A Pinch Into Reality

A Pinch Into Reality

                 The world is spinning. I can’t think. I can’t see. I can’t breathe. I’m cold. I’m hot. Or maybe somewhere in-between.  I gulp for air, yet nothing comes. I panic and try again and again. Breath. Nothing. Breath. Nothing. I close my eyes and wait. I wait for a sign that it’s ok. That I’m ok. That the world is ok. That I can think, and breath. Feel a sense of consolation. When my eyes open again, I see a black cat with one purple eye and one green. It paws at my hand, and I gulp. I wait for the world to stop again. But it doesn’t.

~~~

“ I’ll be back in a bit, Kathy!” I yell to my sister as I pull on my brown coat. Shutting the door, I pull on my hood. Man, it got cold pretty fast down here in Seminole. I hop on my shiny new black bike, but it’s stuck. It won’t move. I attempt getting up, but it’s as if my bottom is glued to the chair. “Darn it! I’ll be late to pick up the cake!” Today is mom’s birthday, and we’ve been decorating all day. My younger sister, Kathy, is hanging up streamers. And my bottom is stuck still. Although I could call my sister from here, since I’m right outside my house, I don’t like to look weak. I know it’s weird, but what if the aliens take over and I need to go with them? I need to be strong. I look at the road and see a… cat? A black cat. Just my luck. The day before Halloween, too. It looks peculiar. A purple eye, and a green. It’s coming near me. I’m still stuck. I can’t move. What if it attacks me? I know it’s a cat, but don’t underestimate them. It’s right next to me no-

My eyes open, and there’s Kathy, hanging up streamers. Hold up, didn’t she already do that?

“Kathy? What’s going on?” I say, rubbing my eyes. “Nothing, are you ok, Aria?” “Yeah,” I grumble. I look at the clock and see that it’s 3:30 pm. That can’t be possible. I was outside at this time stuck to my bike. Speaking of, I go outside and head off to get the cake, trying to forget about it. Uh-oh. My bike is stuck. Again. Great. I try getting up, but I’m glued again. I still have the window of opportunity to call for help, but again, aliens. No way. Not again. It’s that creepy cat. Inching closer and closer. Ugh. It’s next to me, reaching it’s paw to my fa-

My eyes open. Kathy, streamers, bike, cat. That’s what I remember. That stupid cat. Twice on Haloween.  This repeats for seven more ‘ sessions ‘ as I’ve been calling them. On the tenth session, the cat really does come to me. It reaches up, and paws at my hand. I shudder. I swear its eyes just twinkled. And I swear that it just whispered, “ It’s ok.” Creepy. This cat is scaring me. I fall asleep, I think. The world is spinning. I can’t think. I can’t see. I can’t breathe. I’m cold. I’m hot. Or maybe somewhere in-between.  I gulp for air, yet nothing comes. I panic and try again and again. Breath. Nothing. Breath. Nothing. I close my eyes and wait. I wait for a sign that it’s ok. That I’m ok. That the world is ok. That I can think, and breath. Feel a sense of consolation. When my eyes open again, I see a black cat with one purple eye and one green. It paws at my hand, and I gulp. I wait for the world to stop again. But it doesn’t.

 It’s laying on top of me, eager that I’m awake. I see a...witch? Stirring something. “Ah. I see our guest has woken up. Luna, honey, you can change back now,” the old lady croaked. Swish! A person. A beautiful person appears on the ground, the cat, nowhere to be seen. She has cocoa-colored skin, a big bun on her head, and a purple and green eye. Odd. But cool. “Whew! I was waitin’ to transform fuh-evah!” she says, stretching her back.”Where am I, and who the hay are ya’ll?” I say.” Chill, yo, names Luna, nice ta’ meetcha’.” “Oh honey, you must be tired, come have some pumpkin muffins, my special recipe!” the witch lady said. “I ain’t comin’ near ya’ll till you tell me what the hay-hay is happenin’,” I say cautiously. “Well, granny will tell ya once you sit down and eat a muffin.” I think she’s ordering me now. I get up and grab a muffin. As a sit back down I plop one in my mouth. Mmm. It’s so chewy and good! It tastes like fall potpourri in my mouth, but better. The cinnamon, pumpkin, maybe a hint of apple. And, hmm. Ah! CHOCOLATE! “These are the best --- muffins --- evah!” “Aww, granny does what she can.” I ain’t even gonna question why she calls herself granny. 

“So, this tradition goes back centuries, a witch, cat, and human are all chosen to embark on this journey. The cat must be able to turn human, like Luna, and the witch must undergo a series of tests before she is ready. He human get’s chosen every October 30, and they will gain..abilities. The ability changes each yeah depending on the human. And for you, I sense... Telepathy. Yes. My child, you will be one with it, and it with you. You can choose to back down, but it would break the chain. And when the chain is broken... Nevermind, you start training tomorrow. Luna, honey, show Aria to her room.” “Yes, granny.”

I close my eyes and breath. This is weird, I admit. But I guess it’s fate. Telepathy, huh? What about Kathy? Or mom? I hope they’re alright. Maybe I can write them a letter and send it off in the morning. I creep out of bed and tiptoe to the desk in my room to get out paper and a pen. I write:

Dear Kathy and Mom,      October 30, 2019, 8:30 pm

I’m ok. I have a class that was unexpected, and I don’t know when I’ll be coming back. Please take care of the house and Opie for me. Tell my friends I’ll be back soon. Don’t miss me too much!

Love ya,

Aria

As I head back to bed, I get a glimpse of Luna, meditating. She’s levitating, eyes shut, in half-cat form and half-human form. I didn’t even know that was a thing! Her eyes are glowing, illuminating every side of the room. It’s one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s hard to believe I got here just by seeing that cat, I mean Aria, 10 times in a row. It was pretty insane if you ask me. I guess you could say it was a pinch into reality. All this stuff we read in books is real. Ya know? Although it could all be a dream. I hear granny coming up the stairs. I secretly hope she’ll check on me like my mom used to. Yeah. Pinch to reality. I like it. Maybe I could write a book abou- SNORE. ZZz.