Flatness

I heard her humming for the third time that day. The melody was calming. I was... I was somewhere else than usual.

The colors, noises and flavors were … kinda weird. I missed the continuous noise made by the torch drive that was pushing us through the empty vastness of space. The last thing I remember was going to sleep in my bunk bed after a long day of checking the astronomical readings from the ship’s computer and now… And now I was in some kind of a hospital.

I waited until she left my room, so I could enjoy a moment of alone time and clear my mind before I would started looking for everyday clothes. The traces of her perfume still lingered around me while I quickly checked the contents of the small stand next to my bed.

I’ve found nothing extraordinary only a few old paper books like the ones from two centuries ago, three leather-covered sketchbooks filled with story fragments and vague ideas of something bigger. They weren’t particularly bad, like the reports I have been reading from my crew lately, but nothing fancy either. The works of an aspiring writer who still have a long way to go.

Whose things could these be? Mine? No, that doesn’t make any sense. I’m aboard of a ship flying close to 0.8 c in outer space, heading to the nearest habitable planet to Earth.

Since I had nothing to do, I continued reading the short stories from the sketchbooks. They got better and better while I was digging through them. Some of them felt … really familiar. Like if they were blurry memories of my life, from different perspectives. This doesn’t make any sense. I said to myself again and again.

After a few minutes or hours, a big, clunky guy squeezed himself through the narrow door. He didn’t have to say anything; I knew everything from just looking at him. I might have had a slight chance against him, especially with all my training, but I felt… numb at best. The world seemed out of its place every touch, every move belonged to another man.

The big one led me through seemingly unending hallways of the same yellowish, greyish and extremely ugly walls. I heard distant screams and hopeless screeches as sharpened nails fought with the tightly locked doors. I was in an asylum. This doesn’t make any sense.

Finally we stopped at a door that stood apart from the others. Made out of wood, a huge doorknob with golden finish and no trace of any locks. Just simply the nameplate on the front made it impenetrable to ordinary humans. Dr. John Doe, lead psychiatrist.

My “bodyguard” opened the door and implacably pushed me through it. As I looked back, I’ve seen traces of fear and uncertainty on his face; quite unusual and alarming from a big guy like him.

“Please sit down. Pete, how are you today?” I’ve followed his welcome, and sat down in front of his huge oak table.

“Thanks, I’m perfectly fine.” I have to look normal for this nightmare to end.

“Anne said, that you looked unusual today. Is there anything we have to worry about?”

Anne? Who is Anne? Ah, maybe the red haired nurse. “No, as I said, I’m perfectly normal.”

“Normal? Pete, nobody is normal who spent at least one night here. What is your name?”

This doesn’t make any sense. “Sorry, I don’t understand your question.”

“Just say your name. If you are right, you can go home at any time.” He put his glasses on the table and smiled at me. Yellow teeth, ack.

“Peter.”

He burst into laughter. “Pete, Pete, oh my dear Pete. You are back, aren’t you?”

“I don’t understand … “

“Stop. Instead of playing a fool, please, start answering my questions.”

“I did, didn’t I?” This doesn’t make any sense.

“Yes, you did. And now I’m sure that Anne was right. You are back Peter.” He opened a drawer and put two small glasses on the table, and filled both with brandy. “How is the life aboard the Vanguard? Is everything fine? How did the meeting turn out with the navigator just awoken from hibernation?”

“I didn’t meet him yet.” Holy shit. I shouldn’t have said that. “I mean this doesn’t make any sense.”

“It doesn’t make any sense for us either, trust me.” He pushed a small button on the desk, and talked into a hidden microphone after a short beeping noise. “Klaus, please take back Pete into his room.”

We just stared at each other without a word. I was like a boy who has been caught stealing chocolate from the school’s kitchen, and he was like the victorious dean.

The big guy, obviously Klaus, returned soon and took me back to my room. I wasn’t looking around this time, I was hoping for a sudden click that would wake me up from this nightmare.

After returning to my bed, Klaus made sure that I clearly heard the rustling of the mechanism locking down the door.

She returned in half an hour. Quickly came through the narrow door, and closed it behind her with a healthy smile.

She stepped next to my bed, and stood over me as I was sitting on its side, reading the last sketchbook. I could finally identify the main component of her perfume, orchid. Her curly, long red hair was resting on her shoulders, hanging loose, unlike before when she wore it tied up behind her head. The hair also hid her nameplate, but I was fairly sure that she was Anne.

“It’s good to have you back Pete.”

“This doesn’t make any sense.” I repeated myself for the umpteenth time that day.

“Don’t worry, it will in time, but until that we should enjoy the time we have here. You will depart for the last time today.”

I was about to say the same thing again, but she quickly threw down her clothes on the ground. Like if she had practiced this move for hours. She was simply stunning and perfect.

It was already midnight when she tried sneaking out of the bed. I was hoping to catch her and hold her back, but she had to leave. One really-really-really long goodbye kiss, and she left. As unexpectedly as she came.

When I woke up, I was already on the Vanguard, and my communicator was almost silently chirping. Oh well, back to my normal life. Everything snapped back to its place, and I wasn’t feeling strange anymore. But… But my dream was alarmingly real. Too real for a dream, and too long and comforting for a hallucination.

I had an important meeting that day at my office. We woke up one of the navigators from hibernation, who would help us out with the final maneuver getting close to our goal. I hope it won’t be an annoying guy, like the last time we had to wake up somebody.

When I arrived at my small office, she was already there. Her long, and curly blond hair tightened up in a ponytail.

“Good morning,” I told her, as I grabbed a coffee for both of us from the machine on the wall. “Sorry, this was a strange morning.” I tried to smile, but I couldn’t erase the memories of Anne.

“I know.” She said, and giggled while taking small sips of the strong coffee. I made it extremely strong on purpose.

“Pardon me?”

“You seem a bit lost. Like somebody who had gotten here from a different dimension or something.”

“Maybe, you are right. I might have been abducted by aliens, and returned with a chip in my brain.” We both laughed at my bad joke.

After we talked through her assignments, I let her loose. I should ask her out on a date.

When she left, all I could feel were the smell of orchid in the air. Now it makes sense.