There is a subtle sound. A slight tint. A… Feel. Something is different.

The miserable usuals are here this morning, the weather is a stone grey and the train is delayed. So London seems to be normal. But it’s not. Concentrate.

That big oak tree parallel to me. Statuesque. Imposing. Accusing. So mighty and proud. But all its attention on me. It’s thinking. I can feel it. I can see what it sees. I can see me. So small and forgettable. I-I am seriously sleep deprived. Was one more episode of ‘90210’ worth the delusions?

Anyway, the train will be here in about 30 seconds and I’ll be able to get on with the day. But there is something. I can almost pinpoint it. Coming from the North-East. It’s different. But I should get to work. But why? No one will notice if I’m gone. Should I be observing the same old? There’s finally something different. But then again, my mission is just to observe the ongoings. Just the simple everyday. I think. What is my mission? Do I have one? 15 seconds.

What to do?

10 seconds

What to do?

1 second

I’m an old man. I don’t age as badly as humans but still. Well actually, I don’t age. I’ve stopped since hitting seventy. Should a eighty-something man really be challenging himself like this? I should go. I shouldn’t. I should go. I… Have no idea. Thinking is hard. Concentrate. I can’t. What should I do?

…

It’s gone. Guess I'll track the scent.

It should be here. I’ve been searching for around an hour. Let me actually just check the time and- TWENTY MINUTES?! This is exhausting. The scent gets stronger then weaker. I must be close. I have to be. But it’s taking too long. Unless… Maybe… I mean there’s nobody here. Just a quick little levitate. Super quick.

Concentrate. Close your eyes. Feel the gravity. It’s been some time but you’ve got it. Feel the connection of my feet to the floor. That pulling force. Always there. Keeping me on this ground. On this Earth. Just need to let go. All that weight needs to be off. All that-There’s a light. Should I open my eyes? I’m scared. I have to.

What. Am. I. Looking at?

No need to fly. What I’m looking for is here. I guess. A glow. An argon sort of glow. And another light. A vivid blue. Like an ocean. Swirling. Moving. And in a weird way, speaking. To me. What does it want? What should I do? What am I meant to do? It’s a door now.

It’s a door.

It is a door. The glow has turned into a door.

That answers my question. So I will walk through it. Right now. My feet will start going now. Or now.

Look at that. I’m actually moving towards the door creepily opening by itself.

And on the other side of this door…

Snow. Mountains. Wow. Am I excited? Haven’t felt that in a while. Why am I not scared as I walk into the unknown? I’m like Indiana Jones. That’s why. I’m a brave little man. Went through a portal like it was nothing. I don’t think Jones did that. If Jones didn’t then why am I? I’m more like The Doctor, then?

Huh. What was I thinking?

Where am I?

I just went through a portal. Why?

wHY.

I mean, why. Or the What? But Who?

Mind.

Wandering.

C Terrδe

A

Terrδe N’t. tHinK.

Pro Terrδe. perly.

How did I get here? On a train? Did I blackout? It was a familiar feeling. If I can just remember… Oh, yes, that’s what it was. The teleporter back home. That feeling when you first convert into tiny particles and signals. I didn’t like the machine much. Lifts do the same job without all the existential questions.

So, time to find out where I am.

The carriages’ walls and carpets are red except trimmings of gold that lace them. All across the table, gold candle holders with a charcoal black wax lit and a green flame on top. Spooky.

People are coming in. Hopefully, I’ll camouflage well enough. Or, perhaps, ask them what’s going on. I’ll camouflage first though.

A group of women. Varied in age. They are wearing hooded Egyptian-blue satin capes that drape to the lower back. And wearing sleeveless mud-brown robes made of tweed with lines of mustard and burgundy. All the clothes are ironed. All of them. They are wearing orange fur boots. Not very fantastic.

Maybe I should back out of the carriage. Or not. Another group behind me. Stuck. No option but to sit next to one of them.

My fellow passenger has markings on her arm. Figures or stickmen, something like those of cave paintings, in some sort of story. Some figures smaller, some laying down and some being chased. They spiral around the arms of all the women. Their faces are covered. And they're whispering. Speaking a language far from anything on Earth. Or even anything in the cosmos. It is like a combination of letters similar to each other. Small changes in each word. Like trying to open a combination lock?!

So a group of women with covered faces, creepy tattoos, and they are whispering to themselves. Yep, definitely not talking to them. And still no idea where I am.

Wait. They have a smell. Like humans. But slightly not. There’s something else there. The smell of the portal.

We’re moving now. But… Upwards? Like a plane! Past the clouds and everyone’s just calm about this? I’m tired. What even is the time? I can’t fully comprehend the day as much as I try. For the first time in my life, I have made a decision. Deciding is exhausting.

Carriage’s gone dark. Grey all around. Lightning too. I’ll just look outsi-

Clouds. Swirling around the train like liquid. Illuminations of blue and yellow from outside. Thunder now. But no rain?

No passenger is alarmed. Except me. The train’s shaking. There’s something outside. I can feel it.

There it is. Wow.

‘It’ is gargantuan. A head of black marble erupting from the clouds. Its surface reflects the lightning. Facial features are that of a normal woman. Wait, it moved. It couldn’t have. But it did. It is. The head is gradually and stiffly beginning to face the carriage. An older woman got up. She’s passing out an illogical amount of bells from her cape. The group is ringing them. A neon green flash in the carriage. The statue’s inside. Wearing a red satin toga. Her movements are much more fluid inside. And very dignified. She acknowledged the women with a slight nod. Another flash!

All other passengers in this carriage are gone. The statue too. Let’s find a way to get my legs moving. I need outta here. The carriage behind.

The women have the bells here. And the same statue. Flash again! Gone. All of them. Time to run. Carriage after carriage it keeps on happening. I’m at the end.

A woman's waiting for me. Someone told her just recently I’ll be here. I don’t know how I know. She’s not said it to me. But I just- Like how you know things in a dream. She’s giving me a bell. What should I do?

There’s my reflection in a puddle on the floor…

I’ve not looked at myself. Properly looked. I‘ve not done that in… Ever. Why is there a pud-

The head of the statue is back outside. A solid black arm is breaking through the clouds to point to me. The sound of bells. Everyone else is gone. The statue is here again. The statue is waiting for me. I have to go or the train will crash with me in it, won’t it?

But why was there a pud-