In the dimness and jolts of the carriage, I cracked my head against the window frame and groaned. Loudly.
"GRANDPA!" Leaning out the side window, I drew out the last syllable until my grandfather's tufted, grey hair partially came into view.
"What is it, Alexandra?"
"It's Alex," I muttered under my breath, and then spoke up again, "Grandpa, I've been here forever!"
"It's been 7 minutes."
"It's dark in here! And I'm squished in between the luggage! And my foot's asleep! And-"
What little I could see of him retreated from my view as he resumed his ramrod-straight sitting position on the outer passenger bench of the carriage.
"Just awhile longer, darling."
"But why a horse carriage?"
"It's London, darling."
"That makes no sense!" I huffed. This entire trip didn't make sense. Usually, my grandfather visited my sunny hometown in California and spent the summer with us. I had never asked to go to London, but my mother thought it would be a good distraction.
She had cried at the airport, begging me to stay safe, clutching my hands, my face. I understood her distress; both of us had been unhinged by the accident.
Even after two years, I still felt the familiar stinging of tears and quickly looked outside, forcing my face to stay blank so my heart would do the same. The cobbled streets of London appeared and disappeared in the think fog. No tourists were on the streets; only the citizens, who were used to the lack of vision, would brave such weather. All the tourists would wither in this fog. I sighed again, wishing I had the DS that had been buried somewhere in the luggage. My Pokémon needed to be EV trained.
Eventually, the city blended into the moor, abundant in wild-looking plants. The sharp sounds of the horses hooves on stone suddenly changed to a dull thudding as the road became dirt. I saw the beginnings of my grandfather's luxurious, sprawling mansion that dissipated into the fog, preventing me from seeing how huge it really was.
"Alexandra, we're here." The carriage shifted as the driver helped my grandfather dismount.
"Grandpa, don't leave without me. I'm buried under luggage."
"Just a minute, my lady," said the driver with a thick British accent. He opened the door and helped me move the formidable bag that was on top of me. I jumped down with a sigh.
"And Grandpa, it's Alex, not Alexandra. That's what he called me..." I trailed off, swallowing, before resuming in a monotone, "So I took it up as my name now." His light blue eyes locked with mine. He had passed down those eyes to my family, sky blue with gold rings around the irises, and these were the eyes that assessed me. I looked down, breaking his gaze.
"Sometimes," his gentle, creaky voice made me look up again, "in the heat of fever, it is better to strip yourself of old clothes and don fresh ones."
I looked down again.
"I'm not sick, Grandpa," I said quietly.
He simply smiled and nodded, turning to the gates of the walkway leading to his front door. Two men walked out of the house and started to carry the luggage in while a man in what I assumed was traditional butler attire gestured to my backpack.
"May I take that for you, my lady?"
"Thank you," I smiled, dimpling.
"It is my pleasure." He walked briskly to where my grandfather was slowly making his way to the front door. "Professor Oak? The young lady's room has been prepared." My grandfather said something and the butler bowed again.
After a meandering walk through the kitchen, dining room and several parlors, my grandfather and I walked across a blindingly white room that seemed to have nothing in it.
"Grandpa, what's that room for?" I asked, unlinking arms with him. Suddenly, his face twisted into grief, scaring me, but the expression was gone in a second.
"You'll find out soon enough."
"Grandpa, are you okay?"
"No, I'm fine. No." I rubbed his shoulder with one hand, concerned.
"Grandpa, do you want to sit down?"
"Why don't I take you to your room and we can sit down there?" He patted my hand affectionately. At the same time, his voice dropped, making him sound a decade older, "And then we can talk."
In my room, he sat down heavily in a chair, his face in his hands. By this time, I was throughly alarmed.
"I think I need to call the hospital, Grandpa."
"No, no," he hesitated, then plunged forward with the air of a man acting out of desperation. "Alexandra, tell me, what video game have we always played together?"
"Pokémon. Grandpa, if this is some way of reminding me to EV train my Pokémon, I already have Snorlax at-"
"Darling, Pokémon... Pokémon is not a game anymore."
I felt my nerves crackle as my eyes widened. My grandpa was a scientist; it was possible.
"So you genetically engineered them into creation and now I get my very own Pikachu?"
"Genetically engineered Pikach- Alexandra! What did I say about Pikachu?"
I pouted, sliding my gaze away.
"The animated version of Pokémon extolled the virtues of Pikachu over a Raichu, but in actuality, the Raichu is definitely better in both stats and in move set," I recited, then mumbled, "It was a guilty pleasure." He stared at me and then laughed, covering his face with both hands.
"I see you still have Pokémon on your mind. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing we have yet to see." He took a deep breath. "Alexandra, the world of Pokémon is real."
Again, the ice-blue eyes on mine.
"I'm calling the hospital."
"Nothing is wrong with me, darling. Alexandra, you have to listen to me."
"I'll listen to you while I called the hospital, okay? Is it 911 in London, too? The butler would know, right?"
"Alexandra, listen to me."
"I'll get him, and it's not Alexandra, Grandpa, just saying."
"Alexandra!"
"My name is Alex!" I snapped, then covered my mouth. But my Grandfather didn't even flinch from the tone of my voice. He jumped up and grabbed my shoulders tightly.
"You are not Alex! You have lived your entire life as Alexandra! You are a beautiful girl and you must not lose your identity as one. There will be a time when... when the past will try to overwhelm you. You MUST NOT forget who you are, understand?"
My grandfather's face, which had always serenely looked over me, showed the sort of anguish that I had never wanted to see again. He looked at me as he had looked at the preacher at the funeral.
"Okay, Grandpa. I won't forget." I gripped his hand firmly and tried to soothe him. "Why don't I get you some tea? And then I'll call the doctor, no hospital trip. I'm just worried about you."
"Alexandra, the world of Pokémon exists." I stayed silent. "Here, take this." Out of his pocket, he pulled out something bright red, with a blue bulb on the corner.
"Grandpa! That's a toy Pokédex!"
"It's only made to look like a toy on the outside. On the inside, it's different." When I moved my hand to press the button, he pushed my hand away. "No, not here. On the other side, you can push it."
"Other side?" For the first time today, a creeping fear moved into my heart. "Grandpa... you're not sending me away, are you?" His sick look made me shake. "He never came home when he got sent away. He died and never came home." I started to plead, "I don't want to go, Grandpa. Anywhere."
"Dear girl," he turned around not facing me, "in the very room we're standing in, there exists hundreds and thousands of universes, all jumbled together. But those don't matter. What matters are the universes that lie parallel to, that lie lightly on, the universe in which we live. In only two places do these two intercept. The first is at Tokyo, where it is highly guarded by the government. The second," he faced me, "is in the white room. The Professor on the other side has worked extremely hard with their government and our government to establish a connection."
"I don't want to go," I whimpered.
"You are our only hope."
"I'm just sixteen. Grandpa, I don't know where you're sending me, but please don't make me go." But all through my sentence, he shook his head, sitting down in the chair again.
"You are our only hope." I stood in silence, clutching the piece of red plastic to me. Where was he sending me? Jail? To a government facility? A boarding school? "You don't believe me, do you Alexandra?"
"I'm - I'm not sure what you're asking me to believe."
He stood up slowly, his joints creaking. "That's better, I supposed. He was too trusting, too eager."
"Who was?"
"Someone I fear you will encounter soon enough. For now, I can understand if you don't trust me. But I need you to listen, and do one thing I ask of you. In the white room, there is a cabinet. You must enter it. Remember hide-and-seek?" I nodded slowly. "Just like hide-and-seek. Count 60 seconds exactly, and wait a couple seconds longer. And then come out."
All of a sudden, I felt relief flooding through my tense muscles. This was just a game. Just like hide-and-seek. My grandfather seemed to be having slight mental issues, but that was to be expected with age.
"Okay."
My relieved voice did not seem to comfort my grandfather. But he walked out of the room unsteadily and I followed him until we got to the white room. In the innermost corner, stood a rich mahogany cabinet.
"The energy concentration and the overlap in between the two worlds are so strong in that corner that any act of entering and leaving will bring you to the other side." I smiled brightly.
"Okay, but when I come back, we have to call your doctor, okay?" He did not respond, but opened the door.
"To Narnia with you, child." His eyes shone unnaturally. I climbed in, noting the smell of aged wood. "Alexandra, remember yourself. And darling," I nodded, trying to be complacent and attentive, "the worst mistake you can make is thinking that this is a game. I love you, Alexandra." With my name echoing in the air, he shut the door.