Where... am I?
Lights. Soft and shimmering—like fireflies caught in a slow-motion waltz. They twinkle in and out of existence, illuminating the darkness with a gentle hum. There's no sound but the low thrumming of my heartbeat, pulsing like a forgotten melody in the void.
The lights... they're calling me.
I don't know how I know that, but I do. I feel it in my chest—in the spaces that have long been empty. So I follow. One foot in front of the other, though I can't feel the ground. There's nothing under me... and yet, I move.
Then—
A fracture in the darkness.
A slit of light, widening.
I step toward it, hesitant at first, then faster, almost desperate. My fingers brush the edge—and—
Flash.
The light explodes around me, blinding white that swallows the dark whole.
When it fades, I'm somewhere else entirely.
A meadow stretches before me, painted in greens too vivid to be real. The air is crisp with the scent of rain and wildflowers, the wind singing across the hills. Above, the sky glows a tender blue, the kind only dreams dare to conjure.
I breathe in.
It's the first real breath I've taken in years.
I take a step forward, the grass cool beneath my bare feet. Everything is alive. Untouched. Perfect.
I could stay here.
But something shifts.
A wet sensation crawls up my ankles. I look down.
Water. Shallow at first. Then rising.
My feet vanish beneath the surface.
I take a step back, but the water follows, spreading unnaturally fast across the land, bleeding color from the grass, the sky, the very light itself. The wind stills. The scent vanishes. And the warmth—
Gone.
"No—wait!"
The world shudders and collapses into shadow.
I'm falling. Drowning in warmth that now feels suffocating. I open my mouth, but no sound escapes.
Then—
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
The alarm shrieks, yanking me from the abyss.
10:00 AM.
Sunlight slices through the blinds like it has a grudge to settle. I blink up at the ceiling. Yellow. Always yellow. A color that tries too hard to be cheerful. The walls mock me in their forced optimism.
My room is silent, sterile, still as ever.
Was it a dream?
It felt too vivid to be just that.
Too... real.
A phantom warmth lingers in my chest, like someone had just held me. Someone who cared.
I turn my head toward the phone buzzing on my nightstand. Another call.
Of course.
"Yes, I know. Grandma's today." My voice comes out flat. "You didn't need to call twice."
They never call to ask—only to command.
I drag myself out of bed. My closet door creaks open, revealing a shirt ironed and waiting for me.
Yellow.
Of course. Her favorite color.
It's all there in the folder my father handed me last week. Nova—only daughter of a cosmetics tycoon. Groomed to perfection. Polished like a display piece.
Just like they want me to be.
I stare at the shirt a moment longer, then sigh and put it on.
The dining table is set, of course. Everything pristine. The food tastes like money and silence. My parents don't speak a word. They don't have to.
Every movement, every nod, every clink of silverware carries unspoken expectations.
I chew. I swallow. I pretend to exist.
But my mind drifts—to the day it was all sealed.
"Miss Nova," my father had said, handing me the sleek folder. "The perfect match. You'll meet her at Grandma's this Sunday. Read her biodata. Be presentable."
I'd barely finished saying I wanted to complete my degree when he snapped:
"Shut up. This isn't a debate. We've already agreed. Wear yellow—it's her favorite. Smile. Make our family proud."
A perfect plan, like always. My life drawn up like a merger contract.
I don't feel anger anymore.
Just... a dull ache.
Like living in a world where nothing belongs to me. Not my choices. Not even my future.
The car ride is quiet.
I sit in the backseat, head resting against the glass. Outside, life plays in vivid color. Children laughing, lovers holding hands, people rushing to places that matter.
They all look alive.
I feel like a ghost.
There's glass between us, but it may as well be a universe.
My thoughts drift back to the only thing that feels remotely mine: the book I've been reading in secret. A boy born with nothing, who rose against fate, who discovered a world full of secrets and fought for it.
He mattered.
He changed something.
I wish...
Screech.
Horns. Screams. Tires.
A flash of white.
CRASH.
The sound is everywhere.
Pain blossoms like fire across my chest. My head hits something hard. I hear glass shatter.
And then—
Darkness.
Again.
But this time, something's different.
There's warmth.
Not fire. Not pain.
A presence. Gentle. Familiar. It wraps around me like the dream did.
Soft.
Calling me.
Back.