Girl Room

The figure who entered my apartment was a girl. A girl was in my living room. A real girl. She wore a school uniform consisting of a plaid skirt and blazer, both unaffected by the endless grey tones covering my apartment. Ink black hair parted at the middle and flowed past her shoulders, with a bleached streak on either side. She had sharp, elegant features that in equal parts intimidated and enchanted me.

She was beautiful.

‘I need your strength,’ she repeated.

‘What?’ I murmured. My voice sounded rough and strange. I hadn’t used it in a while, let alone for a conversation.

‘I suppose there’s time to explain. My name is Kishimoto Junko. Nice to meet you.’ She inclined her head.

‘I’m…’ My voice quavered.

‘Fukuzawa Kenji,’ she finished. ‘I know. After all, you’ve been chosen.’

‘Chosen?’

‘That’s why your room turned grey, and why it’s floating in the void.’

I wet my lips. Chosen. Grey. Void. What?

‘Sit down,’ the girl, Kishimoto, commanded. ‘I said I’d explain.’ I lowered myself onto a pillow and Kishimoto did the same. She hummed and tapped her chin. ‘Where to start?’

‘T-The grey.’

‘Perfect. Well, don’t freak out, but your room has been transported to a pocket dimension.’

I freaked out. When I got my breathing under control, I settled back on the pillow. I couldn’t make eye contact with Kishimoto, but she simply smiled. ‘The pocket dimension exists in a quantum state, and it amplifies kinetic force, so you can exert force here and I can use that force in the real world. Basically: We can use telekinesis.’

'What?'

'Telekinesis.'

‘We?’

‘You’re the Source. You produce force here in the pocket dimension. I’m the Conduit. I dictate where, when, and how the force is used. Make sense so far?’

‘It doesn’t explain why everything is grey.’

‘Oh, just a side effect.’

‘And the stuff outside?’

Kishimoto glanced at the front door. ‘That’s the void. I wouldn’t go out there, if I were you. Once you’re out, you’ll never make it back.’

‘But, you came from there?’

‘Nope. In the real world, I’m asleep. Think of it like astral projecting, except less mystical.’

‘Okay,’ I said. ‘Okay,’ I repeated. ‘Okay,’ I told myself. I was in a pocket dimension, which freaked me out, but the real world still existed. Kishimoto was there. ‘Am I asleep, too?’

‘You’re…’ Kishimoto fidgeted. ‘When I said you were chosen, I meant it as a good thing. But, it also means you’re stuck here.’

I was about to freak out again.

‘Maybe "stuck" isn’t the right word. Trapped? Confined? Unable to leave? Never mind, stuck was the perfect word.’

Though on the verge of freaking out, Kishimoto’s matter-of-fact tone kept me grounded. Besides, even in the real world I didn’t plan to go anywhere.

‘How about food?’ I asked.

‘Good news: In here, you don’t get hungry or thirsty.’

‘What if I want to eat?’

‘Let's forget that for now. First, let’s talk about your Fulcrum.’

Is that a euphemism?

Kishimoto hopped to her feet. ‘Where did the grey start?’ When I gestured at my closet, she pushed aside the mess and opened it. ‘Aha!’ She reached inside and removed a metal rod, like the handle of a dumbbell. ‘This is your Fulcrum. It’s how you apply force for me to direct. Give it a try.’ She tossed the Fulcrum, and I clumsily caught it near the floor. As I did, the metal ends extended and rounded until they fused with the tatami.

‘It’s stuck,’ I said.

‘Pull it gently.’

I did, and the metal straightened and went back to the original length. The magnet-like novelty excited me, and I rushed around the room, fusing the Fulcrum to the walls, ceiling, along with my desk, fridge, and monitor.

‘Time isn’t infinite here,’ Kishimoto reminded.

‘Sorry.’ I stopped messing around with the Fulcrum.

Kishimoto gestured around the main room. ‘I suggest fusing it roughly in the middle so you’ll have plenty of space. When I need you to apply force, the bar will light up red and rattle. It sounds like a bunch of keys.’

‘So, going back a bit, why do you need my strength?’

‘To defeat evil.’

‘Like, organised crime?’

‘Think bigger. You remember the United States? Well, some remnants have cropped up in Japan. They’re in a bunch of nuclear submarines and now they’re making threats unless they get some land to establish a settlement. Our government is thinking of giving them an island, but that sucks. I don’t want them to die, but I can’t let them threaten the country.’

‘You know all this because…?’

‘Let’s just say my parents are “influential” people. They talk petty freely with me, since they think I’m an airhead.’

At least they talk to you.

‘I want to help,’ I said. ‘But, I’m not strong. Even a couple push-ups is probably too much. So, if you’re fighting evil, I really think they’re better options. It’s not that I’m scared, but you deserve better. Well, like, that makes it sound like we’re dating, but I meant you should find someone strong. Like a bodybuilder. I’ll shut up now. I’m being stupid.’

Kishimoto frowned. ‘Don’t you think it’s strange we’re okay with insulting ourselves? I wouldn’t be happy if you called me stupid, but most people wouldn’t care if you said it to yourself.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘You’re not calling nobody stupid. You’re calling yourself stupid, so you should be offended on behalf of yourself.’ She shot to her feet and struck a bold, powerful pose. ‘You should tell the “you” that insulted you to shut the hell up. Because you’re not stupid unless you keep calling yourself stupid.’

As I stared, Kishimoto grew embarrassed and sat down. She’s kinda weird, I thought. But not wrong.

‘You’re not stupid unless you call yourself stupid,’ she repeated. ‘You’re not weak unless you think you’re weak. Sure, you’re not exactly strong right now, but you can be. I’ll train you.’ She rolled up her sleeve and flexed her arms. The muscles were toned, with clear definition of the bicep, triceps, and deltoids. Way better than mine. ‘Believe it or not, I’ve done a decent bit of boxing. It’s because if I’m weak, it’ll hinder you, and vice-versa. For this to work, we need to keep up with each other.’

Kishimoto extended her hand. ‘I’m the Conduit. You’re the Source. Together we can be stronger than you ever imagined.’

Though hesitant, I took her hand. Her skin was softer and warmer than I ever imagined.

I squinted. Kishimoto had turned hazy, like I saw her through gauze. ‘We’re running out of time,’ she said. ‘I’m coming out of REM sleep. We’ll talk later. Oh! There are other Conduits out there. They might find you and offer every promise to make you side with them. Don’t listen to them. Promise me. Once they’re done with you, they’ll leave you forgotten in the void. Promise me!’

‘I-I promise!’

Before I said anything else, her hazy figure faded and disappeared entirely.