Miera opens her eyes to find herself in a garden. It was the garden she saw in her dream. She couldn't feel anything or recall what happened. She felt an ache in her chest and fell on her knees in pain. She felt like her soul was ripping into pieces.
"Aw man... I wanted to read a few novels before dying. Is this how it's gonna end now?" Miera tried to take deep breaths and calm herself down.
"Yeah, that's right, it doesn't hurt. I'm just overreacting. Yep, get a hold of yourself, Miera. Come on. It's not that bad, bro." Miera laid on the grass as she could finally breathe.
"This wasn't the type of action I needed in my life. Hah..." Miera sighed as she slowly got up. "Logic is never working when I need it."
Miera started walking around. She couldn't remember anything at all. "I just want to go home."
Miera continued walking in the garden. As she kept walking, the building seemed like it was getting farther away. She stopped as she saw the door a few meters away from her.
"Why is it always spawning out of nowhere, dude? Is it a matrix glitch or what? Make it make sense now." Miera rubbed her back as she walked closer to the door. "I swear if something happens before I can open it..."
Finally, Miera reached for the handle and opened the door, only to find it led to her bedroom.
"Whoa, so exciting..." Miera gave a disappointed look, then shut the door and walked to the other side. She took a deep breath and slowly opened the door ajar. It opened to a hospital room that looked pretty normal. As Miera wanted to walk inside, the door slammed shut and she quickly pulled her hand back.
"That was very rude of you." Miera shook her head with an annoyed look.
Then she slowly reached for the handle and tried to open the door again, but she couldn't even move it.
"Oh great, exactly what I needed now," she said with a sarcastic tone.
Miera stood there silently for a second, then headed to the opposite side of the door and gripped the handle tightly. Opening the door, she saw her room again. "Okay... here I go..." She stood there for a second, then quickly jumped into her room. She heard the door shut behind her, and as she turned to look–no, it was gone.
Miera headed to her bedroom door, slowly opening it–nothing unusual.
"..." Miera hesitated for a second and called out:
"Mom?" She took a breath, feeling both anxious and scared, and headed to the kitchen. "Mom? Are you there?"
The kitchen was empty.
Miera quickly checked the other rooms, only to find no one. Then she rushed to her room to call her family. She dialed her mother. The phone rang from inside the house. Then she called her father, and there was no answer. Miera stood there frozen, unable to think. It was midnight, and no one was home. Then she suddenly sparked a thought; maybe they were out looking for her. So she decided to wait. She didn't know the area very well, so all she could do was wait for them to come back–to come back to her.
Miera headed to her bed, sitting down and staring at the floor, still feeling anxious and unable to form any thoughts. Her eyes teared up, and her heart ached like she had just lost everything she had in 'her world'. She curled up on the bed, holding her phone tightly while waiting.
Hours passed. Miera couldn't even tell if it was night or morning. Everything was overwhelming. Miera sat up and decided to go out and look for them. As she was about to get up from her bed, she suddenly fell into a void. Before she could react, she landed on a pitch-black ground. She felt a sharp pain in her back and winced.
"The hell... Ah. It hurts," Miera whimpered, trying to get up. Her body felt crushed.
"Please, just end this..." Miera shut her eyes.
"Hey...? Can you hear me? Hello?" A gentle woman's voice called out.
Miera slowly opened her eyes from a sleep that felt like only seconds. She was still in the pitch-black void. She saw an open door and slowly headed toward it.
"Oh, it doesn't hurt anymore," she murmured to herself as she stepped closer to the door. It opened to the same garden again but it was nighttime.
Miera stepped through the door and looked around. There was nothing but the peaceful garden. The sky was a beautiful night blue, and it was a full moon.
"Second moon? Huh?" Not far from the moon, there was a second half-moon. "How does that even work..." Miera murmured while walking through the garden.
Everything was unbearably peaceful and silent. Only Miera's steps and breathing made a sound. It felt lifeless. Miera's body felt heavy. She sat on the grass, overwhelmed, and eventually laid down.
"Hey there, sleeping bunny? Or more like rat?" A male voice called out.
Miera opened her eyes to find a white-haired guy staring at her with sparkling red eyes that lookedek like a weirdo. Of course, she was exaggerating.
"Who are you?" Miera stared at him.
The guy sighed and rolled his eyes. "Ah, again, again and again. Well, let me introduce myself. My name is Kieran. Kieran who you always manage to forget. And yes, my hair is white, and yes, my eyes are red. I'm not a part of your dream or imagination. No, you're not dead. And ask one by one."
Miera quickly got up and stared at him with a straight face. "Well, sounds like what a character in my dream would say. I mean, make it make sense. I can't have a break these days. So, do you have any idea what's happening?"
"Yes," he said bluntly, not continuing.
"And? So? Explain then? Just a yes is not helping at all." Miera stared at him, annoyed but trying her best not to show it.
"I can't." He turned his head away.
"What do you mean, you can't? I can't even believe these things are happening. So why are you here? What are you?" Miera felt a rage and sadness she couldn't explain.
Kieran just stood there and looked at her, it was impossible to read his thoughts.
"Why can't you explain then? And what did you mean by forgetting? I don't think I've ever known you." Miera stared at him, her eyes searching for any kind of answer.
"Well... the problem is you," Kieran looked at Miera. His eyes were full of sadness.
"What does that su—"
Before Miera could finish her sentence, the place started to shake.
"Is it an earthquake?" Miera tried to grab Kieran's arm, but he was already gone.
"Oh great! My answers are gone now!"
Miera remembered the door that was in the middle of the garden and started to run, as the place was still shaking.
"I'm not going to die before I find out everything!"
As Miera reached the door, it was already open. Without a thought, she jumped through it. The door slammed shut behind her with a loud thump.
"That was close." Miera sighed and looked around. She was inside a luxurious place. As she looked at herself, she noticed that her body was transparent.
Miera looked through the big window. It was the same garden as before. There was a group of people in the garden.
Miera turned away and headed through the corridors, trying to find a way out to the garden, but she saw a purple-haired guy standing in front of a picture on the wall. Miera slowly came closer to look.
It was a picture of a group. Three girls and five guys—it was the same people in the garden. A brunette girl that looked so sweet, a dark-haired girl who looked like a woman out of a fairytale, two blond twins, and a girl who looked exactly like Miera.
Miera was stunned as she saw the girl whom looked like exact copy of her. Then she suddenly remembered the girl in her dream. There were two more people. The purple-haired guy standing in front of the picture and...
"Kieran?! That white hair–"
"Aurelia."
Miera froze as she saw the purple-haired guy with pitch-black eyes staring right into her soul.