Chapter 3 (1/2)

The red umbrella

You stand in a very diht

Behind you is the door you just passed through, floating unnaturally above the ground Besides you and the door, everything is drowned in absolute, limitless darkness

It ht, just after it had finished raining Quiet and ithout a soul in sight

It calls toback ho last enjoying some peace The scenery was just as if it came out from those moments, between happiness and happiness, peace and peace, where the anxiety could make you feel sick

You seem a little confused

You start walking around the door, but always keep it in the edge of your view, never stray from it too far, almost like you're bound to it by rope As if it's a way to ensure it doesn't suddenly vanish behind your back You're taking safety measures, is all Or is it just cowardice?

But nothing out of the ordinary happens The landscape doesn't change, and there is no movement around you-- only that of your own body

Relieved, or e, you dare to walk farther

In this darkness, without any landmark to help you maintain your sense of direction, you decide to use the door as a reference point, and start ht line fro caked withslowly back and forth

At your feet, you can see puddles from time to time It really must have rained recently, then You calh your socks and dirties your feet

The puddles swirl-- a hint at so deeper, as if they held the secrets of your future

Like that beautiful and clear surface, pro happiness and success

Or thata dark omen of hardshi+p and weariness

Anyone would say that stepping on a puddle is unpleasant Everyone knows that bacteria and ots overflow inwet, too It can be seen as an invitation of poor fortune At least if the water was clear, you could pose the idea as so your own heart

As if still trying to deter, fro reflection, you can see a heavy cloud, like the one that hung in the sky above that s up the lee

Heedlessly, you step over the puddles Each time you do it, your body's reflection is cast on the water With every step, ripples appear on the surface, warping the ie Even after you leave the puddle behind, those ripples re eerie distortions

Your reflection beco clay, and reshapes itself into a couple of well-dressed adults They walk on by without looking at you, just glaring at each other, like a couple in the ht

That distorted i and spitting at each other

But you don't notice at all