Page 1 of Something Like Daybreak
Chapter One
Victor sat in a clearing that had been his home for decades now, not that such things were so easy to quantify in the afterlife. Space and time were intrinsically linked, despite the human habit of viewing them as separate entities, and when you left the physical realm behind… It got messy. And complicated. Most souls agreed that it was simpler not to dwell on the subject, but that’s not the kind of person he was. Victor liked to think, ponder, contemplate, infer, and deduce. Which was what made it so frustrating that he wasn’t getting anywhere. He was still sitting in the woods, all by himself, while staring at a fire as if it could provide the answer he sought. Victor had tried searching elsewhere, from spiritual libraries so vast they surpassed any found on Earth, to conferring with the greatest philosophers known to history. He had most recently gained a brief audience with Socrates himself, whose advice was short and succinct:
“You’ll never find the answer you seek until you’ve identified the correct question.”
Victor had felt embarrassed after the encounter. It was the equivalent of sitting on Santa’s lap and askinghimwhat you wanted for Christmas. And so he had returned to his clearing and begun to interrogate himself.Why am I still sitting here? What am I missing? What’s the point of any of this? What’s needed to finally evolve beyond what I already am?
That was what he kept coming back to: He needed change. Victor was tired of the same old setting. Which should be aneasy fix. He could simply imagine anywhere he wanted to be and conjure it up around himself. And yet, when his mind relaxed and he no longer made the effort, this place was the default that manifested. The same clearing he had sat in during life while licking emotional wounds that had begun with an absent father, worsened in a military school, and culminated with him succumbing to mental illness before taking his own life. That’s why it felt crucial to master his own mind, but lately, Victor felt like he was trying to sharpen a knife against a cotton sheet.
He sat upright, certain he was close to finally solving his problem. Or at least nearer to finding the right question. But then he felt a pull inside himself and thought of his mother. That was a crucial piece of the puzzle too. Witnessing her slow decline and feeling so helpless to do anything about it… The same pulling sensation came again, like a phone that wouldn’t stop ringing. She wanted to see him. Victor stood. Enough stewing in his own circular thoughts! Companionship would be just the catalyst to get him out of this funk.
The call didn’t sound urgent, so he decided to walk to her house as he would’ve back in the world of the living. That meant picking his way through the woods until he found a narrow path used by wildlife. This wound through the trees, following a small stream that eventually led to a lake. He had certainly made a few memories there. His head turned toward one of the houses that sat on the ridge of a small valley. As he walked toward it, he thought of how nice it would be to climb the wooden steps to the back porch, open the sliding glass door, and get a bite to eat from the sweet but perpetually-worried guy who lived there.
As he neared, his wish just about came true. The back door slid open and a young man with gangly limbs stepped outside, the sun catching his long blond hair and causing it to glow with a golden aura, making it appear even more like a mane.
“Who’s that strange boy in my backyard?” Jace said as he walked to the railing. “And while am I speaking my internal dialog aloud? I hope he can’t hear all my embarrassing thoughts. Such as how much I’d like to kiss him.”
Victor laughed and took the stairs two at a time. Jace was smiling as he waited, opening his arms in anticipation.
“If I kiss that guy, I wonder if he’ll make me a grilled cheese sandwich,” Victor said. “With tomato soup, preferably.”
“I bet he’s just using me for food,” Jace monologued. “Not that I mind. If he’s willing to kiss me for a meal, I wonder what he’d do for a warm bed to sleep in.”
“Forget it,” Victor said. “I don’t care if he feeds me at all. Just let me at those lips!”
They kissed, Jace laughing against his mouth. When he pulled back, Jace gestured to a table on the deck, which was now set with two laden plates and steaming bowls of soup. “Lunch is served.”
“I’ll have to take a rain check,” Victor said. “My mom wants to see me. I’m answering her call.”
“I was answering yours,” Jace said. “I felt you thinking about me.”
“And I can feel you feeling me,” Victor said, gently taking Jace’s hands off his butt.
Jace smirked shamelessly. “You’ve been gone longer than usual. I’ve missed you.”
“Sorry,” Victor said, tapping his temple. “I’ve been lost in my thoughts lately.”
“Still trying to solve the mysteries of the universe?”
“My own personal universe maybe,” he replied.
Jace’s expression became somber as he appeared to age a few years, although his hair remained long. “Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”
“I’m fine,” Victor assured him, but the answer didn’t resonate with his soul, and they both felt it.
“We could meet later,” Jace suggested. “After you’ve seen your mother.”
Victor recognized the look of concern. He had raged against it when they were alive, refusing Jace’s help and dooming himself to a grisly fate. He wouldn’t make that same mistake again. “I’d appreciate that,” Victor said. “We can catch up and talk about everything then.”
“Sounds good,” Jace said, his features youthful again. “Do you want me to give you a ride to your mom’s house?”
Victor smiled. “Sure.”
“Great! I’ll meet you out front. I have to open the garage.”
Victor watched him disappear into the house. Then he reached for one of the grilled cheese sandwiches, but the food disappeared as Jace turned his attention and willpower to other matters. Victor didn’t discover what until he was standing in the driveway. The garage door rumbled open. Jace walked out, leading an extra-long bicycle with two seats.
Victor laughed. “I don’t remember you having a tandem bike when we were alive.”
