Magic matches (science fiction)


September 13, 2020

I woke up in the middle of the night for no reason. Usually, when this happens, I go to the kitchen and get a glass of water, as many of us probably do. So, I was standing with that glass in my hand, looking through the window. Whenever I wake up like that, I like to peep through my windows at that hour because many things look different then, in silence and emptiness.

There is this huge supermarket right outside where I live, with only a wooden fence for a fake sense of privacy separating my house from its car park. I like resting my eyes on the lit emptiness of this parking field while the whole world is still asleep. On a few occasions, I enjoyed observing snowflakes dancing in the light of lampposts and a stray cat walking around. But this time, I noticed a dog. It was wandering through the parking square towards the supermarket. Suddenly, it stoped and looked somewhere, giving me goosebumps and the impression that it was looking at my window. I realized that it was only an impression because I wasn’t making any noise at all, wasn’t even drinking from my glass.

Then the dog started walking again slowly. After a while, it stoped again to stare at me. The dog kept walking, stoping, and staring. I started to feel even more uneasy. At that point, I dressed quickly and left in a hurry, feeling an urge to approach this dog, to investigate whether this was really happening, whether the dog was looking at me or somebody else. Or maybe it was looking for a stray cat? Outside, I heard somebody calling the dog. The dog ran towards the voice coming from the supermarket building and somehow disappeared. It all seemed pretty strange to me. I detected faint light coming from the building and some kind of activity happening there. Shops should be closed at night, I thought, and I should be in bed as well. Nevertheless, I found myself at the main entrance. It seemed closed, but on the glass door, there was a written note attached from the inside:

“You are not dreaming. You are welcome to join us in this secret project. After long consideration, your candidacy was approved. We strongly believe that you have all the required skills and that your participation in the project would be of great advantage to us. If you agree, you must proceed straight through the entrance. As a reward, you will be able to purchase magic matches for your personal use. If you have any doubts about participation, then please don’t be alarmed. This experience will not be remembered by you any more than just a strange dream”.