There is an idiom, “lost in thought” that means thinking about or concentrating on something to the point where a person is not paying attention to the current issue at hand or being mentally absent from a particular situation. In Abigail’s case, she must remain ever mindful not to literally lose her way in the serpentine labyrinth of her mind, for she has Dissociative Dimensional Disorder (DDD).

Her mental disorder is characterized by the maintenance of at least two distinct and relatively enduring alternate dimensional states. Normally, DDD is associated with overwhelming past lives regression traumas, triggered by abuse during childhood, while other cases are linked to experiences of time travel war, or botched medical cerebral implant procedures during puberty. Abigail, however, is the first known case in which genetic and biological factors are believed to play a role.

Her mother, Samantha Villarreal, was a Gunnery Sergeant of the Prime Preservers Phalanx group of the Interstellar Marine Corps, who kept her pregnancy a secret during the Operation Brimstone Offensive in which she was temporarily trapped within the vortex of the invading alien’s dimensional gateway. As a result, Abigail’s brain now hosts two separate dimensions which are in a constant struggle for dominance.

In the reality in which this story is being written, Abigail is currently on a date with a young man she is desperately trying to impress. They are in a movie theater but she is not aware of what is happening on the screen. Instead, she is lost in thought, standing on the ornate bridge in her mind that connects the two warring dimensions, talking with the other dimension version of herself.

“Things are kind of complicated with me right now, so maybe it’s not a good thing to, you know, be in my life,” Abigail says.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” asks Other Abigail.

“No, you’ll always be a part of my life…”

“As what? If I can’t be your equal, and someday your better, more dominant side, what else is there?”

“I don’t know what, not right at this moment.”

“But you’re telling me you need space?”

“Yeah, a little bit.”

“Then you’re definitely ditching me.”

“Who said anything like that? I just met this really cool guy and I’m sort of, I don’t know, into him, and stuff. I just need to sort my life out and I can’t do that with you standing smack dab in the middle of it.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“It means I have a limited capacity for coping with stress and all the baggage you bring with you, your problems, your life, it’s, well, it’s draining my reserves.”

“Oh.”

“I know how that sounds and it didn’t come out right…”

“No, it’s fine. I get it.”

“I didn’t mean…”

“I’m just gonna go, okay?”

“No, not like this.”

“How am I supposed to go? You come to me with that box in your hand…what’s in the box, by the way?” Other Abigail asks.

“Remember that baggage I mentioned before?”

“You packed my stuff when I wasn’t around?”

“Please don’t make this weird,” Abigail says, handing over the box. “I didn’t know you were going to be here, so I was just going to leave it on your side of the bridge.”

“Wow, you’re a piece of work,” Other Abigail says, opening the box and rifling through its contents. “You sure this is all mine?”

“Pretty sure. I couldn’t remember who had that crazy fantasy about all those boy bands in the Jell-O pool…”

“The one with the tea party unicorns?”

“Yeah.”

“That was you.”

“Oh, well, in that case, you can have it. Consider it my gift to you. It’s still pretty steamy, so enjoy it…and maybe think of me.”

“Um, thanks?”

Abigail laughs, “Stop it. You know what I mean.”

“I do,” Other Abigail admits. “You do realize that I don’t have to go, right? That I can take advantage of this situation at any time and totally overrun you while you’re swapping spit with Mr. Kissyface?”

“Please don’t.”

“I won’t. I just wanted to let you know that I could, if I wanted to.”

“I know, and thank you.”

“Well, I’ve got a boy band Jell-O pool party fantasy to get stuck into, so I’ll be on my way,” Other Abigail closes the box and begins making her way back to her side of the bridge. “I’ll be back with a vengeance once the puppy love phase is over.”

“And I’ll be waiting for you,” Abigail smiles.

Over her shoulder, Other Abigail shouts, “And take a copious amount of notes. I want details on this guy who was important enough to call an armistice for.”

Text and Audio ©2021 Rhyan Scorpio-Rhys