Ether lived in a liminal space. Though her childhood had been Earth-typical, in her teens she'd begun to "phase out," not mentally (like every other high school student), but physically. From her perspective, her surroundings & everyone in them would disappear, leaving behind a bare scaffolding of wherever she'd started, seeming both under construction & on its last legs simultaneously. She was familiar with horror tropes about these spaces, focused on being trapped there, alone, but she found neither her transitions nor the emptiness of her destinations particularly frightening. In fact, she quickly realized she felt more at home "there" than she did "here," & so, at 18, she effectively moved in. She could still return to the so-called normal world at will, but found that her new space was, in relation to her base reality, practically suspended animation. Bodily functions were effectively on pause, including any sense of hunger or thirst or need to sleep, & only seconds seemed to have passed when she returned from it, no matter how long she'd been "gone." At first, she got a great deal of reading done. Then, when she got restless, she began to explore, drawing herself a map as she roamed. She soon discovered that when she ventured even a small distance from her arrival point, the layout of the space did not continue to correspond with the layout surrounding her earthly departure point. Furthermore, her map of the space would only remain accurate if she transitioned from roughly the same physical point again. Which meant it was not a single space, but an infinity of spaces, & when she learned this, she started traveling the Earth to explore more spaces. Years later (for her), she would find that not all such spaces were devoid of life. She would hear a voice whispering her name, a name that until that moment she had not known was her own.
Ether
Many girls in many dimensions, one mysterious piece of jewelry…
Kenise
Most guests at an art opening, particularly one located in a sizable outdoor sculpture garden, showed up with maximum intent to schmooze. Kenise, on the other hand, became schmoozed out especially swiftly, and thus preferred to sneak away and absorb herself in sketching…
Rosalia
Rosalia had never been a daydreamer. Nor had her dreams at night meant much to her or stuck with her through the days. She was fine with this, blessed with an innate talent to find fulfillment in the pragmatic. What life threw her way, she enjoyed tackling, even when it felt like life was throwing an abundance of pipe wrenches at her ankles…
Flynne
Flynne, assuring a potential customer that she would not have traveled nearly so far if she was just another purveyor of crystals that don't actually work…
Eunomia
Eunomia, in search of greener pastures…
Augusta
Augusta, haunted by the many ghosts of her childhood…
Em
Em, paradoxically feeling more than ever like a misfit toy…
Zubaida
Zubaida, glowing and feeling at home on the playa…
Brandy
Brandy had returned to the temple that she thought was her home, until she tried to leave again. Her main hall no longer led outside, but simply repeated itself, extending farther than she could see…
Anya
Anya, directing a music video on her first night shoot…
Jania
Jania (and her Prince) ready to receive visitors in the royal aquarium…