The door opened slowly and Boris waited. He almost had his head lowered and sincerely said, “I am here to help you. Even if it means I will die.”
He looked at me and smiled.
The door finally opened and he slowly walked in. The door slammed shut, and Boris seemed he was panicking. He hissed, “What!” Then I looked back and realized the room was black and empty. Boris slowly put me down and held my hand tightly. What was he afraid of?
We stood there for what seemed like minutes ticking down, and then there was a loud bang to my right. I turned to the direction of the sound, and birds were fast approaching. I tried to run but they quickly covered me and started pecking me. I screamed so loud. “Stop it! Boris! Boris!” Suddenly, all the birds were gone. I looked around and Boris was gone.
I panicked and my heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest. I tried to slither back, but I couldn’t find a wall to lay on. I didn’t know what to do. My screams were pointless, and then, a figure from a far started approaching me. The figure had an illuminating light surrounding it. I thought, “Am I dead?”
The figure came closer and it was a man. I didn’t know who it was. He was wearing a suit. A pair of black pants, black jacket, white shirt and a red tie. He almost had a bald head. His eyes were brown and wide. His face had noticeable wrinkles. He stopped and looked at me sharply and said, “Who do you choose?”
I looked at him and said, “What?”
The man said, “Why can’t you decide?”
I said, “I have no idea what to choose.”
The man said, “Boris or you?”
I said, “What?”
The man repeated, “Boris or you?”
I didn’t know how I should respond. What will happen if I chose myself? What if I chose Boris? Maybe he will go back and not die because of me. He said he might die, but I am worth it. No, I can’t do this to him. I can’t be selfish. I frantically said with a scared tone of voice, “Boris. Boris.”
The man said, “Are you sure?”
I hesitated. Was he taunting me and wanted me to rethink my choice?
I said, “Yes. Boris.”
The man smiled and said, “Very well.”
The man walked back and disappeared. I didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned around. It was Boris. I quickly jumped on him and hugged him tightly. He said, “Wow. What happened to your head bandage?”
I let go of him and touched my head; the bandage was gone. Boris shifted to look at my head on the left side. He said, “The bruise is not there anymore.” I started giggling and then laughed hysterically. He said, “Why are we here?”
I looked at him and then turned around. It was an old building, four stories high and the front door was damaged. It seemed that he knew this place. He said, “We must go back.” I said, “Go where?” He grabbed my hand, turned us around and started running. Then a wall appeared that was high and endless, and we stopped. I turned, and the wall appeared from every direction. I said, “What now?”
Boris, with a scared voice said, “It’s not real. Just say it’s not real Lina.”
I looked at him and at the wall. He impatiently said, “Do you want to kill me?”
I didn’t know how a wall can kill him, but suddenly, ceramic blocks started falling from the sky. It seemed that the wall was collapsing down and leaning towards us. Boris pushed me down, he kneeled down and covered me tightly.
There was loud banging on the floor from the ceramic blocks, and suddenly, the sound stopped. I tried to lift my head up and get out of Boris’s tight grip, but I couldn’t. I said, “Boris. Let go of me. It stopped.” I tried to push myself out and when I did, Boris fell. His eyes were shut and he didn’t move. I tried to wake him up. I shook him hard, and then a voice from behind me said, “Why did you choose him?”
I turned around, and it was me. It was her. It was Sara.
She came closer and said, “He is dead.”
I said, “No. Why him?”
She stared at me and said nothing.
My heart was beating fast, and I looked down at Boris. He was still. He looked like he was sleeping. I touched his face and it felt warm. I started crying.
She said, “Why are you sad? You wanted him dead.”
I lifted my head quickly and said, “No I didn’t.”
She said, “You chose him.”
I said, “What?”
She smirked and said, “Do you want him back?”
I said, “How?”
She said, “Time. Remember. You control time.”
I stared at her. All I know that Boris died for me and I had to do something. Anything. Was it only a dream? Was it real?
She said, “Let’s go back and undue this mess.”
I looked at her, and I didn’t want to leave Boris behind. She lifted her right arm upward waiting for me to hold it. I walked closer to her, lifted my arm and was ready to hold her hand. A voice behind me loudly said, “No!”
It was Boris. He was awake.
Sara ran to me and held my hand tightly. She took my other hand and said, “We have to go back and redo everything!” She pressed hard on my hands and a light emerged from them. It was bright and almost blinding.
I fell on the ground, and she disappeared. I looked back, and Boris was kneeling with his head facing the ground. I quickly ran to him and laid on the floor near him. I tried to grab his shoulder and he quickly tossed them off. He looked at me with a menacing look and said, “You have to die!”
He jumped and grabbed my neck. He squeezed it hard with his fist and I couldn’t breathe. He let go of one hand for a second, and lifted a small knife. He said, “This will be quick and painless.”
I gave in and closed my eyes tightly. I thought that being killed is an honour to what has been done. Dana was killed. She was stabbed by a knife and I tried to save her. Wait I thought. Boris does not like knives. He thinks they are primitive. I then opened my eyes and it was her. It was Sara. I raised my arm and grabbed her wrist that was holding the knife. I pushed her back with my feet. She fell backwards. She then said, “Why won’t you die! If you die, I will die!”
I looked at her not believing what she has said. She pushed herself up but stayed kneeling on the ground. I said, “Where is Boris?”
She shrugged and the knife in her hand disappeared. She said in a low voice, “You chose him over me. Why? Who is more important? What has he done for you?”
I said, “Where is he? Bring him back!”
She looked at me and spoke softly, “I tried to stay good and follow orders. I did everything they wanted me to do. I can’t keep doing this. I have to die.”
I said, “I don’t have time to hear your cryptic banter. Where is Boris?”
She said, “Does it matter?”
I said, “Yes. Tell me now.”
She walked closer, I stood up and walked back. She said, “He brought you here because you have something he wants, and you chose him. I don’t know why you have sympathy for him. He only wanted to use you. To know how you did it. He wants to know how you stopped every scenario you saw during the aptitude test and altered the scenes to achieve a perfect mark.”
I stared at her in disbelief. She continued, “Him and other people have been trying for years to build different scenarios and try to cross a world in their mind they can alter. But… they… can’t!”
I finally said, “You are lying. This isn’t true. None of it is true.”
She grinned at me and said, “Why are they afraid of you?”
I said, “What?”
She walked closer and said, “You are stuck here forever. You built this world. You wanted to be someone else. You are in 2011 AD. You are just sleeping. Dreaming.” Then she laughed hysterically.
I shook my head. I didn’t understand why she switched from Boris till 200 years in the past. Is she bipolar?
She continued, “How long you want to keep denying who you are, and where you are.”
I said loudly, “This isn’t real. None of it is real. I want to leave. I want to wake up.”
She finally said, “Time will only tell.”