It’s been with me all night.

I was in a place I didn’t quite recognize. I was looking out a foggy window. An ordinary space with no..characterizing features. I was somewhere, I didn’t know where, but I was there.

And then I noticed her.

She was just standing there, this girl I’d never seen before. But she didn’t look like she was completely there. She was fading in and out or something. It’s like trying to write something when you’re on the verge of falling asleep, so instead, you write some gibberish.

But I could still see enough to tell that her skin was super pale, almost like she hadn’t been outside in forever. It wasn’t like a normal pale, like she was glowing in a really, really faint way.

And then there was her hair. At first, I couldn’t even tell what color it was. This dull, nondescript color, blending in with everything else. But then the light came, it was the perfect angle. I guess that’s when I saw it.

Her hair was brown but not the brown that was in your face. The color didn’t resemble chocolate or a common toad. More like the kind of brown that hides until you really look for it, or until the light decides to show you what’s been there all along.

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And right at the front of her hair were these silver streaks, and they were eminently bright against the rest of her hair too. They weren’t loud or distasteful, but they did stand out in a way that felt deliberate, like they were meant to catch your eye.

I don’t know what she was doing there or if she even noticed me, but she just stood still, almost like she was waiting for someone. Waiting for me? Everything around me was quiet, almost eerily so, except for a faint humming sound that I couldn’t quite put a finger on.

I wanted to ask her something, anything, really, but the words just wouldn’t come. I tried to move closer, but my feet wouldn’t really work, like I was inside a grain bin. The whole thing felt really strange, but also, like, kinda customary at the same time?

Like it was supposed to be happening, even though nothing made sense. She was the only clear thing in a world that was sizzling away.

I don’t really know how long I was standing there, trying to figure her out. Time didn’t seem to be working right, it felt like I’d been in here for days. I wanted to ask her something—maybe her name or WHY she was there—but no words would come out. It was like screaming in a nightmare, but no. Nothing. My voice wouldn’t be heard. All I could do was watch.

Everything got darker, and before I knew it, I was waking up in my bed, the whole thing disappearing like it never even happened.