The Empty Space

The building hadn’t changed. A crooked roof. Rotten wood for walls. A forgotten shed at the edge of the forest. The small property, which still had layers of dust on the support beams, had seen plenty of use over the years, having been the “secret” hideout of a group of teens since childhood. Lately, however, it felt cold and empty, the group reduced by one, leaving only four

Ren was the first to arrive. He opened the rusted door and left it ajar for the others, who wouldn’t be far behind. While all the teens were the same age, having been in the same schools since childhood, Ren was the oldest, with short, neat black hair and a thin, tall frame. Looking around the place and sighing, he walked over to the corner and sat on an overturned crate, his mind drifting off, and waited for the others. After a while, footsteps started to pick up from outside, hitting the stepping stones that paved the way to the hideout. Ren looked up as the door opened and the setting sun shot through into the area, making eye contact with a girl whose long black hair caught the sunlight. Before he could say anything, the girl spoke, “Hey, I got it. Have you heard anything from the other two?” In her arms was a rather thick book that was bound in a string that she raised towards Ren before putting it down on a small makeshift table in the centre of the room. “Not yet, but there's still time; it's not that late,” answered Ren as he stopped slouching and gathered his thoughts. The long-haired girl was Miyako, another one of the group and a neighbour of Ren. Trying to fill the silence that followed Miyako's entrance, Ren pointed towards the book, “Is it really okay for us to have that here? Sora never let any of us read it before, I know he's…” He choked on his words, almost as if saying it out loud would erase all history of the friendship. Miyako cut in, noticing the struggle in Ren’s voice, “His father was sure it was what he wanted. I want to see inside, I…” before she could finish her sentence, a loud voice cut through the tense atmosphere from a distance, “C’mon, Alice! You know those two, we’re definitely the last ones here!”

The source of the energetic voice came stumbling through the door, a lively boy named Hibiki, followed by the last of the four that were meeting that day, Alice. Hibiki, with bright blonde hair and an attitude that was equally as bright, looked around the room at the two who were present. “Hey guys! Sorry if you were waiting long!” he strolled in and took a seat directly on the floor in front of the little table. “Hey, is this Sora's book?” Picking up the thick journal and waving it around seemingly without care for the fragile nature of the memento. Miyako snapped at him, “Hibiki! Be careful with that!” Her voice was agitated, and her fists balled up. Alice, who had been waiting quietly in the corner because of Hibiki's entrance, winced at Miyako's raised voice and stepped forward, “Uh… uhm… Please, Hibi, Sora loved that book.” Her shy voice, alongside the nickname that only she would use, got through to him, and he gently placed the book back down. “Heh, sorry guys,” He said with his usual innocent grin, “It’s so strange seeing it up close, I don't think we ever got this close to it in the past,” he said, unfazed by Miyako’s temper and Alice’s timid voice. “Maybe try having some respect, man.” Ren’s soft yet intimidating voice came from the dark corner, wiping the grin from Hibiki's face.

The four teens sat in silence for a brief moment as if trying to process the book's presence in front of them. After a short while, Alice, from the place on the floor that she had taken not far from Hibiki, spoke up, “Have either of you opened it yet?” Miyako stood up and, within a few steps, was at the table handling the book. “No, we were waiting for you guys.” She stared at the book in her hands and then at each of the three that were present. “Before I open it, are you sure we want to do this?”

The book that had created so much tension amongst the group was a journal; It had belonged to the fifth and youngest of the group, Sora. Sora was the kindest, most gentle spirit that all four had met and meant a great deal to each of them in different ways. From birth, Sora had been frail, a sickly boy who spent more time in hospitals than anywhere else and relied on games and manga to find happiness in the world until he met the others. Many years prior, when they were just children, Hibiki had gotten sick during the winter months and spent some time in the hospital, where he befriended Sora. It wasn't long before the four became five, and Sora found himself having friends that he deeply cherished. The journal that Sora had created was inspired by games and books that detailed a world he wished both he and his friends could be a part of.

Each of the teens thought of him as they thought of the answer to the question that Miyako had asked before they agreed unanimously. With a deep breath, she began to unwind the twine that bound the pages of the journal together, then placed it down and let the blank cover fall open. The teens all shifted forward with anticipation and stared at the first page that only had a small number of words on it, “A world I wish for.” It was written in heavy black ink and in beautiful calligraphic writing. The group stayed silent as Miyako started turning pages one by one; however, with each page, small gasps and movements sounded in the hideout. Each page was full of detail, and there were hand-drawn sketches of beasts with small descriptions, cities with biographies occupied two page spreads, alongside some pages that had writing from top to bottom. The book detailed a world in which magic was commonplace and beasts unlike anything in the real world were designed there. On one page was a detailed drawing of a dragon standing upon a large tree. The group was stunned, and Ren pulled the book slightly closer while staring at a page that had several illustrations of fire in different patterns with names such as “Fire whip” and “Fireball”. Alice looked at Hibiki, “Y-you both loved games, right? Did you know about this?” He didn't take his eyes off the book, but a big grin spread over his face. “No, but this is amazing!” He leaned forward and started flicking through more pages. “It’s like a fantasy world, I can't believe he made all of this!” The others wouldn't be able to appreciate his excitement; however, as a large thud resounded next to him, Miyako hit the floor, having lost consciousness.

Hibiki pushed the book away and jumped to his feet. “Hey! What happened!?” Before he could reach her, two more thuds sounded behind him — the others collapsing in turn. It wasn't long until he followed suit, and he fell to his knees, his body following soon after. In the aftermath of this, the room was silent and eerie, the door rattling slightly from the breeze and the dusty cobwebs drifting from the draught. Without warning, it was like the world stopped, nothing was allowed to move, and the stillness swallowed the emptiness, no movement, no sound, no existence. It was almost like the world would stay this way forever until an echoed footsteps cut through the quiet. It was a figure that had a dusty black robe that was tattered and grime-covered, with two holes ripped, exposing extremely pale skin behind each shoulder blade. The figure had nothing covering its feet, and the pale skin was covered in a thick layer of dirt and a dark red, flaky substance. Once the cloaked figure reached the journal, it reached out with both hands gently, almost like cradling a new-born. It took some time to read through each page without changing posture, the only movement being its hand to support the book and change the page. Upon reaching the final page, it closed it gently and let the book fall out of its hands as if it had grown bored with this whole farce. Then it was gone, almost as if the figure was just a mirage conjured by the lack of light in the small dusty room, and then the light vanished, and with that so did the room. All that was left was a fuzzy darkness and a lack of sound, like there had never been anything in creation.

The teens all awoke at the same time, their slumped bodies pushing against a cold, mossy tiled floor thick with dirt. They were no longer in the hideout; it was like a hospital room that had been neglected for hundreds of years. Ren clambered to his feet and leaned against a wall that crumbled slightly under his touch, while Hibiki helped Alice to her feet, and Miyako sat up, regaining her composure first. Hibiki’s eyes darted around the room. “Guys...Guys, where are we? It looks like...” Alice cut him off with wide, terrified eyes, her lips trembling, “It’s Sora’s room, but, but it can't be, can it? We were just at the hideout?” The fear was evident in her trembling voice. Ren, who still had a hand on the wall, was now looking out the window and spoke calmly, “I don't know why, but we aren't at the hospital or at the hideout.” He gestured for them all to come and look. Miyako was the first one there, and she stumbled slightly as she saw not the other wards and lovely garden of the hospital they had visited hundreds of times, but a wide forest and birds with wings like bats fleeing the noise. “W-where are we?” She raised her voice, “WHAT'S HAPPENED?”