"Mom… I don't want you to wash this shirt today. I'll need it later."
What a miserable life. All I wanted was a simple, quiet day just one day without my family's constant chaos.
I told her, "I'm going out for a walk. Just don't touch the shirt while I'm gone."
And I stepped outside.
My favorite time of day is just past midnight, when the world is quiet and the night sky stretches endlessly above me. The stars sparkle like scattered gems, and the moon hangs in the center, a bright, perfect disk illuminating everything in cold, silver light. In these moments, I escape the harsh reality of my life. Here, in my imagination, there is no shouting, no endless chores, no arguments, no debts, no wars just a world of my own creation.
I've always dreamed of living in that imaginary world a place full of strange creatures and fantastical landscapes. A world untouched by the petty concerns of humans.
And then… something bright appeared in the sky. A gleaming object slicing through the darkness at impossible speed. My heart skipped a beat.
A meteor ? A missile ? Something that would strike my head any second ?
But just as suddenly as it appeared, it vanished. I stood frozen, staring. Shaking off the unease, I continued walking.
Soon, I reached a dark corridor I had never noticed before. The air grew unnaturally cold. From the end of the corridor came a dazzling light, moving toward me. At first, I thought it was a vehicle maybe a truck or a car but no. It was something else, something… impossible.
It moved faster and faster, giving me no time to think. I collided with it.
I fell to the ground, my breath caught, my head spinning. Strangely, the impact didn't feel like a collision with a solid object. It was something… beyond comprehension.
I lost consciousness.
When I opened my eyes, I was somewhere else entirely. Darkness stretched endlessly in every direction, cold and vast. I walked and walked, my mind racing. Where am I ? What is this place ? Was I kidnapped? Did I die?
I screamed, "Where am I ?!"
Then, from somewhere far away, a voice echoed, repeating in the empty space:
"The system has been activated."
"The system has been activated."
I shouted again, panic rising. "Who's there?! What system ?! Get me out of here!"
But the only answer was the repeated voice.
Suddenly, the blinding light appeared again, along with a chilling wind. And I… fainted once more.
When I came to, I found myself in the middle of a raging sandstorm. Endless dunes surrounded me, stretching as far as the eye could see. Somehow, I had survived being swept into this harsh wilderness. I climbed a high dune, and at the top… I froze.
A city lay in the distance. Buildings of all shapes and heights, trees, greenery… how was any of this possible in the middle of a desert? Was I on another planet? In another time?
Questions swirled in my mind, but I had no choice but to move toward the city. The desert offered no mercy. Hunger and thirst gnawed at me as the ground beneath began to tremble.
Suddenly, the earth shook violently. The sand shifted, and my balance faltered. I felt the ground trying to swallow me.
And then… I saw it.
A monstrous creature emerged from the desert, floating toward me. Horrifying, with a single glaring eye, two grotesque tongues, and gray, leathery skin. Its jagged teeth gleamed in the moonlight, filthy and sharp.
I froze in terror. My body refused to move.
It opened its mouth, revealing rows of jagged teeth, and spoke in a deep, chilling voice:
Hello… Freddy...