My cell phone rang it’s familiar jingle, someone was calling. My parents. I put the phone on speaker.

“Hi, Ann!” My mom’s voice echoed through the speaker. “Are you still coming to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow?” Good timing, I was getting ready to leave that second.

“Yeah, mom, I’m leaving now, I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Love ya.” I picked up my car keys, locked the doors and windows, then continued into the car. Wisconsin was about to get hit by a blizzard in less than 24 hours, so I had to hurry. I was never a real people person, so getting the news that the holidays would be on my mom’s side of the family made me feel even less ecstatic. I would’ve rather stayed home.

The highways were a chore getting through, people must’ve had the same idea I had. After about an hour of traffic jams, I finally got through. The route had me going alongside a steep hill next to a forest on the lower end. Flurries of snow trickled down the windows and shield. I always loved this weather. The nice feeling of huddling around a fire with a cup of hot chocolate.

I followed the twisting and turning road for what seemed like days. I didn’t notice the path was getting more slippery as I progressed. Before I knew it, I passed out at the wheel for at least 5 seconds. I woke up once I realized that the car was dangling off of the edge of the cliff. I heard rocks crushing under the weight of the vehicle. Below the steep rocks was the wooded forest. Trying my hardest, I rushed to the back seat, hoping to distribute weight so it wouldn’t fall. I closed my eyes and prayed, but that wasn’t good enough. I heard the car lurch forward, making its descent down. Bumps threw my car up in the air, making me hit the top of the car. I had to be going at least 70 mph. I was holding my head in my hands, hoping this was almost over. I looked up, out of the windshield, and I saw a humongous tree. I braced myself for impact. The sick crunching of metal and tree bark rang in my ears as my body lurched forward and hit the dashboard. I felt the impact mainly on my right wrist and my chest. Before I knew it, I blacked out in the car.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I wasn’t in my car. I was on a gingerbread colored couch, large enough to have someone lie down on it. I looked around the room the couch was in. There was a single recliner about 5 or so feet away from the couch, with a little coffee table between them. A bookshelf and a small tv were also within view. There was also a hallway, but I couldn’t see into it. A huge blanket covered me, and a heater was nearby, but I was still freezing cold. I sat up, my bones aching in the process. At that moment, a few footsteps came echoing out of the hallway.

A man appeared from the hallway. The first thing that struck me odd was the color of his skin. No, it wasn’t a normal tone, it was deep sky blue, but it was also sort of transparent. His hair was translucent cyan, which seemed to light up every time he took a step. He had an average build, not heavy, but not muscular either. His face was calm, and I could see he hadn’t been shaving. He wore gray sweatpants and a dark green shirt. Once he finally got into full view, he glanced at me, and his face lit up.

“Oh, good! You’re awake!” He shouted, enthusiasm in his voice. I could tell something was going on that I didn’t know about. He headed his way towards the lone chair. He turned it towards me, and sat down.

“How are you feelin’, Anna?” Now having the knowledge he knew my name, I shouted at him.

“How the hell do you know me? Get away!” He didn’t even flinch.

“Hey hey hey, calm down. Now, what’s the last thing you remember?” Reluctantly, not knowing what was going on, I proceeded to tell him about the car accident. He continued talking once I finished. “Now, you might think you're dreaming all of this up, but that car accident you were in killed you.”

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I sputtered. He was clearly out of his mind.

"Yep. You are now in the realm of every supernatural creature in the universe." I was about to interrupt him about what he was talking about, but as I was about to, he pointed at a window behind me. “Take a look.” The first thing I noticed, was that this wasn’t in rural Wisconsin, this was something out of a fantasy dream. A crystal dragon was flying in the deep crimson sky, with a full, ice blue moon behind him. Several gothic style buildings surrounded the streets. A giant orange spider rampaged down the road. Goblins were stomping around on the dirt. Fairies and bats were flying around in the sky, while hundreds of stars twinkled in my eyes. I’d never seen anything like it.

“Whoa.” I whispered under my breath, astonished at the sight in front of me.

“Everyone or thing here has a quirk to them that makes them seem weird to the human eye. I’m a ghost.” The man said from behind me. I quickly turned back to him, only to see him snap his fingers and dissipate into the air. “Can you see me anymore?” He asked, or so I thought. The noise came from nowhere. I heard someone snap their fingers, and he magically reappeared in front of the bookcase. “I can turn invisible at my own will, whenever I want. My name is Sedah, it’s nice to meet you.” He held out his left arm, waiting for me to shake it. I was slowly lured towards his leaf green eyes.

“N-nice to meet you too. You know I’m Anna.” His hand was warm to the touch. It gave me a sense of comfort, safeness. “I’m not feeling well. My body is sore, I’m freezing, and I can’t feel my hands.” I put the heater on full blast and covered myself with the blankets. He plopped right down beside me, feeling my cheeks.

“Yep, you’re as cold as ice, let me get you some tea.” He stood back up, and headed down the hall he came from. I took a look at the books that were scattered on the shelf, one of which caught my eye. It was black and had a hard cover. The spine read "You’re The One I’m Dying For" with Enits; Subocaj listed underneath. I took it, and started to skim through the pages. It was about a girl with supernatural powers, is what I could gather from the back blurb. About 3 pages in, Sedah returned with two cups in his hand. I tried to hide the book, thinking he would get mad at me for snooping around his house. He saw it, but he didn’t care.

“Careful, it’s still a little steamy.” He cautioned, handing me the mug. I thanked him in response as I started flipping through the pages of the book. Once I got to a good stopping point, I decided to have a polite small talk with Sedah.

“So, how many things live in this city? Like, is it just a village, or a town?” I asked. He took a sip, and began to scratch his head.

“Remember I told you everything that isn’t a human or animal lives here? It’s more like it’s own state or country. Hell, my neighbors are aliens and vampires, you can pretty much see everything here. Zombies, werewolves, and mutants, just to name a few.” He answered. I thought about what to say in response, but I noticed my reflection on the glass table. I was much paler than when I crashed, and my hair grew significantly larger, almost touching my ankles.

“What the-?” I shouted in shock. Nearly spilling my tea, I turned to Sedah quickly. “How long was I out? I definitely didn’t have this much hair before!” My skin was actually glistening from the moonlight.

“Only about 6 or 7 hours. It’s still the same day.” Sedah replied. He stood up after me, and grabbed a decently sized lock of my hair. “I haven’t seen anything like this.” I collapsed in his arms, sobbing quietly.

“What is going on?” I managed to whisper out, my face embedding his left shoulder. He looked down at me and wiped my tears.

“Look, Anna, calm down.” He assured me. “Calm down, calm down. At least you’re safe, you’re here, and I’m here for you.” I sniffled as a response.

“Ever since I woke up recently, I haven’t felt the same. I’m freezing, my body is acting strange, and I feel like I’m going to pass out.”

“Hey hey hey, it’s ok, you don’t feel well. How about you get more rest.” Sedah showed me towards the hallway. “Your room will be right down here, I set it up before you woke up.” I shambled along following him. Inside the room was a single bed, nightstand, and dresser. The twin sized bed had multiple blankets by the footboard. The nightstand had a water bottle, tissues, and a smaller heater. He helped me in, and sat on the edge. “The bathroom is right across the hall and my room is next door if you need anything. You should try to get a lot of sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” He smiled at me, and left, turning off the light.

I tossed and turned for what seemed like hours. I couldn’t fall asleep for my life. I still was trying to comprehend everything that was going on. The stranger I was staying with, what this new weird place was, and even why he saved me. I eventually passed out.

A bright ray of sunshine beamed through the window. After slowly opening my eyes, I wanted to think that last night was a dream, but the unfamiliar room that I remembered shot down any hope I had. I rose from the bed, feeling a little better, but still a bit odd. I heard noises coming from outside of the hallway. I went towards the noise, and Sedah was in a dining room across from the living room from earlier. Yawning, I entered.

“Well sleepyhead, are you feeling any bet-” He looked at me and froze mid sentence, his jaw dropped. He stood up, and walked towards me. “You’ve gotten paler overnight, and your hair is now turquoise.” Surprised at what he said, I looked at my hands. He was right. I had never seen anyone whiter than me, it almost burned my eyes the second I saw it. I picked up my hair, it was as blue as the sky. I backed up and put my hand on the dining table. Within seconds, a thick sheet of ice took over the portion I had touched.

“What the fuck?” I yelled out loud, backing up some more. Sedah was in almost more shock than I was. I hit the wall with my hand, only for that to turn into ice as well. I ran to the bathroom, Sedah following behind me. My skin was as pale as a snowflake. My hair was longer than it was the previous night. “What is wrong with me?” I yelled at Sedah. Still in shock, he tried to respond in a logical manner, hopefully with good news. All he did was usher me to the front door and handed me a jacket. He started his old car and told me to hop in the shotgun seat. As I sat down, he typed into his GPS the name of what I believed to be a hospital. Not how I wanted to spend my Thanksgiving.