Ch.0Charlotte

The first thing I could feel as I opened my eyes was darkness as black as pitch.

Blink- blink, as I blinked, the surroundings gradually took shape.

Despite being a strange space without a single point of light, it felt inexplicably cozy.

A space so narrow I could barely lie down.

I didn’t know why I had opened my eyes in such a place rather than on a bed, but my inner self remained calm.

Perhaps the reason I could be so composed despite waking in an unfamiliar place was because I recognized this situation as a dream.

Coffin-

Yes.

This space was structured similarly to a coffin.

I didn’t know why the thought of a coffin came to mind.

The word just naturally surfaced.

The moment I thought about sitting up, the coffin lid began to open naturally.

With a creaking sound, my vision brightened, and cold air started to flow in.

The first thing I recognized upon escaping the coffin was a shattered window.

Glass fragments on the floor, and pale moonlight falling upon them.

My vision expanded following the light.

What I encountered after leaving the coffin was a room of about five pyeong.

Not a single piece of furniture was intact.

A chair was rolling on the floor with broken legs, and what appeared to be a bookshelf had half-collapsed as if rotted.

This wasn’t my home from my memories. Clearly an unfamiliar space.

How many people would have the hobby of putting a robust adult male in a coffin and leaving him in a strange place?

I let out a small laugh at the question that popped into my head.

“Ahah-“

Even the voice that escaped my lips was unfamiliar.

It felt like everything I knew had been denied.

Liberation, loss.

These two emotions mixed together, making my head complicated.

Despite my complex feelings, my movements were incredibly light.

After escaping the coffin, I walked with light steps to look out the window.

The glass fragments on the floor dug into my soles, but I felt no pain.

My gaze, riding on the pale moonlight, recognized the world outside the window.

Collapsed buildings, deserted roads, and darkness settling over them.

The cold moonlight shining from the sky was the only lamp illuminating this world.

Suddenly, I noticed silver threads fluttering at the edge of my vision.

When I reached out to touch them, the way they scattered delicately was truly beautiful.