Muted

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Leaving your apartment had never been so difficult.

Tonight, it felt like the very air around you had thickened, each breath a struggle. Perhaps it was the exhaustion, or perhaps it was the headache and nausea that seemed to peak this morning, but the thought of venturing out, of facing the world beyond your door, caused an ominous feeling to fill you.

It was your scheduled time to collect your weekly food rations, an obligation you couldn't afford to ignore. And even though you had not been able to keep down food, or your supplements for over a week, you knew you had to force yourself to go, for survival's sake.

What made tonight even harder was the certainty that you would see Yuzuru at the Food Hall, his ration schedule perfectly aligned with your's as your neighbor.

It would be the first time you had seen him since he told you the news about his marriage assignment a week ago, since you'd gone to great lengths to avoid him—for the safety of both of you.

You'd had built an invisible wall between you, thicker and more impenetrable than the actual walls of your apartment. But, no matter how hard you tried to distance yourself, the longing to see him gnawed at you. Every creak of the floorboards and every muffled sound that bled from his apartment into yours only sharpened that ache.

By the time you arrived at the Food Hall this evening, your nerves were frayed, your resolve hanging by a thread.

The moment your gaze met his, it was as if the world tilted on its axis. A storm of emotions surged within you, threatening to spill over. It took every ounce of strength you had to keep your face neutral, to prevent the turmoil inside from showing.

All you wanted in that moment was to close the gap between you, to reach out to him, to pretend that the past week had never happened, but the weight of reality pressed down hard. The stoic faces and monotone voices that surrounded you were a stark reminder of the world you lived in, and the dangers that came along with it.

You forced yourself to stay calm, to bury the chaos within beneath a mask of indifference, but you knew within a matter of moments you would break. You needed to get away from him, to put as much distance between the two of you as possible. So, the moment your rations were in hand, you fled.

That was when things started to spiral out of control.

As you made your outside and back towards your apartment, the first thing you noticed was the cold. Typically you were unbothered by it, unable to truly feel it. But now, as soon as you stepped outside, the cold night air hit you like a slap, sharp and unforgiving. You tried to ignored it, pulling your coat tighter around you, and continued forward.

Then, somewhere between the Green Space and your apartment, the world around you started to change visually.

It was subtle at first--a flicker of brightness at the edge of your vision, a slight sharpening of colors that had always been muted and dull. But within moments, the change became overwhelming. It was as if someone had flipped a switch and turned up the brightness, flooding your senses with vivid, almost blinding intensity. Colors that had once blended into the background now blazed with life, every hue magnified.

Then came the noise.

It was sudden, jarring, a mixture of sounds that assaulted your ears from every direction. The distant footsteps of passersby pounded in your ears like the thudding of cement blocks. Government vehicles roared by with the deafening clamor of thunderous trains. Even your own breath, harsh and ragged, sounded like a storm howling through the trees.

It was too much. The world was too bright, too loud, too overwhelming. Panic surged within you as your grip on your bag faltered. The rations slipped from your hand, scattering across the pavement in a forgotten heap. You clutched at your ears, squeezing your eyes shut, desperate to block out the sensory onslaught. But it was useless. The world was closing in on you, suffocating you with its intensity, and there was nothing you could do to stop it.

In the midst of your panic, a terrifying realization took hold. You were losing control in a public place, where any sign of unusual behavior could mark you as a Sense Offender. One wrong move, one suspicious glance, and you'd be caught.

It would be found out that you were not the model citizen you pretended you were. But instead, that you were a criminal that hadn't taken your Daily Supplements--not only because you had been ill, but because you simply no longer want to.

Tears welled up, blurring your vision as fear took hold. You were seconds away from completely unraveling when a voice cut through the chaos--steady, calm, and achingly familiar.

"She is my neighbor. She's been sick. I'll help her get home," Yuzuru said, his voice seeming so close.

You heard a small group of feet moving away before you felt the weight of your bag return to your hand, and when you opened your eyes, Yuzuru was kneeling beside you, gathering your scattered items.

As an orange was placed into your bag, and you realized for the first time why perhaps and orange was called an orange, a strange clarity hit you-this was how the world was supposed to be experienced.

The chill, the sounds, and the colors. The trees, the wind, and the people around you. Although you had already began to feel over the past few months, this was on a different level.

Finally, the veil had been entirely lifted.

This was actual reality.

Your eyes widened and met Yuzuru's, ones you had seen so many times before, but only now noticed held the loveliest shade.

You stared at them for at least a minute before you realized they were focused on you with a mixture of sternness and softness, a look meant to steady you, but instead was causing the opposite effect, sending your heart racing.

"It's a cold night, neighbor," he said, his voice both different and familiar. The true, unadulterated sound of it sent shivers down your spine. "Please, take care of yourself."