Author’s note: This is a work of fiction exploring perception, memory, and the consequences of personal choices.
When I stepped off the bus, the sky was darker than I had expected. The air felt heavy. I stood beneath a streetlight and looked around, unsettled by a vague sense of unease I could not explain. There was no clear reason for it. The day had been ordinary. Nothing unusual had happened. And yet the feeling lingered.
It felt as though someone was watching me, though the street was empty. It felt as though I had forgotten something important, though I was certain I had not. I tried to dismiss the sensation. I needed to get home.
I began to walk.
As I moved down the street, a flash of color caught the corner of my eye—red, green, or blue. I could not be sure. My heart began to race, the unease growing stronger with every step. Instinct took over, and I started to run.
I ran as fast as I could, away from whatever I thought I had seen, toward the only place that felt safe: my home.
When I finally reached it, the feeling did not disappear. That was what troubled me most. Everything was too quiet. I lived in a busy apartment on a crowded street, yet the world around me felt distant, as if I were disconnected from it. Something was wrong.
I stepped inside and noticed the kitchen immediately. The dishes were still out. The trash stood by the door, untouched. I had planned to take it out before leaving for the gathering earlier that evening.
And then—
I woke up.
My heart was pounding. I tried to gather my thoughts. I had gone out with friends, just like I would on any normal weekend. I closed my eyes, searching my memory, but when I opened them again, I was no longer at home.
I was back at the gathering.
Music echoed around me. Lights flashed overhead—blue, red, green—over and over again. Everything felt overwhelming and unreal at the same time. I recognized the people around me, but their voices blended together, their words unclear. The room felt distorted.
“Hello?” I said. “Can anyone hear me?”
No one responded.
Then I remembered. We had been playing a game, and I had accepted a challenge without thinking. Someone handed me something to consume. I did not stop to question it. Wanting to prove myself, I acted without hesitation.
The memory shifted again.
I was on the bus. It was crowded, and I could barely see through the windows. The streets outside were unfamiliar. I did not know where we were going. When the bus stopped, the crowd moved forward, carrying me along.
And suddenly, I was back where I had started.
The sky was dark. I stood beneath the streetlight once more, the same uneasy feeling tightening in my chest. I told myself it must have been exhaustion, or confusion from the night before. I needed to get home.
I walked steadily, though my heart beat heavily. Then a voice spoke.
“Alex. Are you coming or leaving?”
“I need to go home,” I replied quietly.
“All right,” the voice said. “Do not be alarmed.”
Before I could ask what that meant, the presence faded. I continued walking.
When I reached my apartment, I opened the door.
I froze.
Someone was lying on the floor just inside the entrance.
Fear rushed through me. I turned away and hurried to the bathroom, desperate to understand what I was seeing. I looked into the mirror.
A girl stared back.
She had short blond hair, green eyes, and wore a shirt that read Guess Who.
It was me.
“Hello?” I whispered.
A voice answered, though the reflection did not move.
“Yes.”
“You have finally realized the truth.”
My thoughts raced. Can it hear me?
“You made a choice without understanding the consequences,” the voice said calmly. “Now you must face them.”
The reflection disappeared.
And then everything faded.
There was still so much to learn. So much life ahead. Yet this is where my story ends.
A moment of thoughtlessness can change everything.