A regular day was pretty boring. Work and TV, most days. Nothing special, not ever. Just the same thing over and over and over. It was mindnumbingly boring. That’s why Nicole’s life goal was to travel. To see as much of the world and to learn as many things as possible before getting too old to do so. But for now, work and TV. That was it. As it was, she drove home, listening to instrumental music through the 2008 Toyota Avalon’s added-on bluetooth system, thinking about the boring drawl of life.

Nicole tried to make it manageable. It had taken longer than she wished it would’ve but she’d finally found a goal in life, approximately two years ago. Medicine. She was to be a doctor. Unfortunately, because of her high school grades, she hadn’t quite started studying yet. But she would! No question! And then, she’d be a doctor and with her vacations, she’d travel the world. That sounded perfect.

She got out of the car at home, grabbing her iPad from the glove compartment and her bag from the trunk. She put the iPad in the bag, and then slung the bag over her shoulder. Shoving her keys into her right pocket, she ran a hand over her left pocket, counting four fountain pens and her phone, and then she turned and went into the apartment building. It was a large arch leading into a cement hallway with cement stairs leading up to the first floor (second floor), and just to the left, the apartment she shared with her mother and 4 years older brother.

Half the way up the stairs, she paused suddenly, grabbing the hand rail. A dizzy spell. Actually, it was a bout of lightheadedness - she’d looked up the definition. The room didn’t spin, she just suddenly felt very… not good. She wasn’t good at identifying feelings or sensations. But it was common for her. It would pass in less than a second.

Except it didn’t. She began to feel dizzier, and this time, the hall did feel like it was spinning. She gripped the hand rail tighter. She’d tripped down flights of stairs before. Not today.

A blue light appeared in front of her, just a little blip, and she wondered if her eyes were being weird. But the light grew rapidly, becoming intense and blindingly bright, and as it grew, it fully enveloped her, and all she saw was blue light. She felt like she was falling, falling… and then everything went dark, and the stairwell was empty.

Nicole was gone.

~ Nix