Fearing Silence

Fearing Silence Ch.1 "A Simple Life"

In the city of Osaka, Rii lived in the dormitories of the college she went to. Her dorm was a small two person home with two beds on either side of the room, a single bathroom, two desks with computers, and a mini fridge. It was one of the more affordable rooms available at the college, Rii wasn't exactly wealthy, but she was just happy with what she had. Her favorite thing about her room was the view outside it's only window, which overlooked a small grove of cherry blossom trees with a few benches around them. She often went there to get some quiet time to herself, as living with a roommate gave her very little time to herself. 

Rii was currently alone for once, sitting on her bed with her knees up and a textbook on her lap. She was steadying up for her next exam, which she wasn't exactly looking forward to. Rii was a small girl, no taller than five-foot two, with long black hair that hung to her midsection, pale skin, and piercing green eyes. She was a pretty girl and she took advantage of this to hide the fact that she was a total nerd. Most of her friends knew her as a popular and social person, but on her own time she found enjoyment in gaming, programming, and coding.  One of her more physical hobbies was martial arts, she had been taught by her grandfather at a young age, and she thought it was a lot of fun. More recently however, she didn't have much time to set aside for it, and she didn't fight in competitions since she was still in high school, so she had no real reason to practice. Rii tried to stay fit however, she ran every morning along with her roommate and tried to stay as active as possible.

Rii closed her textbook and set it on her desk, finishing the chapter she was reading. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and put her hands on her temples and rubbed them. Rii had a headache from the information she was going over for her exam, it was extremely complicated and confusing, so she decided she would take a break. She stood up and walked over to her computer, sitting down in the chair and turning the computer on. As she waited for it to start up she glanced to her right and looked out the window. Her eyes looked over the cherry blossom trees and wandered over to the bench that sat peacefully underneath them, she smiled as she looked at it longingly. Rii stood up and grabbed a reading book off her desk making her way out of the room and down through the halls of the dormitories. Eventually she made her way outside and began the short walk to the bench, her bench.

As Rii reclined on the bench and opened her book, she took a deep breath and took in the sweet scent that flowed through the air and covered the grove. She reluctantly exhaled and began reading her book, it was a popular romance novel that she had been enjoying on times like these, giving her a wild tale of love that made her dream of finding such a thing herself one day. Rii had other priorities though, namely her career, which she took very seriously. Around this time it was in the evening, but as Rii continued to read more and more, time passed. Eventually she closed her book, reaching the back of it. She let out a sigh as she thought about the story she had just read, she felt a feeling she always experienced at the end of a book. She was content that she read it, but somewhat depressed that there was no more of it to read. Rii looked up from the book and noticed that the sun was going down, she had been reading for a few hours, and it was starting to get a bit cold outside. She rubbed her bare arms with her hands, trying to heat them up with friction, as she made her way back to her dorm.

Upon entering her room, Rii walked in to find a familiar figure sitting at one of the desks. It was Ariana, Rii's roomate. Ariana was a slightly larger girl than Rii, standing at five-foot six, with short-cropped brown hair and dark brown eyes. Ariana glanced up at Rii and gave a slight wave with her hand to acknowledge Rii's presence. "Hey Rii..." she said in a monotone voice as she went back to whatever she was doing on her computer. "Hey." Rii replied as she walked over to her bed and sat on it. The next twenty minutes or so went by and Rii gradually fell asleep. Ariana noticed Rii sleeping when Ariana herself went to bed, and she just figured that Rii had a long day and wanted to sleep early. A few more hours passed, and around 3 am Rii woke up. 

Rii grogily sat up and looked at the clock, realizing the time, she tried to think back at what she did last. It was then that she realized she had accidently fallen asleep, which created a problem for her because now it was 3 am and she was rested and wasn't tired enough to go back to sleep, which would mess with her classes in the morning. She sighed as she realized she had screwed her next day over. Having no choice at this point, she got up and made her way quietly out of the dorm, grabbing a heavy jacket on her way out. Rii figured she would take a walk and try to wake up a bit so she could come back and study and put her being awake to good use. 

As Rii stepped outside she realized it was freezing, just one of those spring nights where it seemed more like it was still winter than spring. She made her way down the concrete path, no real destination. After a while of aimlessly walking, Rii was pretty awake, no longer groggy from waking up. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, realizing she had made her way to the grove she had sat at earlier. Rii made her way to the bench and sat down, exhaling heavily through her mouth so that she could see her breath, just for fun. It brought her some sort of entertainment to see her own breath, just like it did when she was a child. After a few minutes she decided it was time to head back to her dorm and stick to the books. She stood up from the bench and took a step forward, but it seemed odd, the step she took. It didn't feel right. She assumed she stepped in animal fecies and held her breath before she looked down at where she stepped. To Rii's surprise she hadn't stepping in anything at all, the ground was somehow grey sand. She jumped slightly and looked around at the grove.  The whole ground as far as she could see was sand, and the trees... they were bare. Rii looked to her right and her eyes widened... the entire college was gone.