Ocellus tossed and turned in bed, hours that felt like minutes flying away. She stared up at the ceiling, eyes wide open. Imaginary stars hung above her, clung to her brain like a million parasprites. No matter how hard she tried, her brain would not turn off.
She shifted onto her side, pushing the hot blanket away from her damp body. Her gaze fell on the box on top of the nightstand, trying to pierce through the cardboard to examine the orb and all of its intricacies.
Her concentration on the box was broken when she heard a shuffle in the bed across from her. On the other side of the room, Silverstream dozed peacefully like a newborn bunny, oblivious to the world around her. Ocellus looked at Silverstream’s innocent face, wondering what would happen if she got up right now and took the orb from its box.
Against her better instincts, she slid out of bed. Her body felt like sludge, fighting the traction of her conscience holding her back. Dread began to creep through the back of her mind as she lifted another foreleg and set it against the soft carpet.
Creak! A strong jolt went through her chest and she looked back at Silverstream as she shifted in bed. The hippogriff mumbled something incoherent and rolled over, turning her back to the changeling.
Ocellus blinked in surprise. When she was sure Silverstream wouldn’t wake up, she breathed a sigh of relief and took another step. Each creak felt like quicksand in a maze, her heart pounding harder the closer she got to the box..
What am I doing? Here I am one second telling Silverstream it’s not worth it, and here I am now wanting to go back.
She stepped back. The box suddenly seemed cursed, like the spirit of a god would pop out any moment and smite her. Her stomach churned looking at it.
No, she thought. I’ll just go back to bed. Yeah, I’ll just go back to bed and forget I even tried.
Ocellus took another hesitant step back and jumped when she heard more shuffling. Her head darted in Silverstream’s direction, the hippogriff had turned over again, back against the wall. And she was facing the nightstand. The nightstand with the box. The nightstand with the box that kept the Bubble inside. And Ocellus was making the mistake of looking at it again.
A thought popped into her head. What if I smash it? Yeah, what if I smash it and be rid of it? Not Silverstream or anycreature — well, anycreature that gets a hold of this particular one — will be able to use it. Silverstream won’t be able to give it to Gallus, and Gallus won’t be able to hand it off to somecreature else…
The image of the star-splattered remains of what-could-have-been danced dazzlingly in her head. Now it was what-could-be, but what would Silverstream think? She would hear the smash and wake up immediately. She could stuff it in a pillowcase, take it out back where the janitors throw their trash, and swing it like a flail against the solid edge of the dumpster, but did she want to risk being caught outside after curfew just to do the deed? The what-could-be?
No, she had an important reputation to keep up. Her peers expected only the best of her, that included her teachers — her reputation. The same sort of reputation she would find in the Bubble only doubled — no — tripled, multiplied, added, rounded — Stop!
More blankets rustled. Silverstream was still cuddled up in her duvet, dozing away like the world was on fire and the bed was off in another dimension safe away.
Okay, I can do this.
Ocellus looked back at the box. It was far away down a corridor with an exit sign lingering above it. Yes, the exit sign, that sweet promise of bliss. All she had to do was (creak!) walk down it, ignore the (creak!) echos of her footsteps, or in this case the (creak!, creak!) creaking of of the floorboard beneath the carpet, and arrive (creak!) at her destination. That sweet moment of bliss and she can finally (creeeeeeaaak!) feel like she’s one with the universe. All the while her heart continued to thump.
Opening the flaps, she levitated the orb out. It felt like a paperweight with the gravity of a planet; meanwhile, Silverstream's snores weighed on her nervous conscience.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
She stared into her concave fish-eye reflection. No stars lingered above her head. Instead, her head was surrounded by swaths of dark purple mist. What was she looking for? Was there anything to get out of this?
Thump… Thump… Thump…
Yes, there was plenty. A new world to explore. New friends to keep up with. She could even stay in contact with all her current friends.
Suddenly, the object in her hooves felt sacred. Here she was holding another world before herself. A world of new existence. A world of existence where she didn’t have to worry about homework, studying, exams, her future. Anyone could be her friend, and all she has to worry about is keeping up with her followers.
Thump… Thump…
Ocellus touched the orb to her head. There was no other thought before it. Her heart had simply come to a halt, Silverstream became far away, and the world turned still. There was only the present now. All it would take is a shock to bring her out. A present shock.
The orb flickered its bright purple several times like before. On-off, on-off it went. Ocellus looked over at Silverstream to make sure it wasn’t waking her up, but the hippogriff did not stir. Finally, the bright orb died down to a faint violet hue.
“Hello, Ocellus.”
And all the stars in the Universe found their place.
the bubble