6 – Alec Gets a Call from His Friend and Isabelle Has a Dream

After work and lunch, I rode home on the bus, crossed the street where Pendleton's was, and reminded myself about the island. I climbed up the stairs to my apartment, didn't even think about getting a full glass on the rocks. Work was too rough to continue wearing my work clothes, and I changed out of my old dress shirt, tie, and sweater, and into a shirt reading "Spring Break, Sweden 2019".

I walked over to the living room, got my phone out, and called Alec.

Beep.

Be-e-ep.

"Hello, Isabelle, right? Sorry for the delay, I just had to have someone lord the front while I take your call." Alec responded as Mrs. Robinson played muffled in the background over the PA at the liquor store.

"Yes! Hello, Alec!" I sat down on the striped couch across from the TV, which I kept off to focus on the island.

"Oh yeah. Hi, Isabelle. You've been prepping for your island vacay?" Alec replied over the phone.

"Not today, I'm afraid. Life here's okay. Did Zaden get to the island alright?"

"Zaden hadn't gotten there yet. I think they're still waiting to hop on a plane. I think they're just taking in Albuquerque before saying goodbye forever." Alec's voice brought me back into the conversation at hand.

"Wonderful! How did they learn about the island in the first place?"

"What did you say?" Alec's voice crackled again through the muffled music playing throughout the liquor store.

"So, how did they find it?" My curiosity still lingered through, but though I didn't really want to interrogate Alec, I wanted to know how Zaden found the island.

"To be honest, they blacked out one night and woke up with a plane ticket on their phone." Alec joked as the music came to an end.

"That's sure a way to get to a distant island!" I giggled.

"Nah, I'm just screwing around. They just saw plane tickets were cheap because of Corona, and then saw this ad with a raccoon. That's what I heard from them." Alec assuaged.

I jolted up out of my seat, that I almost dropped my phone into the seat cushions. "Was it a video?"

"Well, no, but the website did have a video explaining everything." Alec clarified as a Billy Joel song started playing over the radio at the liquor store.

Billy crooned on the radio, "Ali dances and the audience applauds…"

Alec remarked, "The ad, I guess, was just a pop-up in a game or something. I went to the website myself, and I don't get why they have people in costumes there."

"I'm just asking because I did see a similar video ad on YouTube while looking for something funny to watch while back home from work!" I explained to Alec.

"Well, yeah. Speaking of funny, the whole website reminded me of this one funny commercial I saw with Little Red Riding Hood one of the staffers showed me once." Alec recalled.

"Oh, it's alright! I tend to prattle on about my viewing habits, too!" I reminded him.

"Then again, the animal gimmick is kind of sketchy," Alec warned me. "I couldn't find pics of the CEO of the company, Thomas, I think his name was. I only saw pictures of the raccoon mascot of the company."

"Did you say Thomas? I think we were neighbors at one point. I don't mean to spoil the surprise, but… I might end up playing a key role in developing the island!"

"True, true. I've got a feeling that anyone going there has a part to play in the development of this place. I kind of heard one of the residents will get to name it if, you know, they get the role of representative. I have a feeling Zaden's going to name it after their mommy. Anyways, it's getting late, so talk to you later!"

Click.

I was still in my apartment, locked to my couch. I was too relaxed after a long day at the office, with a break to talk to Ray, and some time discussing the island, presumably to be named Pen, to get up. Not even for a good glass of Tennessee whiskey on the rocks.

I clicked open the Hulu app and decided between Seinfeld and Regular Show. I flipped between The Boyfriend and Muscle Mentor, episodes that Hulu recommended to me. I'd had too many dreams about Regular Show, so it made sense to watch it to get a sense of it.

Not long after, I was on a deserted island, with simple pine, deciduous, and palm trees dotting the scene. A row of tents lined up along the center of the island, upon frosted grass and icy earth. Their inhabitants were nowhere on the island, but I assumed they were asleep in the tents. Was this the island? I thought as I walked past the scenery.

I wandered towards the shore, as it felt natural. All was still, as even the stars' dance was quiet, though unencumbered by clouds. The only sounds on the lost island were the rushing of the waves and my own footsteps.

I approached the ocean to sit and see how far the ocean went. The full moon shone over the waves as they cracked along the shore. The light of the moon hit me and left a yellow warble in the waters. I looked at the ocean warble and it moved along with me. As I focused more, the warble became clearer and clearer.

The ocean reflected a golden-hued canine wearing my work clothes when I walked closer to the water. I looked up and raised my buttercream paws to my face. This wasn't just my own reflection, this was what my soul looked like.

I'd inadvertently censored an object I did not know existed until I moved my paws down. The unknown thing was a giant staircase in the middle of the water, reaching the depths below. I tried to walk through the waves to get to it, but my mind considered the waves too rough.