April 30th 2022 The five of us gathered in my new living room. The late-afternoon sun slanted in hard; light poured through three glass walls, painting half of the massive burgundy velvet couch a bright warm fuschia. My dad’s obsession with transparency seemed to have followed him home from work; only a few stone partitions interrupted the wide, and relentless, blue-mountain views. I made a mental note to purchase curtains. Yumi sprawled out like spilled milk near the fireplace. She was belly-up and unapologetic. Moon curled into an oversized armchair. Her iced coffee from earlier this morning sweating into a ring on the glass side table. Miguel stood by the window, arms crossed, bathed in orange light, watching the sun sink like it was poetry. Joe slapped a stack of papers on a dark marbled coffee table, eyes bright with the manic shimmer of twenty ideas sprinting ahead of him. “We'll pull out all the stops,” Joe said, tapping the top page. “It has to be unforgettable. Marvelous—no, it has to be marvelous.” Alexis hovered near the bar, a half moon of deep mahogany, with a massive ceramic mug, posture crisp. I paced in front of her, toes sinking into the soft maroon rug. “We have resources—labs, workshops, the observatory. But it can’t feel like orientation. It needs to stir them. An existential bell-ringer.” I said. Miguel turned from the glass. “Ah, perhaps the first event should simply draw a crowd and act as a filter. Clean and simple.” He tipped his chin toward Joe’s papers. “With maybe a layered game of sorts: science, philosophy, puzzles." “Miguel’s right,” Alexis said, sipping. “Let’s be honest—we don’t even know what we’re looking for yet.” Her eyes cut to me over the rim of her mug. “Would you have picked yourself, Natasha?” The question landed sharper than it should’ve. Moon’s gaze softened on me. “Some challenges should mirror astral travel.” Joe nodded eagerly. “Yes. We can build it so they have to regulate their egos to win—tasks that favor precision over brute force.” I lifted my wine glass. “We’re preparing them for an entirely different way of being.” “Sí, pero—let’s lower the pressure,” Miguel added with a grin. “We can tie it to Cinco de Mayo. Up the fun.” “You do know there will be no margaritas for the staff,” I said, raising a brow. “You, being 'staff'.” Alexis set her mug down and rinsed it, the water running loud in the sudden pause. “Points per challenge, then? A scavenger-style race?” “Or Tokens." I said. "Each station earns one. Once a team collects them all, we regroup in the courtyard for a final and individual memory challenge. Since memory is a prerequisite.” The back door slid open. Min entered. Her pearl-beige tunic fluttering in the breeze. She moved through the sunbeam and sat on the couch beside Joe. Her hands folded neatly in her lap, and met my gaze without preamble. “We will need to spread out,” she said. “Observe attributes suitable for the project success. We will have our own scorecard for the students. That is the real game.” Her voice didn’t rise, yet it still managed to press. “When was the last time you visited the Subtle Realm, Natasha?” My stomach dropped. The room seemed to tighten around the question. I stared at her, trying to find a version of the truth that didn’t paint me as a fraud. “How can you lead others,” Min continued, “into a world you are afraid to re-enter?” She wasn’t wrong. I hadn’t been back since joining the company. I stared at Yumi, sleeping peacefully by an-ash darkened fireplace. The last time I engaged with the Astral Plane, I nearly unspooled my entire life: time warping, my body misfiring, and Yumi...nearly dying as a result. Though, Fear wasn’t the word I used for it. I preferred careful. Or rather, I needed a safer method. “I’m not afraid,” I said, and my tone sounded rehearsed. "I just want to have better control." Min’s gaze didn’t waver. “The Astral cannot be controlled. You will not be able to prepare them for everything.” She tilted her head slightly, as if listening to something beneath my heartbeat. “The unknown isn’t something you tame, Natasha. It’s something you accept, as if you planned for it.” I saw my face, in an ornate acid-washed mirror, hanging on the wall. I certainly looked scared. “It’ll be different this time,” I said. The words felt less like an argument and more like a promise I needed to hear aloud. Alexis straightened. “If I’m vouching for this 'program,' and putting my career on the line, I need to know exactly what they’re stepping into.” “I think you missed the point, amiga,” Miguel said with a laugh. The room relaxed, except Alexis, who remained stone-faced. Moon leaned forward. “We haven’t told Tony about the QHYP yet. Maybe we should officially request he attend Monday’s university meeting?” The energy shifted again. You could feel it: the tiny recalibration in everyone’s posture, the way their eyes stopped wandering and locked on me. “He’ll already be there,” Alexis said. “He’s presenting to my students about DMT derivatives next week.” She paused, then added, casual like it wasn’t a lever she’d just pulled. “he told me, he plans to allocate some LucyBlu profits to Heather’s Haven—to keep it free for families." She slung a designer bag over her shoulder. "Maybe it might be easier to just tell him what we're doing. He's just trying to keep the company running. Just something to consider.” and walked out. One by one, the others followed: Min and Moon, then Joe. All but Miguel, he stayed behind. “I’ll help clean up,” he offered.
Next Episode Chapter 12
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