There was the sound of thunder that made Loren turn in her bed. She had had a fitful night as she tried to sleep. Paula and Reggie had been up all night laughing and talking so loudly that several times Loren had to turn the volume up on her phone to drown them out. Lazarus had curled up beside her and slept soundlessly.
She reached for him now but found his usual spot beside her empty. She patted the bed several times as she had her eyes closed. He must have woken up but its not time to get up yet, Loren thought. A sharp anxious feeling came to her as she hoped that it was not time for her to go to work. Her alarm hadn't gone off which gave her a sliver of hope but there had been times when it would not go off at all.
Loren intentionally kept her eyes closed but the anxiety of being late to work was too great. She slowly opened her eyes and turned to look out the window but found that there was no window opposite her bed.
"Huh?" She exclaimed and sat up in the bed. Her eyes adjusted the low light in the room and she looked around her in bewilderment. The room she was in was much larger than her tiny bedroom. There were several bookcases that was up against the wall and were filled to the brim with books. Next to one of the bookcases was a small wooden desk with a wooden chair under it.
On top of the desk was a weird looking plant that was in a small pot. Loren leaned forward to look at the strange plant. It had purple leaves with red dashes across them. The stem of the plant was a yellow color. Loren had never seen anything like it in her life! She pulled the blanket off of her and it was then that she noticed that it was not her well-used blanket that she had had since college. This blanket was softer and larger. Matter of fact the bed that she was in was no twin-sized bed!
"What is going on here?" Loren said. She stepped onto the floor and saw that it was wooden and not the hard carpet that she was used to. Loren's eyes went to her clothes and she saw that she had on a wierd shirt that she had seen in many TV shows set in the Middle Ages. The word came to her; tunic. She also had on brown trousers. Neither one of these clothes were a part of her closet!
Loren laughed as she looked at herself. "What?" She looked around the room more closely and she saw that there were more strange plants in pots that were on shelves that were built into the walls. They were all a variety of colors and were small in size. There was a lantern that hung from the wall near the wooden door.
"Am I dreaming?" Loren pinched herself. "Ow!" She definitely felt that. This was no dream.
She walked to the door and opened it. Loren gasped as she looked at the room before her. It was a cozy nook that was both a living room and a kitchen. In the living room, there was a long couch that had several blankets and pillows on it. There were a lot of plants all over the room including a large green one that was right beside the couch.
In the adjoining area there was a small wooden table with four chairs under it. On top of the table was a vase with purple flowers in it. To the left of the table near the adjoining wall was what looked like some sort of oven. Above it were several cabinets that had various dishes. To the right of it and on the opposite wall was a large window where a curtain was drawn. Next to the window was a pantry where various different products were inside.
On the other side of the room, there was a sink with several dishes on the kitchen counter. There was a small window above the sink that also had the curtain drawn. To the right of the window was a cabinet with utensils and what Loren could make out was several snacks.
She stared at the room for a moment as if trying to absorb what she was seeing. She took it all in and tried to make sense of what was happening.
"This…this…this can't be real!" She exclaimed. Did Paula and Reggie move her out of her bed in the middle of the night and put her in some sort of…museum? Theater? She had no idea what kind of place this was but it was surely not a real home! Was this a practical joke? Loren thought all of this as she stood there.
There was the clap of thunder again which made Loren rush to the large window. She was just about to draw the curtain when she heard what sounded like a meow from under the couch.
"Lazarus!" She shouted with excitement. Did Paula and Reggie also put Lazarus here too? She felt that twinge of anger at them as she rushed toward the couch. She squatted down and tried to reach under the couch for him. The couch had a low dip that Loren could not lean over and look under it. She would have to lay on the floor to see.
"Lazarus! Come on out, sweetie!" She said. "I know this is a strange place but we are going to get out of here. Come on, sweetie!" She reached as far as she could and her fingers brushed against soft fur. "Come on, Lazarus. It is okay. I'm confused too, sweetie."
There was another meow and then suddenly something bright red and furry hopped onto the small couch in a flash. Loren stumbled backward and gasped as she stared at the creature before her!