I exited the school grounds and strode into the neighborhood.
The lower middle class predominantly inhabited the area surrounding Shores Charter School. The houses on the street were all one-story boxes cobbled together with pride and stucco. They blazed with color: turquoise, coral pink, mint green. A reflection of the Caribbean roots of the families who lived here.
Many of the houses were adorned with solar panels on their roofs. Unlike in poorer communities, these didn't bear the mark of any panel lending companies. Instead of being rented, they were bought by the homeowners.
For the coastal regions of the twenty-second century, electrical power was an invaluable, but difficult-to-obtain resource. Companies didn't install electrical poles due to the fear that they'd be destroyed in a storm, which led to limited methods of obtaining power. The two most popular means were either through solar panels or through some sort of generator.
Truly, owning your own solar panels was a sign of middle-class wealth.
I huffed. "Not that impressive, really. With magic, you could make lightning in a second."
I marched on. Twilight swiftly crept into the world. The world darkened, and the remnants of sunlight pooled on carhoods and rooftops.
The streets ahead were quiet with few passersby. The occasional car rarely rolled by, but that was the extent of it.
Things were just as I expected. They were no different than usual.
This had been my route to school since my freshman year. Currently, I am in my junior year. That made it... what? Three years?
Safe to say, I was quite familiar with this route. Even without thinking about my every step, I could walk the path perfectly. The familiarity usually grants me a sense of comfort.
Oddly, I didn't feel that sense of comfort today.
In its place was an unscratchable itch.
The itch couldn't be felt anywhere on my body; instead, it was more of a vague feeling somewhere that I couldn't reach. It was something that I'd never experienced before. The itch was someplace that was a part of me, but that I didn't know of.
The only way to describe it would be to say that it was somewhere in my spirit.
I attempted to ignore the sensation, but it persisted. It only got stronger as I went.
I clutched my head. "Are the strings of fate finally calling my number?"
With a chortle, I shook my head. There were other matters to think on.
'I wonder if I should go to my side gig today? My fridge is looking kind of bare... Even so, it's not exactly something that I want to do.'
The moment passed-or at least it should have. Still, that odd sensation pulsed in my spirit. It continuously buzzed at me, growing and morphing into something more concrete. It became a whisper. It called to me, urging me to do something or other. The specifics were hazy and unclear.
Both of my feet stopped in their tracks.
"Maybe I forgot to do my homework, and the guilt has gained sentience?"
I thought to myself, but I wasn't confident in a word. I stood motionless and waited for a moment.
I spun around and looked over my shoulder for no apparent reason. There was a grey sidewalk and an empty asphalt road just like previously. I cocked my head to one side with a puzzled look. My breathing became labored, although I was unaware of it.
Somewhere deep within me, inside my spirit, there was a sharp pulse. Unseen by me, there was a powerful reaction within me.
My eyelids shut, and my mind was filled with murmurings.
Countless voices were overlapping with one another, making it impossible to make out any words. I could tell that they all spoke a multitude of languages, and they didn't seem to be speaking to one another. I felt as though I was listening in on a never-ending sea of discussions; each entirely unrelated to the last.
Saliva dripped down the side of my lips. The sudden flux of information caused my head to pound with pain. In a daze, random words slipped from my lips.
"Separation... Oversoul... Seven..."
The stream of voices disappeared as quickly as they came. With my spirit calmed, I frantically opened my eyes.
Every muscle in my body stiffened at once. The very same moment that I opened my eyes, I witnessed a miracle.
There was only regular asphalt before I closed my eyes, but now there was something remarkable.
There were deep cracks in the ground from which a ghostly pale blue light seeped up from somewhere underground. They extended from the road's midline to somewhere far off that I couldn't see.
"Like trapped moonlight desperate to escape."
They seemed to extend southward to no end. That was likely where the source of the cracks was located.
The sight was so unnatural to me that I couldn't peel my eyes away. Over and over, I confirmed to myself that it was real.
Before I knew it, I'd been standing at the same spot for ten minutes.
When I did move, I flung my head from side to side. I hoped to find someone to share my awe with, but I was met with another shocking revelation.
No one else seemed to be able to see the blue cracks!
Amongst the sparse passerby, none stopped to examine the cracks that they walked over. They were more surprised by my actions, if anything. They all gave me sidelong stares as they passed by. A lesser man might've felt awkward under the sidelong stares. Luckily, they were a known staple for someone of my demeanor.
"I don't get it... What in the world?"
At that moment, I heard a screen door creak.
On the porch of a coral pink house, an elderly man with bronze skin emerged. He had a crumpled magazine in one hand and a straw hat on.
A smile appeared on my lips instantly. I walked eagerly to the edge of his lawn and raised my hand to grab his attention.
"Heed my voice, oh witness of creation."
The old man had just seated himself on a folding chair as he heard me. Confusedly, he squinted his weathered eyes in my direction. He spoke with a puzzled tone. "Me?"
"Yes, yes. Who else would I be calling to?"
"Right then. What do you need, young man?"
I gestured toward the road. "Resident of this fractured dominion. Bear witness to the anomaly underfoot."
The old man blinked.
"The cracks." I reiterated. "Tell me, when did they first appear? Who laid this curse on the land?"
The man chewed his cheek and scowled. He got up from his chair and waltzed to the porch railing with the leisurely pace of an elderly person.
My heart raced with excitement.
The man rubbed his chin. "You talkn' about the potholes?"
I stopped and considered. "You... Don't you... What do you see?
He gave a shrug. "The same old crap. Concrete and a road. Is there something I ain't seeing?"
My gaze shifted between the man and the street.
"You don't see them..."
I took a step back, eyes wide.
This wasn't just ignorance. It was a complete inability to be aware of what was right in front of him. The man wasn't denying it. He truly couldn't perceive it. Frantically, I turned and stared behind me, then to the left, then to the right.
Just like before, no one reacted to the cracks. None of them could see them.
No one except for me.
The old man scratched the back of his head, muttered something about "weird kids," and disappeared back inside his bright pink home.
Once again, I was alone on that sidewalk. Sweat dripped from my cheek as I pondered. Just to make sure, I placed a hand on my forehead and took my temperature, but that didn't help.
Whatever these cracks were, they were undoubtedly unnatural. I'd walked up and down this sidewalk for years, and never once had I seen them. Then came the fact that no one else could see them either. There was a chance that these fractures had always been here, but it was only now that I'd gained the ability to see them.
No matter how hard I try to think of one, there isn't an easy explanation that could explain what I'm seeing.
It was with that thought that I took my first step toward that odd light. I understood the danger. There was no telling what would happen if I touched the light, much less if I touched the cracks themselves.
As I walked toward the crack. Closing one eye, I plunged one foot into one of the glowing lights.
...
...
Nothing.
Simply touching either the cracks or the light that they emitted didn't seem to have any noticeable effect.
Once again, my eyes wander toward the vast expanse of the network of fractures, and I couldn't help but be in awe of just how far they reached. They had no end in sight, seeming to expand endlessly southward.
I gulped.
The smart thing would've been to turn around. Go home. Pretend this never happened. While this mystery may have been interesting, it's not like it needed solving. There are plenty of small everyday mysteries that people leave alone and go unanswered. Then, we all go on with our lives.
Even as I told myself this, my legs didn't budge.
I'm certain that most would consider my actions to be vexing, maybe even more vexing than the way I usually act. Still, the thumping of my heart in my chest was at odds with any form of logic I could think of.
If I let this moment pass. If I didn't take action and walk forward, what would happen? Would these cracks disappear? Would I never again see something that wasn't bland and mundane?
Making a sudden return, the sensation in my chest pulsed. A small flame that feverously clung to me, refusing to be extinguished.
I tilted my head down.
Right now, something impossible had appeared, and for whatever reason, it chose me to witness it.
Only me, and no one else.
'This could be it...'
That ridiculous little phrase echoed through my head like a half-joke I didn't fully understand. I didn't even know what 'it' was. Somehow, that part didn't feel important.
To me, those words bounced around in my mind like some prophecy.
Defying all reason, I could feel something deep inside myself being drawn to some unknown place.
The world around me felt deadly still. The wind had stopped. The air didn't move. Every car and passerby froze mid-action. Even the last rays of sunlight, once glinting off windows and hoods, had faded entirely.
It was as though every atom in the universe was giving me time to make a choice.
I stared down at the glowing fissure and followed its path with my eyes.
My heart thumped loudly in my chest.
"Everything I've dreamed about... is in reach. From this moment onward... My life will be..."
The world sprang back to life. The gentle breeze teased at the edges of clothing. Passing cars zoomed down the streets. Wind chimes allowed their light tingling to be heard.
And quietly, almost unnoticed in the mess of daily life, the soft crunch of fallen leaves underfoot echoed against the quiet houses.
Step by step, I made my way south.