A group of 17-year-olds is chatting away after class at break time sitting on their benches after having their lunch at the cafeteria. As they had read many novels, mainly fantasy, sci-fi, adventure and philosophical; they were arguing about which one was the best genre of novels.
“Fantasy is the best genre.” says Zayan excitedly, his enthusiasm clear as he had never gone beyond the fantasy genre in his reading choices.
“Are you an 8-year-old or what? Fanwasy is thaw bwest genre,” teases Rick sarcastically, making fun of Zayan’s passion.
Not allowing himself to be undermined, Zayan quickly retaliates, “Says the one who is five foot two.”
Unbothered by the height insult, Rick counters, “So what if I am 5 foot 2? At least I am not a thin twig like you, who would fly away at the slightest gust of wind.”
“Stop it, both of you!” Ash and Lee called out almost at the same time. “This is not an insult war. Let’s just share our favorite genres and the reasons behind them. That’s it.”
Zayan takes a deep breath and starts. “Okay, you guys are right. So, as I was saying, I believe that fantasy is the best genre because it takes us on incredible adventures and allows us to take a view into imaginative worlds.”
Rick rolls his eyes but decides to play along. “Well, while I don’t disagree entirely, I prefer science fiction. I love how it explores futuristic concepts, scientific advancements, and potential societies of aliens living in vast space. It often makes me ponder about the possibilities and consequences of technology.”
Ash nods in agreement with Rick. “I can see where you’re coming from, Rick. Science fiction definitely has its appeal. It challenges our perception of the world and pushes the boundaries of human imagination. But, I personally like the Adventure genre. It just makes me feel so free.”
Lee starts, “For me, it’s all about mystery and thrillers. I love the suspense, the twists, and the complex relations between characters. When I read a mystery novel, I’m constantly trying to solve the puzzle along with the protagonist. It keeps me hooked until the very end. It’s the best in my opinion.”
Zayan listens intently to everyone’s thoughts and realizes that perhaps there is more to explore beyond just fantasy. “You know what, you guys? Maybe it’s time I branch out and explore other genres besides fantasy. It seems like each genre has its own unique appeal and can offer a different kind of reading experience. I am ready to try but if I don’t like it, it will drop it instantly. So recommend me only the best ones.”
The group smiles at Zayan’s thought of trying new things and agrees that it’s always exciting to expand one’s reading horizons. They start discussing their favorite books from different genres and make plans to exchange recommendations, realizing that there is much more to discover and appreciate beyond just one best genre.
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In another part of the world at that time. A 22-year-old person named Deon was standing at a bus park waiting for his bus to go home after his morning shift at work for a construction company. A tall person, probably 6’6” with black hair and brown eyes with an above average-looking build. He looks like a completely normal person from the outside whose truth is hidden away. He constantly has psychotic thoughts. The thoughts of killing others around him, the thoughts of inflicting unthinkable pain and enjoying it.
“It started again. Calm down! Calm down, Deon. Quickly remember your good memories.”, Deon says to himself in his mind. As Deon stood there, trying to blend in with the crowd, his mind was a turbulent sea of dark and disturbing thoughts. It felt like two separate worlds were fighting within him - the external façade of a seemingly ordinary young man, and the sinister desires that wanted to consume him completely.
The bus park was bustling with people going about their daily lives, oblivious to the darkness that resided within Deon. He watched them, his eyes shifting from one person to another, imagining the unspeakable acts he could inflict upon them. His heart raced, his palms sweaty, as these thoughts started to consume him.
The bus pulled up, and Deon joined the queue to enter it. After entering, he forced a smile and exchanged casual conversations with his fellow passengers. Meanwhile, his mind was an unending ocean of sadistic fantasies that sent shivers down his spine. The faces around him transformed into potential victims, their innocent expressions fueling his twisted and horrifying desires.
But as much as the darkness consumed Deon’s thoughts, he was aware that these ideas were not something others would understand or accept. Society would label him as a monster, locking him away and taking away the freedom that he desired. So, he fought to keep these horrifying impulses hidden, to live a life that appeared normal on the surface, while battles raged within his mind.
Deon had taken a seat by the window. So, to weaken his dark thoughts, he shifted his gaze from the possible victims to the scenery that was passing outside. Suppressing his true self had become a daily routine. He envied those around him for their complete normality. In a small corner of his mind, he found peace, and his dark, psychotic thoughts started to subside.
One day, he hoped to find a way to control the darkness within him, to maybe change it into something positive, or to become able to become one with his darkness without worry. But for now, Deon remained trapped in a world where his true self was hidden away by the mask of an average person. As the bus moved further away his darkness was gone and his normality returned.
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At around 4:00 PM, the school had just ended. Zayan starts to pack his bag and calls out to Rick, “Pack your bag quickly tinysaurous. Don’t make me wait for you again today.”
“As you say sir bamboo stem.”, sarcastically replies Rick as Zayan was quite tall at a height of 6 foot 2 and very thin for his height.
Ash and Lee were used to the unending insult war between Zayan and Rick so they didn’t care much about it.
Continuing this war of small insults Zayan and Rick along with Ash and Lee get out of the school building. As they get out of the school building, they are greeted by the warm orange glow of the beautiful sun floating not too far above the horizon. Ash and Lee departed left of the school gate, Rick straight ahead and Zayan to the right. The blacktop road they were walking on was so hot from absorbing the heat the whole day that they could feel their feet warming up from walking even when they had shoes on.
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Having a workplace far from home, Deon had reached home at 2:13 PM when he got onto the bus at 1:00 PM. He was tired from working and sitting on the bus for an entire hour while simultaneously suppressing his true self. Deon quickly fell into his bed and got into a chain of thought while closing his eyes, facing down, and his back drenched in sweat.
“Is there a place where I can be myself? Where I can embrace my true nature and no one I know will criticize? If there is, then I wish I were there. I can’t be my true self in this world. What if I get discovered? I will be locked behind bars and stripped of my freedom. I can never let that happen. I will not lose this identity. The identity that others know of.” While in this thought he suddenly remembered a moment of happiness in his life.
He remembered playing with his younger sister in their backyard, laughing and chasing each other. In that memory, he was just a 14-year-old and his sister was 5 years old. He felt at peace with all his disturbing thoughts subsiding as he remembered his own innocence. He felt at peace and fell asleep in his position.
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It was nearing 5:00 PM. The sun getting ready to set, the clouds hovering with many empty spots, and everything getting a yellow tint in color. Just 2 minutes remained until it was exactly 5:00 PM. The sky that was mostly empty a few moments ago turned black and filled with dark clouds as if a rain that would cause a flood was about to happen. Not even the slightest ray of light from the sun could be seen. After a few seconds, blue spots appeared on those clouds, not the blue of the sky but a blue glow of light. This glow removed the darkness caused by the clouds and surrounded everything in a blue veil. This glow was beautiful. Many people came outside just to see this event unfold, to see the beauty of the sky. The blue spots were round and a pillar of sorts towards the ground being formed could be seen. The circular glow turned cylindrical. Some of these glows moving along with the people below them. The view of the sky at this moment was beautiful beyond anything those people had seen before. Its beauty had captured the complete attention of the people rendering them the same as statues. The streets had filled with people within a minute of the start of this event. This event was occurring worldwide at the same time. This event was illogical and didn’t follow the rules of nature in the slightest. Thus, scientists worldwide began to research this event but they too were unable to turn their eyes from the sky’s beauty.
As the time neared 5 PM, the blue color of the sky shone brighter and brighter. At the instant the clock hit 5, the cylindrical tiny pillars of blue light extended straight below and engulfed a person each. As soon as it engulfed a person, it went back into the clouds and the blue color vanished. All of this happened within half a second not giving people much time to think about it. The dark clouds too vanished and the sky returned to normal within 5 seconds. The warm yellow glow of the Sun was seen again. No one had seen anything besides the clouds at that time as its beauty had enslaved their gazes. But now that the clouds were gone, people realized that their family members standing with them were gone. They had seen the pillars of light drop beside them but weren’t able to look away from the beautiful sky.
Quickly, noise and chaos filled the air as people were running here and there frantically in search of their family members screaming the names of the lost individual. Some parents looking for their children, and some looking for their siblings. As the screams and cries of all these people overlapped, only the disoriented and chaotic mixture of high-intensity sounds could be heard. It was a melody of despair.
Within five minutes of the occurrence of this phenomenon, thousands of missing reports were filed to the police from all around the world. The news organizations weren’t late to show the news. Almost all the television channels paused their programs and a piece of emergency news was shown:
“As the police missing reports keep increasing in number throughout the world, one thing that is common in all these reports has been found. All those individuals who are found to be missing are in the age range of 15-24 years of age. Most scientists who have expertise in physics and quantum physics have been called for a conference in Drusk Island where they will discuss the cause of this event and try to find a solution to this unprecedented crisis.”
“Some theories have been speculated by religious as well as scientific groups. The theories from religious groups are:”
“1. Punishment from the divine: Some religious groups have speculated that this event is the punishment from God for the sins of humanity. They say that this has been done by the divine entity to make us humans repent for our sins.”
“2. End of humanity: Some religious groups have also speculated this is the end of humanity as stated by their religious books.”
“While these theories from religious groups sound illogical. Some of the scientific speculations sound even more unlikely. So only two of the likely speculations will be said here. If you would like to read all the different speculations then please visit the site ‘disappearance-theories.int’. The scientific theories are:”
“3. Broken Space-time: This theory has stated that these disappearances were caused by the breaking of the Space-time fabric. They have speculated that the fabric of Space-time broke due to that unknown phenomenon.”
“4. Multiverse: This theory has told us that this event occurred due to the people somehow slipping into another universe. This somehow is said to be because of a special form of energy passing through our planet that was initially formed at the time of the universe’s formation.”
“That is all for this news. We will be back later with more news related to this tragic event. We hope everyone can get through this event.” Just as these words are spoken, the female reporter can be heard breaking down into tears for a brief moment before the news ends.