The first fall of snow was on October 29th at precisely 6:31 AM. Fiore Calligaris happened to be sitting on his porch at that very moment. He figured it was far too early for snow, but honestly, he didn’t care at all.

He was more annoyed—no, scratch that—infuriated by the streetlight across from his house. It had been broken for over a month, incessantly flickering. To make it worse, it wasn’t just one type of flicker; it seemed to get faster and slower at random times. Fiore once counted ten flickers in less than thirty seconds.

He was certain it was a safety hazard and was just one sleepless night away from contacting Walsford’s public works department

He chuckled slightly at the thought of him angrily yelling at some apologetic worker on the other end of the call. It reminded him of his father, who is—was a philanthropist. His father had loved helping people and had been loved by everyone. His funeral had been a sad one. So many people came that there weren’t enough seats, and they had to stand.

Fiore shivered at the memory. He felt so alone, despite being surrounded by people drowning him in affection. He had left the funeral early, before the burial. He was ashamed of that, but he knew his dad would understand. All his dad ever did was understand.

Feeling inspired by memories of his dad, Fiore decided to finally do something about the streetlight. But as he stood up, something caught his eye. He had seen that flickering pattern before.

Flash. Pause. Flash. Pause. Flash. Pause. Flash.
Flash.
Flash, long flash, flash, flash.
Flash, long flash, long flash, flash.

It seemed familiar, but not just because he’d seen it before. It felt like those flashes meant something.

He quickly ran into the house and came back out with a book: Morse Code for Beginners. His dad had bought it for him in high school when Fiore had briefly considered becoming a telegrapher. That idea hadn’t lasted long.

He flipped to the first page, which showed the alphabet translated into Morse code. Then, he waited. Sure enough, there were the flashes again.

H
E
L
P

“Help…” Fiore muttered aloud, his gaze fixed on the streetlight with a worried expression.

It was very possible that he was just sleep-deprived and hallucinating. He hadn’t slept in three days. He blamed the streetlight, but really, it wasn’t just that. Things hadn’t been going well for him since his dad’s death. He had dropped out of college and moved home to help his mom and little siblings grieve, but he couldn’t even help himself. His partner had broken up with him, saying they were going down different paths.

He couldn’t cry, though he really wanted to. It was as though the streetlight was the source of all his problems. Or maybe he just made it seem that way.

He closed the book and took a deep breath. Snow was falling onto his shoulders, and he hadn’t realized how cold he was, only wearing pajamas.

I’m just going to ignore it, he thought.

Just… ignore it.

But his body and his brain had different plans. He found himself being pulled toward the light by some strange, strong force. He kept walking closer, and closer, until he was right under it.

He slowly reached out, his hand trembling.

Then, he touched it. And nothing happened.

He let out a sigh of relief. “Great.”

Boom!

A sudden flash blinded him. It was so bright, so white, that he thought he might be going to heaven. His body ached, and he felt himself levitating.

It felt almost relaxing, like he could finally sleep. He didn’t want that moment to end. But, of course, it did. When he opened his eyes, he was somewhere else.

Literally somewhere else. On the wall in front of him, words were poorly written: The Somewhere Else.

Fiore blinked, unsure if he was seeing correctly. Then, he turned around and nearly fell backward in surprise.

“Oh my God!” The boy in front of him exclaimed, falling to his knees. “Finally, finally someone saw my calls!”

Fiore backed up against the wall. “Who are you?” he asked.

“Orion.” the boy said, walking up to Fiore and extending his hand. “Orion Gray.”

Fiore hesitated but shook his hand. “Fiore.”

Orion smiled wildly, revealing the blue and black braces on his teeth. “I’ve been stuck here for…” He paused, counting on his fingers. “Two weeks.”

“...You were the one doing the flickering?” Fiore asked.

“Yes!” Orion turned his head and pointed at the wall to the left, where there was a light switch in the middle.

The Somewhere Else consisted of four white walls in a 4x4 room. On one wall was the name, the other had the light switch, and on another was the alphabet written in Morse code.

“I didn’t know where the light went to, but I prayed and hoped someone would notice… and help me.”

Fiore paused, trying to process everything. “But—I’ve seen the light flickering for a month. Are you sure you’ve only been here for two weeks?”

Orion thought for a moment, then answered, “Well, maybe it’s been longer. I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. I’m losing my mind.”

“How did you get here?” Fiore asked. He was calmer than anyone would be in this situation, calmer than Orion.

“That’s the thing. I can’t remember. It’s like I know, but my brain won’t let me understand it. Won’t let me process it.” Orion paced back and forth. “It’s insane. This whole thing is insane. But you—you’re going to save me.” Orion suddenly stopped, walked up to Fiore, and grabbed his hands. “Please, you have to save me.”

Fiore shook his head and pulled away. “I don’t know how I’d even do that. I’m nobody’s savior. Anyway, it looks like we’re both stuck here now, so how can I do anything you can’t?”

Orion sighed. “But you deciphered my Morse code. You’re smart, clearly, you’ll figure out a way.”

Fiore was getting irritated by the whole situation. He wasn’t in the mood for this anymore. He was tired. He wanted to go back to that moment of passing, right before he ended up here.

Suddenly, while Fiore was lost in thought, Orion began to cry. He sat down against the wall and wiped his teary eyes. “This really sucks.”

Fiore nodded emphatically and sat down beside him. “I’m sorry.”

“I miss my cat,” Orion said. “His name is Arnold. After the actor.”

Fiore laughed. “You know, you seem like a good person, Orion.”

Orion looked over at him, their eyes locking. He smiled. “You’re the only person who’s ever told me that.”

“Surprising.”

They sat there in silence for a long moment. Fiore felt his eyelids getting heavy. He was falling asleep. He could hear Orion’s voice in the background.

“Fiore—Fiore…”

Fiore opened his eyes. “Huh?”

His mom and little brother were standing over him.

“You fell asleep outside.” his brother said.

Fiore looked around. He was lying on his porch steps, buried in snow. He glanced up at the streetlight. It was out. No flickering, no flashes.

“Where’s Orion?”

“Who?” his mom asked. “Sweetie, let’s go inside. You need to get some sleep. We’re all really worried about you.”

She helped him to his feet, and they walked inside.

Fiore wasn’t sure what had happened, but he knew he wasn’t dreaming. He wasn’t, right? That was real. The streetlight. The Somewhere Else. Orion.

That was all real.

He was sure of it.