“Okay, last try…hmm…how about alien abduction?”

“Alice, how about we tell her the truth. Why do I even listen to you?”

“Fine, Tina…do it your way but let me tell you, your idea is just so…boring. Anyway, we have to wake her up. I’m afraid that frequent fainting is not good for her mental abilities.”

“Okay, but maybe you should talk to her because it seems to me that there’s a connection between her looking at me and fainting and it’s quickly turning into a habit.”

Alice moved closer to the bed and softly shook Bette on her shoulder, “Bette, honey, wake up.”

After several attempts Bette began to stir. She didn’t know how long she was unconscious and unresponsive to everything around her.

‘No, you’re still trapped in this strange world, Elizabeth,’ Bette thought, defeated by the bizarre twist of events. ‘Well, since I decided to endure all the trials that life presented me with, I guess I should at least open my eyes and face it.’

Bette slowly opened her eyes, blinking several times until her vision came into focus. She was prepared for anything even if it was confusing and strange. To her relief, she saw something rather pleasant and familiar, her dear friend Alicia. Suddenly, everything became blurry from the tears of joy and comfort that welled in Bette’s eyes.

Bette’s body was ahead of her mind and she jumped up, clinging to Alicia because in this strange world she was the only real person Bette knew and trusted unconditionally.

Tina stayed by the window and the scene that unraveled before her made her have twinges of jealousy. Alice was holding Bette tightly, giving her much needed comfort. She glanced at Tina and recognized the green eyed monster behind Tina’s stare. She shrugged her shoulders and gave her friend ‘I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do’ look.

Bette kept hugging Alicia as if her life depended on it, “Alicia, I’m so happy you are here…I was so scared, what’s going on? I keep having this nightmare…”

Alice interrupted her by whispering softly in her ear, “We need to talk but can you hold on a minute? I need to do something first.”

She disengaged herself from Bette, which was really difficult, considering that Bette wasn’t about to lose the only grip on reality that Alice represented at this moment.

Finally convincing her frightened friend that it was okay to let her go for a minute, Alice stepped back to Tina and shielded her from Bette’s curious eyes, “Leave us alone for a minute because we can’t risk her fainting again but you can watch through the open window,” she whispered, winking at Tina at the same time.

“Bette,” Alice said louder after Tina left the room, “I’m going to open the window. It’s too stuffy in here.”

Bette wiped away her tears and asked fearfully, “Alicia, what’s going on? Everything looks so different and strange. Have I died and gone to hell?”

TBC…