palpable.
“And what do you want from me?”
“From you? Let's say there are a couple things we need to work out.”
“Where are we?”
“We're headed home.”
“Home?”
“Yep. The Kingdom of Turlis.”
“Where's that?”
“It's not very close to Earth. But I have to go now. See you later.”
I'm dreaming, I must be dreaming. Irene heads towards the door, opens it, takes a step out and disappears into the void.
I follow her to the door, but there's no trace of her in the fog. I hurry to close the door so that the icy air doesn't freeze me.
I'm alone.
4
Alone. In a house flying through the thick fog. I still can't believe it. I pull the curtains away from the window to look outside. Fog. No, I don't think we're anywhere near the woods around my house . Cloradil, my wife, what does she have to do with magic? No, none of this makes any sense.
I was hanging upside-down with my foot glued to the ceiling. And half of my leg was glowing! How does a human limb glow from inside?
There must some sort of logical explanation for all of this. Maybe I can find it in this house.
I head towards the kitchen. I look through the fridge and pantry. Nothing out of the ordinary. The only place left to explore is upstairs.
A queen-sized bed, a bathroom and a little room for kids with a bunk bed. It's all decorated in the same style. This house seems old. It's not the type of furniture you normally see in a cottage in a residential area where real estate costs two thousand Euro per square foot.
I look through the dresser and the closet in the master bedroom. The clothes stored here are flimsy, and at least twenty years old.
If Irene was really a witch, wouldn't she at least make herself a more fashionable wardrobe?
And what if this house wasn't hers?
Where am I going? And why?
The questions continue to spin through my mind.
“ Alia fas no sdreil imas catel biron .”
Oh my god, I know that voice: it's Anna, my wife.
“ You can still do it. There's no time for explanations, but you can still save yourself. You need to have faith. Open the window and jump out. Don't be afraid, I'll save you.”
The voice seems to be coming from the fog. I rush to open the window, which lets out an unpleasant squeak.
The freezing air immediately gives me goose bumps. Outside of the house, in the fog, the temperature seems to be plunging dozens of degrees below zero. I turn towards the bed, take a sheet and wrap it around my body. Even now I feel like I'm freezing.
I turn back to the window. I hang outside of it. Where is her voice coming from?
“Don't wait. There's no time to spare, you can't go back anymore,” my wife's voice continues.
“Anna, where are you? Why can't I see you?”
“Antelmo, don't dilly-dally. You'll be lost forever in just a few seconds. I won't be able to do anything for you. Climb out the window. Come back to me. I need you.”
“Anna, please, answer me. Where are you?”
“Do it now. You're almost out of time.”
I lift my right leg over the windowsill. I try to see if I can make anything out beyond the window, but it's all fog. And cold.
Holding on to the sill, I lift my left leg. I'm terrorized by the idea of falling into the void.
“Stop!”
It's Irene's voice. Her figure appears in the doorway of the bedroom.
“There's nothing outside there. If you do, you die.”
I feel entirely hopeless. I'm terrorized by the idea of letting myself fall into the void, but I can't stay in this house any longer.
“Come here, Antelmo. There's no sense in sacrificing your life. You've already given too much to Cloradil,” Irene says.
“Antelmo, my love, there's no time left. Do it for me. Do it for us. Come back to your wife. I'm here, waiting for you.”
Again, it's my wife's voice, it's Anna. All I want is to be back in her arms. She's right. I've always trusted her.
In the meantime, Irene has moved closer to me.
I lift my left leg over the sill. I'm outside of the window. I hang onto the
“And what do you want from me?”
“From you? Let's say there are a couple things we need to work out.”
“Where are we?”
“We're headed home.”
“Home?”
“Yep. The Kingdom of Turlis.”
“Where's that?”
“It's not very close to Earth. But I have to go now. See you later.”
I'm dreaming, I must be dreaming. Irene heads towards the door, opens it, takes a step out and disappears into the void.
I follow her to the door, but there's no trace of her in the fog. I hurry to close the door so that the icy air doesn't freeze me.
I'm alone.
4
Alone. In a house flying through the thick fog. I still can't believe it. I pull the curtains away from the window to look outside. Fog. No, I don't think we're anywhere near the woods around my house . Cloradil, my wife, what does she have to do with magic? No, none of this makes any sense.
I was hanging upside-down with my foot glued to the ceiling. And half of my leg was glowing! How does a human limb glow from inside?
There must some sort of logical explanation for all of this. Maybe I can find it in this house.
I head towards the kitchen. I look through the fridge and pantry. Nothing out of the ordinary. The only place left to explore is upstairs.
A queen-sized bed, a bathroom and a little room for kids with a bunk bed. It's all decorated in the same style. This house seems old. It's not the type of furniture you normally see in a cottage in a residential area where real estate costs two thousand Euro per square foot.
I look through the dresser and the closet in the master bedroom. The clothes stored here are flimsy, and at least twenty years old.
If Irene was really a witch, wouldn't she at least make herself a more fashionable wardrobe?
And what if this house wasn't hers?
Where am I going? And why?
The questions continue to spin through my mind.
“ Alia fas no sdreil imas catel biron .”
Oh my god, I know that voice: it's Anna, my wife.
“ You can still do it. There's no time for explanations, but you can still save yourself. You need to have faith. Open the window and jump out. Don't be afraid, I'll save you.”
The voice seems to be coming from the fog. I rush to open the window, which lets out an unpleasant squeak.
The freezing air immediately gives me goose bumps. Outside of the house, in the fog, the temperature seems to be plunging dozens of degrees below zero. I turn towards the bed, take a sheet and wrap it around my body. Even now I feel like I'm freezing.
I turn back to the window. I hang outside of it. Where is her voice coming from?
“Don't wait. There's no time to spare, you can't go back anymore,” my wife's voice continues.
“Anna, where are you? Why can't I see you?”
“Antelmo, don't dilly-dally. You'll be lost forever in just a few seconds. I won't be able to do anything for you. Climb out the window. Come back to me. I need you.”
“Anna, please, answer me. Where are you?”
“Do it now. You're almost out of time.”
I lift my right leg over the windowsill. I try to see if I can make anything out beyond the window, but it's all fog. And cold.
Holding on to the sill, I lift my left leg. I'm terrorized by the idea of falling into the void.
“Stop!”
It's Irene's voice. Her figure appears in the doorway of the bedroom.
“There's nothing outside there. If you do, you die.”
I feel entirely hopeless. I'm terrorized by the idea of letting myself fall into the void, but I can't stay in this house any longer.
“Come here, Antelmo. There's no sense in sacrificing your life. You've already given too much to Cloradil,” Irene says.
“Antelmo, my love, there's no time left. Do it for me. Do it for us. Come back to your wife. I'm here, waiting for you.”
Again, it's my wife's voice, it's Anna. All I want is to be back in her arms. She's right. I've always trusted her.
In the meantime, Irene has moved closer to me.
I lift my left leg over the sill. I'm outside of the window. I hang onto the
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