The world was rapidly spinning around me; I felt nauseous, and my heart was beating so loudly I made my ears feel as if they were about to burst. Strange images flashed before my mind for a split second.

Many voices were screaming all around me, belonging to figures and shapes resembling distorted humans. Those things emerged from the ground, covered in dirt, sand, and weed. No one else seemed to notice their presence.

They were slowly marching around me, staring at me with their mouths wide open, letting out horrific screams. The closer they got, the more they screamed in pain, sometimes even collapsing to the ground, cursing at me with all they had.

I couldn’t move; I felt as if I was living a nightmare. Looking at those dark shapes made me want to run, to leave those kids on their own and save myself.

“What are you doing? You have to pass the ball, not block it!” Helena protested.

The abrupt call brought me back to reality. I looked down and saw that there was no hand grabbing my legs; there were no specters roaming around me screaming in my ears. I then exhaled for the first time while drenched in cold sweat.

“I changed my mind; I don’t want to play this game. I don’t want to be here; let’s go back… I just… I can’t stay here any longer.” That’s what I wanted to say, but I refrained and simply answered. “I’m fine, I think.” With my heart still beating out of my chest.

My body was reacting strangely; the slightest trigger was enough to terrify me, be it the sound of a kid tripping on a bush and scraping its knee, the sound of one of those food vendors screaming out loud the price of its food, or the ball rapidly flying at me. My heart was beating out of my chest, and I had already begun to sweat.

What the hell is wrong with my body? Calm down… Don’t panic; everything’s okay; you’re safe.

I kept repeating this mantra in my mind whenever I felt my heart bursting out of my chest.

“Luke? What’s wrong?” Helena kept asking me every time I was on the verge of breaking down. I wasn’t crying or doing much, yet she would always notice first that I was paralyzed in fear.

“Nothing.” I responded every time.

Everything seemed to be fine, and with time, the panic attacks gradually decreased until we all got tired. When I sat down to take a moment to rest, everything exploded around me; I saw the whole place lit on fire, blood raining down from the skies, and people screaming in agony all around.

Everyone was looking at me with puzzled looks on their faces, waiting for my response. Helena was calling my name, but I couldn’t hear her anymore; the only thing I could hear was a high-pitched scream in my ears along with my heartbeat.

I tried saying something to reassure the others, something along the lines of “I’m okay; I just felt a little lightheaded; we can resume playing.” Instead, all I did was plant my face on the ground and pass out.

I woke up to the sizzling sound of something being fried. The smell reminded me of a donut, so it quickly woke me up.

What? Where am I?

We were no longer in the park; we were in a sports center, in front of a small bar, full of sweaty kids.

The place was mostly outdoors, with many football camps; I counted four in total, an empty swimming pool, and a tennis camp.

The sizzling sound came from a woman cooking in front of one of the many football camps; she was selling her street food there along with sweet drinks.

The others were waiting in line in front of the old lady selling those fried snacks; after she finished cooking them, she would coat them with a sweet syrup and sprinkle some sugar powder on top before serving them.

The hell? Why am I here? Why didn’t they bring me to a hospital? Ah, my neck, what hell have they done to my body?

I was resting on top of a plastic table, away from the large crowd; next to me were Lucia’s boyfriend and Helena. He silently passed me a glass of water.

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Why is it salty?

I thought as I spat out the drink as soon as I put it in my mouth, it was also incredibly bitter, so bitter it woke me up. The drink left a stinging feel in my mouth. Similar to the toothpaste my father used regularly.

“What the hell? Are you trying to poison me?” I shouted at him while tossing the drink away. The glass shattered on the ground, startling some of the folks standing nearby.

My complaints flew over his head as he ignored me, his eyes glued to the screen of his phone; that’s when I realized that his eyes also had color.

Wait? Were they colored before? I don’t think so… damn it, why didn’t I take a proper look at him? Wait, why is Helena so silent? Usually she would make a big fuss, asking me if I’m okay or not.

She was currently watching a video on a phone, most likely Lucy’s.

“Wow, video games are terrible, but not the internet?” I teased her after jumping off the table.

I still wasn’t feeling well, but since everyone else around us was partying, I didn’t want to spoil the mood, so I gathered every bit of vigor left in me and put on the nicest, most jovial front.

“Shut up, those are completely different things?” She rebuked.

“So what about online games? Are they worse, or are they better because of the internet connection?” I asked.

Surely you’re not going to say they’re better. Checkmate!

She simply ignored my question and kept looking at her videos of cats reacting to kittens.

“We’re back. Oh, he’s awake now. How are you feeling now?” Lucia said as she came back along with the rest of the kids; they were all holding a small white plastic container filled with freshly cooked donuts.

“You scared us when you suddenly passed out out of nowhere; we brought you to a pediatrician, but he said you were perfectly fine, so we decided to get one last snack before going back home. You don’t mind that, do you?” She sat down along with the rest of the group. She spoke so fast I didn’t understand a single thing she said.

“Can you repeat what you just said? Slower if you can.” I asked her.

Instead of repeating what she had just said but slower, she handed me one of those plastic containers.

The shape of the donut was a bit off; they didn’t look quite as round or smooth as the ones I was familiar with. Not only that, but they had a different smell. Inside the container were six donuts and a cup full of chocolate spread.

“Enjoy, my treat.” She said as she handed her boyfriend the same container.

I could once again feel the stare of everyone present at that party because we had colors; everyone looked at us weird.

Big deal, we’re less boring-looking than the rest of you; does that give you the right to stare a hole in our backs? No, now can you please stop staring at us? Or at least stop doing it so openly! I’ve just recovered from a weird sickness!

“How much?” Lucia’s boyfriend suddenly interrupted our silent moment; he had taken out his wallet and was talking to Lucia at the moment.

“What’s this?” I asked the other while trying to listen to what those two were talking about.

“Picarones!” Elena answered with an annoyed tone.

W-what’s with that tone? Why is she suddenly pissed? What happened? Is it because of me?

Everyone else was staring at me, waiting for me to take a bite of the snack.

Did you do something to the food? Why are you staring at me so much?

“Is there something on my face?” I asked them.

“No, no, don’t worry, it didn’t cost much; thankfully the old man selling them recognized me and allowed me to pay less than the usual amount.” Lucia responded to her boyfriend.

Damn it, you made me miss something.

I sighed, then I mustered up some courage and ate a small chunk of the fried snack, and strangely enough, despite the sugar, I found it to be flavorless. The consistency of the food was nice; it was nice and soft, not too chewy nor too crispy.

“So? How is it? Delicious, right?” Vera asked me.

“I don’t know; I can’t taste much, but at least it’s nice to chew on.” I commented as I tried to dip in the chocolate spread.

“What do you mean you can’t taste it?” Lucia suddenly asked me, forcing me to turn around using her right hand.

The tone had suddenly shifted again, and it was now more serious and tense than ever. She had a frightened look on her face; her boyfriend too suddenly turned his head to look at me with wide eyes.

Why are you all getting so agitated? Can’t we just relax? Maybe lie down and look at the stars—we could watch a reality TV show! I’m sure you too have those, right?

The chocolate, on the other hand, was more delicious than usual; it was so rich when paired with the fried donut, it didn’t feel like a regular donut; it seemed sweet but not in the same way a donut would be.

Lucia was extremely agitated; her boyfriend too seemed shocked by the revelation as he almost choked on his glass of soda. Lucia then got up and hurriedly headed away to buy a large variety of food.

Some dishes had fried chicken, some had green rice, some had potatoes drenched in spicy sauce, and more. She made me taste all of it, and with each dish I tried, her desperation seemed to grow further.

“Ugh, I can still feel the spices. But at least I cannot feel the lime anymore.” I commented, trying to cheer her up.

Hey, I’m looking at the bright side, see? We’re smiling; everyone’s happy. Why are you two so worried?

That didn’t seem to cheer her up; the others in the meantime were happy to eat the leftovers, and after the seventh time, her boyfriend stopped.

“Stop! You’re just wasting money at this point. The result won’t magically change after the eighth attempt. Let’s just take a break, and then once we’re finally calm, we’ll think of a way to solve this situation.” He said to her while holding her arm.

“What’s going on?” Asked Lorenzo.

“Yeah, what’s the problem?” Asked Vera.

He then pulled her close and said, “Nothing serious, just enjoy your meal for now.” As he patted her head.

Why is she suddenly sobbing? Why is she crying for this? I don’t get it.