The Empty Realm

“No, let me sleep in a little longer!”

I hated how my mom would wake me up early in the morning even on weekends. Grandpa was a veteran who enforced the same rules on her and Aunt Susan when they were teenagers; Mom was continuing that same routine with me and I was getting sick of it. I couldn’t wait for the three years ahead to pass me by so I could finally move to another city for my higher studies.

I refused to get out of bed, but Mom made sure to drive me out of my room by bringing in the vacuum. I hated her for it. Even Dad found it excessive. I just wished I could disappear into a different reality, even if it was for a few days. Aunt Susan had run away for three days when she was my age. I wished I could do the same. When I spoke about the subject with my two best friends, they said they’d love to join me. Both of them were in agreement that even another planet would be more interesting than our boring old city.

Another week passed. When the following weekend arrived, however, I snapped at Mom and told her to leave me alone—that her routine was ridiculous and she was wasting my time. Mom was speechless; it was the first time that I had raised my voice against her. She said nothing in reply and just stormed out of my room. I tried to apologize to her, but she kept avoiding me the entire day. Dad asked me to give her some time, so I let her be.

That night, I found myself staring at the ceiling while imagining myself in another world. I slowly drifted away and, when I woke up, everything around me was silent. I checked the time; it was almost noon. I rushed out of my room and looked for Mom and Dad in every corner of the house, but they were nowhere to be found.

Maybe they went to get groceries?

I had breakfast and decided to watch my favourite show until they returned. Four episodes later, however, they still weren’t home. Worried for their safety, I grabbed my phone and called Dad. His response confused me even more.

“Simone, where are you? We’ve been worried sick!”

“What do you mean where am I? I’m home.”

“Look, I know you may not agree with your mom’s ways, but this isn’t funny. You need to come back.”

I cut the line and put my phone away. What the hell was he talking about?

Dad called again, but I didn’t answer. I went back up to my room and looked around. What’s going on here? Am I not home? Is this…

I walked towards my room window and looked out to find the entire neighbourhood to be empty. I ran outside and called out to my neighbours and friends, but the silence was deafening. Save for the rustling of the leaves against the faint breeze, there wasn’t even a bird chirping around. There were neither people nor animals around me. Just where was I?

I went back inside and grabbed my phone again, this time to call my best friends. They both confirmed my worst fears: somehow, I was trapped in an alternate reality. According to them, I had been missing for three days. Not knowing what else to do, I returned to my bed and fell on my back. Lying there, I lost track of time. Come midnight, I wished to fall asleep and wake up back in my own reality.

When I woke up the next morning, I ran downstairs to find Mom, Dad, and Aunt Susan in the living room. They all rushed to hug me the moment I appeared before them. Mom even apologized for being so strict and promised to maintain healthy boundaries from that point on. Aunt Susan then asked the strangest question.

“You found yourself in the Empty Realm, didn’t you?”

“The Empty… How did you know?”

Aunt Susan smiled. “That’s where I disappeared to as well all those years ago. I just never told anyone what truly happened.”

Aunt Susan said she had visited the Empty Realm on several more occasions after that first encounter, but she had not remained there for too long as time flowed much slower there. She said that if I were to ever feel trapped again, the entrance to the world would become visible, and that I would be able to control how long I could remain there.