In-between

Chapter 1: An intersection

You open your eyes.

You yawn quietly and look at your surroundings. It seems that you are in a train-station, you ponder for a moment, weren't you laying in your bed before? It indeed seems strange.

The train-station seems abandoned you note, it also seems to be underground.

You look down at your feet.

You remain shoeless. There seems to be water reaching up to your ankles, it looks clean. You notice that nobody besides you is here. It seems quiet and dreamlike. Maybe it's one of your dreams again? No, it couldn't be, after-all it seems to real to be one.

You hear a noise, and you look forward towards the train-tracks.

ah, it seems there was a train coming after all.

As soon as it stops, the trains door open. You enter without hesitation, maybe if it was someone else they would have been suspicious, but not you. You know these far too well after-all. But maybe you should've questioned how the train ran with all the water, or how the metal on the benches and train-tracks haven't rusted despite the station looking seemingly old and with all the water.

You are broken away from your thoughts as the train starts moving, you wonder where it will take you.

You look out the window and a whole new scene unravels before you. Besides the train-tracks, Train-station and the train there seem to be nothing else besides the sky and the mirror like water.

It seems interesting , this dreamlike world looks so empty yet so beautiful. With the way the water reflects the sky and clouds like a mirror to an alternate world, with how there seem to be water spirits floating above in the form of a fish.

The train stops on it's tracks. You get off.

Your feet touch the water and you feel a bit cold, you walk further out. You try to interact with the water spirits and you succeed. With the water spirits swimming around you and swimming through your fingers you feel oddly calm. A calm that you haven't felt in years.

You walk further out, as usual it still seems empty.

You observe the water for a moment and you see your reflection, you have a blank expression.

While walking you find a white chrysanthemum, you wonder how you know the flowers name. You get a head ache, you pay it no mind.

Take the flower?
*yes           no

You take the flower, you check your clothes, there seem to be no pockets. You feel a bit troubled until a water spirit takes the flower and tucks it into your ear. You thank the water spirit, it seems proud and happy and despite having no facial expressions and you can tell because of it's elated movements.

You walk out even further, you still see nothing, perhaps you should give up after all?

No, you feel compelled to keep going, so you do. After all what's the worst that could happen, death? You aren't really scared of it, after all you've met them a couple of times. They were kind and warm, they kept talking about how it wasn't simply your time yet and set you off with a few pastries.

While walking you stumble upon a shiny stone, it looks pretty.

Pick it up?
*yes          no

You pick it up, you don't have a pocket so you hold it in your small hands.

Your head starts to hurt, you pay it no mind as usual.

You observe the shiny rock and it shines. You look at it again and somehow you feel a sense of nostalgia and longing. You brush it off, you're long used to this feeling.

You walk out further more with the water spirits around you. You spot something red in the distance.

You walk faster, and faster. You finally reach the red object. It looks like a red shrine gate you observe, you walk past it, nothing happens. You feel disappointed, maybe you shouldn't have kept your hopes so high, it always tends to be crushed.

You walk further

You start to feel lightheaded and dizzy.

You soon fall to the water, although you don't know that, after all you aren't conscious.

The water spirits are in a bit of a panic, I send them a look, they immediately quite down. Carrying her I walk further out.