Chapter 15:

Epilogue

The Room

“Beep beep beep beep.”

My body hurt. My head hurt.

My eyes were closed. I felt something soft beneath my body and the smell of flowers in the air.

The extremely irritating noise wouldn’t stop.

“Beep beep beep beep.”

It was my alarm.

I opened my eyes slowly, and the first thing I saw was the ceiling of my room.

Its color startled me.

The memories came back with full force.

I remembered the white room.

“Beep beep beep beep.”

I had never been so happy to hear that sound again.

I felt relieved.

My eyes filled with tears while I turned off the alarm. It was Saturday.

“I’m back.”

I kept repeating it.

A terror grew inside me.

What if I’m still inside the Room?

I got out of bed in a hurry and felt my whole body tingling. I was weak.

I looked around.

Everything was exactly the way I had left it.

Which meant everything seemed normal.

But I wasn’t convinced.

First, I went to the bathroom. The light didn’t flicker.

My reflection looked normal.

Then I checked my closet.

My clothes were varied and came in several colors. Not just the same old work suit.

Even so, I wasn’t convinced.

I turned on the television and changed channels.

Nothing strange.

My cat came to me, meowing, and passed between my legs.

I looked at the empty bowl.

He was hungry.

I got the cat food and filled the bowl.

He started eating slowly.

Maybe that proved it.

I was in the real world.

Was any of that real?

I thought while washing my face.

I had the day off.

There was something I needed to do.

First, I went to the flower shop and bought camellias.

The place across the street felt completely threatening.

I had never set foot there in all those years.

When I passed through the entrance, I shivered at the sight of a stone angel statue.

But I calmed myself. It was normal to have things like that in a place like this.

I stood in front of a gravestone and left the flowers.

“I said I would visit you, Grandma.”

I sat on the ground and talked to her.

***

The next day, I went to the movie theater.

This time, wearing much better clothes than my work suit.

When I arrived, Laura was already there waiting for me, wearing a yellow dress. Her smile was wide, and her energy seemed endless.

We watched Stellar Journey.

I had a lot of fun.

Laura was so beautiful.

As we left the theater room, I saw a poster for Emilia and the Red Shoes.

Looks like that movie really exists. I want to watch it later. I bet I would see it differently now than I did when I was in the Room.

Laura and I walked side by side.

I held her hand.

She became very embarrassed.

I admit I did too.

When it was time to leave, she looked at me as if she were expecting something.

I couldn’t look her properly in the eyes.

I ran my right hand through her hair, tucking a strand behind her ear.

And I kissed her.

***

Whenever I laid my head on the pillow, I had trouble falling asleep.

The fear of returning to that place faded as the days passed.

I left the office and went back to the hospital. They welcomed me with open arms.

Laura didn’t stay at the office much longer after I left either. Maybe, without me there, that place had lost the little color it still had for her. She ended up becoming an illustrator, something I probably should have guessed after seeing the drawn post-it notes spread across her desk.

At the hospital, there were still days when the sound of a monitor made me stop for a few seconds.

But one thing I learned in the Room came back with me and helped me deal with all that emotional weight: a hobby.

Laura was surprised. She had never imagined that I liked carving wood.

What surprised her even more was when I told her that it was my first time carving wood, even though, according to her, I was so good at it.

Then I told her everything about the Room.

Everything I saw and everything I went through.

She hugged me.

I needed that.

I never understood what had happened.

Whether it was only a dream.

Or something else.

I never dreamed about the Room again.