My dad glanced up from the newspaper to the clock, “So it is….”

When I announced the time, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. When the clock changed to 11:47 a.m everything was silent.

A whole minute passed, but I could not seem to find in it me to breathe a sigh of relief. Just as well because a familiar dinging sound came from the TV followed by a voice, “Breaking news……”

Huh, I thought the news was winding down.

“In X City of X State, a mall has come crumbling down!….”

For once I darted to the TV to turn up the volume as my mother and father tuned in.  The dishes and newspaper were forgotten as we watched the news. 

“We are working to get a visual but wait, it hasn’t come crumbling down. It has fallen through…a hole?” I could see confusion on the reporter’s face, “The ground has opened up and the mall has crashed down into the opening!  Ahh, we have visual. Let’s go to Susan McCollins onsite.”

Even I was trying to figure out what I was looking at. A giant hole was in the middle of the ground. I didn’t see any mall.

Susan McCollins appeared onsite, “We have reports from witnesses that say the ground itself just opened up. It felt like an earthquake, but no one expected it to swallow the mall. Here is footage capture from a cell phone.”

It was strange and horrifying. The buildings didn’t collapse; the ground beneath had given away suddenly and it went crashing straight down. It had fallen so far down into the ground that the top of the mall couldn’t even be seen...at least on camera.

Then there was more breaking news, “We are receiving reports that similar things are happening to major building across the county. Wait, we are getting a report of…..tree roots pulling down a building?” I could see confusion on Susan McCollins face, “We will continue to cover….”

Then we heard a scream that made us all jump. My dad threw down his paper jumping to his feet. I huddled next to my mother. “What was that?” I whispered loudly.

“Down boy!! Heel!!” I heard a scream and then a loud growl.

“That sounds like Mr. Greenwood!” My dad cried. We reflexively looked up at the ceiling above us.

“What is going on?” My mother asked.

“Stop it, Rocky!! Heel!!”  I barely heard the yell over the ferocious growl.

My dad moved to the door but Avi’s warning rang in my head. I pulled away from my mother and leapt the distance to grab my father’s arm. “Don’t!”

“Mr. Greenwood might be in trouble!” my father snapped.

“Avi said not to go outside!”

“Who is Avi?”

If my father had decided to go out anyway, he was stopped by loud bangs on the window that did not stop.

I shirked and stumbled backwards. My father absently reached back to steady me then he went to the window and moved back the curtain. He was horrified. Why were birds continually flying into the window?  I saw the flutter of a million wings.

Through my fear I saw something wrong with their eyes. To me, they looked mad, like they had a lifetime of rage to vent. I could feel their murderous intent.   The only thing protecting us was a thin slice of glass. Would it eventually break?

I heard another scream that sounded a few pitches higher. A thought went through my head. Mrs. Madison always kept her window open. What would those murderous looking birds do to that woman? 

“What’s happening?” My mother almost wailed. My father yanked me along and wrapped both of us in his arms. Now that the shock was wearing off, fear was beginning to set in and my eyes were barely able to form a tear.  Then suddenly a breath of fresh air permeated the room.

It quieted my mother and my father looked bewildered as he gave a strong sniff.

“Sorry I’m late.” A familiar voice spoke over the den of madness happening around us. We looked up to see our closet door opening from the inside.

“Avi!!” I cried.

He stepped out. I wondered how he could possibly fit in there with all our coats; but I digress. I could see that our closet was no longer our closet. The fresh air became stronger, making me smack my lips as if I could taste it. It came from our closet.  Through it, I could see the summer like pasture. Its green grass glittered like jewels beckoning us to come.

“Let’s go”, he gestured backwards, “There is no reason to stay here anymore.”

I was the first to move towards him with no hesitation; and my parents followed clutching to each of my arms. I turned back to see Avi shutting the door behind us. The door he had opened looked like our closet door from inside the apartment, but after he shut it, the door became pretty, white and ornate.

Definitely not a closet door by any means.

I’m not sure how long we stood there; but finally I couldn’t help myself,  I threw my arms around Avi and hugged him tight, “Thank you!”

The madness that had taken place quickly became a distance memory;  as if it never really happened. The longer we were in this place, the lighter my heart felt;  the fear was washed away.

Avi might have been startled; it took a moment before I felt him hug me back then he patted me lightly on my head, “I told you that you would see me again if you heeded my warning.”

“Uh...what just happened?” My father asked; he was dazed. He had to be because if I hugged a strange guy that he never met and he didn't say anything, he was out of it.

I pulled back from Avi. My mother was looking at us curiously, “Who is this?” She looked around, “Where are we? What just happened?”

“That’s what I asked…” my father said as he became aware of Avi standing next to me, “I’m sorry, who are you?”

Before Avi could answer, assuming he was going to, a cry rang out, “Nicole! Nya! Bill!!”

We looked up and I almost choked on my spit to see an elderly woman running towards us with the spryness of a 20 year old.

“Mother!!” my mother cried out; she was the first to process this happening.

And then suddenly I was caught up in an embrace that included a familiar scent that I remembered from my childhood. I was yanked around for a while before the elderly woman peered into my face with a wide grin that was missing that one tooth, “Is that my Nya?  My, you have grown!  You are so beautiful!!”

I blinked, “Gr-Gra-Grandma?” I sputtered.

My grandmother was dead but she looked exactly as she did in the photos and in my memory.

“You’re dead…” I blurted out.

My mother slapped me on the shoulder and I quietly apologized. My grandmother waved her daughter away, “I know. I don’t exist on Earth anymore but neither do any of you. I’m just happy that we get to see each other again.”

“Where is father?” my mother asked grandmother, looking around.

Grandmother rolled her eyes, “Lazy as jack. He decided to see you when we come back. He didn’t want to be involved in collecting “drowning pools.” Grandmother did air quotes, “His words not mine…”   Translation: Grandfather did not want to see us cry.

“I’m so confused right now!” I murmured. My Grandfather was here too. I turned back to Avi who had been silent up until now.

Grandmother turned to Avi with a smile before bowing her head deeply, “Thank you for bringing my family.”

Avi nodded back.  I looked around and saw that there were many people coming through various doors. There were all manners of people, speaking different languages.

“Humans who have managed to befriend the spirits are allowed here. Right now Nature has grown weary with humans so it’s venting its anger.” Avi explained.

My father ventured to ask, “What if you don’t befriend the spirits?”

Avi just looked at my father for so long that we eventually put two and three together.

Well, nothing good came for those who did not befriend the spirits, that’s for sure.

I felt unexpected pity for those who could have befriended them but either chose not to or just clung to their false notions that spirits don't exist even while staring into the face of one.  Nature shouldn’t have had to go through all of this just to make humans pay attention.

But perhaps that was humans' failure …. 

Fin.