I woke up to a blazing headache. It’s dark and I can’t really see much, just some shadows and a faint line of light at the bottom of a door. I rub my eyes and stretch lazily. The bed is soft and the sheets feel like satin on my skin. Uh, I need some water and an aspirin.

Reaching over to my nightstand I feel nothing! Did I get drunk last night and move thing’s around? Tiredly I get up and walk to the door. Feeling the hard wood floors, I look around. There isn’t a window I can see, no night stand or closet door. Just a dresser with some stuff piled on top at the end of the bed. Nothing else is in the room. Fuck, this isn’t my room. Did I go home with a random guy last night? I don’t see another person in the room with me. But then why am I in my regular pjs? Forget it, I will worry about this later. Bathroom first. I search for the light switch but don’t find it. Leaving the room I come into a short hallway just as dark. I can feel the the soft fabric of a hallway rug under my bare feet. The air smells stale with a hint of burnt candles. The moonlight is coming in from a window placed high to my right. To my left I can see two more doors. One across from me and a second on the other end of the hall. 

Weelll, that’s a weird layout for a house. The door across could be either another bedroom or the bath and the one at the end most likely leads to the living area. Entering the room across I am surprised to see a small storage area filled with wooden crates, can’t really tell much more thanks to the dark. I do notice that I can’t find a light switch here either. Whatever. Definitely not the bathroom. Other door then.

I turn and walk to the other door. On the other side is another dark room. The shadows are deep and I cannot see much beyond the light from the hallway window. There are some wooden work tables to my left and right with tons of items all over. Ahead of me looks to be a some kind of book shelf. Feeling the walls on both side of the door there is a distinct lack of light switches here too. Just several hooks with some tools and clothes hanging on the walls. Where the hell am I, why can’t I find a bathroom. ‘Hellooo, anyone here?’

Keeping a hand on the workbench I start walking around hoping not to stub my toes on anything. The work bench seems to wrap around the shelving and I hit my shin on a wooden stool. Thankfully I am walking slowly or that could have really hurt. I continue on until workbench ends at what feels like a doorway with a curtain. Stepping through I see the front of a shop with a large window next to the entrance. Moonlight reveals a road with no sort of artificial lighting. I run to the window, nothing looks familiar. No cars on the road, or people for that matter. The architecture is weird and I can see strange trees lining a bricked walkway.

‘Hello!’ I yell really loudly. I’m alone here. Wherever this is. I start looking around. There are tones of glass jars on the shelves and display cases. The counter on my left has a large box and small item displays. Shelves line every wall except the front. Nothing here looks like a normal store. There has got to be a light switch around here some where. 

I start rummaging through the shelves looking to see if I overlooked a switch behind a random jar, there is nothing on the walls. Looking at the counter, maybe a remote for the lights? Still seeing nothing that looks familiar. Check in the drawers under the counter, I search for maybe a candle or a flashlight; again there is nothing. 

Maybe it’s a smart house? I clap my hands, nothing, so I try a few different patterns, nothing! Maybe it’s voice activated like Alexa or Siri?

‘Lights on! Alexa, lights on. Siri, lights on.’

I keep trying different variations as I walk back to the middle room. Maybe there is something in the other rooms? I tie the curtain in a knot so the moonlight will reach the work area. ‘Hey google, turn lights on. Hey google, lights.’ I start rummaging through the random items on the counters. There are many different sized jars and what looks like tools for some kind of chemicals and cooking. ‘First room lights on. Shop lights on. Uhh, illuminate! Illuminate room! Shop lights on!’

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Suddenly the shop area is as bright as day. Instantly I feel the pain in my eyes triggering my headache. I adjust to the lighting. Only the front area is lit. Ok, this I can work with. I instantly stop looking for a physical switch.

‘Workroom lights on. Room two lights on. Work area lights on.’ Yeah, that worked!

I’m so excited I pay no attention to my surroundings.

‘Shop lights off.’ I finally stop panicking when it works. Taking a deep breath I start to take a good look around the workroom. It’s definitely not modern. Reminding me of a shoe repair shop I went to once mixed with a chemistry lab. Everything is made of wood and glass. The shelves in the center of the room have a mixture of metal and wooden slates and boxes, large glass jars filled with powders and liquids. Labels were of a different language. This looks like Greek letters. Shit, where is the bathroom! Looking to the left of the bookcase I spot another door. It’s a small dark room with a pipe sticking out of the ceiling and a box in a corner next to a few shelves with towels and other toiletries. I don’t see any buttons, nozzles, switches or levers anywhere. Guess this is all voice activated too. Sigh. I try a few phrases but nothing works to turn on these lights. I start tapping and running my fingers along the box to see if it’s touch activated. Finally I get something to work. Both front corners of the box seem to activate and deactivate a toilet of some kind. But it’s not mechanical! Left side transformed the box into a cushioned seat with a hole and the right changed it back into a box. It was instantaneous, no sounds or obvious movements.

Shocked, I rock back on my heals and stare at it. Ok, this is beyond weird and totally freaky. I decided to just go with it for now, I really had to pee. Not seeing any toilet paper I grab a small towel from the shelf to take care of business. I left the door open for the light so when I searched for the trash or something I didn’t find anything. But I did notice what looked like a sink  on the counter space in the workroom across from the door. Dropping the towel in the sink I start looking for the activation for what I assume is the water pipe and some soap. About the third jar on the left had what smelled like a powdery soap and the water turned on with a touch to the pipe. I couldn’t figure out how to change the temperature but it was only a little chilly as I washed my hands and the towel. Setting it aside to dry I decide to go back and explore the bedroom and storage area.

‘Bedroom lights on.’

So far I hadn’t seen any pictures or personal items to hint at who lives here so I check the bed and start digging through the drawers looking for my clothes and shoes. There is nothing but the sheets on the bed. Underneath was a neat row of some shoes that looked like a cross between flats and converse in a variety of neutral colors. Looked like they would fit. The dresser was about four feet high with eight drawers and a collection of boxes and cloth bags on top. I check the bags first hoping my clothes are there. Nope, some wood and metal tablets like in the workroom, small tools that I can’t make heads or tails of and more small bags. Couldn’t figure out how to open the boxes so I moved on to the drawers. Underclothes and socks in really nice materials, shirts and pants of a variety of colors and some dresses and sweaters at the bottom. What the fuck? It all looks like it will fit me. And even in colors that I like. But, I don’t recognize the style. More than just freaked out, I rush to the storage room.

‘Storage lights on.’ It took a couple tries but I got the lights on. The room is lined in wooden shelves with boxes stacked in the middle. On my left is more supplies for the shop. At the back looks like big storage bins and on my right is food. What was really weird is that there was no plastic of any kind anywhere in the house. The food looked like some of it should be placed in a fridge but was just sitting on the shelves next to dried goods. I touched what looked like a jar of milk. As my hand crossed above the shelf I could feel air as cold as a fridge. It was as if I crossed an invisible barrier. All the shelves with food items had this affect.