Chapter 1: Escape

"Why don't you join RPW?" Kezziah, my childhood friend asked, eyes twinkling in excitement. Her hair swayed as the warm breeze blew each strand in a very graceful manner complementing her beauty. She's indeed stunning.

"Join what?" My brows furrowed, curious of what she just told me. I have never heard of such community called RPW-whatsoever. Regardless, I'm eager to know more about it, thinking, joining would be a good distraction.

"I said, why don't you join Roleplay World?" she asked again for the second time. She took a glimpse of me as she patiently waited for my response.

"I’ve never heard anything about RPW, and honestly, I don’t think I have any idea on how that particular community works." I shifted my attention towards her, meeting her gaze.

We're currently heading towards the bus station since our family driver cannot fetch me today. Kezziah volunteered to accompany me since she's worried that I didn't know how to commute by myself.

She really think of me as a kid.

"Listen, in Facebook there's a community we call RPW or ROLEPLAY WORLD. In the community, we can freely role play/act as our chosen character and get acquainted with other people all around the world." she briefly explained everything while snapping her fingers enthusiastically.

"And then?" I waited for her to continue her explanation. I admit I'm becoming more interested in whatever she's talking about.

"You can date whoever you want and meet up whenever you want to!" she beamed frantically.

"Is it a dating site or something?" I asked like an idiot and she automatically rolled her eyes at me.

"Well, yeah, kind of? But mind you, it’s not for dating purposes only. Of course you can also make friends and hang out with them... But there's a twist." she suddenly paused, making me more hooked.

“You should never ever let them know your real identity. Including your name, age, and any other personal information. And lastly, you should never fall in love with the one you're going out with." She added.

Interesting.

"It picked your interest, isn’t it?" She smirked triumphantly as if she successfully did what she intends to do. I immediately looked away when she tried to hold my gaze.

I shrugged sleepily, not letting her notice it did caught my interest. "Kind of?" I awkwardly smiled.

"How can I join?" I roamed my eyes and looked around while I waited for her response; feeling excited and a little bit nervous.

"First, you need to choose your RPW name. It shouldn't be connected to your real name, alright? Second, you need to choose the character/artist you like the most... and after that you can join any group page connected to RPW. There's a hundred of group pages and group chats in there. Just remember what I told you a while ago. You should never reveal anything about you." she emphasized every word, reminding me of what she just explained earlier.

"Alright, I'll take note of everything, Madame." I chuckled and took my phone out to immediately register a new Facebook account.

"Have you already chosen a name?" She inquired.

"How about Cyan Riverdale?" I looked at her waiting for her approval.

"Not bad." Kezziah commented.

"Should I pick Tomita Shiori?... Did I even need to ask?" Kezziah chuckled as I squinted my eyes to quickly scan Tomita’s photos and grabbed the one that caught my attention.

When I'm already done making a new account, I excitedly attached the display photo I chose and randomly added RPW accounts. I was surprised when I received a lot of friend request and followers after a few minutes.

"Wow." I smiled while stalking each one of those who added me as a friend. Some of them were actually famous, they have hundreds and thousands of followers and reactors. I guess maybe they're doing mass adding?

"What do you think?" she asked nudging her elbow in delight and excitement.

"It's fine. I think I'll love it here. Thank you, Kez." The side of my lips rose up and curved into a small, friendly smile. She just tapped my shoulder and dragged me with her since the bus already stopped in front of us.

"Slowdown will you?" We exchanged glances and both laughed heartily when we entered the bus.

We comfortably sat on the third seat while talking more about the Roleplay World.

Thinking that it'll be a good way for me to entertain myself... I decided to join RPW. I just wanted to not look at the reality life has been slapping me with... purely wanting to distract myself just to avoid getting depressed over it, and somehow, find tranquility in midst of all these chaos.

Every day, I wake up just to survive. I almost forgot how it feels like to be alive. I always feel empty, and the reality that I’m in is making it even worst. What should I do next? I actually don't know, and it feels like… I will never know.

I was occupied with thoughts about RPW as I further explore the community. I did what Kezziah told me to do and joined a lot of RPW group pages and enjoyed myself.

I shifted my attention towards her and she's happily talking to someone on her phone. Maybe it's her boyfriend, Draco. They've been in a relationship for such a long time and I'm the happiest knowing that she's genuinely happy with him.

She grinned teasingly when she caught me staring at her and mouthed 'I love you'.

I shook my head, trying to suppress a wide smile as I diverted my attention towards my phone. I continued stalking each one of those who added and sent me a friend request before I decided to accept it.

My heartbeat went fast when all of a sudden our fellow passengers let out shrill cries. I grasped Kezziah's hand tightly, not wanting to let go.

"W-what's happening?" Her brows furrowed in confusion. She panicked when she realized what's actually happening.

"I'm with you, don't worry." I instantly said to reassure her that everything’s going to be fine or so I thought before everything went black.