𝐧𝐲𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚 · 𝘵𝘢𝘦, 𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦

scene one

ACTION!

irene woke up to the blinding sunlight that seeped inside the white blinds, wondering why she was wearing a white nightgown.

sitting on top of her bed, speechless, desperate for answers for questions that randomly popped into her head as she woke up to a place she was unfamiliar of; she was used to seeing the same peach room after opening her eyes from a sleep where she dreamed of so many unexpected things, but kept forgetting why she was there.

it was probably the day before when the sun sank and the night draws into the once blue sky, when countless stars lit up the dark along with the crescent moon where she'd go to sleep and forget certain events that happened.

why was she here?

she stood up from her bed and got out of the mansion that was covered with flowers that dried over the decades; the outside of her house ageing but the inside still looking the same. the path to the entrance of the big, wooden door was filled with dried, trodden leaves that seemed to be replaced but to be looking the same way as before.

walking out of the gate, people were staring at her like as if she was someone they didn't know yet.

all these 110 years, she always woke up to an empty bed forgetting who she was, or why she was there.

every night she'd fall in love, she'd forget the next day. everyday was happiness that she'd grieve over the next day, not knowing why the moon hated her so much.

walking the wet roads with bare feet, she looked around her wondering why she was here. everyday was a restart of her life, and she never had the answer to why she kept appearing on a place she didn't know about.

bumping into a bigger, taller person than her, she looked up and saw the son of the leader of the town.

his eyes and forehead was covered with the shadow of his fedora, but irene could see his black eyes who shimmered like the stars she saw every night before she fainted and forgot everything that she encountered.

brushing past him with eyes still meeting, irene and him continued walking, and the sides of irene's lips twitched to a smile.

~~~

irene looked at the clock, waiting for the short hand to strike 9 where she randomly faints and forgets everything that happened today. it was no longer a new thing for her, and she expected this to happen every night.

but deep down inside, there was this desperate need of help. but she knew that she wasn't getting it, and accepted it anyway.

finally, it was 9. but she didn't faint yet, and she found this strange.

she stayed awake, still remembering everything that happened: meeting the mayor's son after 50 years, walking around the once familiar town but kept forgetting where she was, everything was still familiar to her.

and she thought, was this a dream?

she slapped herself to "wake" herself up, but it only caused pain on her right cheek. this is the part where she realized that she wasn't asleep.

she got out of the house and saw lanterns flying from the ground, orchestras were singing and making music, and everyone was dancing around. stars filled the navy sky, and it was a wonderful view that was only to be seen once in her lifetime.

but is it really only once in her life?

it was her 111th year in this strange world. just like the stars which nobody knew when they were born and when they were to wither away, irene looked around her like it was her last day to live. it scared her, the fact that she was able to see everything that happened every night when she fell asleep not remembering each memory made in a day made her feel strange.

without her knowing, the morning drew again, and she finally realized how fast time was when she was awake.

everyone froze and wondered why the night ended so fast, and they looked at the front of irene's house, seeing the sleeping beauty be awake for one, fast night. everyone cheered, and the sides of irene's lips twitched to a smile.

this was a bright start of another day alive, irene thought.