The Mind's Eye

“Haaaaaaaaa!” The sounds came out of the girl’s mouth in a perfect melody, echoing through the wooded areas around her. Her hands went over her lips in surprise; was that her voice? Tentatively, she opened her mouth, and tried again.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaa!” It was louder now, and yes, she could feel her throat moving with it! The wind carried it loud and clear, and she could almost imagine the woods singing it back to her.

Wait, no.. The woods really were singing it back! She spun around, and heard her melodies repeated back in ever increasing tones and voices. There seemed to be more with every passing moment, and the beauty in her tones only seemed to intensify with their repetitions. The source made itself clear in a few seconds: a flock of birds, soaring over the tree line. They glided around her, their cacophony of tweets blending into a harmony of melodies and notes. The girl couldn’t help but smile. It’s beautiful.

As she was still singing along to the bird’s chirps, the tree line broke once more. From it came the most magnificent herd of stags and does, all responding to the calls of her voice. They moved to surround her, looking on expectantly at the source of all the voices.

Outstretching her arm, a flock of birds flew down and perched on it, awaiting her command. “It looks like our friends might be hungry,” she began. “Would you like to get us some food?” The birds responded in melody, and they flew off without another chirp.

Soon enough they had returned, carrying along baskets upon baskets of food and drink, both for the girl and the now-various animals all surrounding her. She knelt now in the middle of a glade, surrounded by animals she knew well and some she had never even seen before. The moment was picturesque, as if she’d stepped into a postcard and posed with Mother Earth herself.

The baskets and drinks were dropped at her feet. Sticking her hand in, she managed to pull out a small jar of sugar cubes, and the deer eagerly stepped forward. They ate it off her hand, one at a time, and as they passed she sang and patted their heads. Don’t hoard, she told them. Make sure everyone has their share. And so they listened, and so they followed.

At the end of it all, there were still somehow a few cubes left in the jar. Why not? she mused, popping one into her mouth. Yet, as the cube was supposed to hit her lips, as the sweetness was meant to fill her tongue, she felt…

Nothing.

The girl frowned. She grabbed another one, and nervously nibbled it. Nothing again. 2 cubes this time, both eaten whole. Still nothing. Growing frustrated, she popped open the bottle of wine and tilted it into her mouth. Why isn’t there anything?

The animals around her sensed the frustration, and they slowly began to back away, leaving a wide circle for the now crazed-looking girl. She went through each item in the basket, each one disappearing into nothing when they should’ve been thrown into her stomach. In seconds the baskets were empty, hunger and frustration making a mess of the once perfect glade.

I have to try something else. The girl outstretched her arm. The birds, fearful now, stayed back. Anger building, she opened her mouth to call the flock to her.

And nothing came out.

She grabbed her mouth, tears welling up now in her eyes. Another try. Another open mouth. Another minute of silence in the glade. The gaze of the creatures, once friendly, now seemed to judge her every step. I can’t stay here. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.

Soon she was flying through the woods, looking for a way out of… all this? The branches were smacking her face, the roots threatened to trip her over. And yet, her throat couldn’t seem to get a yelp out. Or well, any noise at all.

She kept running. The trees kept coming. It all seemed endless. Step by step, breath by breath, it went on and on.

Until the invisible wall hit her.

She collided headfirst, instantly bouncing back. Surprisingly, her legs folded outwards first, as her back leaned, her knees forming an almost 90 degree angle…

...and suddenly she was sitting down. She could feel the seat cushion under her, the back radiating warmth from her sitting for so long. Her legs had stopped their folding, and were now supported by cushions of their own. Most of all, she could feel the goggles again, weighing down her face with their size and weighing down her mood with the message they now showed:

YOUR SESSION IS OVER

PLEASE REMOVE GOGGLES AND RETURN TO THE COUNTER

THANK YOU FOR USING THE MIND’S EYE

“Letting you live the best you!”

Jackie sighed. She took off the goggles, revealing the room of pods around her. They all looked similar to hers; orange seats and white exteriors, where people could lose themselves in VR for a few hours, except for one big thing: there were no more people. She was the last one left again.

“Good one tonight, huh?” The teen at the counter said. His name tag had JASON printed in all caps, but past that and his uniform, there was no air of formality around him. Jackie liked that. She’d always hated it when her classmates treated her specially, and Jason, whether by picking it up or just straight up ignorance, never really did so.

Jackie smiled and nodded as she approached the counter. She pointed to the sign on the board next to him: OPERATING HOURS: 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM, and then the digital clock behind him: 9:33 PM. Jason followed her gaze, his smile growing with each point.

“Ah, yeah, decided to give you a few minutes extra. Boss didn’t mind anyway. Special treat for one of his regulars, I guess. Goggles?”

Jackie placed the VR headset on the counter. Jason pressed a button on the side, and a cartridge slid out the top.

“Snow White, huh?” He asked, picking up the cartridge. Indeed, Jackie could see the iconic photo of Snow White, her yellow dress spread out over the grass, as the animals of the wild surrounded her. For a moment, the face still looked like Jackie’s, but in a blink, it was back to normal. “One of the more popular ones, you know. Maybe it’s the talking to woodland animals part. Who knows.”

As Jason sorted the cartridge back into the storages behind him, Jackie began counting out the payment. How long had I been here? 3, maybe 4 hours? Time was definitely beginning to blur now, the longer she spent in each reality. Eventually, she settled on 4 hours, and placed the payment down on the counter. Jason picked it up, counted it instantly, and placed half in the register, half back on the counter.

“It’s yours.” Jackie raised her eyebrows. Laughing, Jason continued. “Discount. On the house. Trust me.” The girl shrugged, and took it back in her pocket. She moved to leave, but just before stepping out the door, was stopped by a final word.

“Jackie?” Jason called out from behind, making her turn to face him. “I just, um, wanted to say,” he continued. “It’s part of our job here to keep track of what our customers use. What kind of realities they visit, you know. And uhhh,” he turned the monitor on his counter to face the girl. And on it, she could see a long list of all the places and worlds she’d been, in this tiny shop of pods and goggles. On the top: Snow White, and the date of her venture there: Feb 10, 2021. And below it, the one from yesterday: The Sound of Music. Other names stood out to her, ones she’d particularly liked: The Little Mermaid, The Greatest Showman, even Enchanted. And the list went on and on, far beyond the monitor’s grasp. Jackie stared at it for a moment, and looked at Jason, waiting for him to continue, wondering why he’d said and showed all this.

“I just wanted to say: you’re not as silent as you think you are. You're still talking, still speaking. But just in a different way. Night, Jackie. See you tomorrow.”

Jackie made it home in a few minutes, safe and sound. The shop was just across the street from her home, after all, and even in her house she could see the bright red neon sign staring at her: THE MIND’S EYE. The light from the kitchen, meanwhile, was soft and warm, and told her that her dad was waiting inside. Steeling herself, she stepped into the light.

“Jackie.” Her dad smiled as she entered. Papers were on the table, implying that he was still in the middle of some work. “Glad to see you back. Are you good? Safe?” Jackie nodded in answer to both, and stepped closer to the stairs leading up.

“How were the pods today? Fun?” Jackie nodded again. “Where’d you go?” He indirectly nudged a small whiteboard towards her. The daughter sighed, walked over, and picked up the whiteboard and marker. A few quick scribbles later, and she handed it back.

SNOW WHITE

NATURE

SINGING

The father read this for a moment, and when he looked up, Jackie was already halfway up the stairs. “Hold on,” the dad called out, and she paused, foot already on the next step.

“Are you going back tomorrow?” The girl’s head, now almost hidden, nodded. “Okay, I’ll leave out some money for you.” Another pause. “And, Jackie?” She paused once more, but now, only her neck below could be seen, the head hidden in darkness.

“Love you. Hope you know that, always.” His head leaned down once more, and amidst him fixing the papers, he almost missed the whisper that came above. But there was no ignoring it; even though he had rarely heard that voice in a month, it still clicked in his mind instantly.

“Love you too.”

They came out raspy, soft, like a bird trying out its call for the first time. But it was unmistakable. And as Jackie walked upstairs, ready to crash into bed for the day ahead, her dad pulled out the tiny notebook he carried around always. In it was a list, not too different from the one in the shop Jackie loved frequenting so. It had a list of dates, and a description next to it. On the top of the list:

Jan 17 - Accident

And right below it:

Jan 24 - Discharged

Jan 25 - None

Jan 26 - None

Jan 27 - None

And the list went on and on, each date showing the dreaded “None,” as each day passed without a breakthrough. But the father’s hands were shaking now, as he penned the next entry on the ever growing list:

Feb 10 - “Love you too”

A tear hit the page, and soaked it through. “It would take months,” they said, “maybe even years.” “Trauma is unpredictable.” “It will be a long journey.” 

“Then we’ll be with her,” the parents had shouted back. “Every step of the way.” And the dad shakily wrote his final edits, before closing the notebook and storing it back in his pocket:

Feb 10 - “Love you too” - first steps!!