Gardens of Time

        There are extraordinary people in this world; extraordinary beyond belief. We don't ask to be, we didn't earn it by creating a cure to cancer, and we can't gain it by getting bit by radioactive spiders. Oh, and we can't be turned - just born. We could be that cute girl at the end of the bar, your neighbor, or even that guy you sit next to on the train every Saturday. We shouldn't be here; but we are here.           I'm what one might call a 'Traveller'. No. I am not a member of the Irish travelling community, and no, I don't just travel the world to cure some subconscious case of wanderlust that 90% of the earth's population seem to be suffering from.           I travel more so to different dimensions. What that means is, I can actually leave this dimension, and jump into another universe. Defying gravity and all the other invisible lines that binds us to this universe. And, yes, it is as hard as it sounds.           Others are called Gypsies, they are literally just the girl version of travellers. And I don't see why they had to have their own separate name. To me, traveller pretty much sums it up for all of us. Guardians are there to make sure you don't go f*****g things up in a dimension that you don't belong to, and they teach you the do's and don't's - so basically, they're like your parents... and just as annoying.           My name is Erik Gordon. I first learned to travel at the ripe, young age of sixteen. Of course I could have learned sooner, but because my Mother was indifferent about, it I wasn't allowed. In fact, if it wasn't for my grandfather, I wouldn't even know travellers existed.           When I was younger, he taught me everything he knew despite how upset my Mother got, and continued to teach me when she eventually banned him from our home in St. Pierce. At first, it didn't seem like such a big deal, but as my age and knowledge progressed, the reality of it slowly started to sink in.            I found myself in a lowgrade nightclub, dancing with the only girl who seemed to be into me. I had managed to scope her out through the smoke filled, technicolored room. She lured me into a back room that seemed to be for the bartender, and I want to say that if I had better judgement I wouldn't have allowed it, but I probably would even in my sober state.           When she closed the door, the music became a little less loud, and the lights became a little less bright. I was grateful for at least that; there's only so much of this my eyes can take.           She planted a sweet kiss on my lips, removing my sunglasses and tossing them to the side. At one point, I think the room started to spin so the only thing I could do to keep myself standing up was focus on her heart-shaped, pale face - which looked red under the LED light.           She rubbed her soft hands over my neck then slowly down my shirt. As she bent, she looked up at me smiling, flashing the slight gap in her teeth that somehow made her cuter.           Her teal eyes were glowing mischievously. Like, they were literally, glowing. She began to unbuckle my pants, and for some reason I was seeing three of her now. I heard the faint sound of the door opening behind me, and she looked past me with a frown. "Who are you?" Her sickly sweet voice echoed, and I turned to see Jeremi glaring at me.           "Seriously, Erik?" He asked, and I absentmindedly began to chuckle. "Get up," he ordered her, pointing his handgun at her - though I doubt he had the balls to use it. She stood with a pout while I redid my pants sloppily, and he practically dragged me out of the room.           As he led me out of the club, I held my head down in shame. I felt like I was being scolded by my Mom or something. It wasn't cute. Once we were outside, I looked up at the night sky that held odd shades of gray. I followed a whirlpool of blue stars that all aligned like a hurricane shooting from the moon. It seemed as if the moon was sitting right on the water, and I half smiled at the view.           "Let's go, Erik," Jeremi yelled from afar, and I had to jog to catch up with him.           "Where are we going?" I asked, following him into an ally.           "I am taking you home before Onya shows up, or worse - Lexi." Lexi just so happens to be my appointed guardian - which - I don't think she likes very much. She says, and I quote "I'm an arrogant, man-child who should be locked away until I find some values," unquote. Whatever.           I watched as he pressed a few buttons, then set his glass phone down on the concrete. A holographic tablet flashed from the screen, showing a pallet of ten, colorful circles.           The ten circles represented ten dimensions. Some of them were sloppy, others looked like the outline you get of a flower before you fill in the details. There were a good amount of ovals, and some weren't even complete circles.           Jeremi touched the two that overlapped each other, and the holograph shut down. Everything went dark, and suddenly there were was an illuminating blue light in front of us, forming itself into the shape of an oval, and slowly multiplying itself into a smaller path way.           "Let's go," Jeremi says, grabbing my forearm and pulling me inside.           "Honey, I'm home!" I shouted, stumbling into my tiny apartment. "Oh, I forgot, I don't have a girlfriend." At that, I laughed and Jeremi helped me to my couch.           "Erik," he starts, and I groan, lying back.           "Yes, Jerbear?" I laughed, imitating Lexi.           "We need to talk about this."           "I don't wanna talk," I say dramatically, turning my face away from him.           "Yeah, well, we're going to. What have I told you about those eighth dimension girls?" He asked, and I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see me.           "That they're dangerous and will kill me." I said blandly, and he ran two hands through his dark hair. Double frustration.           "And forget that, Erik! What did I tell you about the eighth dimension period?"           "To make a long story short, everybody there is dangerous and wants to kill me."           "And," he continued, pacing my living room floor. "on top of that, you actually decided to drink their alcohol. Do you have a brain - I mean, what were you doing?" I sat up slowly, then gave him a deadpanned look.           "I was having a good time," I emphasized the word 'was', which only made him angrier. He gave me a look that, if I was sober, would've probably made me cry.           "Why do you continuously put yourself in dire situations?"           "Jeremi, I'm here aren't I?" I asked, waving a hand over myself. "Nothing bad is going to happen."           "Yeah, but why would you test?" I half frowned, and half glared at him, feeling like a teenager who just crashed his dad's new car.           "Can we talk about this tomorrow?" I complained, suddenly becoming aware of how tired I was.           He eyed me for a good minute, then with a shake of his head he sighed. "Fine." He pushed my head playfully starting in route to the door. "I'll be back in the morning," he paused, opening the door, "with Lexi." And with that, he was gone.           "NO!" I yelled, throwing myself back on the couch.