The next thing that Cecil was aware of was waking up in his own bed, but without Carlos next to him. He let out a large sigh as he tried to adjust to his second morning without Carlos by his side in bed. It was difficult. People say that they wish they had appreciated their lover more before they had left. But Cecil had appreciated Carlos every day that he woke up beside him and it still hurt like hell to be parted from him- and for God knows how long.
After ten minutes of lying there in the empty mass of pillows, Cecil managed to pull himself out of bed. Since Night Vale's ban on wheat and wheat by products, breakfasts had become a lot less appetizing, but even still, he made his way down to the kitchen. Alone.
"Hello, sweetie," Kevin smiled widely, sipping a red substance out of Carlos' favourite mug
Cecil did a double take.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded, furious at the intrusion.
"Just thought I would stop by to say hello to my favourite radio host," Kevin slipped out of his chair and moved closer to the perturbed homeowner.
Cecil edged away from him, wondering about the contents of Carlos' mug and simultaneously not wanting to know.
"Since you're in such a good mood," Cecil thought out loud "Would you mind telling me where Carlos is?"
"Now where is the fun in that?" Kevin laughed but his eyes were piercingly Cecil's skin like a knife blade.
Kevin drove Cecil to the radio station. Neither of them spoke on the journey and they both refused to turn on the radio. Not even the sound of something clawing its way out of your chest would lighten the mood.
Intern Maureen greeted Cecil with a concerned look on her face as he entered the station.
"Um, Cecil," Maureen nervously wrung her hands "you might want to see this."
She opened the door to the recording booth but instead of the usual tentacles and other standard recording equipment, there was only an old oak door.
"How did this get here?" Cecil asked, pacing around the door which appeared to only have one side.
"There was a delivery man…" the young intern looked like she would much prefer to be doing anything else "he said it was a gift. It came with this letter."
Maureen rummaged around her pockets, eventually pulling out a slightly crumpled envelope and handing it over to Cecil. He examined it carefully before opening it. On the back it read four simple letters: S.W.A.C.
Sealed with a…
Curse?
Card?
Carton of Glue?
No.
Inside the envelope was simply a florist's card reading, "Enjoy your gift".
"Thank you, mysterious sender," Cecil thought out loud where he mentally decided where the oak door would look best in his and Carlos' apartment.
Overcome with curiosity, Cecil decided to open the door to see where it lead to. From inside he could hear humming and… drums? The vagueness of a blinking light seeped through. It looked harmless. Taking on his boyfriend's scientific curiosity, he stepped through the door.
On the other side… a desert. But not Night Vale. No, another desert. Seeing that there was nothing of interest on the other side of the door, Cecil turned around to go back and record Welcome To Night Vale only to realise that the door was… gone. No longer there. In its place was nothing but a pile of sand.
It looked like he would have to get used to the new desert after all.