A project story | Story by Paralumannn, Illustrated by Danielle (Sadsushi)
You can check him out on Instagram: lumangbuan
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She was almost certain she's crazy.
Of the rainbow-colored eyes staring back at her; the fast-moving colors of autumn and winter outside her windows; the bloody sky and the tempting rain waiting at the background. The slithering shadows; distorted images and the words dancing on her ceiling.
All of it.
All that which aren't real.
The sweetness and the bitterness of her coffee brought her back to reality. She doesn't even like caramel. All the more reason to drink it, she convinced herself.
The old lady from the next room smiled at her as they got off from the elevator, red and yellow halos circled around her head.
"As much as they want you to forget, the things you see are more real than the things on the background. You are still human, do not forget, my dear River." The lady whispered to her, as if afraid that someone else might be listening to them. As she opened the door to her apartment all she could think about was how the lady smelled like moth balls and how it reminded her of her first delusion.
Give me your name.
She stared at her reflection through the hallway mirror; her tired eyes rested on her olive green irides, —filled with panic and anxiety.
Your name, give me your name.
The voice repeated; a combination of high and low pitch melody: a woman, an old man, and a child. The authority from the voices made her answer without even thinking.
"River..." She whispered, "River Sin...clair" her voice drowned with her own fear.
River Sinclair no longer belongs to you. It belongs to us now.
***
"Miss?" A man, preferably an interviewer on this case, sat opposite to the girl. The said man wore a grey suit, a black tie and a worried expression which he tried to hide as much as he could. A table rested between them in the middle of a white empty room. Despite the careful facade of the setting, the girl felt like someone else was there with them —watching.
The girl cleared her throat before she managed to whisper a soft yes with an equal tone of uncertainty. "Ye-es?"
"State your name." The interviewer was usually a very patient man but unfortunately for the girl, this day wasn't usual. Not at all, the man repeated to himself as he flipped over the pages of his files.
"Your name. Give me your name." The girl had a sudden glimpse of deja vu from the interviewer's request but there was a gap in her mind that kept on pushing her further away.
"I... I don't know... sir—" Still, she tried.
"Good, good." The man checked a few boxes on his list, "And what's the last thing you remember?"
"I... I" She closed her eyes this time, her face masked with frustration.
"You don't have to force yourself if you can't..." But the man waited for her answer, just in case. "If there isn't anything else, follow me to the door."
The girl stood up, her legs slowly moved. Her mind was as empty as that room, but her eyes cried with desperation.
As if the man heard her silent screams he moved closer to her. So close that she could feel the familiarity of his presence, "River..." he whispered, pain and relief stained his face. "—we don't have much time, River. I need you to wake up."
*** A name, that's all it took. The shadows stole human's identity together with their names. But there are few who still fight for humanity. Few who remembers...
