The Hobbist

Port Village is a bustling waterfront tourist attraction. It was littered with overpriced gift shops and restaurants. Kites and RC planes stormed the late afternoon sky occasionally crashing down in front of Detective Ray Okuma. Or now just Ray Okuma for the next fourteen days. 

“Sorry!” Yelled the little kid as he ran over to pick up his kite.

 “It’s alright,” Okuma said while glancing in the direction to see the little boy’s father who was a little embarrassed that this was the fourth time his son’s cheap kite crash-landed too close to people. But he can’t fault the father too much his son was happy to have a kite with his favorite superhero on it. After all, Okuma has four children of his own.

Okuma’s phone buzzed in his pocket with a text from his wife, Ruth. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the message. Meeting you there for ice cream Dominic was a good boy keeping up with his braces. 

Rewarding their youngest son’s good dental hygiene with desserts. Hopefully, the orthodontist doesn’t ask what he’s been snacking on.

The weight of the camera around his neck began to put a strain on him. He doesn’t even know what type of camera it is. Other than that it was the most expensive and endearing Father’s Day gift he had ever received. It was now July and this was the first time he used the camera. Photography videos either gave him a step-by-step walkthrough on how to take photos or how the already expensive camera he owned was suddenly not good enough and that he needed to drop four thousand dollars on a new camera. 

Getting a good shot was the hard part for him. He could feel eyes on him every time he raised the camera. He wasn’t even trying to get people in his shot. He tried getting a shot of the skyscrapers from downtown. But was interrupted by some older woman asking him what he was doing. Okuma saw through the veil of fake concern. The second time it was of an old navy ship that was sailing by. A kite flew in front of him followed by a large tourist group that gathered around to get a closer look. The only decent photo was of his slice of greasy New York-style cheese pizza. That was supposed to be a test photo. 

Walking across the grass he found himself standing in front of a large tree. With thick roots that were tripping hazards and a wide trunk that required three people to properly hug it. One of the last episodes of Dominic’s favorite cartoon was about tree hugging. Looking up, the branches stretched out providing a home to multiple nests of birds and squirrels that raced up and down the tree. Despite the summer heat, he felt a chill in his arms. Barely any sunlight poked through the leaves. 

Even as a child, he was never one to climb trees. Except for his wife, she was always the more outdoorsy person. He thinks so at least.

Maybe a photo for the living room?

He raised the camera to his face bumping his round glasses his finger hovered over the shutter release button. 

A rectangle about the size of a door that had a blue sky with white clouds painted on it was now in front of the tree. Okuma gasped lowering his camera. “When did that get here?” He asked himself adjusting his glasses with one hand. His prescription was up to date he would’ve seen that painting. Turning around all he saw were families and vendors enjoying the California sun. 

He circled the trunk seeing no exit on the other side of it. Either way, why would it be a blue sky if it was a perfectly cut door into the tree? It looked as if it was an image photoshopped onto the tree but real life. The tree looked as if there were no indents or carvings in it. With an extended hand, he attempted to touch it but his hand started to violently shake. 

Leaving is the sane option!

“Oh, I am losing it.” He thought aloud. He is not a crime scene photographer but he had to get evidence. Okuma raised the camera and took a photo of the sky rectangle. 

Looking down all he could see was the same painted clouds and endless bright blue sky. The wind was blowing past his face with no control of his body. He was flailing in the air watching his arms and legs desperately grasp onto anything. It had been years since he’s been on a roller coaster that made him scream feeling as if he was going to die. But a large roller coaster could not even compare to this.

I’m going to die!

How did I get here?

I’m going to die!

There was nothing he could do. How was this even happening? No ground slowly increased in size the longer he descended. Has it been days, hours, or minutes? Will he keep falling like this?

A black rectangle appeared before his eyes. Before he could even blink Okuma was panting while laying on his stomach. Seemingly somewhere cold and pitch black. He could feel his heart thundering in his ears. Tears that he didn’t feel until now were burning his eyes. 

“What the! Where am I?” Okuma yelled then started a coughing fit. “Is anybody here!” He pushed himself off the ground almost toppling over when he stood up.  

“Am I dead?” Okuma pressed a palm against the left side of his chest. His heart was still rapidly beating and he was still short of breath. 

“How did this survive?” He found his glasses in his breast pocket strangely unbroken. Something heavier weighed down his shirt. It had been years since he held one in his hands. “How old is this?” A digital camera? Where did his camera go? He wouldn’t surprised if he didn’t notice it flying off his body during the fall. 

It was smoother and much smaller than the one he had earlier. His fingers continued to graze the surface until the screen turned on the lens extended out. Expecting to see pitch blackness on the screen. He saw elevator doors.

With just his bare eyes there was nothing in front of him. “What is happening?” Turning on the flash setting he took a picture aiming right at where the elevator doors appeared in the camera. 

The elevator doors appeared a few feet in front of him. Glancing around he walked carefully towards the doors. The elevator didn’t seem to lead anywhere but neither did this strange place. A shaky hand pressed the button on the elevator and with a ding, the doors opened. 

The interior looked posh with a mirror along the walls. Bossa Nova jazz quietly played over the speakers. Although he couldn’t see any speakers. Okuma stepped inside seeing his reflection for the first time since all of this happened. He almost forgot he was wearing his dark green button-up shirt that now had sweat stains, black jeans, and his white off-brand walking shoes. The dark circles underneath his eyes were accentuated by how his tawny skin had paled. His black shoulder-length hair was damp with sweat. 

“How did you get married, Ray Okuma?” He sighed. Does his wife know where he is? The doors closed and he turned around seeing there was only one button available. Taking a deep breath Okuma pressed the white button and watched it glow. He felt the elevator moving upwards and all he could do was stare toward the ceiling. 

Is he the only one here? 

What is here?

What if Ruth and Dominic fall in here?

The pounding of his heart started to drown out the music. How could he find them if they get lost? Forgetting his phone is his one weakness that he will admit. He reached into his pants pocket only feeling lint the moisture from his sweat seep through. Frantically he patted everywhere else on his body. Ruth could have been calling him for hours now. 

The elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal a mall. Seeing how he could see the exit on the other side it was a small mall. Okuma swallowed and stepped into the mall with only the sound of distorted pop music playing over the speakers. Not that he was familiar with to current trends of music. This music sounded like it was from the 2010’s but the lyrics or the titles weren’t coming to him. Only because of his older children, he was somewhat familiar with what was popular ten years ago. 

He was on the second floor of the mall and it was empty but the water fountain was still on. All the lights were on but some store signs were unlit and he was unable to recognize the logos. Even though, he used to frequently take his children to the mall when they were much younger. 

“Different times.” Okuma sighed to himself maybe that was why he couldn’t recognize these signs, right? Aside from the fountain, and the weird music, Okuma’s steps echoed all throughout the building. He walked by a clothing store geared towards young people judging from the brighter clothing and cartoon drawings on the shirts of the mannequins. The mannequins were shiny and white mostly facing forward. But one wearing a dog onesie was turned downwards making Okuma’s heart race. 

He continued walking towards the exit shaking his head at that weird thought. He’s always been alone since falling. Who else could be here? As if he shot himself in the foot he heard the patter of plastic hitting the marble floor. Quickly turning around he saw the mannequin wearing the dog from the clothing store window. 

“Oh.” He turned around and took a step forward only to hear it again. Now wasn’t the time to freak out he was almost out of this place. Then he would be back home enjoying his vacation with his family. Keeping his back to the exit he watched as the mannequin frozen in a walking motion didn’t move. But the same patter of plastic could be heard as he turned forward and saw two more mannequins in gym clothes frozen in running positions. 

Taking the risk he took turns glancing at different sets of mannequins allowing them to only take one step towards him. The gym mannequins seemed faster than the dog onesie mannequin. He did not want to find out what would happen if they caught up to him. 

Glancing at the exit he saw it was suddenly boarded up. 

Could he not see that far anymore with his glasses?

Now he was in front of the mannequins and he was able to keep his eyes on them by walking backwards. To his left, he saw the escalator was turned on, and a line of mannequins dressed in various fashions were halfway up heading toward him.

“Oh no.” He made a run towards the exit hearing the stomping of the plastic mob running towards him. He’s been a detective for decades he’s nearly seen it all. But this was beyond him. Whipping out the camera in his pocket he frantically took photos of the exit that was in front of him. He felt something touch his shoulder. This was it he was going to be mannequin food! 

Turning around his wife’s beautiful face standing in front of him. Along with his youngest smiling widely showing off the new green color on his braces. 

“Ray, why are you so sweaty are you okay?” Ruth asked. Okuma needed a moment he was back in Port Village holding the large new camera his family got him. And there was no rectangle with the sky in the tree behind him.

“I think I am going to need a new hobby.”