The simple part of the in-between
The question isn’t if they were there. That would be a wasted question. They are there. Actually the question is, will they remain? Gilbert isn’t trying to reassure himself, that he isn’t crazy. He has enough experience, and is sharp enough to know, crazy is not the town he lives in.
With this in mind, he is ready for a break this afternoon when he finishes work. It would be good to have time to reflect. All of this was coming to a point. Gilbert knew things would not remain this way much longer. Therefore, he began to feel a sense of urgency.
It wasn’t for himself. It was for what was in-between. He knew about the in-between, for years. In fact, he was responsible for its continued existence. Sort of. Actually, it was a bit more complex than that. Gilbert knew about those in the in-between, but they didn’t know him. They knew of him, but none had ever so much as seen Gilbert.
The simple part of the in-between
They were small and unusual. There were hardly more than a dozen, when Gilbert first discovered he could see them. Furthermore, it didn’t take long for him to notice, they couldn’t see him. He could interact with their environment. Additionally, he could leave things for them to find. But they couldn’t see Gilbert, or hear him. This was how it started.
Whether by some trick of the cosmos, or some mysterious form of evolution Gilbert could see. It wasn’t just some additional colors from the invisible light spectrum. It was an ability to know what was in the light. Things that otherwise, couldn’t be seen. And as Gilbert discovered, there is an abundance of things that are invisible.
The ones in the in-between, were community centered. They appeared to have a zeal for togetherness that touched Gilbert. He spent months observing them, before ever getting the idea, of trying to interact. It was still so new to him, to have made such a discovery. Furthermore, he felt certain he should keep it to himself.
His first attempt at interacting with the strange beings, went poorly. They couldn’t see him or hear him. In fact, they appeared to be too far out of phase to sense his presence. After a couple of weeks, he got the idea to try and leave something for them to find. Food was his first idea. However, food was something that was not the same in both worlds. Gilbert didn’t get it right away. However, he caught on.
Simple part
With this in mind, he moved to the opposite end of the spectrum. So to speak. He decided to leave a book, for them to find. Just a little light reading, on architectural style, and its history. Gilbert found the book to be a very interesting read. Likewise, he was curious what the strange beings would do with the book. Or if they could even see it. Because it really hadn’t gone well with the food.
A few days later, he goes to check on them again. He feels astounded at what he finds. More than astounded, he is certain he has found something remarkable. Almost unbelievable.
The entire community doubled in size. Furthermore, they constructed new buildings and renovated the old ones, into incredible approximations of every architectural style in the book. The book he left for them to find. In effect, they went through a mini renaissance, in mere days. This shook Gilbert, and caused him a great deal to think on.
In-between
In fact, it shook him enough to double check his own sanity. Therefore he decides to bring a friend to the place of the in-between. Then they walk through the entire area of the in-between. Gilbert watches the inhabitants of the strange place go about their business. They appear to be oblivious of Gilbert, or his friend. Likewise, his friend never mentioned anything out of the ordinary.
Therefore, only Gilbert could see. Furthermore, only Gilbert saw. And that is what started everything. This is why he is here today. He has another book, and all he can do is hope, at this point. However, all of that, is for the next part.
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simple part