It was nothing but another regular day. The sunlight was already shining through the window and, much to his disgrace, directly towards the eyes of the high schooler sleeping on his bed. With a slight grunt, he sat on said bed and stretched his arms. Liked it or not, he had a schedule awaiting to be fulfilled.

And of course, by “schedule” I mean that he had classes he was supposed to take. But that's the life of a student for you. When he finally felt like actually getting up, the first thing he did was stretch the rest of his body. After all, despite how glad he was to have a bed of his own that he bought himself, he wasn't too surprised to find out why it was so cheap. It was comfortable enough to sleep, but there weren't many good things to say about it besides that.

Once he could feel his muscles properly moving once again, he reached for the alarm that always rested on the night table next to his not-so-good bed. The digital clock clearly showed the hour, almost a little to bright for the eyes of someone who just woke up.

6:30 a.m. Wonderful. He could sleep again for a while before it was time to go. Except for the fact that he couldn't sleep again even if he wanted to. With a sigh, he stepped out of his bedroom and found himself in front of the bathroom door. The sunlight coming from the windows here and there around the apartment did him a favor and allowed him to see, without needing to turn on the lights and almost burn his eyes. You probably know how that is, and if you don't, you're one lucky guy or gal.

The apartment itself was fairly small, including a kitchen and a living room without any true separation between them, as well as a single bedroom and bathroom, both doors in from of each other and at the end of a short hallway. There were a couple of windows, one at the end of said hallway, another one in the room and two more in the living room.

On the other hand, his furniture was little more than just the necessary: a freezer and microwave for the kitchen, a sofa and a TV for the living room, his own bed, and that was it. He had worried once about needing a dining table, but since nobody ever came to visit, that was something he could allow himself to avoid buying.

Just like the rest of the place, the bathroom was quite small and simple. In the end, it was the apartment of a college student who lived alone. The lighting in the small room, along with the white walls it had made it bright enough to see with the lights still off. Again, for his eyes’ sake, he was thankful. He proceeded to take off his clothes, which were just a comfortable shirt and pair of shorts he’d wear to go to sleep, before stepping into the shower.

As cold water began to flow, he let his mind wander around his most recent worries: a report for this subject, an essay for that one… Before he knew it, his train of thoughts was going around the first time he walked into that school, his first thoughts about the classes and classmates, and even about the school itself. In the end, he wasn't there because he truly wanted to. His only reason to be there was the fact he got a paid tuition thanks to his “impressive participation” in an academic event last year.

Time had slipped by as his mind was going through those events again, so he stopped the flow of water and dried himself up with a towel before going back to his room. He chose an outfit to wear and got changed, with the remnants of his last thoughts still floating around his mind. As he finished his general preparations, he gave his clock another quick look. 7:30 already? Either that was one long shower or he was taking his sweet time getting ready.

Once finished, he stared at his own reflection in the hanging mirror. Black hair, brown eyes and a look of constant boredom were the characteristics he found most remarkable upon a quick glance. It's funny how someone’s eyes can betray them so easily, wouldn't you agree? He gave his own face a better inspection, and noticed his skin was more pale than usual. Sure, he still looked healthy, and his skin tone itself was kind of dark, but it wasn't as dark as before. He couldn't describe anything else about his face that made him special: a somewhat curly hair, fairly white teeth… At most, he could say that he was taller than average.

To put it in a few words, he didn't seem too nice, but he didn't look like a bad guy either.

After all that, he went to the kitchen and poured some juice in a glass while making a pair of toasts. It wasn't a world class breakfast, but it was better than nothing. He simply sat on the couch, still thinking about his situation as he ate his basic meal.

About half hour later, he had left the building his apartment was in and began walking. When he first arrived to the city, his immediate need was a place to stay, and he happened to find that place just ten blocks away from the school he'd be assisting to, so he could save the money from any kind of public transportation. It was hard at the beginning to be completely independent, although it’d be a lie to deny how excited he got about the idea.

At least, that was his original way of thinking. Doing something a couple of times makes you get used to it, and he found himself far beyond that point. Not even the walk he had to endure twice a day was a big deal by that point. On the days he was feeling particularly optimistic, he could make a comment about not even needing leg day. An “everything-else” day wouldn't hurt, though. Well, it probably would, but still.

When he finally made it to his destination, it was still a little too early, so he quietly sat down in his usual place, plugged in his headphones and got lost in music while time passed…

As a student that doesn't talk much and doesn't really struggle with any subject, most days at school were uneventful to the point where he could directly relate the words school and boredom as basically the same thing. That's why, despite being an amazing student, he felt extremely relieved to hear the bell ring and indicate he was finally free from that torture. Just like he arrived, he stood up without saying a word, walked past his classmates and left the institution, already walking in the same direction he came from that same morning, and the one before that, and so on.

This, however, was a different afternoon from any other. As he went down the route he was so accustomed to take, he heard a voice. A manly voice, to be more specific. He froze in place, right in the middle of an almost empty street. He looked around confused, as he wasn't able to identify neither the voice not its origin.

Even he was surprised. He normally wouldn't care about someone yelling in a busy city like that, but there was something weird about that case in special. “Come”, he heard. As a chill went down his spine, he could swear the voice was talking to him. More importantly, it was guiding him.

He heard it a third time, now being able to pay more attention. It really sounded like if it came from a male, as it was low pitched and imposing, the kind of voice you feel like you should obey immediately. He looked around again, but there was no one to be seen. In fact, it seemed lonelier than it should.

The fourth call was stronger and more serious. He couldn't figure out which way it came from, although he felt something strange. For some reason, he was being pulled in certain direction, and after a couple of deep breaths, he set his way towards the mysterious voice. “Today will be a weird one, huh…?” he nervously whispered to himself. Every step he took seemed to build up some pressure that had suddenly appeared on his shoulders, and whenever he got called again, the same chill from before would travel through his body.

So far, there hadn't been a single day he felt too excited about, at least not besides the first one. However, he could feel his heart thumping and beating wildly in his chest. The feeling he had in that moment… Was it fear? Or… could it be, by any chance, that whatever was happening was giving his body the dose of adrenaline it needed for so long without realizing it? He was starting to suspect it was the latter.

That would be the reason why he almost felt disappointed when his invisible guidance seemed to end in a park of the city. He had never been there before, but he read about it one day. It once was the most visited of the place, before its popularity started to decay along the years. By that point in time, there was such a little amount of visitors in comparison to what it had once. It was supposed to be “under maintenance”, but the lack of workers going in and out said otherwise.

He doubted when he got closer, but not because he was afraid. Rather, he could tell that place was the destination chosen by the invisible voice. Strangely enough, the front door was wide open. He looked in his surroundings to make sure nobody would call him out, even though his guide seemed to know exactly how to avoid people completely.

After checking for the last time, he took a deep breath and walked inside. The reasons why this park needed maintenance and why it wasn’t visited anymore were visible just by going inside: trash laying everywhere, trees barely managing to survive, a bird here and there with not so clean feathers; even the benches he found were in a deplorable state. From all of that forgotten human work, something brought his attention quite quickly.

His guide had remained quiet for a while, but as soon as he saw the pond awaiting in the middle of the park, he knew that was it. He approached it, and for his own surprise, the water was the cleanest he had seen so far. It was almost hypnotic the way the pure water reflected the sunlight and his own face as he got closer. Just then, his legs felt tired, so he took off his backpack and sat down by the edge of the pond, his eyes always focused on the crystalline surface.

What he found so beatiful about it was a mystery even for him. He simply couldn't get enough. As his eyes wandered through the water, he ended up finding a curious shine coming from the bottom. Had it always been there? Did he miss it despite for how long he had been staring? As those questions popped up in his mind, the shine became stronger. Whatever it was, the intense blue and white shining it produced became more intense every moment that passed.

Even if he wanted to, he couldn't look away from whatever was lying in the depths of the pond. What he did find strange was the fact that his eyes didn't hurt even with all the light. At some point, it didn't even matter. His whole vision had gone white, and the ground below him had suddenly vanished. Once again, just like that, the world around him had changed its rules.