.

We walk downstairs and I know I haven’t seen my downstairs neighbor yet, so I take Lucy with me to go and knock on the door and introduce myself. I knock on the similar panel door between the two glass panes but hear nothing in response. There is no sound coming from the apartment itself but something inside is emitting a bright blue light that can been seen even through the frosted glass panels. I shrug and start heading for the street.

Seeing as the temperature is dropping as each day goes by, I’ve cut my walks with Lucy short to about an hour or two depending on the wind chill factor and whether or not it’s overcast. Luckily, today is a beautiful day and I can really use the time to think and clear my head. I live on a row of apartments on one long street, all uniformly similar in architecture style, immaculate garden in front with flowers with your typical roses bushes and an enclosed gate in the front.

Lucy and I walked down the quiet lane, listening to the birds chatter and the wind funnel through the arc of trees that ornament every three buildings. Every now and again, a car would pass by but it is otherwise empty. The cool air and the warm sun make for a very refreshing walk. At the end of our neighborhood, we turn at a corner and walk towards the busier street that encompasses the ‘Old Town’ where the architecture has a bit more character and almost Art Deco accents and a bit of history behind each building. 

It’s lovely to explore this area as new comers. Various temples, shrines, and churches are scattered throughout the area, adding to the funky multicultural migrant vibe. I thoroughly enjoy seeing the different styles of churches, all decorated with colorful stained glass with spires and steeples, the temples built with either stone or concrete angels guarding each entrance, shines made of wood with large gates and various gardens with monuments erected to honor the gods or heroic figures.

I half expect Lucy to pull on his leash trying to sniff new sights and explore, but he’s a very mild mannered dog and is content with just observing at my side as we walk down the lane. I sometimes wonder if Lucy is supposed to be a cat because I’ve never seen a dog so lackadaisical and uninterested in the world as much as him. Lucy does, however, seem to find something interesting in air and then decides to make another turn out of the Old Town into a small side street.

The street narrows to half the size and would be really difficult for a full-sized car to go down it. It seemed cooler and shadier walking on this thoroughfare as the larger buildings on the main street-front blocked off most of the sunlight. The older buildings of stone or brick in this back alley are crammed into a small area and lend to the character of this neighborhood. Though it is forgotten on the wayside and looks more worn down, it seems the owners of these dated and denser building still took pride in the upkeep. Not a brick or stone was out of place and the roads were immaculate despite the odd curves, bumps and uneven paving. Sure, paint chipped and the outer facade had seen better day but structurally, look very much intact.

Lucy continues to leads us through an unusual yet unique row of buildings that I now realize as shops. Many have display windows or shelves that give the casual browser a taste of what’s inside, but he kept on walking until toward the very end of the lane. I could see a large stone wall before I notice this oddball shop smack-dab in the middle of the street that narrows with small businesses on either side. Lucy leads me right up to the large circular pewter door that reminds me of an intricately designed manhole cover that is partially cracked open against a very large, dark porous stone all perfectly fitted into the building wall. The mortar was delicately decorated with colorful gems as accent for the otherwise drab stones and all swirl around the large dense door. Lucy takes a few cursory sniffs around the door and then nudges the slight opening between the door and the wall. I just figure it’s another small shop and though I look around to see if there is any sign or indication stating otherwise, I walk in cautiously mainly out of curiosity.

Initially, I don’t know what to expect when I walk in but I did not anticipate a very lovely hexagonal shaped open courtyard that is surrounded by various plants . Lucy and I walk along one of the walls and just circumnavigate from there staring at all the plants as well as little sculptures. Each arrangement of plants are almost like mini microcosms with various scenes incorporating the plant like a tree within that is depicted and various figurines of animals, fairies and other mystical creatures I’ve never seen before. We walk from scene to scene almost as one would in a museum exhibit.

When we make it directly across the entrance, I notice there is an open room with glowing items in it that draws both mine and Lucy’s attention all the way at the other end of the courtyard. We walk into the open room that reminds me of an old stone wine cellar that is circular or dome shaped, lined with various knick knacks on the walls. 

A long set of shelves on both right and left sides of the spherical room start from the floor, all the way up until the curvature of the room makes it too precarious to stack anything on it. There is a track that goes all along the room where various objects are displayed for all to see. The glowing actually came from a section of shelves on the far corner of the room, providing a soft glow that would otherwise be dark and dank. I walk right up to one of the shelves and find that the shelve are actually lined with items of many sizes and shapes that are emitting the glow, but the collective bunch resonate a soft light that is almost hypnotic.

“Huh. That’s curious. I wonder what these are…?” I ask myself and find that I’m drawn to their soft radiance.