Unchained

Calli stared at the phone and exhaled with a sigh of relief. She'd made it through another Friday night call from her mom. Again she'd managed to dodge the same questions and concerns she hears week after week:

"Are you getting enough rest, Calli?"
"Are you eating right, Calli?"
"Met any new friends lately?"
"Having Sam is good Calliope, but don't you need more need more than..."

She knew her mom meant well and they loved each other dearly, but Calli had learned how to answer certain questions without giving too much away.

Besides, she was fine with the way her life was going. More than fine actually. A year ago she'd re-located to a new city; loved her job; had found a spacious apartment with quiet neighbors, and had Sam to curl up with at night. What more did she need right now?

Calli put the receiver back in its cradle and headed to her bed. Light from the candle on her nightstand caused the silhouette of her slim shoulders and curly hair to dance in rhythm with the flickering flame. She sat on the edge of her bed, while digging into her usual Friday night dinner of Cherry Garcia.

Patting the pillow next to hers, she called for Sam when all she felt was a cool empty space.

Her laptop lay closed on her pillow right where she'd left it and after opening it, the warm glow from the screen gave her enough light to see that Sam wasn't there.

Knowing Sam's habits , "Probably moved to the couch again." she thought.

Calli turned her attention back to the screen and double clicked on her favorite site.

She'd discovered it one night while surfing for erotic literature, which had been her first secret passion. Now she enjoyed nights like this; delving into a virtual world, totally anonymous.

She'd lie in her room feeling the night air on her skin from the open window and visit all sorts of places. At least she could answer 'yes' to one of her mom's questions. She had met new friends. She just chose not to tell her Mother, or anyone else, where.

She typed in her password and waited for her profile page to appear. Calli held her breath and listen for any noise from the hallway. Hearing nothing except the usual weekend sounds of city streets far below, reassured her that Sam was not going to interrupt her journey into Otherworld.

She relaxed, smiling over the avatar she'd chosen for herself because it really did look a lot like her.

'Chained_Maiden is now online', flashed at the bottom of her screen. After four months she still enjoyed seeing that.

"Has it only been four months? " she said to herself.

After four months, unlike most members, Calli's interest in being a social butterfly had waned . She was well liked and welcomed into this world by many. The dance clubs were fun and she quickly gained a reputation among her new friends as being good at trivia and damn lucky at raffle drawings. This being an 'adult only' virtual world, had given her freedom to indulge in a few sexual encounters as well.

"When in Rome!", she'd muttered and laughed out loud to herself.

By nature's design, Calli found herself seeking solitude in yet another world full of people. Her comforts in this virtual world mirrored that in real life. Her Otherworld apartment was spacious with a never-ending fire in the fireplace. She'd equipped it with a kick-ass stereo that covered all genres; and she had a cat named Samantha for her only roommate.

Anxiously, she clicked on what had become her favorite place here for weeks. Immediately she was surrounded by gardens with flowers so real she could almost smell their scent. Small candles lit pathways that led to unexplored places in every direction. Here she'd discovered fountains surrounded by stone benches and beautifully carved statues.

She'd walked over bridges, hearing the river that roared down from a snow-capped mountain. This was her dream place in any world; where the stars (her stars) always shined. She had found "The Virtual Nighttime Sky".

Calli was mesmerized by this place where night did not equal darkness. The starlit sky was a constant source of light. Although open to anyone, she had rarely seen other members here. It was perfectly designed for privacy and solitude for those who had fallen in love with the stars.

Calli's best friends were here; made up in constellations. She favored the northern sky where she could see Orion the hunter; his belt bejeweled by the Gods. The rarely noticed Hercules, kneeling. While Perseus and Pegasus represented 'all things magical'.

She knew and recognized too many to count. However, one stood out on a more personal level. The constellation whose story she actually dreamed about was the mythical princess Andromeda. Also known as 'The Chained Maiden'.

She wanted to get as close as her avatar would carry her to the northern constellations. Last week she'd attempted to climbed to the top of the tallest mountain but half way up had looked down. She'd panicked over how high above ground she was and in typical newbie fashion didn't just freeze, or let go, but hit the back arrow instead.

Suddenly she was back in her virtual living room beside her virtual fireplace, staring at her virtual cat while her real life heart was virtually beating out of her chest!

Tonight though, she was determined! She was taking Chained_Maiden to that mountain top. It was the only way to be as close to Andromeda as she'd ever dream of being. She had to finish the climb.

"Lucky for us both," she muttered, "we're guaranteed to survive."

Calli had covered what had to be miles and was just past the half way point when Sam decided to make her not so graceful leap onto the bed.

She was aiming for Calli's lap but hit the computer instead. It fell to the floor, and landed lid side down. Calli closed her eyes in attempt to shield herself from the shock of sudden darkness after light from the screen went out.

"Damn it! Why didn't I light another candle?" Calli muttered to herself.

Samantha, meanwhile, had made herself comfortable on her lap and was purring.Calli rubbed underneath her cat's chin, while counting to ten before opening her eyes.

She expected darkness until she found the light switch to the bedside lamp but was amazed at what she saw.

Light!! Not just any light: starlight filled her room!

A silhouette of her slim shoulders and curly hair appeared on the wall similar to what the candle had made before. Only this time, of course, there were two pointy ears and whiskers along with it.

"I must be dreaming. There's no way! With city lights! I haven't seen starlight this bright in over a year!"

Afraid to go to the open window alone, she scooped up Sam and crept from her bed. As if on cue, a soft breeze picked up the sheer curtains; parting them as she made her way to look outside.

From her eighth floor window, she stared out into the abyss of a city with no lights. Sam lept from her arms and meandered back to the bed as Calli sat on the narrow sill and looked up.

She'd often wondered why she had chosen this city. Even felt as if this city had chosen her. Now, she knew exactly why she was here. This was her mountaintop! She knew it wasn't a dream but pinched herself just in case. Her dream rose above, in the northern sky.

"Andromeda!" she whispered.

"Oh! My! God!" " Andromeda!!", she shouted.

Forgetting she was teetering on an eighth story window sill, she reached up towards the constellation with both hands.

Such a natural response for her; to reach towards the heavens and bask in the beauty of this miracle.

This once in many lifetimes' chance to be in the perfect location and circumstance to see what no one had seen from here in a century.

She wondered, "when did people stop looking up?" Something told her it was long before electric lights. She sensed it wasn't just the cities' lights that were to blame.

People should yearn to look at the stars she thought; and weep - not in sorrow but from their beauty and their history. She asked the universe to forgive all before her who had neglected or forgotten to look up. She prayed for those who are blind because they don't look up to see. She had never felt so sad before; yet never felt so blessed.

Then she heard a voice from inside her head screaming,

"Calliope, you are falling."

"Ah," yes I am falling; in love with the stars".

Again she heard the voice screaming at her only this time she knew she was in trouble. Feeling the tip of her toes desperately trying to dig in to the carpet brought Calli out of her trance. As her mind and body were trying to out-maneuver gravity to keep her safe she thought,

"Think, Calli, think!"

Adrenalin kicked in as chill bumps ran up and down of her body.

"The neighbors!"

"Next door; the apartment; has a balcony!"

While facing emanate death, she found herself wondering,

"Why the hell didn't I get a balcony apartment?"

"If I had, I would be out here sitting in a comfy chair with a telescope! Looking up!"

"Instead, here I am......no balcony, no chair, no cast iron railing!"

"Railing!" her inner voice screamed.

"Reach for the railing!!"

As her thoughts tried to catch up with her momentum towards the street below, Calli grabbed for the railing. The tips of her fingers brushed a cold iron bar but she knew there was no hope for a second chance. The proverbial other shoe was about to drop; and so was she.

Still looking up, she saw life with clarity. She felt peace; quickly made peace with the universe and her destiny.

She'd just been given a gift from God. Now, her wish, her dream, her hope of one day seeing Andromeda was her history. She knew she would never experience true love like Andromeda and Perseus felt when he unchained her. She had however seen their love in the northern sky.

"I can live, or die, with that!" was her last thought as she screamed, "Perseus!"

Calli felt a hand grab hold of hers.

Had Perseus somehow reached down from the universe to free her from the chains of death?

Had her wish of becoming the Unchained Maiden been granted?

As she yelled "Perseus, I am your Unchained Maiden!"

her last words echoed through the city streets below.

"omg", "ftw", Calli's thoughts were scrambled.

"Lol, I'm reverting back to my virtual world language." she murmured while drifting in and out of consciousness.

Then she heard a deep almost musical male voice respond.

"I have no idea what language you're speaking, but it's a good thing you yelled my name . It's not a common name either. In any language.

Still trying to figure out how the hell you know it; considering it's my first night here! You are one lucky Lady."

Calli wondered how a celestial being like Perseus could sound so, American.

"My company bought this apartment months ago after we merged with New World Designs. Lucky for you I flew in a day early."

"I may not have found that balcony for a week if it weren't for hearing you screaming my name. You are aware of the fact that your place does not have a balcony, right?"

Calli knew she was hearing a man's voice while his fingers brushed tears from her cheeks. She felt the floor underneath her aching body: and heat.

Burning heat from his body so close to hers. She had no idea, however, who he was or how she'd gotten here.

"Ok, then, the only logical reason I can think of for you to be hanging out your window like that was to see the stars", he continued.

"Probably moved here from out west and missed them, like I do after living in the city too long. I almost did the same damn thing first week I lived in Seattle."

" Then I found a place with a balcony and bought a telescope. You might want to invest in one of those; or both of those; if you plan on living."

"Here, living here I mean."

"Can you tell me your name?" he asked. He touched her face and felt electric heat pass between them.

"Could it be?" he thought to himself. "Was this beautiful Goddess with golden curls sent to him by the Gods?"

'Living!' Calli had heard the man say 'living'.

"Alive", she murmured. "I'm alive!?"

"I'm not in Hades, I'm not in Heaven!?"

The man with the baritone voice answered,

"Well, you should be in one or the other, lucky Lady. If you hadn't yelled for the Gods, or had the luck of the Gods , you would be."

"Now, how did you know my name?"

Looking up, Calli found herself lost in the most beautiful green eyes she'd ever seen.

Maybe she had died and this was her new world's dream.

She couldn't help herself; couldn't contain the giggles that were bubbling from deep inside her until bursting into laughter out loud. When she tried to regain some sense of composure, and dignity, she heard him ask again,

"How did you know my name? Hell, my friends don't even know my birth name."

Calli took a deep breath before answering.

"First, I must thank you for saving my life, Sir, before telling you that I was calling for Perseus, the mythical Greek hero to save me.

"Next, rest assured , I will be investing in a balcony apartment and a telescope."

"Finally, my name is Calli.

Calliope Sinclair, actually; but my mom's the only one who calls me by my given name.

In a virtual world, I'm known as the Chained_Maiden.

I know the beauty of looking up and I'm pretty sure you were sent by the Gods to unchain, I mean save me."

She held her breath. Every second seemed like an hour while she waited to hear his voice again.

"You do have the luck of the Gods, Calli", he said.

"I'm Percy McClain."

"My birth name, lucky Lady, is Perseus.

Leaning closer, Percy was consumed by celestial, sea colored eyes.

As his lips met hers he whispered,

"I look forward to seeing you unchained!"

Epilogue:

Atop the highest mountain in "The Virtual Night Time Sky" two avatars, UnchainedMaiden_PR and PegasusRises, hold hands while looking up.

Occasionally they both look down and smile at a plaque which reads:

Created and designed by:
Percy McClain
Executive Vice President
Otherworld Inc.