Prologue

"Riiiing" - A shrill sound was what made me wake up with a groan. I quickly tried to stop the annoying sound that disturbed my much-needed rest.

"I'll throw that thing away," I promise, as the annoying device rewards me for my promise with a long, "Riiiing" - just as high-pitched as the previous one.

"I never should have bought that thing," I muse, so in the end I have to give in and open one eye to see the source of the sound. That source turns out to be my alarm clock, as expected.

8:45 AM

The screen stares back at me, and I remember today is Monday.

"The last exam of the year is at 9 AM in less than 15 minutes," I remember before my eyes snap open.

8:46 AM

As I got out of bed, I tried to remember why I decided drinking on a Sunday was a good idea.

It was because I met that person. I went to this new bar at the insistence of some friends, only for said friends to not show up.

"Only later that night did I find out the plan was to go next week." (I admit I should have paid more attention.) But the bar wasn't so bad. I ended up talking to a really strange, though interesting, man. The guy kept talking about stars and the emptiness of space. He honestly seemed very drunk, but the conversation was interesting, so I stayed talking with him for a while.

"Honestly, I only understood half of what he was talking about, something about the number of stars having to do with the soul's tolerance for pain." - (Not the soul itself) - I actually ignored a lot of what he said because something else distracted me during our conversation. The real reason I sat next to him was that he was simply too perfect. - "I'm not talking about feeling a sexual or romantic attraction to him, just look at him."

"His appearance was as perfect as possible, but it was as if he was missing something inherently human, as if something fundamental wasn't present in his figure, as if he tried very hard to appear normal but never quite was." - Maybe that's why he was alone and no one dared to sit next to him, and even the bartender was shifting uncomfortably at the bar while cleaning. - "Actually, that was what made me curious and what compelled me to sit next to him and talk to him."

"Uncanny Valley Effect," I muse out loud. "That's what it felt like talking to him."

I quickly finish dressing while reflecting on the strange man. But to be honest, if I hadn't been a little drunk myself, I never would have approached him.

"But I don't think it matters. In the end, it doesn't matter. I won't see him again. And the most important thing now is getting to college." I tell myself, trying to forget about the stranger as I head to the bathroom to wash my face. A shadow in the corner of my vision startles me, only to turn out to be a slipper lying next to the door that I ignore.

"Gruuu!" My stomach growls as soon as I finish dressing, so I make a quick stop in the kitchen.

Inside the refrigerator I look for something to eat and notice how messy it is, which causes me some discomfort that I ignore again. I quickly look for something I can eat and I am rewarded with a particularly juicy red apple that I bite into as soon as it reaches my lips.

I grimace almost instantly. The apple turns out to be too sweet, almost cloying, as if it were dipped in honey. The taste makes me dizzy as soon as I swallow the piece in my mouth.

I quickly search for something to drink to clear my mouth of the taste and end up grabbing a bottle of water, slamming the refrigerator shut as I run for the door.

On my way out, I down almost half the bottle in one gulp, only to pause for a moment as the delicious taste washes away the previous sweetness of the apple.

Without thinking much, I down the rest before blinking and realizing that what I was drinking definitely wasn't water.

"Wait a minute, this isn't mine," I murmur when I see what I'd been drinking: a pitch-black liquid with only a few drops left.

My eyes snap open, and I return my gaze to the mysterious bottle to easily read the label. "Stars are not friends."

I look toward the door of my suddenly dark apartment and slowly lock it.

Without knowing why, a memory comes back to me, and I pause, recalling what the stranger said last night.

"Don't worry, I'll shed a light on the void," he said with a smile too big for his face.

"I ended up shaking my head, pushing the memory out of my horrified mind. "It was just someone a little strange." I shake my head and remember his stumbling figure leaving the bar as if he'd had too much to drink or as if his legs weren't the same size.

"I hope it's not drugs," he half-joked, slowly leading me away from the apartment door.

"I should also check that no one is home or call the police," I say, my voice trembling slightly, but before I can do anything, reality flickers for a moment.

"What?" I gasp as the colors melt like fresh paint, as space twists and reality literally opens up before me.

It was a moment that lasted minutes, but the Matrix glitches, and then I simply exist outside of it, facing the immensity of nonreality in a very dark place.

"Well, I don't think I'll make it to the exam," he joked with a half-shaky smile. "So if it was drugs, I'm pretty screwed now, right?"

________________________________________

Prologue finished. 🥳🥳🥳

I'm sure everything will be fine. It's not like there's anything in the void besides him, right? 😅