"Please help me. HELP ME!!"
She suddenly woke up and looked around. She found herself in the car. Out of curiosity, she asked, "Mom, where are we going?"
"What are you asking, honey? Don't you remember? We are going to your college," her mother replied with a soft smile. She gaze outside, pondering the mysterious sound that eluded her memory.
After arriving at her college, she noticed everyone staring at her and that stare was not a good one.
"Look she is back and now that she is, my day is already ruined"
"Yeah mine too" Students started gossiping with each other, and it was loud enough for her to hear. She began to feel uncomfortable with their gossip, but at the same time, she felt proud. She didn't know why they were talking about her like that and why she was feeling this way. Suddenly, she heard a voice saying "IGNORE THEM." She tried to look around but couldn't find the speaker. The voice sounded neither like a man nor like a woman, but kind of a mixture of both. She didn't know what to do, so in the end, she listened to the voices and ignored them.
She had no memories of her school or college; all she knew was that the whole school hated her for some reason.
"Sora, would you mind telling me the answer to this question?" One of the math teachers asked. She didn't know who Sora was, so she just kept on reading her book.
"Look at her pretending as if she didn't hear anything" students began to whisper to themselves.
"Sora, it's rude to ignore your teacher" Upon hearing the unexpected word, she immediately looked up, only to find that everyone was staring at her. She made a puzzled expression, trying to understand what was happening, but none of her classmates said anything to her.
"Sora answered the question" was the same voice she had heard. She apologized to the teacher and started answering the question. As she answered, many more questions popped into her mind.
'What's happening? How did I answer the question without remembering anything? Why is my classmate treating me differently? Why can't I remember anything? Why do I keep hearing that voice? Why is that voice helping me? Why does this place make me feel uncomfortable?'
"just why" she mumbled.
After experiencing a series of unsettling events, she felt the need to be alone for a while. Everything around her made her feel unwell, and to make matters worse, she kept hearing a voice telling her what to do and what not to do. Desiring some respite, she found herself standing in front of the library. Upon peeking inside, she noticed that it was empty, which sparked her curiosity about the place. Despite her initial hesitance, she entered the library and inexplicably felt a sense of comfort. As she picked up a book and began reading, she found herself completely absorbed in the story.
Everyone had already gone home, but Sora was still in the library, engrossed in a book. She was so lost in the story that she didn't realize she was smiling. It was the first time she had smiled, and she looked really pretty. While reading, she had forgotten all her worries. When she finished reading and checked the time, she was shocked to see how late it was. She hurried towards the exit and called for a cab, but she couldn't remember her address or the way back home.
When she got into the cab, she instinctively started telling the driver her address. Upon reaching her destination, she found her family waiting for her to join them for dinner, with a strange smile on their faces. For some reason, she felt scared of them. It was as if they were not her real parents. She returned to her senses when asked "Why are you late? where were you?"
"We have been waiting for you to eat dinner together come Join us." They gestured for her to join them, which frightened her. She mumbled an apology and joined them for the meal after washing her hands. Everyone began eating as if nothing had happened.
After dinner, she went to her room. However, before entering, she stood outside the door, seemingly hesitant to go inside. While most people would feel safe in their room, it was not the case for her. She was too afraid to enter. Slowly opening the door, she heard the same voice speaking to her.
"Why are you so hesitant to enter your room?" Sora was so scared that she fell to the ground. She tried to stand but she couldn't even move her body. She trembled in fear as a figure walked closer and closer to her. She screamed for help, but she couldn't even hear her voice. The figure looked like a shadow slowly walking toward the trembling girl. "Sora, Oh my Sora how many times have I told you, you look ugly while crying." The shadow said as it slowly began to wipe her tears.
"Don't waste your pretty face by crying" Sora was still trembling and didn't say anything, but she mouthed her lips as if she were speaking.
"why me?"
"Why me? Is that what you're asking?"The shadow looked at Sora as she nodded. It laughed and replied, "It was you who brought me into this world and you asking why me?" Sora didn't understand what the shadow was talking about. For as long as she could remember, she had never talked or caused any trouble with anyone. How could this happen to her? She kept thinking, and the shadow just looked at her, smiling.
"What are you smiling for?" Sora wanted to say everything she could because she thought the shadow wouldn't hear her. "You stupid thing I wanna kill-"
"You know that to kill me, You have to die, right ?" The conversation was interrupted by a shadow before she could finish her sentence.
"I have to.....die"
She tried to speak, but before she could, she fainted.
When she woke up, she heard birds chirping and instantly remembered the events from the previous night. Still half-asleep, she shook herself to wake up completely. Despite feeling scared, she searched for the figure from the night before. When she couldn't find it, she sighed with relief. However, her relief quickly turned to surprise when she realized she was not in her house, but in a library with the book she had been reading. Confused, she tried to piece together her memories from the previous night but found no clues, only adding to her confusion.
"Miss me already?"She heard the same as last night. She tried to find the speaker but couldn't find it. Without delay, she made her way out of the library. Everyone started eyeing her as she walked out.
"Nothing changed," she thought.
"No, something had been changed." It was the same voice. She was filled with curiosity about the change but found herself unable to ask about it.
"You have to ask to know the answer that you're looking for don't you think" She felt courageous and, for the first time, she decided to approach someone. She slowly asked a girl nearby what they were staring at and laughing at. The girl handed her a mirror to see for herself. She noticed that her hair looked odd and she looked funny. After observing her face for a moment, she said
"It's just a sleepy head what's so funny about it-" Before she could finish her words, her face started to contort into strange shapes. She dropped the mirror and collapsed to the ground, frantically touching her face.
"It's not true, it's not true. This is all an illusion " She keeps mumbling and shouting "AN ILLUSION". She looked around and saw that everything had turned into a dark shadow. Despite feeling scared, she asked for help. To her dismay, nobody was willing to help her, and even her surroundings grew darker. Tears started falling from her eyes as she screamed for help.
After screaming for a long time, she was about to lose her voice. Suddenly, a dark figure approached her and covered her eyes, causing her to faint.
"You should rest for a while"
She felt confused. "What do you mean, rest? Is this not real? What's happening to me and this place? Can you answer? Just tell me this is just a dream, ok? It's a dream, right?"
"Hey girl, wake up" one of her classmates woke her up.
She woke up and once again found herself being stared at, but this time it was with admiration and love, not in a bad way.
"what's going on?" she asked in a low voice.
"You silly girl, you slept the whole period and was about to miss lunch" one of the girls replied and another boy continued
"You are lucky that we woke you up in time"Sora felt bewildered and relied on her classmate in this unfamiliar world.
"Why are you still sitting? Hurry, we need to go or we will miss lunch," her classmate dragged her out of the classroom.
The college was very lively, and everyone was nice and friendly to her. Everywhere she went, she found herself being loved by others. It felt like a dream; she was receiving everything she ever wanted. If it was a dream, then she didn't wake up.
"SORA" she gasped as she came back to reality.
"Sora, why are you crying? What happened? Can you tell us, maybe we could help." Sora, overwhelmed by emotion, felt tears welling up in her eyes. The sound of her friends' voices brought a sense of warmth, causing her tears to flow even more freely. Concerned for their friend, the group began to worry. Unable to bear seeing Sora so distressed, one of her friends made a heartfelt decision to try to lift her spirits by making her laugh, rather than letting her continue to cry.
"Sora, your mummy right here Liana, will now declare war with your tears"
"Not again," said the others
Sora laughed instantly after hearing the cheesy joke despite knowing others might judge her. It was her first time making jokes and laughing with her friends, and she genuinely enjoyed the experience.
'Sora, We have to tell you something" one of the friends breaks from the hug.
"What is it?" She asked.
"All of us want to say that" She paused for a second and all began to continue together. They began to introduce themselves.
"Sora, we (Liana, Nathaly, Jay, Christine, and Luca) love you and will always be here for you. Remember our faces and names, know we're always with you." After saying this, each gave Sora their favorite items they always wore...
Liana gave her a hair clip.
Nathaly gave her a bracelet.
Jay gave her a chained earring.
Christine gave her a book that she loved to read and Luka gave her wave batch which was with him since a very young age.
"Why are you guys acting weird all of a sudden?" She asked full of nervousness. They didn't answer and just smiled softly as they closed her eyes and said " Sora It's time for you to wake up"
"No no no please NO" She woke up under the oak tree near her college, with all the belongings given to her by her friend, but she could no longer remember their face or name. She felt a headache as she remembered everything except their name or face. She slowly gathered her belongings and began to put them on. As she did so, she started to feel the warmth of safety enveloping her.
"Finally I have something that makes me feel safe. Thank you and I am sorry for being unable to remember you" Her tears began to flow from her eyes to her face. "No I mustn't cry again" She stood up, wiped her tears, and vowed to represent her friends, thanking them for everything.
'I can't grasp the feeling of not understanding anything. Why is it that the moment I get familiar with the thing it just disappears? Where do I belong? what is the meaning behind all this? why can't I remember anything? And why do I feel that I am running out of time? where do I get my answers?'