I stood in front of my apartment door, panting
My hand shook on the handle
And my mind was still stuck on the black car at the end of the street
I went in quickly
Closed the door behind me twice
As if the lock alone would not stop anything
I leaned against the wall
Trying to catch my breath
And suddenly
A flash of an image hit my mind
It was not a full vision
And it did not look like what I was used to
A door
The same door
Number 5
But without walls
Without a street
Without time
The image floated without context
Without sound
As if it was
Remnants of an old vision
Or a shadow of a vision that never finished
I opened my eyes quickly
Trying to push it away
I heard a voice from the kitchen
"Ginso, you are late, where have you been"
My mother was cutting vegetables, her eyes fixed on me
I tried to look as normal as possible
"Ah, just some problems with transport"
She nodded and continued
"Dinner is ready"
I sat with her
Trying to focus on the food
But I saw everything as if behind a layer of glass
After dinner
I went into my room and closed the door
Sat on the bed
And my thoughts began devouring each other
What does the organization want
What does "Employment under review" mean in my account
Are they watching me now
Was the black car theirs
I whispered to myself
"As long as employment is not confirmed, maybe, maybe they are just watching, they won't do anything now"
But my heart did not believe the lie
And while I was thinking
Fatigue overcame me
And I fell asleep without noticing
I woke up in the morning
Bird sounds from the direction of the window
I looked at my phone so i can see the time
8:00 AM
I jumped out of bed, terrified
"Damn, I'm late"
I dressed quickly
Grabbed my bag
And ran to the door
My mother opened the door from the other side suddenly
"Ginso, what are you doing"
I said, breathing fast
"I'm late for university"
She looked at me in deep surprise
"What are you saying, it's only six in the morning"
I froze
Raised my phone again
And saw clearly
6:02AM
Not 8:00AM
I whispered
"But I saw"
Then I stopped
I don't know what I saw
Or why I saw it
Maybe I was half asleep
Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me
I sat and had my breakfast calmly
But my hands did not stop shaking
---
I reached the university as the morning became crowded with students
All of them normal
Carrying notebooks
Laughing
Talking
But I was looking for one person
Riko
I entered the classroom
My eyes scanned the seats one by one
And suddenly
I stopped
There he was
Sitting on a chair in the corner
His back familiar
His bag
Even the way he sat
Riko
I took a step
Then another
As if all the university noise disappeared
I whispered
"Riko"
He did not move
I got closer
Reached out my hand
My fingers touched his shoulder
But it touched nothing
He disappeared
Suddenly
As if he had never been there
The seat completely empty
I stepped back
My heart was pounding
And my mind refused to understand what happened
Was it a vision
Was it a possibility
Was it… an illusion
I wiped my face
Tried to look normal
Sat in my place
But I didn't hear a single word from the lecture
All my thoughts were on one sentence
"What is happening to me"
---
When the class ended
I left quickly
Took out my phone and called Miuco
As soon as she answered I said
"Miuco, I saw something strange, something that is not a vision, and not real"
I paused
I didn't know how to explain
But her voice was calm
Closer to understanding than I expected
"Ginso, listen to me
This is not the first time it happens
And I know what you are going through"
My eyes widened
"You know? What is happening to me"
She said
"I can't explain everything now
We need to meet
Tonight"
Then she hung up
And I stood there
Feeling the line between my vision and reality
Slowly starting to disappear