Brain Storm

A rough quarter after midnight, Hannah whimpered in her sleep, quivered, and flailed her limbs. Her subconscious had taken her back in time to a much more fearful era in her life. She was being terrorized by a horrific nightmare, and needed out. She went into panic mode and forced herself awake, shouting, grasping her chest, bolting up to a 45° angle. Her burst of fright awoke Mara just enough to assess the situation, and instinctively throw her arms around the frantic Hannah to comfort her, petting and stroking.

"It's okay, honey, it's okay," she rasped, sprinkling her face with tender pecks. "You were sleeping, you just had a nightmare. Shhh. It's okay, you're right here with me. You're okay now, sweetie, everything's fine. Shhhh."

Hannah's saucer-wide eyes darted rapidly, aimlessly, as she tried to control her breath. "Oh my God, Mar, it was awful! You..." She felt dread grip her just remembering it.

Sigh. "Do you, uh...remember Amber Boswell?"

Mara tried to think. "Your...personal archenemy-bully-tormentor-whatever else you used to call her?"

Hannah nodded, fingering her neck. "Sh-she...she was there. I-I don't remember how it started or whatever, but...I-I was going through this weird, like, circular house, just...y'know...doing random stuff you do in a dream, and...and..."

She paused to inhale. "...All of a sudden...there she was. Right in front of me. No prelude, no foreboding, nothing. So I'm staring at her through my P.O.V., and...she grabs me around my throat and starts choking me. Just...totally expressionless. Her face doesn't move. Nothing. And-and, my...my P.O.V. gets all shaky and blurry as I'm going down. All I can hear's myself groaning. I'm about to die. And I can't get her hands off me! And the whole view fills up with blood, like in that game Doom! And I c—...I j—..."

Mara saw she was getting worked up again. She repeated her calming gestures.

"It's okay, sweetie," she whispered between kisses. "It was just a dream. We're on vacation, and I love you. You're completely fine."

Hannah blew out a frustrated breath, lowering her voice to a mutter. "I knew I should've brought my teddy Care Bear."

Mara snuggled close to her. "Use me for your teddy Care Bear. Pleasant night's sleep guaranteed."

She nestled in nice and close, but Hannah remained sitting up. She was too petrified to go back to sleep. Hugging Mara for comfort or not, she knew she'd slip right back into the nightmare. She just knew it. She'd made this mistake before. Her eyes wanted so much to just close again, but her brain couldn't allow that to happen. She sat further up, giving herself a few light smacks in the cheeks. She had no qualms evaluating that this was patently unfair. She never fell asleep with Mara's split-second immediacy anyway, and had already underslept two nights in a row. Thank goodness they were on vacation, and she could sleep in as late as she wanted. Mara could get up and have some solo fun if she wished, but she had to let Hannah get her beauty snooze. Still, even with no one to blame, she felt unjustly wronged. All she wanted right now was sleep. But, if she couldn't have that...

"Mar?"

"Mmnh?" her barely conscious girlfriend uttered.

Hannah stared straight ahead at the wall, hugging her knees, letting a few seconds pass.

"...What're you thinking about right now?"

Silence. Hannah slowly turned to look back down at her.

"...Mar?"

Mara gave a slow, quiet snore. Realizing she'd fallen asleep, Hannah turned back to the wall with an equally soft scoff.

"What're you thinking about, Mister Wall?" she murmured.

She still wasn't ready to return to Dreamland. She located her glasses and exited the bed, staggering first to the fridge for a bottle of water, second to the bathroom. She crossed back through, found her jammies, slipped behind the drapes, and out to the balcony.

The Fisherman's Bay balmy night air greeted her at a gentle 75°. Hannah had to admit the breeze felt lovely. Mara knew how to show a girl one hell of a vacation, that was for sure. She sat in the lounge chair, and now that it was safe again, shut her eyes.

Breaking waves continued to slap the shore, but as logic dictated, no one surfed or swam them after dark. The volleyball court and spots around the sandcastles were vacant. The outdoor activity was dead until morning, as status quo. Hannah chuckled. Ironically, she could go down there right now and have the entire twilit resort to herself, if she wasn't so darned tired. And if she knew how to have fun by herself. But besides being a tricky thing to do, one-on-one time was less than desirable when she could be spending it with Mara instead. Mara made virtually all aspects of life nicer. If only...

If only she'd tell Hannah what was on her mind once in a while. Hannah was genuinely interested and curious. To her, sharing such feelings was a form of emotional intimacy. Not to be gotten wrong, she had no complaints on the physical end of things whatsoever. Mara was a phenomenal lover. This was the regard in which Hannah couldn't ask for more. It was exasperating that she had to fixate on this, and not just be content with mindblowing sex. But such was a symptom of her damn clinical depression, being veritably unable to enjoy life's niceties without also focusing on the drawbacks, or how to conquer them.

She thought of some more "if only"s to add to her list. If only she could cut loose and have some fun without minor annoyances getting in the way. If only she could be more outgoing with strangers, and predict how they'd react to her cordialities. If only Amber Blinkity-Blank Boswell had left her alone in school, and left her subconscious alone tonight. Hannah chose her to privately blame, because she could keep it to herself, and because it made her feel better. The bitch, intruding on her soothing slumber like this. Hannah decided to get back in that bed, hold Mara like tomorrow wasn't coming, and dream sweet, heavenly dreams until today's smile turned up.

She rose from the lounge chair and turned to go back inside. But not quite before something caught the corner of her eye.

Hannah looked briefly back, as a reflex, and executed a legitimate double take.

She could hardly believe it. From the top left of her field of vision, across the entire painting of the night sky hurtled a shooting star.

An actual shooting star. Or...a meteor, technically, Hannah pondered. Whatever the scientific definition, here it was, before her eyes. She'd never seen one for herself, in the flesh. It seemed to be moving in slow motion, on its gradually descending arc. There wasn't time to run inside and get her camera. But there was time to make a wish.

Hannah'd never before believed in such flights of fancy. And she expected no fantastic results to come of it. But as fate seemed to have arranged, she'd been awakened here tonight, where otherwise she'd have missed it. And what had she to lose?

What the hell, she smirked. This is pretty awesome. Let's have a little fun.

It was nearing the edge of her sightline. She figured she had to be quick before she couldn't see it anymore. So keeping her eyes glued, she took a deep breath, and whisper-sputtered out the words.

"I-I w—...I wish I c-could r-rea—..."

Hurry up, Hannah, hurry up! It's almost gone!

"I wish I could...read M-Mar—...minds!"

She'd meant to wish she could specifically read Mara's mind. Her lips fumbled the 'm's. But she got out the last word before it vanished.

Wow, she thought, letting out the rest of her deep breath. That was...pretty wild.

She slid the balcony door back open, retreated through the curtain portal, and climbed into bed, announcing her return with a single kiss to Mara's lips. They curled into a warm, half-conscious smile.

"*Mmm...nice.*"

Hannah opened her eyes.

That was...strange. She thought she'd just heard Mara's voice, but it didn't look as if her lips moved at all. What was more, while faint, her voice sounded...different, in a strange way. Sort of...echo-y, almost. Or...

Oh, never mind. I'm just tired, that's all. Let's get some sleep.

So she did.

*****

Makes No Difference Who You Are

Sunday, August 28th, 2016, 10:54 a.m.

A good nine hours later, Hannah again woke, this time from a wonderful night's rest. She was slightly dismayed to see that Mara was no longer in bed with her, but now so refreshed and at peace, she didn't worry. If she knew Mara, there'd be a strategically placed note as to her whereabouts. She sat up, stretched, and reached to the nightstand for her glasses, meds and water.

My gosh...did that really happen last night?...Did I actually see a real shooting star?

She knew she'd dreamt that awful nightmare, no doubt about it. But now in the literal light of this new morning, the star/meteor was harder to discern. She gave it a little thought swallowing her tablets, washing them down with purified H2O, before shaking her head.

Oh well. She nabbed the TV remote and aimed, to indeed see Mara's note, taped to the set. She got up to detach it and read.

Hey sweets! it said. Hope you slept good! Sorry about your bad dream. I'm out for a walk slash jog. Be back probably around 11:30. Have breakfast or do whatever you want! Don't miss me too much, I'll be back before you know it! Love you super lots! M

Hannah smiled as she finished. It was scrawled in Mara's flowery hand on BQI stationery. Hannah much preferred correspondence in Mara's graceful penwomanship, even with the occasional illegible word. It was more personal and friendlier than electronic messaging.

Hannah checked the clock. 10:57. Okay, this gave her just over half an hour to kill by herself. Oh, yes, this reminded her. She'd wanted to drop into the gift/convenience shop beside the lobby and pick up some juice and candy. She got dressed, pocketed her key, slung her purse over her shoulder and strode the empty winding halls till she reached the elevator. No waiting. She pressed L. One floor down, a fellow occupant got on, a young chap in his mid-20s carrying a duffel.

"Goin' down?" Hannah asked, pointing to the floor.

"*Yup.* Yup." He seemed to need a minute to remember his next destination. Hannah looked back up to watch the numbers. Huh, that was a little funny. His "Yup" sounded like it was in dual stereo.

"*Oh, right, gym's on 2.*"

"2?" she asked, half-listening. "'Kay." She pressed it for him.

"*...Does...she know where I'm going?*"

Only when she looked back up did she notice him staring at her. "Huh?" she asked.

"How'd...you..."

She stared back, curious at his sudden confusion. A moment later, his expression cleared up.

"*Oh, my duffel.*"

Hannah's eyebrows sprang as her mouth dropped open. She was watching this time. She heard the reverb in her mind, in the same voice, but his lips...didn't...move.

They did, however, move on his next statement. "Oh! You must've known I'm going to the gym 'cause I got my duffel bag."

He seemed oblivious to her abrupt shock. Before Hannah could close her mouth or decide how to react, the elevator reached 2, and her companion got off. She watched him head away, utterly freaked out. There was no way that had just happened. Hannah was not crazy. She knew what she'd heard. The guy'd said some words to her, like normal, but...unlike normal, she'd clearly heard his voice while he was not talking! Or...or was he...a gifted ventriloquist, maybe? Just...practicing?

The elevator hit the lobby and let her off. That would explain it, she thought. Had he been throwing his voice, that'd account for the strange reverb in the tone. That...must've been it, she shrugged, en route to the gift/convenience shop. There was no other explanation.

But only once she let this thought go did she detect something else just as amiss.

There were a couple dozen folks working, checking in or lounging about the lobby. And now in the midst of them, Hannah found her mind buzzing with a couple dozen different echoing, reverberating voices. Even though...

...Hardly anyone was actually speaking!

WHAT IN TH—??! She was promptly dumbstruck, and quite close to terrified as well. Something had gone seriously screwy here. All these people couldn't possibly be ventriloquists...unless there was some kind of convention in town...

Oh, never mind that nonsense, Han, she tried to tell herself. This is way bigger. This cannot be happening. It's not like I can r—

She froze in her tracks.

Through all the thoughts bumping around in her mind, she remembered now. She took herself back to just after midnight.

The shooting star.

She went into a level of shock that put her elevator shock to shame. Her entire body began to shiver, garnering a share of lobby occupants' attention. She heard some of their thoughts change, as they gazed at her, just as her elevator acquaintance had moments ago. They were, she realized. They were wondering if she was okay, what was going on with her. She heard them. She heard them all.

She could read every...single...thought...of every person...in this lobby.

Oh...my...

She finally managed to piece it together. That was right, that was her wish. She'd goofed it a little, wanting only to read Mara's mind, but phrased it in wish form to simply "read minds." In other words...everybody's mind.

Good God, it came true.

She'd wished on the shooting meteor, and her wish had indeed come absolutely true. There was a reason, she now saw, people told her that wishing on a shooting star was an exceptional promise. Understandably, she was incredulous. She could hardly have formed her own thoughts, even if there weren't a hundred others invading her brain. The wish had come true.

Not that this was necessarily a good thing. Again, she recalled, she'd fumbled it as it came out of her mouth. And she now realized the degree of that fumble. Just a couple words. The alteration of a few little words made the difference between one person's thoughts...

...And every person's thoughts!

She covered her ears. But this accomplished nothing. It was their thoughts in vocal interpretation she was picking up, not their actual voices. This was quickly growing overwhelming, especially as more and more people entered the lobby, to check in for their stays. Her mind was on its way into overload. She had to get away from here. She dashed for the convenience and gift shop.

To her relief, putting distance between herself and the throng of lobbygoers, the voices faded and fuzzed away. This phenomenon, she processed, was akin to using wireless headphones, retreating from the source of sound. The further she got, the weaker the connection. Okay, so now at least she had a clue as to how to deal with this. She opened the door to the gift shop and let it shut behind her. The remaining thoughts from out in the lobby clammed to muffled murmurs with the closed door between them.

Whew. Of course, as she opened the door, she heard a new train of thought: that of the lady behind the counter minding the shop.

Oh, gosh. Well, this was obviously more bearable than the mental commotion from the throng in the lobby. The door jingled above, and the shopkeeper looked up to see her.

"*Oh, great. A customer.* Good morning, ma'am, how are you?"

Yep: same voice, clear distinction from thought to speech. This would actually be cool if it wasn't so spooky. Hannah played normal.

"Uh, I'm...fine, thanks. Doing fine. You?"

The woman stated she was also fine, but simultaneously, Hannah heard the real truth.

"*Oh, aside from the raging bitch hormones in my birth control pills, just goddamn peachy, thanks for asking.*"

Oh, dear. Hannah quickly reminded herself that the woman didn't know she could read her mind.

"Oh, that's...good..." She began combing the racks and refrigerators.

"*No condoms my ass. I'd like to see Bill nag me for a friggin' kid without the goddamn baby batter. I swear, if he starts up with me again today, I am gonna rip his nuts off and shove 'em down his goddamn throat!!*"

Hannah whirled back around on her. This time she couldn't divert herself so easily. "Oh my God!" she squealed.

The shopminder looked back up at her with a surprisingly calm—if suspicious—demeanor.

"Miss?...What's the matter?"

What's the matter?? Did you hear what you just thought?! "I...I...uh...think I better go," Hannah quickly decided, marching back to the door empty-handed, saying a small prayer on the way out for Bill.

As she pulled the door back open, once more flared up the thoughts from the lobby. Hannah didn't like this. She literally had voices in her head. A lot of them. She was beginning to get very scared. She scurried in the opposite direction, down the hall that led to the first floor rooms and indoor pool. She didn't want to go swimming, or be around anyone else right now. She couldn't seem to turn this unwanted power off. She just needed to get back to her room, wait up for Mara, and try to sort this out with her. She found an elevator, got back to the fifth floor and hastened to their room. She dug out her key, and had to try twice to gain access.

A quick breath. "Okay, now just take it easy," Hannah told herself, pacing back and forth. "I'm by myself, it's quiet, now I can think."

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock. "Housekeeping!"

Sigh. "Do not disturb, please!" Hannah called.

"*No skin off my ass.* Have a nice day!"

Sheesh. "A'right, where was I..."

Her cell rang.

"Oh, for crying..." She checked the display. Beep. "Yes, mother?"

"Hi there, snickerdoodle!"

"Hi Mom..."

"Soooooo, how's it goooiiing? How're you enjoying your triiiiiip?"

"It's-it's fine, Mom. We're fine."

"And how's your frieeeeeend...um..."

Hannah rolled her eyes.

"Mara, mother. Her name is Mara. And she's not just my friend, she's my girlfriend." Why can she never remember that?

"Oh, yes, yes, isn't that nice. Y'know, I remember when you were little, you always played with action figures with the little boys 'cause the little girls' stuff was too ootsy-cutesy for you. Then when you were a teenager, you didn't wanna play with boys anymore."

"Yup...yup, I'm gay, Mom. Bona fide lesbian." No need to mention it every single one of the four times a day you call.

"Well, my little macaroon, I won't keep you; I know ya still got a boatload of fun to have. Just wanted to say I love ya to pieces, kiddo."

"Thanks, Mom. I love you t—..."

Hannah's voice suddenly tapered off as she thought of something.

"...H—...hey, Mom?"

"What's up, buttercup?"

"Uhhh...what're you, eh...what're you thinking about right now?"

"Well, wh—...heh! Why, ginger snap, what sort of funny question is that?"

"Just...I'll-I'll explain later, Mom. Just...just please humor me. What are you thinking about?"

"Weeeeeell...hm. Funnily enough, I actually just found myself thinking about that one May your Aunt Francine and me went shopping together, and we got each other those summer frocks. And we brought 'em home to show you, and you liked 'em so much you wanted to try 'em on, remember? And you were growing into my size, and your birthday was coming up, so I just decided to give you mine? You remember that, cinnamon bun?"