Blue Eyes

“We’re running out of time” Evan said calmly as the wind was blowing through their hair. Layla knew he would say it. Still, she felt her stomach tighten and the breeze got colder while they were sitting on the bright green meadow.

“I don’t want to leave”, she stared at him with lowered eyebrows. He smiled

“It’s only a month, isn’t it?”

Layla sighed and turned her head to see the house behind them. The one they grew up in. It’s still the same after all these years. Yes, the walls are discoloured and the door is barely standing, but it smells the same and the chestnut tree has not died yet.

“She’s bringing me back.” She hugged him tightly as she felt her body become dust starting from her legs.

“I will come back sooner” Layla whispered when everything went dark. Light came again after almost half a minute while her body felt like reforming again. She woke up. Naomi was right where she left her, on that short, white chair holding the red notebook.

“Hi” she smiled widely. “Anything unusual?”

“It normally doesn’t take that long to come back. It took around half a minute. Other than that… everything’s perfect”

“Great”, Naomi wrote down a few more lines and closed the notebook. “Then we’re done”

“Naomi-“

“No. For the twentieth time… no. I won’t let you go back again, because it simply doesn’t work like that. Do we really have to go through this again?”

“But why just an hour? What happens if you let me pass the hour?”

“I’m just an employee, Layla, you know that. It’s built to work for an hour monthly. More details are classified and believe me when I say they don’t share them with anyone outside their circle”

Layla stared blankly at the ceiling while breathing heavily.

“You don’t get it, Naomi. You’ve never had siblings. I can’t live without him.”

Silence swallowed the room for a few minutes.

“I shouldn’t have let you do this. I mean… I wouldn’t if I knew this would happen. Besides, the beta testing is still dangerous on its own. Why would I let my best friend-”

“I can’t keep seeing him once a month. I need to stay with him for a few days. If you can’t do that for me… then yes, we should stop”.

Naomi approached the window and gazed outside, even though there was no view. Only a huge iron building blocking it.

“I won’t do that. You should get over him.”

“Goodbye, Naomi”, Layla grabbed her coat and exited the room hurriedly.

“A guided lucid dream” Naomi had told her back then, when it all started. “The device will detect all the memories you have of Evan and create an accurate version of him, while you still have control over what you do in the dream. It’s not a portal to the other world or anything such, as you can imagine. It’s not real. And it’s temporary. But I think it might help you.” And it really did help Layla. In fact, it saved her. That’s why she can’t give up. She will come back to him today.

Layla would always come to see her brother in the last appointments, just before the facility closed, because she didn’t like to rush. So, that day she stayed in the storage room long enough for Naomi to get out of her office and realise she had lost her keys.

“David, can you check if you have the keys to my office? I can’t find them in here”

“I don’t think I do, but I will lock it with the spare key. You can go, I will go too in a bit” David replied from the office next door.

Naomi’s steps soon disappeared as she turned around the corner in the end of the long hallway. Layla exited the storage room and entered Naomi’s office, unnoticed by David. It took her some time to figure out how to copy the contents of the microchip into a new one, but she did it. She then got out of the office and headed quietly to the stairs.

She unlocked her car and got inside. She breathed for a while and smiled when she looked at the microchip. She would see him again today.

She started driving fast, away from the city. Through the traffic lights, the expensive cars and the imposing buildings. Through the misery and the hopelessness. Because after years, life finally felt possible.

She arrived to their hometown after a three-hour drive. It was way past midnight. She quit her job through a not-so-carefully-composed email. She had everything she wanted right there.

Layla got into the house and lied on the bed. She realised she hadn’t been there since her brother died. She put out the microchip and hoped for the best. Naomi said multiple times that it’s autonomous and that what she did through her computer was just monitor the process and maybe intervene if Layla’s vital levels were ever too abnormal. That had fortunately never happened.

She attached the microchip on the side of her head. She felt her surroundings sink while she was staying afloat on the bed. Everything was going black and her body felt like it became dust starting from her legs. Then it reformed again and she woke up right there. In that same bed, in her parent’s house.

“Evan!” Layla repeatedly shouted his name over and over again and searched the whole house in pure adrenaline. Did she do everything right?

Evan was not inside the house. She got out and saw the bright green meadow spread in front of her. It was morning now. She ran as fast as she could, until she reached the beach. And there he was, sitting on the crystal coast letting the mild waves wet his legs.

“Evan!”

He turned his head in surprise and stood up in an instant. They both ran into each other and hugged tightly.  

“I won’t leave you again. I won’t.”

“What happened? It’s only a few hours after”. His voice sounded both concerned and excited.

“I… I figured it out. I’m going to stay this time”

“Tell me you didn’t do anything stupid, Layla!”

“I didn’t, trust me! Naomi said we can proceed to the next level of the beta testing. Which is daily interaction with the device. And unlimited hours too.” She was smiling through every word she said. She was utterly happy.

“That’s… amazing!” Evan hugged her once again and started laughing excitedly.

“Are you… taller? I can barely reach your shoulders when I hug you”

“I’m… way past my growing phase, Layla. And I’m also dead.” They both laughed, but then Layla hit him in the chest.

“Don’t be joking about that, you dumbass!”

“We should always be joking. You only live once!”

“I hate you”. She grabbed his legs and dragged him into the water. Then he stood up and pushed her hard making her dive into the water too. They swam until they reached the deep waters. Then they made their bodies float on the surface, the one next to the other.

“You know… I have never swam this deep into the sea with anyone else” Layla said in a relaxed voice.

“Really? Why?”     

“I think it’s because you were the one who taught me how to swim. And I’ve correlated my safety in the water with you. And I think I don’t trust anyone else.”

Silence prevailed for a few minutes.

“Maybe you should start trusting more” Evan turned to look at her while floating.

The sun was scorching hot. Layla had just started swimming to the shore when she felt a sudden pain all through her body. Like somebody was stubbing her with 10 knives simultaneously.

“Evan-” her voice barely got out through her groans of pain.

“What happened, are you okay?” he swam closer to her. “Get out and ask Naomi, you’ve never felt pain here before. Get out now”

“Okay… I’ll come back. Exit dream”

The blacker everything got, the heavier her head felt. The deeper inside of her she felt the stabs. She woke up breathing fast and heavily, with sweat dripping from her chin and nose. Sadly, there was no Naomi there to tell her what that was all about. She detached the microchip and left it on the table next to the bed. She checked the time on her phone. Only half an hour had passed since she entered the dream. It was still pitch black outside. She drank some water and then fell asleep. She felt exhausted.

The next morning she had to cancel meeting up with Naomi to go shopping. She hoped she didn’t raise any suspicion.

She made her morning coffee, put the microchip in her trousers’ pocket and lay on the hammock outside. Their father had made it over 20 years ago. It was really a miracle how it stayed so sturdy over all these years.

The view was as immaculate as ever. How does one leave this place and go live in a gray hell…

She touched the microchip in her pocket. She put it out. She looked at it as the breeze was hitting her face gently. She took a deep breath and attached it on the side of her head. She closed her eyes.

She woke up on that same hammock. Evan was in the sea. She joined him and then they took a stroll to the centre of the town. It was crazy how many familiar faces she saw. They all looked so real at times. But sometimes their faces were a wobbly gel and they spoke words that would never make sense in the real world. That’s because the dream is designed to only focus on making an accurate Evan. All the others are mostly paradoxical, as is the reality of any dream.

“I thought something was different about your face today, but I couldn’t really tell what it was. But it’s definitely your eyes. Why are they blue?” Layla frowned her eyebrows.

“What do you mean? I’ve always had blue eyes”

“You had brown eyes, Evan, just like me. This bright blue is really distracting, take it off!”

“What do you mean take it off!” he laughed “It’s not my problem if you’re jealous”

Layla suddenly stopped walking and wrapped her arms around her abdomen.

“My body is hurting again. Naomi doesn’t yet know what that is. But I have to go. Exit dream”

She checked the time as soon as she woke up. Her eyes widened when she saw that she had stayed in the dream for an hour and fifty minutes. Much longer than last time.

She came back to Evan more and more with the passing of days. She started giving him visits two and three times a day. One time she stayed for 6 hours and when she woke up she ate two family pizzas by herself. She noticed she started losing weight. But in her dreams she felt no hunger, no thirst, no sorrow. Even the stabbing had completely gone away. Now, she could stay however long she desired.

“Should we go get milkshakes?” Evan asked as they were having a walk downtown.

“It’s been so long since I had one… I missed it”

They headed towards a milkshake stand.

“Can I have a strawberry milkshake?” Evan pointed in the pink powder on the stand.

“What!” Layla looked at him in disbelief. “You hate strawberry milkshake”

Evan laughed.

“What are you talking about! I love-“

“Layla, what the fuck are you doing!”

Layla heard a familiar voice interrupting Evan. One that gave her the chills. She turned around to see Naomi. Her face wasn’t wobbly and everything on her was completely detailed.

“What are you doing here…” Layla’s eyes opened in surprise.

“I saw the transfer you did. I never needed to do a transfer, so I never checked the history, but I should have known better. When I found out, I inserted myself in your dreams, just like I inserted Ethan. The device is designed to only work with one guest, but I had no choice. The system couldn’t wake you up, something is wrong. Where the hell are you? You’ve left your apartment, your neighbour told me.”

Naomi looked at Evan. She stood there motionless for a while. Then she frowned.

“That’s… why does he have blue eyes?”

“What do you mean?” Layla sounded confused.

“Layla, what is happening? What the fuck is Naomi talking about? Did you lie to me?” Evan said with an upsetting voice while looking at Layla in disbelief.

“Why is his voice so low? Layla something feels completely wrong about this. You should wake up right now, call me and tell me where you are. This should stop immediately, it’s more dangerous than you can imagine”

“Dangerous? I’m happy for the first time in two years. Everything is perfect here. Please… you have to go”

“No, Layla, you have to go. Trust me for once!

Layla created a gun from nothing and pointed it to Naomi.

“What are you doing, you psycho! You have to get-”

The bullet went through Naomi’s chest leaving a cylindrical hole. She raised her head and gave Layla a cold, lifeless stare. Two black tentacles appeared from inside Naomi and clutched Layla’s arms. They pulled her towards the hole with terrifying speed. She woke up screaming just before her face touched Naomi’s body. She checked her phone. 11 unanswered calls from Naomi and 32 messages. Most of them ask her where she is. But Naomi can’t know. Not yet.

Layla thought about destroying the microchip. It was absorbing her with every hour she was spending in her dreams. She felt bliss in that world, but she felt more disconnected from real life than ever. She had to choose which world she wanted to live in.

She approached her finger to the call button. She almost cried because she couldn’t press it as much as she tried. She had to go back one last time. She had to know. But she had to wait until she was sleepy again.

So she took a stroll to the town centre. She didn’t see any familiar faces, contrary to what happened in that movie night. They had all probably abandoned the town, just like she did. Silly her, to think that anything in this world can stay untouched by time.

Night came sooner than she expected. She lay on the bed and attached the microchip on the side of her head, staring blankly at the ceiling. This was the last time.

She woke up on that same bed. She got out of the house. And there he was. Sitting on the bright green meadow, his back turned to her. Layla approached him and sat by his side.

“This is the last time”

He turned to look at her. His face was unusually emotionless.

“So this is farewell” Evan said calmly.

“It is”

The sea was so peaceful it looked as if it didn’t move at all. 

“Did you always have blue eyes, Evan?” Layla hesitated to ask. But she needed to know before she left forever.

Evan smiled.

“Of course not”

He started laughing.

“Did I always have six legs too?”. 2 pair of legs grew from his abdomen making him look like a human-like spider.

“Evan, stop it!”

“Did I always have a huge head too?”. His voice was now raspy and lower. His skin stretched as his head was getting bigger and bigger. Not so much in height, but in width. When it stopped growing he smiled widely, the corners of his lips almost touching his ears.

“Exit dream!” she screamed, but no dust and no reform. She just stood there staring at the horrendous creature. She felt her skin freeze. Her heart felt like it could break through her chest.

“Exit dream, exit dream, exit dream…” she kept whispering it, unable to move, unable to blink.

“Did I always have a lust for human flesh too?” his eyebrows rose.

Layla ran as fast as she could. She headed back to the house. She could hear his long legs hitting the ground behind her, but she couldn’t look behind. She pushed the door open and hid into the closet of their childhood room. She could peak through the small openings. For a few minutes nothing was heard, nothing was seen. Her face was covered in tears and she was breathing asthmatically.

“Exit dream, exit dream, exit dream…”

Ten more minutes passed. Layla peaked one last time and then opened the creaky closet. For a moment it seemed like it was gone. Until she heard a hanger from inside the closet move. She saw it curled up in the back of the closet, its mouth open, touching the floor. It jumped towards her.

She opened her eyes. Her real ones. She had tears in her eyes, but she felt calmer than ever. She stood up on the bed. Naomi was sitting on a chair next to her, her hands over her eyes. She hadn’t yet realised Layla woke up.

“Naomi…”

Naomi stood up relieved and burst into crying.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry for everything. I couldn’t wake you up. I had to wait. But I found you, I knew you had to be here. Are you okay?” her voice barely got out through the sobs.

“I’m okay.”

“I can’t let you see Evan again. It’s all my fault, but I’m gonna make it right now, I promise.”

Layla’s eyes were blank. Her face emotionless and still. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. Her eyebrows frowned.

“Who’s Evan?”