Black and white. A colorless vision replayed in Aya's mind, over and over. It was of her, standing still, eyes glued to the digital screen in her hands. Her phone's screen showed no image, just a blank whiteness. There was nothing beneath her feet. No sound to be heard. She couldn't even hear the sound of her own breathing. Complete silence. She would look up, and see standing before her an enormous figure. It was shrouded in darkness, its shape indeterminable. Her eyes would widen at the sight, and she would feel her legs turn to jello. A scream caught in her throat, and with a couple heaving breaths, she tried with all of her might to yell. She could have felt her vocal chords shredding apart, yet she was only met with silence. Darkness would overcome her, then she would reawaken by the brightness of her screen. Over, and over. Until her eyes opened for real.
She woke up slowly. Her body sat unmoving, and though her eyes were open, the lids were heavy, and her mind was still elsewhere. Her gaze followed a couple figures passing by, until a sudden realization jolted her mind awake. Where... was she? She sat more upright, but immediately regretted it afterward, discovering a knot in her neck. She must have been sitting in her position for awhile to have her back and neck ache in that way. Her head throbbed, and she put a hand to her forehead to alleviate the pain. Confusion plastered her features, her eyes darting from side to side. She was sitting on a bench on a sidewalk, and the sky signaled that the night was young. A shudder ran through her body, and she grabbed her arms, suddenly feeling chilly.
Aya stood from her spot, jerking out her arms from momentarily losing her balance. She took in the sights before her. She must have somehow made way into the less fortunate part of town, seeing how poorly kept the streets seemed. The streetlights were dim and crooked, almost eery. The young woman continued to observe her surroundings, wondering what on earth was going on. It couldn't have been a self-made illusion. A dream? A hard pinch on the upper arms told her no. Maybe she daydreamed particularly hard before she passed out on the bench and somehow ended here. What bothered her most was that she couldn't quite remember if that was true or not. The last thing she could recall was washing dishes somewhere that was definitely not here.
Figuring that it standing around and doing nothing won't change the situation, she eyed the bar across the street. There seemed to be a lot of people, and there were a couple others who were approaching the building. Although they didn't seem very open to chatter, she sighed in relief, hoping to get some answers from anyone. She began to cross the street, seeing that no cars were around, and lifted her arm to wave. But before she could even open her mouth to speak, a strange sensation of drowsiness overcame her. Her steps slowed, and she barely made it to the other side before her body limped and dropped to the ground.