I emerge from the water and wade out to the sandy beaches. The dark forest in front me is making noises that chill me to the bone. I shudder at the creepiness of it all, in the darkness, this island loses so much life. Jimmy walks up behind me "Vortex, are you okay?" he asks laying a hand on my shoulder.
I smile "I would be if I were dry." I say shivering walking along the beach. I stop and look down at my feet, and the dirty yellow sand that caresses them. "Jimmy, it's been so long" I whisper not breaking my fascination of my feet. I note the tear that drops from my eye into the sand. Another tear slides down my cheek but hangs on my nose; I can see it out of the corner of my eye.
It stores the reflection of the giant moon and the trillions of stars that hung overhead. I wipe it away quickly and shut my eyes as if out of pain. I hear behind me Jimmy's feet moving slowly through the sand. Wincing when I feel the tips of his fingers touching my bare shoulder (halter top), he grabs the other and turns me around to face him.
"Cindy, it's okay, you don't need to cry… I can understand." he says pulling me into a hug. I wipe the tear that forms in my eye and step back "But you don't understand Jimmy… I've only dreamt of coming here in my dreams! With you, except the only difference is we stayed here. That day we were supposed to leave, you agreed to let us stay and sent the others home." I explain.
"No one questioned our absence, there wasn't anyone who went out to rescue us… it was just you and me on this secluded island. And each night I had that dream it'd be a different instance in time." I start pacing as I continue.
"I saw our futures, our pasts, what our lives would be like together. And it was unadulterated heaven – ecstasy… paradise even! And each night before bed I would stare at that old pearl, in that old mollusk, for hours on end, wishing that that could be my – our – reality." I finish flopping down on a rock.
I look up at him "so no, you don't understand." I finish turning to the shore as the small waves shift up and down along the sand. He sits down alongside me. "Cindy, I do understand. All of it! I understand the dreams, the wishing, the countless nights, and days, of wondering why it isn't. I understand because I gave you that!" he says.
I look at him curiously "you gave me it?" I ask perplexed at the thought. How can you give someone a dream? He smiles "yes I gave you it." "how?"
"Well, that day, when we left, you we so sad, and I noticed. I noticed how much you wished – longed even – to be back on that island. You wouldn't talk for days. I felt so bad so I went to my lab and asked Goddard for options…. '
(FLASHBACK!!)
Jimmy paced the lab, ideas and thoughts bustling around in his mind. The lightbulb above hung limp on the string as it swung back and forth. Jimmy looks up to his pet Goddard in the corner "Goddard, options" he asks. Goddard's chest plate lifts:
Take her back to the island
"No, too risky, next" he says
Buy her some chocolate and hope for the best
"Seriously Goddard!!" the 11 year old boy whines..
Make Goddard a female poodle
Jimmy glares at the dog. "next option" he says
Make her think she's at the island
"BRAIN BLAST!! I could make some kind of compound, a hallucinogenic compound, which would give her the feeling of being at the island! But wait, I don't think I could make a compound with enough energy to last forever. And if I could I wouldn't want her to be there all the time, she'd be a useless blob in real life. Plus a hallucenegenic compound would just be a drug and i know she'd refuse it." he paces the room.
"Then maybe some kind of devise, I could place on her person that would have the illusion of being on the island. But what about the problem of it being forever…" he says looking to the dog. HE lifts his chest plate:
Dreams?
Jimmy smiles "YEAH!! Dreams, it could only effect her when she is dreaming. It could be activated when she is in the state of REM and would be programmed to zap her mind with the illusion of being on the island. I could program time lapses. And I could even be there... but how." he finishes frowning.
Telepathy is always an option.
The dog says. Jimmy smiles again "That's right it is! I could wear a devise just like it, so that we could communicate through radio waves in the air – like a cell phone."
(END FLASHBACK!!)
"So you attached a little thingy that made me dream all this stuff." I ask. He smiles "yep I have one too. And you know what's funny…" he asks bashfully.
"What?" I raise an eyebrow skeptically. "Mine is on all the time, so I kind of can hear your thoughts." he finishes.
My eyes widen and I jump up "WHAT!!" I scream
