The Transdimensional Inn

GO

The girl in the painting, who called herself “Eileen,” stared down Noah from within her frame. Neither of them had established even a shred of trust thus far.

Noah couldn’t be sure if the strange figure—who resembled some kind of cursed object—was telling the truth. The stories she spun about a mysterious “Alice’s Cottage” and being sealed in a painting were things he had never even heard of before. So when Eileen claimed she didn’t know why she was in this house, he wasn’t about to believe a single word.

On the other hand, Eileen was certain that this human named Noah was simply biding his time, ready to set her ablaze with his lighter. She kept a close eye on it, watching for any sudden movement.

“I bet it’s you who brought the painting home, hung it up, and then forgot about it,” Eileen repeated. “Isn’t that what humans always do? You see something peculiar, buy it, and then let it collect dust in a corner somewhere.”

Her accusation made Noah a little uneasy because, truth be told, he wasn’t entirely sure about the origin of everything in this house. After all, he had only been here for two months. He wasn’t just unfamiliar with the house; he was still figuring himself out. Who knew what kind of person had lived here before?

Could there have been… another Noah?

But the thought only crossed his mind for a moment. Faced with the crimson gaze of the girl in the painting, Noah shook his head. “No way—that painting looks way too expensive for me to afford.”

“Well, what if it was dirt cheap?” Eileen scooted forward, still clutching her teddy bear. “These days, you get all sorts of fake vases, fake fans, fake paintings. Maybe the last owner got me in bulk from some shady dealer—two fifty per pound, mixed with other junk. Or perhaps a second-hand seller who didn’t know what they had…”

Noah looked at her oddly. “That frame of yours is solid old wood, with gold inlaid along the edges…”

Eileen considered it for a moment. “Redwood veneer with resin inside! The copper wire is just plating over iron.”

Noah sighed. “Even with that, it’s not going to be two fifty a pound.”

“Okay, fine, four fifty, but that’s as high as it goes. Any more and no one would buy it.”

Noah could only stare in disbelief.

Eileen, her red eyes gleaming, tilted her head. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Noah squatted in front of the painting, suddenly finding the whole situation amusing. And then, without warning, he burst out laughing, sinking to the floor. He laughed so hard that he ended up on his back, gazing at the ceiling. Never in his life had he imagined he’d find himself in an empty room, arguing with a girl trapped in a painting about whether her frame was a cheap knockoff. And yet here he was.

Just a little while ago, a frog in the freezing rain had practically ripped his heart out.

What a bizarre series of events.

Eileen, on the other hand, was unnerved by Noah’s sudden laughter. From her vantage point on the floor, she could see the bare ceiling above and hear his laughter echoing in the room. She couldn’t hold back anymore. “Hey! What’s so funny?”

Noah gradually stifled his laughter, shuffled forward a bit, and fixed his eyes on Eileen. His expression turned serious. “That strange dream I had… was it your doing?”

He was referring to the dream where he had been hacking at a locked door with an axe, only to hear eerie laughter from beyond. Now, it was clear to him that the strange dream must have something to do with the girl in the painting.

Oh, and he’d thrown his back out during that dream too. It still hurt.

“No!” Eileen quickly shook her head, then hesitated, her expression wavering. “Well… not entirely.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Noah frowned. “You’re going in circles.”

“You had the dream on your own, but I did slip in,” Eileen explained patiently. “I sensed someone dreaming and thought I could use that chance to find help. I wasn’t trying to do anything bad! How was I supposed to know you’d have such a temper and start hacking at a door because you forgot the key?”

As Eileen rambled, Noah started to piece things together. “So you didn’t lock the door? You didn’t trigger the dream? You just have the ability to enter people’s dreams?”

“That’s right! And I can do a lot more too!” Eileen nodded, looking proud, though her pride quickly dimmed. “But… being sealed in this painting, I can barely do anything anymore…”

Noah wasn’t sure if he believed her, but her explanation did raise more questions. He had a second one on his mind now. “You said you were looking for someone to help you. Help you do what?”

“Well, get me out of here, obviously!” Eileen answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Out of the painting would be ideal, but if not, at least out of this room. It’s so empty in here—at least a TV on the opposite wall would help. Voice-activated would be even better since I can’t use a remote. There are some great models…”

Noah realized Eileen had a scatterbrained, freewheeling personality. Left unchecked, she could go off on tangents you’d never expect—and usually in the most self-indulgent way possible.

So he cut her off without hesitation. “Then why were you laughing when I was trying to ‘open the door’? What was that about?”

“That wasn’t me!” Eileen waved her hands in denial, then thrust her brown teddy bear toward him. “It was him!”

Noah gave her a deadpan look, filled with skepticism.

“I swear!” Eileen was getting anxious now. She shook the teddy bear vigorously. “He was sealed in the painting with me! But… it’s been so long that he’s kind of lost it. Now he just laughs randomly. Sometimes if you poke him, he laughs. Sometimes he doesn’t, but then he’ll start laughing out of nowhere! He’s even startled me a few times.”

Noah listened to her go on, trying to keep a straight face. Seeing the earnest look on her face, he found himself half-believing her. His gaze finally settled on the teddy bear, and after a moment’s hesitation, he nodded. “Alright, make him laugh. Let’s see.”

Eileen immediately poked the teddy bear’s head.

Nothing.

She blinked in confusion and poked it again, harder this time—still no reaction. She was on the verge of tears.

“Sometimes… sometimes he doesn’t laugh when I poke him,” she said miserably.

Noah’s lips twitched.

“So what you’re saying is that sometimes he laughs when you don’t poke him, sometimes he doesn’t laugh when you do poke him, and in conclusion, his laughter has nothing to do with you poking him at all?” Noah rattled off the tongue-twister logic before summing it up. “So does poking him even matter?”

Eileen blinked, then slowly nodded. “Yeah… that’s true.”

Noah decided he had no further interest in engaging with this clearly malfunctioning “cursed painting.”

And frankly, he didn’t care about the strange laughter he’d heard in his dream anymore either.

A loud grumble from his stomach reminded him of the dinner he had skipped, having fallen straight to sleep upon returning home. He shook his head, a faint smile on his lips, and got to his feet.

“Wait, you’re leaving?” Eileen’s voice turned panicky. “You’re not going to just leave me on the floor, are you? At least hang me back on the wall! There’s wallpaper there—something to look at! The ceiling’s so boring…”

Noah reached down and lifted Eileen’s frame off the floor—wincing from the pain in his back.

“I’m taking you to the living room, so stop talking,” he grumbled.

Eileen immediately brightened, hugging her teddy bear as she settled back into her chair within the painting. “Oh, that’s great! You’re actually kind of nice. By the way, isn’t it about dinner time? What’s for dinner tonight?”

Noah glanced down at her. “You can eat?”

“I can watch!”

Noah wondered what had possessed him to keep engaging with this ridiculous character.

With a pained grimace, he hefted her frame and made his way toward the stairs. Eileen’s constant chatter echoed behind him.

“Wow, your house is pretty big! I didn’t know there was so much outside that room…”

“What’s in the room across from here? Your bedroom? Hey, are there other people living here?”

“Should I say hi to them? Would they be scared? Most people haven’t seen a talking doll in a painting before…”

“Oh right, I didn’t ask your name! What’s your name? Yusheng? That’s weird… not like the fish dish, is it?”

“What’s wrong with your back? You’re young, but your back’s already messed up? Let me tell you, you’ve got to take care of your back! Human joints are such a hassle—and you can’t just replace them… Hey, why are you glaring at me like that? That’s scary…”

By the time Noah made it to the stairs, he was regretting every second of this.

He glanced down at the steep steps below. On any other day, he wouldn’t have thought twice about carrying her down, but with his back in this condition…