Seven Devils and a Rose

The Magic of the Aurora Light - Chapter 4

I was about to touch the aurora and walk through it again, to test and see if I’d go through that experience again, when I heard loud noises coming from outside. I could faintly make out men shouting, footsteps running, and loud stomping against the earth. Then there was that continuous humming of engines.

The voices of the men shouting were getting louder, which freaked me out.

Shit! Had something happened while I was bathing? Earthquake? But here along the East Coast?

I turned to look at the aurora again. It was still there, glowing so brilliantly and elegantly. I admitted it was a weird phenomenon, all right. I was certain aurora didn’t appear here on St. James Island, and this scenario was not normal.

I got out of the pool and rushed over to the bench where I had left my belongings. I came to a stop because there was no bench.

“Gone!” I said, breathless. “What? Where did it go?”

In a panic, I scanned the place, thinking I must have become disorientated due to what had happened in the pool earlier. This, in turn, led me to walk in the wrong direction. If so, then the bench, along with my bag and other belongings, should be on the other side of the room.

I turned around and marched to my right. My stomach sank the moment I saw there was no bench on this side of the room either. I felt a cold sweat settling on my skin as my eyes darted around the place. That was when it hit me.

This bathhouse didn’t look like it had been newly renovated by Dad with simple, modern material. This place looked like it had always been like this, with fancy wall columns and intricate designs.

What the hell? This hot spring looked like a Roman bathhouse in ancient times, with marble walls, floor, and ceiling.

Oh God, I’m not in a dream, am I? I didn’t read too many of Dad’s fantasy books and am now having a lucid dream about them, right?

I rubbed my eyes and even pinched my skin. “Ouch!” I exclaimed. I felt pain, so I knew I wasn’t dreaming. This was real. Everything around me was real.

“Clothes,” I said as I scanned the place once more in a state of dread, looking for something to wear.

Through the misty haze of steam and my shortsighted vision, I saw a bunch of clothes I had not noticed before lying on the floor not too far away. I rushed over and picked them up, frowning as I looked them over. These were like nothing I had ever seen. One was a pair of dark pants, while the other was a blouse and jacket. They looked a little bit like cosplay but more authentic, like those that belonged in the middle ages but still had a sense of modernism to them, since the pants had a zipper and the blouse and jacket had buttons.

The clothes, though plain in color—black pants, off-white blouse, and an earthy-brown jacket—were still stylish with frills and embroideries.

Should I put these on? I wondered. They weren’t mine, and I didn’t want to steal, but…

Loud banging noises erupted in the air, and I jumped in fright.

Holy s**t! Guns? Rifles? Seriously?

With shaky hands, I pulled the necklace over my head and rested it around my neck for safekeeping. Next, I pulled on the trousers. Luckily, they fit. Then I put on the blouse, buttoning it up all the way to my throat. I put on the jacket, which was loose on me.

I didn’t have time to appraise my overall appearance or to think what I looked like with this foreign clothing on because those damned frightening noises were getting louder, which meant whatever was happening outside the bathhouse was getting closer to where I was, too.

Done, I rushed over to the door. There, I came to a halt as I stared at the mighty frame in shock.

It wasn’t Dad’s new wooden door! It was a massive stone wall of a door.

“s**t!” I muttered under my breath.

Again, the voices of men shouted in that chaotic state, along with the sound of rifles going off and a loud engine humming noisily in the background, which only worked to frighten me even more witless.

I honestly hoped it wasn’t World War III going on out there. America hadn’t been invaded in the silence of the night, had it?

I searched about the door, looking for a lock or something. Then I found it. It was so obvious, just like in Dad’s fantasy books.

I pressed on the nose of the lion statue that protruded from the door. Immediately, the stone wall moved and turned, opening and allowing me access to the outside world.

I rushed out, my bare feet cold against the marble floor beneath me. Again, I didn’t remember there was any marble floor at the entrance of the bathhouse previously, so this place was obviously not home.

Outside, it was dark, with a hint of moonlight in the distance that illuminated a gray hue on my surroundings. As I stepped out farther, I noticed that behind me and above the bathhouse was the aurora, and I couldn't help but stare at it in awe.

It didn’t just appear in the bathhouse. It was outside, too, and stretched high above the sky and even farther, beyond my left and right sides like a sort of barrier between two worlds.

Oh. My. God.

The sight was breathtakingly beautiful, and I was mesmerized for a moment. I felt as if I had stepped into a whole other universe and I was now watching the stars up close. The aurora, with its multi colors of the rainbow, danced and sparkled while the rays of light shone and bathed the surrounding area in a prism of hues.

Even though it was exquisite, and I wanted to gaze at it longer, taking it in and storing the image in the database that was my mind, I knew I couldn’t because time was of the essence.

I snapped back to reality, my mind racing.

Where am I if this isn’t home? If this isn’t St. James Island? If this isn’t America? If this isn’t Earth?

I searched around me as I tried to figure out the answer, or at least toss up possibilities of where I could be.

Then it hit me! Oh God! I hadn’t been transported to another realm, had I? I mean, that would be just impossible. It is just not tangible.

Dad’s words echoed gently in my mind. Anything is possible if you put your imagination and creativity to it.

“Oh, Dad,” I said under my breath, my voice shaking. Why did this kind of thing happen? When we had just talked about it? Was it a sign, a marker, or something?

Suddenly, I noticed the noise of men shouting was getting louder, and I knew they were heading toward me. I narrowed my eyes, searching and trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Boom! I felt the earth shake beneath me, and at the same time, lights burst and exploded brightly in the sky.

Oh Lord, this is definitely World War III, all right.