He Knows the Way

Somewhere Else

Time Unknown

Eleven's eyes flicked slowly open. This time, she wasn't at all surprised to find herself surrounded by the blackness. She was contemplating shutting her eyes and just going right back to sleep, when she was suddenly startled by a voice from somewhere behind her.

"Good morning. I was wondering how long you would be out."

She scrambled quickly to her feet and looked around, her eyes falling suddenly on a man sitting cross-legged a short distance away. He was an old man with silvery hair combed neatly to one side. A pair of gold, wire-rimmed glasses covered bright blue eyes. Time had left his face crossed with soft wrinkles that only deepened as he smiled. Something about him immediately put her at ease.

"Is it morning?" she asked, having lost all sense of time in the darkness.

"It might be. Or maybe not. You can't really tell here, so when I wake up, I think of it as morning. I've been awake for a while myself, so it feels closer to afternoon, but it would be morning for you."

Her head began to spin trying to follow what the kind man was saying, but she was also grateful to find there was someone else in this strange place. Perhaps he would have some idea what was going on.

"Where are we? Do you know?" she asked.

"Could be anywhere. Could be nowhere. I'm pretty sure we're somewhere." he replied, as cryptic as before. The whole time he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on a point off in the distance. Finally, he turned to face Eleven. "So what brings you here, Miss?"

"I don't know. I can't remember what happened or what I was doing before. I just remember waking up here in the dark."

"Oh, is it still dark for you?" he asked, glancing around them. "Try looking harder."

Eleven began to wonder if this man was just as crazy as she was starting to feel. Still, he appeared to have a better sense of what was going on than she did, so she took another look around, staring as hard as she could into the distance. Suddenly, though she could not perceive the transition itself, the darkness was gone and her feet found themselves on solid ground. She was in a field, with soft green grass and wildflowers stretching off in every direction. A warm, mid-afternoon sun beamed down from a crystal clear blue sky.

Perceiving the change on her face, he asked, "Better? What do you see now?"

"A big field of grass in the warm sunshine," she replied. "Isn't that where we are?"

He gave a small, comforting chuckle. "We all see something different. Right now I am in a library, shelves stretching off in every direction with enough volumes to occupy a thousand lifetimes. It's three o'clock on a rainy winter afternoon; the perfect time to curl up in an overstuffed chair by the fire and sail away on an adventure."

She was puzzled at his description. How could they be standing together in two different places? She was about to ask, when another thought overtook it.

"Wait, you said WE all see something different. There are others?" she asked.

He smiled and held out a hand to her, which she took without hesitation. There was something about him that felt both safe and important. "Come, let's take a walk." Then, after a pause, he added, "I'm George, by the way."

"I'm…" she had to think for a moment before her name came back to her, "I'm Jane."

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Jane," he smiled.

They walked together in silence for a few minutes, Eleven looking everywhere about her, still trying to figure out what this place was. George, on the other hand, strolled as though it were a normal spring afternoon somewhere pleasant. After a time, they came upon another person - a young woman - curled on the ground and slowly rocking herself back and forth, muttering.

"Good afternoon," he said, addressing her, though it was clear he expected no response. "Poor thing," he said, turning to Eleven as they continued on. "She's been here a while now and can't seem to come out of the darkness."

Eleven wanted to ask him what he meant and who that woman was, but for some reason she kept silent. Deep inside, a feeling told her they were making their way to something important. As they continued to walk, they past several more people, young and old, who all appeared similarly lost. George greeted each one as they past, though none responded.

After a period of time - she couldn't decide if it had been minutes or hours - they came to a stop at the crest of a small hill. "Let's stop and take a rest," George suggested. "In spite of everything else, my legs tire just as easily here as back home."

They settled into the grass, or rather, Eleven perceived them sitting in the grass while George pictured them settled into two soft leather chairs by a fire. After several minutes of silence, hoping that he would offer some kind of explanation, Eleven finally began. "So what is this place? Who are all those people we passed? I can't help feeling you know more than you're telling me."

He smiled. "You are a clever girl. I could tell right away you'd bring yourself out of the darkness. You were screaming that boy's name, Mike I believe it was, into the darkness only a few minutes after waking. You added Daddy the very next time. Most folks take much longer than that to get the bearings about them, if they figure it out at all."

She felt he head start to hurt once more, as it seemed there was an answer just out of her grasp.

He went on. "Okay, so here's the deal. We're all here, because our minds have been broken in some way or another."

A sickened feeling crossed through her and she could barely whisper her next question. "Am I dead?"

He gave a deep and hearty chuckle. "Heavens no. Trust me, you and I and everyone else here, we are very much alive." He paused, the look on his face becoming more serious once again, "When a mind breaks, it leaves the body behind, in a sense, and comes here. The body is left back in the real world. Yours, I expect, is lying comfortably in a hospital room right now, surrounded by the people who love you."

She gave a sad, half smile, at the thought of Mike and Daddy sitting there by her side, keeping her safe and waiting for her to come back to them.

"When the mind comes here," he went on, "it arrives confused and blank. Some people can recover their thoughts and eventually make the choice."

"What choice?" she asked, not quite sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Which way to go. To reach deep into the mind and fix what has fallen apart, to return to the body and life. Or, to decide they are done fighting, to let this life slip away, and move on to what lies beyond."

She sat stunned at the prospect. "What is beyond, if you choose to move on?"

"Oh, no one really knows that until they go, I expect. I like to believe there is a great adventure beyond that horizon."

"How do you know all this?" she asked. Then, clarifying, "I mean, if your here, how do you know you can even go back?"

He smiled and leaned closer, giving a conspiratorial whisper, "I've been here before."

It was not the answer she was expecting, and he almost laughed at the shock that registered on her face.

"A long time ago, when I was a much younger man, I fought in the army. One day, my unit came under fire and I found myself standing too close to where a mortar shell decided to fall. When I was thrown by the blast, my head smacked a rock and the lights went out. That was when I found myself here. I can tell you, that time, it took me quite a few tries waking up before I was able to get my bearings about me. Not like you," he said, giving her a wink.

She blushed at the compliment, before asking, "So if you know the way back already, why haven't you gone?"

His smile turned to a look of contentment before he spoke. "I haven't decided if I'm going back. Last time, I had my girl waiting for me. Jenny. I made her a promise, that when the war was done, I would come home to her and we'd get married, have a home, raise a family; live a life together. And I always prided myself on keeping my promises. This time, our kids are grown, living their lives, raising families of their own. I've lived a good, full life, and Jenny's waiting for me again. She passed away two years ago and I expect she's somewhere on the other side, tapping her foot impatiently, wondering what's taking me so long."

Eleven felt she had found a kindred spirit in George and his belief in the power of a promise and it's ability to cross all boundaries of time and space. "In that case, why haven't you moved on the other way?"

"I don't really know," he shrugged. "Something deep down makes me think there's still something I'm supposed to do before I go on. Maybe it's helping you get back, if that's what you decide to do."

She thought for only a moment before rejecting the idea of moving on. She had a life still full of so much possibility to get back to, and people she loved. She had Mike and a lifetime of promises, spoken and not, to look forward to. "I want to go back," she said with resolve.

"I thought you might. For now, I think it's time for you to rest. Wanting to go back and actually getting there are two very different things and you will need all your strength."

She hadn't realized it before, but she was feeling quite tired again. She let out a yawn as she said, "Maybe just a few minutes." She lay on her side again, feeling the soft tickle of the grass against her cheek and the warm sunshine across her body. Her eyes closed in contentment, knowing that there would be a way back and a guide to help her along her way.

"You rest up. I'll be right here. I think it's time for a little Jules Verne," he said, as he picked a thick book up from somewhere unseen and flipped it open.