The softness of the grass was replaced by hard wood under his feet. The apparition was working off of his thoughts so fast. From a dark void, colors soaked the hidden canvas here, shaping that first room. He stood there, just like he did in the physical world, and enjoyed what he saw.
A ray of light thrust into those colors at a slant from the left. The windows were set into place, letting in the sun of this
spirit realm. The wall to the right rose up into existence. A
rectangular-shaped hole was left in the center. Looking ahead, he noticed that back wall hadn't finished its dimensions. He wondered why, but then remembered
that he hadn't quite decided what he would put there.
Looking at his immediate right, he almost laughed out loud when he saw the furniture. Just like he hinted at earlier: a couch and a coffee table, but much like the back wall, they were barely visible. He only saw them because he recognized his own plans.
Curious, he looked back over to the windows on the left wall. Smiling, he saw that the apparition did indeed build the bar he wanted, in addition to the stools. They were more vague in shape and color. Kind of like blurs of watercolor paint. He had only thought of stools to go with a bar, but where he had pictured the bar in his mind, he hadn't given much attention to the stools.
Yet, he wanted to clap his hands and cheer with what was displayed for him. However, he held off for now. With a sudden racing of his pulse, he looked toward the doorway to the middle room. How much would this apparition build for him in there? Would the computer screens be on, showing
webpages with search bars? Would he even smell the coffee at the counter?
He hurried through the darkened opening, willing a light source to be put into place. Stepping across the threshold, the colors breathed into that space, showing him the floor, the opposite wall, the doorway to that third room.
He stopped, facing the back of the room. As if by reflex, his left hand shot forward. He wanted to touch the smooth wooden surface of the counter top. Slowly, he laid his palm upon the colors there. Once contact was made, he breathed out, relaxing his arm and shoulder. Letting his weight be supported by the structure, he wondered if that very spot was where he would rest his hand every day. A new gesture birthed here in the spirit world.
So many designs passed through his mind prior to this moment, so the counter was a mix between the bar in the first room and its stools: not as finished but established enough. He could see the walls through it. But then he was drawn to the fixtures on top. There were the shelves inside a glass case. They were slanted and spaced enough that the customers would be able to see what type of pastries would be available. The oven he or his employees would bake them in was a shadowy block against the wall. Further toward the back of the room, he might have seen a sink.
Going back to the main counter, he could see the beginnings of a milk steaming machine. Beyond were coffee makers and bean grinders. Underneath, he could see inside the counter. There would be cabinet space where he saw ideas of coffee bags, boxes of filters, drawers with utensils.
He almost laughed out loud again. Being able to see through objects and ghostly images should have been impossible, but here, truths were laid bare. So he turned to study the rest of the room.
The source of light didn't come from above. For starters, he had installed simple bulbs in each ceiling mount, but the spirit world didn't have to rely on every point established in the physical world. After all, everything started in this world.
This room without windows just showed off its colors, its shapes, including the desks and dividers along the back and far right walls. He chuckled, letting his arms swing inward so his palms would meet. Intertwining his fingers, he brought both hands up near his mouth. Shaking his hands, he kept chuckling, seeing the mentions of swivel chairs at each desk. What really got him were the shapes of flatscreen monitors. They were only grayish rectangles floating above their almost invisible stands. There were no depictions of websites or desktop wallpaper with icons, but that was okay.
His hands still tied together, he brought the knuckles of his thumbs to his lips, and breathed out through his nose.
Now, he thought, darting his eyes toward the next doorway, he might have had a few ideas about that third room, but there was a big reason why he was here in this world. Since this was where ideas were born, where he was uncertain in the physical world, now he would be able to fill in the gaps.
Because he wasn't doing this alone.
Taking one step toward that door, he caught something
in the corner of his eye.
"Are ya pleased?"
Gasping, he jerked toward the front of the building. Standing between him and the door to the bathroom was a tall woman with skin as dark as his.
"Chantale!" he breathed.
"'Ey Joseph." She said.