Johanna had been a fairly average, if moderately short (standing at only 3'7), just-turned-8-years-old girl. Her performance in school had been similarly average (perhaps also a tad bit below that, taking a lot longer to learn new things compared to her classmates and having a severe problem with maths). Generally speaking, everything she did was average - fine, by all standards, and one could not describe her as unhappy, everything considered. Things were about to change drastically, however.
It was an early saturday morning when Johanna - rarely nicknamed Jo - suddenly woke up. Summer break had ended just last week and she was still getting used to the usual morning routine... but this was different, unusual. Glancing at the alarm clock next to her bed, she saw that it was only 5:30. What had awoken her?
Laying her head back on the big, purple pillow she had, she tried to get back to sleep - to no avail. But now she realized what the problem was: she was hearing something - someone, in fact. Someone talking.
"It must be Dad" she thought to herself, trying to ignore the sound. But no, it clearly couldn't be her Dad - he was asleep still, snoring a little. She didn't think of this second oddity at first - how was she hearing her Dad, one story below and half a building between their rooms - and instead listened more closely to the voice.
Stirring in bed and pushing away her blanket, Johanna listened intently. Two people were talking, a man and a woman. They were talking about... cars, or something. Occasionally the sound was a bit muffled, as if something were interfering. Where was this noise coming from?
"What?" she asked aloud when she overheard the pair mentioning 'taking the freeway', coupled with odd car noises.
The nearest freeway was a kilometer away at least. Clearly this had to be a radio playing.
"It's coming from that direction" Jo thought to herself, looking out of her window, to where she thought the sounds were emanating from. She was looking towards the freeway, hidden behind dozens of buildings and even a small patch of forest.
Concentrating harder on the noise, she was able to make out even more details - the shuffling of someone's feet, engine sounds, a radio being turned on and right back off - which all made it seem as though she were actually hearing a car in the distance.
She pushed herself into an upright position on her bed and stared out of her window.
The two distant people were now chattering about random little things, the weather, the woman's job - things Johanna could all clearly overhear, as if the pair were standing right next to her.
"Oh, now I see them!" she excitedly said as, indeed, she spotted the vehicle in the distance. Then confusion set in. What exactly was she seeing? The freeway was a kilometer away, her view on it obstructed by buildings and trees - but regardless of that, she did see a car driving. The 8-year-old did not quite understand what was happening yet, but somehow she was looking right through all the obstructions.
"Woah" she mumbled to herself, watching the car and the passengers, hearing them speak. Oh no, she then feared for a brief moment, maybe this was just a dream! But how would she even test that? Clearly this must be a dream. Was she really seeing that car?
She reached out with one hand, as if having trouble properly sensing distance, uncertain where she was. No, she couldn't touch the car - she blinked, glanced at her hand, and clearly saw it hovering in mid-air, outstretched as if to grab the vehicle. She was still in her room - but with another glance she was staring right back at the freeway.
Something told her to try and reach out again - to no avail. But it was right there!
The girl tried another time, this time trying to reach out and turn on the radio. No, clearly she was dreaming, cozily laying in her bed, nowhere near a car- but then, without the faintest bit of warning, the whole radio was dented in. As if a mighty hammer had smashed right into it, or as if a sudden vacuum inside the radio had caused it to implode, the whole thing was pushed inward, buttons and screens shattering.
Johanna blinked and looked away. She couldn't hear the anymore, nor could she see it. She laid back and stared at the ceiling for a moment, then fell asleep, immediately overcome with intense exhaustion.
Meanwhile, the car had come to a stop on the side of the road. The passengers stared at the destroyed radio, then at one another. The vehicle had done a little hop a moment ago, right as the radio had burst inward, as if someone had gently tossed the car upward.
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