#4 OF 100 STORIES

Her Pen Pal Lived In Another Realm And He Invited Her to Join Him

Would she go and give up life as she knows it?

Senzada sat in her cozy living room, sipping on her evening tea. It had been a long day at work, and she looked forward to some downtime. But, as she was going through the stack of old letters she had kept from her childhood, she stumbled upon several faded envelopes addressed to her from a pen pal she had corresponded with when she was just a tween. The memories of exchanging letters with a boy named Alex came flooding back, and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia.

Curious to know what had become of her pen pal after all these years, Senzada did some online sleuthing. She opened up her laptop and searched for Alex’s name on Facebook. To her surprise, she found a profile with the same name and a profile picture resembling the boy she used to write to. She sent a friend request without hesitation, and he accepted within minutes.

Excited to reconnect, Senzada and Alex exchanged a few catch-up messages. They reminisced about their childhood pen pal days, talking about the letters they used to send and the adventures they had shared through their words. But as their conversation continued, Senzada felt a sense of unease growing. Alex’s messages became increasingly strange and erratic. He talked about his life as a mythical creature existing in an alternate realm.

“Is he serious? Could this be true?”

She tried to reason with him, asking for clarification and expressing her concerns, but Alex’s messages became increasingly cryptic. Finally, Senzada’s instincts kicked in, and she realized that this was not something she could take lightly. She was also curious about the possibility of another world and the chance to meet a mythical being.

“This sounds too good to be true. What if it’s a trap? What if I lose everything in my current world?”

She couldn’t shake off the feeling of apprehension, but her determination to unravel the mystery outweighed her fear.

Set on the journey to find answers, Senzada researched and discovered that Alex’s claims of being a mythical being might not be as far-fetched as she initially thought. She stumbled upon ancient legends and folklore that mentioned beings from other realms. There were things in her research that Alex had shared with her. The more she delved into the research, the more she realized that Alex’s claims might be valid.

Feeling both intrigued and apprehensive, Senzada couldn’t ignore the pull she felt toward Alex’s world. She knew she had to confront him and get to the bottom. She sent him a direct message, asking him to meet in person.

“What am I getting myself into? Is this a mistake? But I need to know the truth.”

Alex responded promptly, urging Senzada to come to a secluded location where he claimed he could open a portal to his world. He reiterated that she would have to leave her current world behind and die to join him.

Curiosity and fear pulled at Senzada, but her determination to unravel the mystery was stronger.

“I need to confront Alex and get answers.”

She thoughtfully dressed for the meeting, wearing a long, flowing skirt that draped elegantly to the ground and a loose-fitting blouse with modest sleeves. Her clothing was made from earth-toned fabrics, showcasing her connection to nature and her Bahia culture. Her hair was neatly tied back in a bun. She was pleased as she took a long warm glance at herself in the mirror beside her door as she exited her home.

She arrived at the designated location, a dense forest shrouded in an eerie silence. She was acutely aware there were no sounds of crickets, birds, or even leaves rustling. Alex was already there, waiting for her. Today he looked different from his Facebook profile picture.

Alex was a handsome Moth Indian man had a regal bearing, standing tall with broad shoulders and a proud demeanor. His dark eyes sparkled with wisdom and curiosity, framed by thick, lustrous hair that cascaded down his back like a waterfall of ebony silk. He sat on a stone bench with intricate carvings on its legs when he saw her.

Senzada tentatively approached, and as she drew nearer, she noticed that his face and demeanor fluctuated multiple times. Trembling, she slowed her pace even more.

Senzada’s instincts told her that something was amiss. For the first time, she considered Alex dangerous; his world may have risks and consequences she hadn’t fully understood.

She stopped now, rooted by fear in place. Her head moved slowly from side to side, and her lips parted. A tentative “No” sprung from her constricted chest and out her mouth before she could stop it.

“I won’t go, Alex. I can’t.”

Alex’s demeanor changed again, stretching and twisting with what looked like apprehension and agitation.

“Choose now or lose the opportunity forever,” he insisted, his words dripping with urgency. Senzada’s thoughts spun in turmoil as she tried to make sense of the situation.

Alex’s voice suddenly became louder and sounded like more than one person was speaking, with a resounding tenor tone, “You’ve come so far, Senzada! COME NOW!” he stood up now, shouting the last two words.

Senzada’s eyes widened.

“He’s pressuring me. Why is he so insistent?”

She felt a knot of panic coil in her stomach. She had always been cautious and measured in her decisions, and the pressure to make a life-altering choice on the spur of the moment made her uneasy.

She raised her hand, palm facing him, willing him to stay where he was.

She began backing away carefully, looking down at the stones on the path and back up to pin Alex to the spot where he stood.

“Alex, I’m sorry,” she said firmly, her voice trembling. “I cannot go with you.”

He remained still for a moment before his face morphed angrily. He closed the distance between them in the next instant and loomed over her. She froze and cowered in his shadow.

“Please don’t hurt me, Alex,” she squeaked out. But those words seemed to unlock her body; she crossed her arms at the elbows and then bowed her head into them.

A few seconds of silence between them felt longer than they actually were. She could hear him breathing loudly. She kept her gaze down.

“You’ve made your choice,” Alex said coldly.

Then she heard him take exactly two steps away, and an eerie silence descended. She looked up and saw that Alex had vanished.

Senzada collapsed on the floor of the forest, clutching her chest. Her heart raced, and her head throbbed with a painful headache.

She stood back up slowly, brushing off her clothes as if to shake off her fear.

She left the forest and occasionally looking back to ensure Alex was not trailing her.

At home, Senzada sat in her cozy living room. The meeting in the woods with Alex exhausted her.

As she sipped her favorite chamomile tea, she resolved to rid her space of Alex. She would take a sip of tea, then use a match to burn one of Alex’s old letters. Afterward, she would drop the paper into an iron pot on the table. She repeated this deliberately until all the letters were destroyed.

She felt melancholy as the smoke dissipated into the air. And now, she heard the crickets and the birds, and the rustling of leaves outside her kitchen window.

© 2023 K. Joseph, All Rights Reserved

The story rose up after reading the Fastastic Fiction prompts created by K.V. Fey. But, alas, my tale refused to stay on the designated path; but yours may. Why not try these prompts too?