Solace ~ h.s.

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3 Months Later

It was a flash, like a vivid dream in front of my very eyes. Everything felt so real; every emotion, every touch, every word spoken. Everything that happened felt so real, so God damn real. And it was real, until the moment people around me began to fade away.

The bakery is open and booming, but the customers are fading away, they disappear. One minute they're queued up in front of the counter and the next they're gone. My employees gone, vanished, until all that is left are Harry and I, standing meters away from each other in the back of the eerily empty bakery.

Suddenly, I'm overcome with emotion, fear, sadness, anxiety. The feeling creeps up deep within me, making my appendages tingle all at once. It's like when you start to feel buzzed and a great warmth comes over you, only I'm not feeling warm and fuzzy nor do I anticipate a good time.

Upon looking down at my shaking limbs a frightened gasp leaves my lips. Looking back up from my clothes, I see Harry staring sadly at me from across the room. He looks like a ghost, hęll my own skin looks ghost-like with it's eerily blue undertones and pale white overlay.

"What's happening to me?" I question, my words flying out of my mouth and I notice that in the once heated space you can now see my breath wafting into the air when I speak. When he doesn't respond, I call out to him, "Harry! Why am I wearing these clothes?"

I could never forget these clothes; dark skinny jeans with rips through the knees, a striped black and white blouse, a black cardigan with a tiny hole near my elbow from a snag, and slightly scuffed red booties with heels that made me tower over even my father. This was the outfit I wore on the day of the crash, the outfit that was soon soaked to the core by murky water.

A shiver goes down my entire spine as I look around the room to everything fading away, looking just as it had when I first bought the place; dusty, worn, and dark. I realize that I'm freezing in a matter of seconds, my shaking limbs not just from adrenaline and fear but from the severe cold I'm just now processing.

"Why am I so cold?" I question, bringing my arms up to wrap them around myself in hopes to give myself some warmth. I even breathe into my hands, but I feel nothing but icy chills from lungs. How can even the air within my lungs be ice cold?

Harry looks to me, his bottom lip quivering as I stand questioning the situation around us.

Everything had been perfect, the bakery had opened without a hitch. Customers were flowing through the door. I hadn't burned a single batch of sweets in the days leading up to the grand opening. I was happy, lively; but now everything was turned upside down. Apparently happiness can't live on forever...

"I'm so sorry, Belle."

"Why are you sorry?" I ask, equally upset and on the verge of tears. In fact, I feel the moisture on my face so I must already be crying. "What is going on?" I put the question out into the air again, hoping this time to get more than just a sad look in my direction.

Shaking my head, I look down, gasping at the sight. Not only am I absolutely freezing to the core, but now I'm also dripping wet, from head to toe. My blouse sticks to my skin, the white parts of the stripes showing off bits of my skin from beneath the fabric. My hands run through my hair, only to be met with soaked strands of hair.

"This is a nightmare." I tell myself, looking around at the scenery around us. "This isn't real. None of this is real."

"You're right." Harry's voice is eerily calm in this moment, which scares me a bit. I just keep telling myself this is a nightmare and that I just need to wake myself up.