Wooden Ships by Donald Piazza Read Free Book Online Page A

landscape he had ever seen. As Adam stepped back to marvel at what he was seeing, he realized the mural spanned the entire length of the hallway, which looked about twenty feet long. He stepped forward again to take a closer look. It seemed to have depth to it, and if he didn’t know better he would have thought he could see the trees swaying gently in the breeze. How could that be he thought? With trepidation, he slowly touched the surface of the mural but gasped loudly, and quickly pulled his hand back when it felt cold and squishy to the touch. The surface undulated like Jell-O. Staring at the mural as he wiped his hand on his pants he thought, “What is the mural made of?” Slowly he stepped back and looked up and down the hallway to see the whole mural; he then realized the mural was on the ceiling. Here he saw a beautiful sky and more billowy white clouds, and as he stared, he actually thought he saw them slowly moving. Adam quickly turned around and was surprised to see the mural was also on the back of the wall. “Wow!” He said to himself, “It’s as if I’m in a transparent tunnel that goes through this beautiful lush forest; it looks like a Garden of Eden.” Slowly the illumination in the hall dimmed. Wide-eyed and feeling a little nervous, he continued to walk though the hallway.
     
    He heard the echo of his footsteps as he walked. Thinking he might have heard extra footsteps, he stopped for a moment to listen, but the footsteps stopped. Slowly he turned around and looked; he was afraid that someone was standing behind him. However, he was alone. Looking forward again, he suddenly realized he was standing in a doorway of a larger room that was completely empty. There were no distinguishable corners, walls, ceiling, or floor; it was a white void.
     
    There was something very familiar about this place, as if he had been here before. Not wanting to go into this room, he turned to go back the way he came, but the hallway disappeared. Now positioned inside this white void, he kept thinking, “Where am I?” Hoping there was someone here to explain, Adam said, “Hello? Is there anybody here?” The hello echoed within the void. He continued to think, “This is not making any sense. I feel like I’m floating.” His body didn’t cast a shadow within the white void, he was just there.
     
    Adam sensed someone was standing next to him and as he turned and looked, he was shocked to see it was his old friend Scott. He was all dressed up in a dark grey suit with a white shirt and tie. Adam thought, “Scott never dressed up before in his life, why is he all dressed up now?” Then Adam said, “Wait, you’re dead! You died several years ago,” but Scott just peacefully smiled. Adam had so many questions he wanted to ask him but Scott started writing on a piece of paper. Feeling this had happened to him before, Adam just stood there puzzled and watched! Without saying anything, Scott handed him the paper. He reached for it and read what Scott wrote...
     
    It read –
     
    “This is not a dream…”
     
    Not fully understanding the message, he read it again.
     
    “This is not a dream…”
     
    Adam chuckled as he repeated the message again. He looked up and Scott suddenly split into two Scotts. At first, Adam stood there dumbfounded trying to make sense of what he saw, but then panic shot through him like electricity, and he started shaking. His heart started beating so fast that it felt as if it were going to explode in his chest. His breathing became very rapid and he began to feel slightly light-headed. As he tried to catch his breath, he could feel perspiration profusely pouring from his forehead. Standing right in front of him were two individuals who looked exactly like Scott. They were mirror images.
     
    “Wha-wha-what the hell is going on?” Adam muttered incoherently, “And what do you mean this is not a dream?”
     
    Adam began to hear a peculiar sound, an oscillation that started very low,