“Becoming Gods,” a flash fiction for Haunted Passages by Steve Gergley

Becoming Gods

Oh, Jesus.

Just try to relax. You’re okay.

God.

You’re okay, I’m right here with you, just like always. Just take it easy.

Oh man.

Okay.

Yeah, that’s good. Don’t worry about getting up just yet. Just lay back and relax for a while.

Okay.

How are you feeling?

I’m sorry, but I don’t really understand what’s happening.

You had a seizure, but you’re okay now.

Okay.

Yeah. You hit your head on the floor a little bit so be careful. You might have a concussion.

Okay.

But you’re okay now. I’m here.

Where are we?

We’re in the kitchen.

It doesn’t look familiar, but I’ll take your word for it.

We just moved in here a little while ago. This used to be your parents’ house, but now it’s ours.

Oh, okay. I don’t remember that, sorry.

It’s okay. Just relax.

I don’t really remember anything right now.

I know. It takes a while for things to come back after you have one of these. Don’t worry.

What’s the date right now?

It’s January thirteen, 2022.

Jesus. No wonder it’s so fucking cold on this floor.

Yeah. Do you want me to come down there and warm you up?

No, I—I’m sorry, but I don’t remember you. You’re very pretty and I really like the black ribbon in your hair there, but I can’t remember anything. My mind is completely blank. I can sense that all the information is still in my head, but it’s like there’s a brick wall in the way that’s blocking me from accessing it right now.

It’s okay. I’m your wife, Kyoko. We’ve been married for almost four years now, since March of 2018. We’re in the kitchen of our house in Topine, New York. This house used to be your parents’ house, but now it’s ours. We moved in about a month ago.

Okay. So I’m guessing my parents finally moved down to Texas or whatever? I think I remember them talking about that a while ago.

Yeah. They were sick of the cold.

I don’t blame them. It’s fucking freezing in here.

Do you want to try walking to the bedroom and getting in bed? We’ve got plenty of blankets in there.

Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.

Okay, here, you can use my shoulder for balance.

Thanks.

Just be careful. You probably have a concussion.

Oh man. I’m really dizzy.

Here, put your arm around my shoulder. Okay, good. We’re just going to go down the hallway now.

Thanks for helping me out with this, Kyoko.

Just call me K. That’s what you always call me. Haha, it’s weird hearing you say my full name all of a sudden. So formal.

Okay. K it is.

Good.

Hey K?

Yeah?

I have a few more questions.

Okay.

Who am I?

You’re Gregg.

Okay.

One more thing.

Sure.

Are we dead? Because for some reason I have this weird feeling that one or both of us are dead and we’re just stuck in some other place now. Like another dimension or something.

I don’t think so, but I know what you mean. This place is weird. I’ve had the same feeling ever since we moved in here. It feels like we’re living at the bottom of the ocean and the whole house is filled with water.

Yeah. But we’re not drowning. We’re just moving really slow.

Yeah. And everything is gray and dim and blurry because only a little bit of light can make it all the way down to the bottom of the ocean where we are.

Yeah. Wow, that’s creepy. It does feel like that though. Wouldn’t it be crazy if we really were trapped at the bottom of the ocean?

Yeah, that’d be pretty crazy.

Yeah. Jesus, how long is this hallway?

Haha, I don’t know. It’s not usually this long. Maybe we really are dead and we’re stuck in some kind of endless hallway of hell.

Yeah, haha. That doesn’t sound too bad though. As far as hell goes, we could do a lot worse than an endless hallway.

Yeah, that’s true. At least there’s nothing gross in here like bugs or snakes or anything like that. I hate bugs.

Me too! Fucking bugs. They suck.

Yeah, they’re the worst.

Yeah.

Yeah. Goddamn bugs.

Hey K, what if, instead of being dead, we’re actually immortal gods who have the power to change reality with a single thought?

Ha. That’d be pretty cool.

Yeah, it would be. If I was an immortal god, I’d wish for this goddamn hallway to end already, because this is ridiculous. We’ve been walking down this thing for like two minutes straight and it’s still going.

I know, I’m seriously creeped out. It wasn’t like this a few minutes ago.

What was it like a few minutes ago?

It was shorter. Like a normal hallway.

Hmm.

Oh hey, there’s our bedroom door. We finally made it.

Thank God.

You’re welcome.

Haha, nice. That was a good one.

I try.

Well, you are my goddess, right? Isn’t that something I usually say?

Yeah.

See, I’m starting to remember.

Good! And just in time now that we’re immortal gods who can change hallways with our minds.

Haha, yeah. But that’d be pretty sweet if we actually were gods.

Yeah, it would be. So why don’t we try it?

What.

Being gods. Let’s do it.

Haha sure, why not. If we’re dead, we might as well be gods in our own little house at the bottom of the ocean, right?

Hell yeah.

Haha, this is so weird. I think I really am dead.

Maybe. But let’s wait until tomorrow to find out for sure. Start fresh in the morning, you know?

Yeah, it’s probably a good idea to wait a bit.

Yeah. Give your head a chance to recover.

Yeah.

So tomorrow we’ll become gods.

Okay. Tomorrow it is, K.

Steve Gergley is a writer and runner based in Warwick, New York. His fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Hobart, A-Minor, After the Pause, Barren Magazine, Maudlin House, Pithead Chapel, and others. In addition to writing fiction, he has composed and recorded five albums of original music. His fiction can be found at: stevegergleyauthor.wordpress.com.

Image: pinterest.com

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