A 'Brilliant Future'

Chapter 2; "Mirai"

Darkness.

It was all there was. Nothing. No light, no scent, no taste, no feels, plain darkness. Untouchable, undefiable, scaring darkness, surrounding me everywhere.

Then the sounds came.

Tickling from the rain on a surface close above me. Sounds from cars passing by, distant chatter, the clinking of bottles, a barking dog further away.

Suddenly, a scream. It was the voice of a girl, high-pitched and loaded with fear and pain. It cut through the darkness like a hot knife through butter and got closer and closer, until it reached me. It was cold. The chill spread throughout my body until every piece was shivering and shaking. Then, it stabbed me. Deep, painful in my chest. Burning hands. My back was on fire.

And all of a sudden, I realised something. It was my scream.

I jolted up, sweat dripping down my spine and wetting the coat I was wearing. When I opened my eyes, the world was spinning so wildly around me that I had to close them again immediately. Pressing my hands against my forehead, I bent forewards until I was sitting with my head between my knees. My breath hitched and my body was shaking.

I could still feel it.The pain, the fearfulness, the urge to scream and cry out.

I recognised the symptoms immediately. A panic attack. Because of a bad dream. Or was it? No, I didn't have any memory of such sort, so it really was just a nightmare.

Okay, just count to ten. And keep breathing.

One. Breathe in.

My hands clutched onto pieces of my hair, repressing the urge to scream my lungs out.

Two. Breathe out.

My lips quivered as the air escaped my mouth. I tried hard to blow out slowly and not rush it. It wouldn't do any good if I lost conscience now.

Three. Breathe in.

I don't even want to guess how high my blood-pressure is at the moment, jeez.

Four. Breathe out.

I couldn't do much about the shaking now, but at least I got my breathing back under control. Okay, let's see how fast the world moves now.

Slowly I opened my eyes again and sat straight and thank Heavens the world had stopped spinning. I got rid of the attack rather fast this time, it amazed me.

I tried to orientate where exactly I was. I already knew I wasn't in my own room. I looked around me. I was sitting in a bed, a kingsize bed with freshly washed, purely white sheets and a beautiful carved wooden frame. If I could sell this bed, I could've paid the bills much, much easier than before.

The wall opposite of me was painted in a soft orange colour, and spread along the surface hung multiple flyers promoting long-haired men with angry expressions. Shouty letters decorated the flyers, but the font was so difficult, I couldn't even make out what they were trying to say.

The room expended further to my right, filled with bookshelves and a desk against the wall furthest in the back. It was stocked with paperwork and books and, from time to time, one of the papers was blown off by the soft breeze let in by a window somewhere. Right now again, I noticed one move statically, frantically trying to flee, it seemed. Finally, it was pulled free by the wind, and it drifted to the ground like a leaf in the golden days of autumn.

As I followed the sheet of paper with my eyes, my gaze came across the posture of a human. A boy, to be specific. His dark hair fell over his forehead and hid the biggest part of his face. All I could see was a part of his cheek, his strong jawline and his pinkish lips, moving slightly at the pace of his breathing. He looked so peaceful, far away in his dreams, not aware that I was awake and staring at him right at this moment.