Meet Me At The Airport

THROWING HANDS WITH THE UNIVERSE

Daniella faintly hears a vocal chorus of "Are you okay?" and "Do you need help?" flood her ears as she feels random people pulling her body up and straightening her up, forcing her out of the darkness. More people immediately rush over to help her.

As she finally pulls her head up to pull her rattled psyche together, Daniella's thoughts are interrupted by the immediate backdrop.

"Am I in the bathroom?"

They all nod at her.

"How the heck ... how did I end up here?"

"We found you like this." answers one of the women.

"Oh. I... thanks?" she responds as she checks the back of her head for any injury.

"First aid is on the way." states one of the other women who intently watches her.

"I'm sorry what? I think I'm fine." Daniella tries to say but she's interrupted by that same woman, who insists on holding her hand until First Aid arrives.

The First Aid group comes into the bathroom. As Daniella tries to sit up, all of the women disappear. They literally evaporate into thin air before her eyes.

"Ma'am, you might want to keep your head down and let the dog do its inspection." says one of the medics in the room.

"Inspection? Where is everyone?"

Before the medics could answer, a shaggy dog prances her way into the room. One of the medics raises her head with a folded towel.

"Why is there a dog?"

"The dog sniffs out any underlying issues." responds another medic.

"That's stupid." Daniella thinks to herself.

"I can assure you it's not." responds a voice.

Daniella's eyes widen as the dog begins to sniff around her shoes. She can feel her  hot breath panting around, making the sensation feel nearly ticklish.

"Once again, I would warn you not to respond out loud. That's exactly how you're going to end up in the hospital, and from what I can tell, that's not meant to happen in this Happening."

A few milliseconds go by before a lightbulb goes off in Daniella's head.

"The Universe?" Daniella telepathically asks. "Is that you?"

"If you wish to call me that, sure."

"Are you... are you the dog?"

"Yes."

"OMG, this is exactly like the X-Men!"

"Daniella?"

"Yes?"

"Concentrate."

"Okay... Wait. Wait a second.... that last time. Luca was with someone else."

"He was."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Out of all the versions you could have brought me into, you picked THAT one?"

As the dog begins to sniff about her hands, The Universe sighs for a moment.

"You mean to tell me that out of everything from that specific Happening that you're hung up on, you're fixated on a GUY? A GUY WHO VOLUNTARILY WEARS SKECHERS? You're not upset about the nudity, you're upset about the fact that you're no longer on a superyacht with a tech billionaire? YOU'RE UPSET ABOUT A SILLY, SILLY MAN WHO WEARS GOD-AWFUL SNEAKERS?"