Flight of Fancy

As David stepped through the wall of his jail cell, a white light surrounded him and he was aware of nothing else for a long time. It wasn’t like unconsciousness, but more like being somewhere with no time and no physical element to it. His body was there and yet it wasn’t. It was as light as air, but he knew it was there.

This must be what walking on water or flying must feel like.

After such a long time in jail and worrying about so many things, most of all his imminent false imprisonment, it was magnificent to have the weight lifted not only off his shoulders but his entire being. Both his body and mind seemed to be rebooted and started anew. He felt as if he’d had the best night’s sleep in his entire life.

Is this heaven?

He’s always somehow doubted the whole idea of an afterlife, but if he was to imagine heaven, this is what it would probably be like – a spiritual haven where the soul could relax and let go of all the worldly worries. All his woes and troubles were forgotten and even the face of his family and friends were merely a pleasant memory in the back of his mind – something to cherish, but ultimately not important any longer. The thoughts of any unpleasantness of the past few days had all but disappeared and were turning into a distant memory.

Was it a few days or a few years ago?

Time didn’t appear to make much sense any more. The linear structure of time was a thing of the past. Images from his childhood were mixing with images from his adult years and he couldn’t tell which happened when.

It doesn’t matter anyway.

In the grand scheme of things, the linear nature of time didn’t matter. It only mattered in a world where everything had to have a value, where you had to work for a certain amount of time and sleep for a certain amount of hours, where everything had to be organised in a very primitive order of the limited human conception of temporal logic. Even before David had disappeared, he’d had a feeling that time wasn’t as simple as A to B, but to more complex creatures it could possibly be a lot more interesting and interwoven. The past was the future, the future the past and the present – he didn’t know what to think about the present.

There was also the limited human perception of reality as this simple 3D moving picture, when reality could actually be full of alternate realities, different dimension and creatures who could travel between the spaces. It was all making sense now and nothing was making sense. But it didn’t matter.

What matters is that I’m here.

He was in a place of warmth and beauty, not in a physical sense, like when you see a beautiful river or forest, but in a way a person felt on the inside. It was a sensation of complete contentment.

Even though there was nothing to do in this corridor between times and dimensions, David felt he could remain here forever, happy to explore the new possibilities this new existence offered. He realised he wasn’t limited to just this place, there were boundless options to investigate.

As David’s whole being relaxed in the swaying and beauty of the wondrous vibration of his being and the universe, his mind wandered off and was enveloped in another layer of warmth as he fell into a state of sleep, as it was known in his physical dimension.

As David woke up, he was greeted by the sweet memory of what had happened to him.

No more worries in the world!

The universe was his to explore. There was white light around him, or at least what appeared to be white light. It didn’t matter to him anyway. As long as this feeling persisted.

But something felt different to him. At first, he didn’t even realise that anything had changed during his needless rest. But now it was feeling a bit off. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Then, as he felt a paint in his knee, a persistent injury from his mere mortal days, he had the dreaded realisation that his body was there in all its aches and pains, in all its imperfections. For a moment, a deep sadness came over him, but then Ana’s face floated in his mind and he remembered that there were things worth living a mortal life for.

My sweet Ana!

Where was she? Did she think he was dead? Where was he, for that matter? There was still no logical explanation for what was happening to him. He simply walked through the wall of his jail cell and materialised in this place, in this dimension, wherever it was. Naturally, he was glad to be rid of prison, but now that his body and brain were back, this place no longer seemed as perfect as only a few hours ago. David wanted to do something – to find Ana, to find his family.

I want to tell them I’m alive and well.

There was no telling how long he would stay in this space between dimensions, as he believed it to be.

Perhaps this is purgatory.

It fit the description and he most certainly wasn’t an angel. Maybe some kind of spiritual entity or unity of beings were devising tests for him to pass in order for him to gain final deliverance and attain his heavenly position.

Bullshit.

David didn’t believe it for a second. He hadn’t died. And he didn’t believe that people got judged at the end of their lives, anyway, at least not in the biblical sense. Karma seemed plausible – getting what you deserve. It would only be fair that evil people got their just deserts. Still, it wouldn’t happen in a literal way, it would be a bit more complicated.

Besides, those people probably don’t even have a soul or a conscience.

No, this did not seem like some sort of spiritual purgatory. It felt like a place in between dimensions.

There must be beings out there capable of much more than humans and it would be possible for them to create a portal to travel between dimensions, realities and who knows what else.

There were probably so many things out there that humans didn’t understand, yet most of them believed humanity to represent the pinnacle of evolution and the best the universe had to offer.

What a joke!

Humans were mere babies in the universal master plan. They might play a role, but it would certainly not be bigger than anyone else’s. It was more likely that humanity’s role was miniscule.

Still, we all play a role.

Every particle mattered in the universe. It was all connected in some fantastic way that often defied conventional science. But humanity loved to pride itself with its infantile science – if it can’t be proven, it can’t be true. Yet there were so many cases when scientific theories that were almost dogmatic were rejected as science developed further. Yet, many scientist still claimed that what can’t be proven with their current methods is most likely untrue.

They’re not much better than religious fanatics.

They both shut their eyes to progress and were worried about losing their dominance in the world.

David hated these moments when he was going round and round in philosophical circles. Nobody cared anyway. Most people liked to stick to their own beliefs and wouldn’t change their minds for anything. It didn’t matter if they were scientist or religious zealots.

Stop it David!

What mattered was this moment, even if this moment probably didn’t exist. He needed to concentrate on ascertaining where he was and how he could help Ana and his family, either to bring them here or he would have to go back. It didn’t matter if he spent the rest of his life in jail, he just couldn’t be separated from Ana any longer. It sometimes seemed to both of them that their loved spanned not only their lifetime, but also other, past lifetimes and possibly different dimensions and other realities.

Or maybe we just like pretending that we’re special.

Whatever it was, David couldn’t deny the love and connection he felt for Ana and she felt for him. They were in a symbiotic relationship, both better off together than individually.

As if reflecting his own thoughts, something had changed in this place. David could perceive the slightest of changes in the atmosphere, however couldn’t tell yet what it was. For the time being, it was merely a presence, like when you feel that you’re being followed. This space was no longer devoid of life, but now seemed to be breathing with lungs of its own.

That doesn’t make any sense.

Yet it was what it felt like and David couldn’t deny it. To someone watching from the outside or on a television screen, the change would be unnoticeable, but to David it was clear.

David tried to focus on the white light around him. There was no distinct source of the light. It was just there. There appeared to be no difference at first, yet the more he stared at it, there seemed to be a shimmering in the light.

It’s probably just a trick of the light.

Sometimes when you stared at a luminous object for too long, it played tricks with your eyes. David rubbed his eyes. There weren’t any black spots, which was usually the case. Now he could clearly see a light shimmering in the atmosphere. It was constant now and he was convinced it wasn’t his eyes playing tricks on him. Now that he had finally seen the change, the action sped up and the shimmering became more clear and the vibrations quicker. There seemed to be something behind the wall of light. David couldn’t tell yet what it was, but there was certainly something behind it. The flickering and shimmering intensified and David could make out black shapes behind the light.

Darkness?

At first glance it felt like there was complete darkness behind the wall of light protecting him from the elements. The wall started revealing more and more of the backdrop and David thought he saw a source of light.

Stars.

It was becoming more and more clear. As the wall was slowly disappearing, something else was coming into focus – the expanse of space. It was beautiful to David, but another thought also crossed his mind.

Will I be able to breathe once the wall disappears?

David didn’t get a chance to give into his fears as the wall of light disappeared completely from all sides – top, left, right and even under his feet. All that was left was the expanse of space, strewn with stars. David looked under his feet and realised there was nothing there, though his feet were still planted on something quite firm and sturdy.

What is this?

A feeling of déjà vu came over him and all of a sudden he remembered the dreams he’d had when he started building the device. It had felt exactly like this. Even though he believed he wouldn’t die, he was afraid to make even the slightest movement with his feet. It wasn’t difficult to keep balance because there was no perceivable movement.

Then, a voice spoke to him.