Story: 'Triangles', VIII [Revised]

(Part VII , IX)

On top of Constitution Hill you can see a huge swathe of Aberystwyth near the Seafront, an expanse of hills to the north and distant mountains, and a glorious seascape to the west framed by Cardigan Bay. At least that's what you see in our plane of existence. As Delores topped the Hill, angular gravel crunching under her trainers, she surveyed the landscape properly for the first time.

The whirlpools didn't stretch as far to the horizon as she had thought. They were actually localised to the vicinity of the Aberystwyth seaboard. Water was visibly streaming in from the far ocean to that local sink, being replenished at location unknown. The hills were reassuring green, if a bit sparkly in places, and a mild drizzle was falling from on high. Geographically the similarities to her own Aberystwyth were overwhelming. There was even a tri-rail heading out toward Borth.

Seen at such a scale, the landscape provoked a spike of homesickness so sharp that Delores almost buckled, but she held firm.

"Excuse me, but do you have any idea what's going on?"

She buckled that time, and then fainted for good measure. Upon awakening a kindly bearded face looked down at her, squinting confusedly but with gladness at her revival. Apart from being a bit pointy, the man was reassuringly human, unlike the thing in 'her' bed in town. "Umm, are you okay? What just happened?"

"I guess the food isn't agreeing with me as much as I thought. And you're impossible."

The bearded man smiled grimly and began to speak, before popping out of existence utterly.

"Oh great. I've gone totally insane." Suddenly it all made sense. Triangles, faintness, crazy videos and bizarre things in beds. "And if I'm not insane then I'm trapped in a world that's going to kill me eventually if the food isn't working out."

Delores stumbled over to the visitor centre, and for the first time in this bizarre encounter she found some hope. Hope takes unexpected forms sometimes, whether it looks like a giant cosmic whirlpool or the last bottle of water in the fridge or even an expected domino of an event waiting to be pushed. In this case, hope looked like a circle floating in the air above one of the cafe tables. And through the circle could be seen events and people in a whole different world.

Delores moved toward the circle. She could escape, maybe even get home. But... should she...?
To be continued...