Chapter1: The Grand Plan

June 16, they were having their festival again. I still didn’t know what they were celebrating, but every year it’s the same, live music, large groups of people, and plenty of socialization. When I’m in a good mood, I listen to the music while sitting alone in my room. Otherwise, I just put my headphones on and listen to something angry or depressing. Their music is never either of the two; it’s always joyful and uplifting. 
I haven’t told this to anyone, I’m fairly sure no one else notices. When I do happen to see them, they appear blurry, but recognizable. I hear them all the time. Sometimes it’s hard to ignore them, like this day. I started off the day at school in a good mood, which didn’t last long. Second period, the class went outside to examine different types of plants. It was hotter than it should have been and I had no tolerance for heat. 
When we got outside, I was surprised to find that I could clearly see a group of “my friends.” That’s what I call them. Usually when I saw them, it would only be one or two. They were gathered in a circle talking to each other. What was even stranger was that one of them kept glancing over at me while I was studying weeds and flowers. Just before we went back inside, our eyes met, he knew I could see him, I could tell he didn’t know why.
I thought about it that night just before I fell asleep. I dreamed that I was standing in a large open area; the ground consisted of concrete for as far as I could see. I began running, just out of curiosity. My eyes soon fell upon a large building made from a material unbeknownst to me. Above the door was a large painting of a man holding out his hand, as if to say “come with me, it’s safe.”
I obeyed the man's unspoken command and entered the strange building. I found myself standing in a large room lined with doors. In the center, a circle was painted on the floor. Inside the circle stood a group of people wearing robes with their hoods up. I watched as one lifted his head and pulled back his hood. Just before I awoke, I saw the man that caught my eyes in school.
I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling as the memory of the dream faded from my mind. I went to school like any other day, completely forgetting the dream and the man. As the day progressed, I noticed that something was abnormal. I didn’t realize what it was until I got home, I hadn’t seen or heard my friends all day. This was odd, because at least once a day, I hear them. The lack of their presence disturbed me. I decided to ignore them, but found that to be harder than ignoring them. I couldn’t concentrate on anything, so I went to bed for the night.
I was standing in the building I dreamed of the previous night, this time it was empty. I slowly walked over to the circle on the floor and stood in the center. I held out my hands, palms down, and touched my thumbs and index fingers together, forming a circle. I don’t know why I did it, but when I did, a gust of wind flew up from the ground. I looked through the circle I had made and saw a closed eye between my fingers. As I continued to look at it, it slowly opened. I had just enough time to see that its color was silver before I jumped up in my bed.
Saturday was finally here; it was a long week. I went downstairs to grab a notebook; I wanted to start recording the strange dreams. When I picked out one that I thought suited the purpose, I snagged a pen and left. It was still early in the morning; the sun wouldn’t come up for at least ten minutes. I enjoyed going for walks early in the morning, I found the air to be soothing. I was writing in the notebook as I walked and as a result, wasn’t paying any attention to where I was going. When I lifted my head from the page, I saw the painting above the door of the strange building. I turned around to see where I came from, the same open area of cement. I made note of this at the bottom of the page and proceeded inside. I hadn’t noticed the balcony lining the walls in my dreams. The man I’ve seen twice now was now on the balcony, his silver eyes staring into mine.
Instead of the robe, he now wore what looked like a sheet with holes cut out for the arms and head. Standing in his presence was much different than standing in front of his image; he gave off a sense of divinity. His hair was long and bright red.
“Identify yourself,” he commanded with no particular emotion. His expression told me that he was superior.
“Joel, and who are you?” I responded. He nodded, acknowledging that the request was a fair one.
“Churnble. How did you get in?” He was no longer talking as a superior, but as an equal.
“To be honest, I have no idea. I haven’t been here before, but I have seen this building in my dreams.”
“I saw you here a few hours ago, you called me here from that circle,” he said, bewildered, gesturing towards the painted circle. I thought he was yanking my chain, but a second look at his face said he was serious. I couldn’t have been here; I never left my bed.
“I did something weird in that circle in my dream, but that wasn’t real. I don’t really know what’s going on or how I got here.”
“Where did you come from? This is the kingdom of Starbrum, this building belongs to me, and outsiders are prohibited.” 
“I’m sorry, I’ll just leave then, I didn’t mean to trespass.”
“No, you’ve misunderstood me. I meant it’s not possible for outsiders to enter.”
“I’m not following you, you said I called you here, how did I do that? I remember standing in that circle, and I saw a silver eye.”
“That is my true eye color, as I’ve allowed you to see now. A personal summoning cannot be conducted without the knowledge of the true eye color of the one you wish to summon. This is basic knowledge, do you mean to tell me you don’t know this?”
“I am unfamiliar with the use of magic, I’m now convinced I’m still dreaming or I passed out in the street.” He let out a jubilant laugh, as if I was telling a joke.
“I assure you, you did not. You called me here without knowing the fundamentals? I do not know where you cam from or how you got here, but please leave, this is not where you belong.” I looked at his eyes one final time, they were orange. I could almost feel a nonexistent breeze pulling me towards the door. I promptly turned around and left without glancing back.
Once I opened the door, I was standing in front of my house. I turned around and only saw my front lawn and the street beyond it. I went inside and to the kitchen where my mother was pouring coffee.
“Where did you go? Would you like a cup?” she asked as I sat down at the table. I nodded and waited for her to sit down to answer her question.
“I woke up early and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I decided to go for a walk. It’s nice out today, not too humid,” I finally said after sipping some coffee, she forgot that I drink without sugar again.
“Have you decided if you’re going to go to the group today?” I had forgotten all about it and had to decide on the spot.
The group was a club I had join about a month ago. They met every Saturday, but I’ve only attended twice. Anyone could join, it was pretty interesting. It’s more or less a social gathering in the high school’s cafeteria. It’s basically a way for losers with no friends to meet other losers with no friends.
“I’ve got nothing better to do, could you give me a ride?” She nodded as she sipped her coffee.
The previous times I went, I ended up not talking to anyone, I was pretty disappointed. The idea is to meet new people, but everyone forms their own circles and keeps to them. I sat by myself again this time, but I noticed a girl walk in late, no one else did.
She had long brown hair and wore a loose fitting T-shirt with jeans. After she signed her name at the entrance, she looked around at the tables, then at me. She considered for a second, then sat across from me. She held her hand up as a greeting and I returned the gesture. She looked at me, waiting for me to say something, but I didn’t know what to say.
“Do you come here often? This is only my second time here, I still don’t really know anyone,” she finally said. I thought for a minute on what my response should be.
“No, actually. I’ve been here twice before, but this is my first time in awhile. I’m not too good at talking to people I don’t know, hence why I’m here.” I was uncomfortable and looked it.
“Well, if you want to have friends, you've gotta' talk to people.”
“I know that, I'm just afraid they won't like me or I won't like them, or they eventually decide to treat me like their personal social lab rat, testing different ways of interacting with other people.” At first she gave me a very strange expression, then she understood.
“Life is about taking chances, it's the only way anything good will happen. Despite any risks, you just have to go with the moment, do what you feel you should. If you get knocked down, stand up and pat off the dust.”
“I didn't ask for your philosophy on life. I just want to be happy, for once in my pathetic life, I want to do something that makes me happy without caring about someone else thinks of it. That's my problem, I care way too much to even ignore the reaction of the people around me. It's just so hard for me to trust myself in a crowd, let alone any other person.”
“It seems that you've trusted me with all this information about yourself, why's that?” That's when I realized I had just emptied my thoughts from my mouth. I thought about it for what seemed like ten minutes.
“That's probably because I don't expect to ever see you again, especially after that.” I felt satisfied by that response, though it felt like it was wrong.
“That's not for us to decide. Nature will reveal her grand plan sooner or later.” She smiled at me, seemingly genuine, I faked a smile back, I couldn't stand to listen to the beliefs of others, even if I shared them.

Author's Note

Some people have had trouble understanding that the people he sees and hears and refers to as "friends" are real people from the mysterious place that Joel traveled to. If it isn't clear, please make a suggestion about how I could more accurately describe it.