Nowhere

Sometimes, I regret having to know Sydelle Mackoff. I'd even eat a rock to avoid the likeness of her. One of my strongest memories with Sydelle were her unexpected appearances at my doorstep, a blank expression on her face. Sydelle was an eccentric-well-something, but often showed up to ask for money or drag me on a quest for "hidden gold". My other sister, Amara, who was quite the opposite of Sydelle, complained about her ways to me a lot. Both sisters never got along, and being the middle sister came with its own downsides. But I guess it all changed when Sydelle showed up unexpectedly at my doorstep for the fifth time that year.

          "Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!" The doorbell had rung 3 times, which angered me to the point in which I slammed my head against the nightstand. On my quest to answer the door, I had tripped over a wrench, stubbed my toe on a past experiment, and fell face-first on my robot to be presented at the CENTER that afternoon. Maybe that was why I slammed the door shut when I saw Sydelle standing there, wearing her hiking outfit, with a massive camper outside my house. Of course, she began pounding the brick like a maniac, so I cracked the door open just a bit.

"Whaddhya want!!! I'm a busy person you know!" I groaned upon seeing her face light up.

Sydelle cleared her throat, paused for effect, and then continued. "I'm taking you to nowhere!!!" Behind her was Amara, crossing her arms in disgust. Without a second thought, my sister grabbed Amara and me, leading us into the camper. Amara rolled her eyes to the ceiling, me all the while wondering how I always got myself into these situations. Amara and I crowded into the main room so she could tell me what was going on. 

“Let me tell you, that Sydelle has really lost it. She thinks going to nowhere will ‘help us’ somehow by connecting to our inner selves. She claims we’re under a lot of stress-which is true, but still! Nellie, she’s hallucinating. We should get her out before she brings this up in flames!”

I knew what Amara was saying, but calling the doctor or the cops wasn’t going to be the best option for Sydelle, so I interrupted. “How about we just play along in this pretend game so we can all go home. I don’t want to deal with both of you right now. There is the application for the Center, the experiment, the groceries…” I ran my hand through my hair. Amara tapped me on the shoulder.

“She’s right about one thing. We are stressed out. Maybe this will serve as a ,little vacation, ‘kay lil’ sis?” I hugged my sister tightly. 

“It’s nice to see you too.” 

Right at that very moment, Sydelle stepped into the room. “We’re all set. Now I just have to press this button so we can get transported.” Amara frowned and angrily stated, “How can you GO to nowhere? And if we somehow actually get to GO to nowhere, what is that going to do with us?” By the look on Sydelle’s face, she looked determined to press the large button. From the corner of my eye, I saw Amara dialing 9-1-1. This time, I nodded in approval. Sydelle saw us and began to panic. She pressed the button quickly, and everything went dark. 

We weren’t in the camper. Instead, we were in a place with no words to describe it. A look of pure horror was etched on Amara’s face while Sydelle gazed in wonder. “Welcome to nowhere. I’m not so crazy as you thought, and in fact, I’m quite a genius. Sisters, look around you.” As Sydelle went on and on about how she had to tap into her own self to find this place, I began to feel queasy. There was unfinished work to be done, the technology to present, and groceries. But I couldn’t calculate the rate of time in which we were traveling through, or crunch any numbers. Suddenly, I realized I couldn’t move, talk, or walk. I was trapped, and no matter how hard I twisted and turned my legs or arms, I simply couldn’t move. Without looking st my sisters, I examined my surroundings carefully. To get out of here we had to do something. The force restraining my movement got tighter, and I could barely breathe. 

“Her and her stupid discoveries”, I heard Amara mumble. Sydelle too had been walking around. Could it be that they were all experiences different versions of nowhere. It had bothered me so much to think  about nowhere I couldn’t remember why I had come here in the first place. All of a sudden, I began to loosen up. Then, I remembered to raise and lower my arms. By remembering myself, I had passed the first test. 

This time there was only a box filled with colors and shapes. That’s all I could see ; nothing the box was on or the background, or what I was standing on. I felt an urge to touch the pink square, but I flinched. “No,” I muttered to myself. “No, there has to be an explanation for all of this. I have to think.” Sydelle would know what to do, but neither her nor Amara was present. I had no idea where I was, what I was supposed to do, or how to get out. 

But I had come to realize that was the whole point of the situation. I had NO idea WHERE I was. Maybe, just this once I could give in to the urge to trust my instincts. Maybe if I touched the pink square I could go home. Slowly, I reached for the pink square and made a final move. 

There was just a blob. Just a big blob with two potato shaped eyes and a monocle. He was wearing some sort of striped suit, and staring right at me. My heart sank. I wasn’t at home, but being nowhere meant you had to be accepting, so I guess I had to accept this. The blob smiled at me. 

“Welcome to Knowhere. How can I assist you?”