text: Jennifer sat bewildered by what she was looking at; there was a golden orb laying neatly on the brown and yellow leaves that covered the wet forest floor. She hardly noticed that her running pants were soaking through and she'd completely forgotten about the sharp pain in her ankle that brought her to her seat. It looked, magical. Well, not magical, obviously. She wasn't one to believe in all that mystic nonsense. Still, there was something very peculiar, alluring, even magnetic about this... thing. "You alright?" a man asked from behind but, Jennifer barely moved. "Take a look at this, Mark." she said. "Alright, what are we looking at?" Mark asked as he sat down next to his wife. Jennifer motioned to the orb. Mark looked at her and smiled "The leaves, babe? They're beautiful but, are they worth soaking pants?" She turned her head and looked at him in disbelief. "No. The orb, right-" As Jennifer turned back to look at the orb it was gone. "I swear..." she faded off. "You OK?" Mark asked. "Yeah, sorry. It must have been the light or something." Jennifer stood and winced, remembering why she'd fallen to the ground in the first place. "I'd like to amend my previous statement, I think I sprained it again." Jennifer let out a groan. "You want front seat or back seat?" Mark smiled at his wife. Jennifer jumped onto her husbands back and kissed his head before lightly tapping her heel into his thigh "Giddy up, good steed!" she playfully commanded. "Hey, this bronco will buck you right off" Mark said in his best serious voice. "Less talky, more walky" Jennifer leaned her head down and whispered "please..." and off they went. By the time they reached the trail parking lot, Jennifer's ankle had began to resemble a grapefruit. Mark helped her into the backseat. "Walk-in or wait?" He asked as he grabbed her a blanket from the trunk. Jennifer let out a sigh "Wait. They'll just tell me to R.I.C.E it. Besides, I'm exhausted. I just want to go home." "You're exhausted? Well ain't that a bitch." Mark joked. Jennifer smiled. "I know. At least you'll get the radio to yourself." she offered. Mark smiled back. "Sounds good, babe. Get some rest." Mark began the drive home as Jennifer drifted off to sleep. She suddenly found herself in a vast emptiness. There was blackness as far as the eye could see except this small, rapidly growing golden light. Jennifer began to panic as the golden speck quickly grew into the golden orb and then into something much larger. She tried to scream but nothing came out. She tried to run but her body was stuck in place. The orb came to a stop mere inches from her face. It was now hundreds if not thousands of feet in diameter and had a heat emanating from its surface that nearly burned her skin. "Babe. Come on. I need a little help." Mark said as he shook her awake. Jennifer opened her eyes to see they were home. "I had the craziest dream" she mumbled and climbed out of the car, into her husband's arms. "It was about that orb from the forest" she continued, half asleep. "I have no idea what you're saying, love." He carried her inside and laid her down in bed. He grabbed a few pillows to elevate her foot. "You really are tired, huh?" he asked with genuine surprise. Jennifer raised her arm and motioned him over. "Thank you for carrying me, my stallion." and gave him a kiss before collapsing back onto the pillow. Mark smiled and went to the kitchen to make some food. As soon as she fell asleep, she was back in front of the orb. It felt like and eternity as the orb slowly closed the gap between itself and her face then, it touched her. Jennifer shot out of bed and jumped right onto her feet before promptly collapsing onto the floor in a squeal of pain. Mark jumped out of bed. "Are you OK? What are you doing?" he asked, hurrying over to his wife. "I... what time is it?" she was panting and out of breath as her eyes searched for the clock. "Uh, it's two in the morning, babe." Mark could see the panic in his wife's face and held her for a moment. "It's ok. You're here. We're here. Just breathe." Jennifer took a deep breath and suddenly felt exhausted. "Yeah. Sorry. I had a bad dream and must've forgotten about my ankle. Consider me reminded." she turned and kissed her husband. "Thank you. Will you help me..." Mark picked her up and put her back in bed. Before he'd walked over to his side she'd fallen back to sleep. There was no longer a void in front of her, there was only the golden orb. It covered her eyes, she could feel its heat over the whole of her body. She tried to move and could but, it was everywhere. She couldn't escape the gold nor its heat. "Babe. Babe." she opened her eyes to see her husbands smiling face. "If you don't get up, you're going to be late for work." he said. "I made you breakfast." Jennifer rolled over and looked at the clock. "No!" she nearly yelled. She'd overslept by almost an hour. She sat up before collapsing back down. "I am... sick day" she barely managed before dropping back into sleep. She could feel the orb coursing through her veins. Suddenly, a booming voice echoed in her mind. There were no words but she understood the meaning. "Jennifer! Are you ok? Hellooooo? Jennifer?" she shook her head and was saw her manager staring back at her from the laptop screen. "Uh, sorry. What was the question?" Jennifer stuttered. She was trying to make sense of how she'd gotten to her desk and why she was on a call with work. "Your project. The board wants a presentation Friday. I'm sure they'll have lots of questions but, my only one is are you excited? I guess your speechlessness is evidence enough." "Yes. Yes! Thank you, Marge. Uh. I am thrilled. But, do you think you could email me the specifics of the meeting? I just have to run." Jennifer said, still a little shaken. "Of course. Congrats again and let me know if you want to do a dry run or two." Marge offered. "Thank you so much. I will. Bye." Jennifer shut the laptop and tried to recall the last fifteen minutes but drew a blank. "Want a sandwich?" "Jesus!" Jennifer shouted, startled by Mark's presence. Mark chuckled. "Congrats! Seriously. I knew your hard work would pay off." he walked behind her and gave her a long embrace. "You're going to kill it. Want to celebrate now or after?" Jennifer was still trying to get her bearings "Um. Sandwich would be lovely. And a glass of ice-water, please. And always after. You know this. There is too much to do between now and then." She closed her eyes for a moment to think. ... tbc edit: tbc if you all like it. I don't write much but love a good story. Seeing if I can make one so, feedback appreciated.