[ I'M JUST A HUMAN ]

「 1 - Dark Blue Petals 」

"Hey…. You're still going with it? Is it that important?" She gave a worried look.

"This plant is something that has yet to be discovered! Look at it's beautifully mesmerizing dark blue petals!" I said enthusiastically.

"Sure, sure, you mad scientist. Just don't overwork yourself okay?"

"Don't worry about me Qis, I'll be fine," I gave her a smile.

She blushed. The lab keys jingled upon pulling out of her pocket. Her hands swayed, signaling that I mustn't forget to lock the door. She placed it on the table near the exit and left, gently shutting the door. Footsteps were heard as it slowly disappeared from my ears. Why do high heels have to be so loud? Nonetheless, I ignored the useless thought and went back on my research.

Recently, a new discovery has been made. It was just a theory at first but lately, it showed signs of appearing as solid on earth. With the new interesting discoveries, other unnatural and seemingly extraterrestrial phenomena began to emerge.

[ Light matter ]

In theory, it exists in an entirely different dimension, yet is still in this universe. It's not solid, liquid nor gas. It exists just about everywhere, yet nowhere. The human eyes couldn't see it and the human brain can't comprehend it. It exists just to exist. And if you're lucky enough, you might catch a glimpse. Some who said they have seen it, went insane and died from burnt out. 

At first, all of us wouldn't believe this piece of shit, that's obvious. After all, it was created by a random high school kid who went into 5 years of coma before. When he woke up, he immediately spatted a bunch of nonsense. Then went back to sleep and died. Such tragedy, I sighed. 

Not long afterwards, new species came out and the world went into chaos. Well, only those who care. New species of plants to be exact, and that's what I'm looking at right now.

The dark blue petals are too unnatural for nature to produce and the stem is weak, but with force, it's sturdy enough to cut the skin. Upon closer inspection, it's cells resemble a normal plant A nucleus and cell wall, tightly packed to create the petal. Not much of a difference.

I felt a little sad. Maybe I need some rest, I'm sure I'll discover something tomorrow.

I turned off every appliance and locked the door, double checking it just to make sure. I made my way towards my car and stepped inside. The keys went in perfectly and the engine started. I drove calmly while listening to old tunes, primarily the 70s. As my car window opened, I enjoyed the city breeze and its light.

My phone vibrated and I put it on speaker. It was my acquaintance. 

"Hey Qis! Why'd you call me?" 

"Ah, nothing much. Just wanted to check whether you have left the place or not."

"I have~ I have~" I chuckled silently.

"I heard you," she said sternly. "I was just worried."

"Thanks for checking me in."

"Don't go out drinking or anywhere else okay? Immediately go to your house and get under the blanket."

"I don't drink."

"Remember last time we had dinner?"

"Oh," I remembered. "Don't remind me of an embarrassing memory."

"You always go overboard when you're stressed. Just make sure to follow my advice this time? I need to go. Bye!"

She immediately hung up. I sighed. Oh please, please forget that embarrassing memory. I always ended up doing something stupid when stressed. Even went out of my way to remind it on my phone, put a reminder on my homepage. 

[ Don't drink or smoke unless you want to die ]

It's a good motivation so far. Haven't picked up a bottle for 2 weeks now, 7 more and I can basically cut it out of my life.

I have finally arrived. My comfort zone, where I can rest and do whatever I want.

HOME SWEET HOME!

I went inside, took off my shoes and hung my bag. My hand automatically opened the fridge and took a can of orange Fanta. I switched on the tv and played a boring crime documentary as a background noise. I took off my shirt and pants, letting my body feel the cold air. Today was considerably hotter than any other day. I went up the window and opened it.

Great! It's raining!

My arm rested on the window as I stared into the cloudy sky. The rain poured lightly, lightning could be heard in the distance. It'll be heavy tonight, I shouldn't use the air conditioner to save the electrical bill.

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I showered making sure to scrub every nook and cranny, even in between my legs, brushed my teeth and washed my face properly. Good skin gives good impressions.

I put up a net over the window and a mosquito repellent. My body crawled itself to bed and shut off. 

The memory of me picking up the unnatural flower with my bare hands still remained clear. Usually I would go straight to my report and take pictures, but I didn't. My body wouldn't move, I couldn't even lift my feet. I stood there silently staring at the dark blue flower. It reminded me of something. Something I couldn't remember. Buried deep into my subconscious. No matter how much I tried to dig the forgotten memory, no results came out. Frustrated, I dropped the flower and crushed it. My shoes roughly grinded the flower to a pulp. It's dark juices flowed across the rocks, painting them in the mysterious colour. My heart beated rapidly, I wasn't able to breathe. I could but it hurts. My chest feels heavy and my head started to hurt. I turned around and ran away as far as I could. It felt slow, like I was stuck in a slow motion, but I continued to run. My legs were heavy, like stones stuck into the soil. 

To no avail, I'm stuck. Stuck in this shitty garden filled with those disgusting flowers. I vomited. The blue and red vomit tainted the green grass and soil. I vomited and vomited. It continued on and on and on that my throat began to sting.

I feel sick. Someone get me out of here! Someone! Please!

"AAAGHHH!" I screamed in pain.

My hand clenched my chest as my lungs grasped for air. I tried to calm myself down, slowly breathing in and out. My chest still hurts but I managed to breath normally. I took the bottled water next to my bed and chugged down a huge amount.

It was… a dream… (?)

I sighed in relief. Oh stupid, it was just a dream. A dream, a dream, a dream. Qis was right, I should take a rest. Suddenly, I had the strangest idea. Before I knew it, my fingers were ready to dial her number. I pressed it without a second thought. She immediately picked up.

"Hello? What's wrong?"

"Oh Qis! You're awake!"

"It's almost midday- DON'T TELL ME YOU WENT DRINKING AGAIN!" She scolded.

"If I did, why would I call you? I would have a major headache right now."

"That's right. So, why call me?"

"Actually. I don't know why either," I shrugged.

"Goodby-"

"Wait," I cut her off before she could finish."You were right-"

"Told you so," she said with a monotonous voice. 

"I didn't even tell you why!" I grumbled. "Well whatever, the fact is, I had a bad dream regarding the flower. Maybe I'm too obsessed," I admitted.

"Take the day off, I'll take care of everything else," she sighed.

"Thanks. Give my regards to the boss will ya?"

"Yeah."

And the call ended. Felt good to get it off my chest. I rarely tell others about my problems but Qis is someone I trust. Been friends for over 8 years now, why wouldn't I trust her? 

I hopped off the bed and washed my face. Didn't feel like washing myself so I just put on a new pair of shirt and pants. I just wanted to go visit the nearest convenience store after all.

I grabbed my bag and opened the door.

But right after I stepped outside, everything went white. Within a single blink, I'm somewhere else.

A white room. No. A blank place. No end, no start. A world where nothing exists. 

The door slammed shut behind me.

"Huh?!"

I scurried to find the door. It's not here. I started to panic. This feeling, fear….

"Don't even try. It's not there," a voice echoed in my head. 

Head?

A nasally deep annoying voice, one that can make your ears bleed like nail scratches on a blackboard. 

"Oh brother! Don't speak. Your voice is too annoying! Just shut up. Even our guest doesn't want to hear it."

This time a soothingly light voice. Like the ocean waves vibrating through your eardrums. One might fall asleep if they ever spoke. It calms the heart and soothes your head. 

Two figures appeared in front of me. Two heads with pairs of skeletal hands. They don't have a body, just a floating head and hands. 

"Hello dear guest, welcome to the gate," the soothing voice greeted.

Although they are right in front of me, their voice seems to echo in my head. It's a little confusing. 

"I don't know who you both are. You have the wrong guest I suppose," I shook my head. "Well, I'll be off now. May you show me the exit?" I asked politely.

They looked at each other. It seems like they're communicating? But I couldn't hear anything. 

"We never get our guest lists wrong."

"Our duty is to invite those to the gate and judge them accordingly."

"Those who have entered cannot go back, as they say."

"Where did you get that crappy legend from, brother?!"

"But isn't that-"

"No! Did you even learn anything?!"

"I'm sorry brother!"

"Now you have embarrassed us in front of our guest!"

"But he said he wasn't!"

"WE NEVER GOT IT WRONG!"

"I'M SORRY."

"Brother, can't you just staple that mouth of yours? Maybe cover that entire mask."

"No brother, don't do that…."

"Be a good person will you? For me?"

"Yes brother."

"Now let us do our duty and get this over with."

"Yes brother."

The more I listened, the more I couldn't tell who was who. Despite their voices being the complete opposite, I couldn't tell them apart. 

"Anyway, please go through here and you will arrive at your destination. According to the list here," it pointed towards a big door.

"Does it lead to my house?" I asked.

"No."

"Sorry, but I would love to go back," I declined. 

"No can do. Orders are orders and now move your legs to that door."

"No."

Suddenly, I was pushed right at the edge.

"Orders are orders,"

"Then tell to them to fuck off and let me go back to my apartment!" I started to lose my cool.

"Stop complaining and follow the order given."

"Shut up. I don't even know you guys."

And I was pushed. My body fell through the sky.

"OI! AT LEAST PUSH ME ON THE GROUND. HOW WOULD I SURVIVE THIS? HEYYYYY!!! HEYYYYY!!!"

My screams weren't working. Great, I guess I'll die. 

Surprisingly, I didn't overreact when I met those two. Truly peculiar beings. Any normal human would scream their lungs out if they see them. I guess I'm not? 

That reminds me. Peculiar beings. Peculiar plants. What has the world gotten into? It's truly chaotic.

I'll just hope they credit me for the flower discovery. That's my wish. I don't have much else to live for anyway. Study, study, study. That's what I do most of the time. Maybe watch a few Netflix shows and anime. I have been getting into k-dramas too. It's sad I wouldn't know what happened to the mc. Ah and that one anime! It was so good yet I couldn't finish it.

My eyes went shut.

Huh? Did I faint because of the shock?

Ahhh…. There was so much more to discover. So much potential. 

Well, what's done is done.

.

To Be Continued....