Category: fictional writing

Here is the corrected version of chapter 1 of Just a Game.

Edited on 27 March 2025 with the final corrected chapter.

 

CHAPTER 1

Oceane was sitting by the lake, beneath the shade of a large willow tree. When she was younger, it was her favourite spot to gather her thoughts or just admire the view and relax. Being here was helping her dive back into her memories. Those simple times now seemed so distant. Before… Before it all started. Long before the Great Nap happened. When will they all wake up? The city was silent and deserted now. Asleep…

She was recalling that one evening, when she was seventeen. During dinner, she asked her dad about his job. He dodged all her questions, as usual. Every time she asked, he merely gave vague answers, claiming it was not interesting. The most he ever said was that his job consisted of monitoring, making sure there was no downtime, debugging, and doing all kinds of boring tasks.

Oceane’s dad was a programmer. He worked for both simulations. He always assumed that when Oceane asked about his job, she meant the hangout simulation, and that, like virtually everybody who had asked him before, she believed he was having a lot of fun at work. Moreover, many young people dreamed of becoming a simulation idol, and that was what they had in mind when asking about working at the hangout simulation. His job, however, was less about glitz and glamour and more about code and debugging.

The hangout simulation was a virtual world where people from the four corners of the universe could spend time together and enjoy all kinds of activities, like ice skating, skydiving, or attending digital concerts, and even play out a virtual life. It was fun. Oceane had been connecting since she was fourteen and had made some friends there. She also had a cute boyfriend whom her parents didn’t know about.

“It’s not for real,” the boyfriend often said. “It’s just a game, a simulation. It’s not real life.”

Oceane wasn’t happy about this. To her, it was real. She was young and didn’t know any better.

What was really piquing her imagination and interest, though, was the other thing her dad was coding for: the historical simulation. People weren’t allowed to play with that one. It was for historical and archiving purposes. Oceane couldn’t understand why it wasn’t open to the public or why this type of knowledge wasn’t shared with everyone. Her dad would simply answer that he didn’t know and that he wasn’t the one to decide.

She figured this topic wasn’t welcome either. She had been scolded once for questioning what seemed to be a paradoxical statement about some historical events and people. She couldn’t understand why the teacher had reacted that way, but it taught her to keep things to herself or search online. She would also save her questions for when she visited her grandparents. Where they lived, things were more laid-back, and people weren’t scolded for merely trying to understand. It wasn’t just a different planet; it was really a different world.

Oceane didn’t like history. She dreaded those “lessons about wars and dates to memorise.” She made it clear every time her parents wanted her to watch a history program: “It’s always the same! They fight and kill everybody for questionable reasons. War is bad; we get it. It’s so boring.”

On the contrary, she was fond of anthropology and had already decided it would be her field of study at university. Anthropology is different from history; it’s about the people, the tangible reality of their daily routines, their beliefs, and how they celebrated life in general. She was deeply fascinated by extinct civilisations and their cultures. That’s why she was so curious about the historical simulation. She often imagined all the things she could do with it, how it would allow her to virtually recreate life as it was in these ancient societies. It would definitely be the best way to experiment and further her studies. She already had a specific project in mind, for which she had secretly been learning how to code. Little did her dad know about this.

“What about the historical simulation? What do you do there?” Oceane asked her dad.

“I’m not usually onsite, but I regularly go for code maintenance. It’s all automated; I only need to make sure everything runs smoothly. Unless there’s an issue. In that case, we’re expected to show up immediately when we’re called in. The server administrator, he doesn’t mess around.”

“But what if it stops working for an hour? It’s not like the hangout simulation; no one is inside it. Why does it matter?”

“Because it would create bugs and inaccuracies. The simulation calculates and interprets data. Any system downtime can cause errors that would render the whole calculation void. The purpose of the historical simulation is to understand how things got to this point and to ensure these bad things will never happen again. Nuclear wars… It will take thousands of years for the radiation to no longer pose a health risk and for these planets to become habitable again. Yet they wouldn’t stop, until they completely extincted other populations and themselves.”

“I was thinking…” Oceane said, “for my graduation paper… I would like it to be about the historical simulation.”

“The historical simulation? Are you sure?” he replied, surprised.

“Yes. It would be great if you could take me to visit…”

He looked bothered.

“Well, I don’t think I can bring you with me to work, but they frequently organise tours. I’ll ask when the next one is scheduled. You should be allowed to join.”

“That would be perfect!” she exclaimed, overjoyed.

***

Oceane was tormented by all these memories. She often wondered how things would have been if she had never gone to the historical simulation. Yet, she had no regrets. Love… and the people she met there. It was all worth it.

The Great Nap happened much later, decades after the chaos she had created and the events that followed. It would have happened either way. All because of that evil man. He was more evil than his dad ever was.

 

 

“I’m so sorry.”, she said, trying to sound convincing.

“No worry, what’s more enjoyable than a Champagne shower ?”,  jokingly answered Tyler.

Everybody around seemed to find him charming and so well mannered. She was absent mindingly looking at him and at the other guests interacting with him. She got more and more absorbed by her thoughts.

At that moment, it struck her : the ending was already different. He was not the charming handsome man she had fallen in love with anymore, he was Tyler, the egoistical control freak who used people as pawns at his convenience or just for the lulz. It was as if he was a completely different person now.

She started to wonder. How comes she was duped and so blind ? How comes nobody around seems to see him exactly as he is ? Or maybe they do, but they play pretend ? After all, it’s a work related event for most people here.

“Tyler had insisted a lot. Angelique’s boss told her to bring someone, it was compulsory. He knew she was single. He hinted that bringing her best friend would be best. It was all orchestrated from the start.”, she recalls.

It was as if her memories from the future were coming back. Maybe seeing him right in front of her triggered all those memories to come back. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she was sure of the way he made her feel. She despised him. She started to despise him after she learned how much of a puppet master he was. She wasn’t even sure if he wanted to disrupt her career, for some reason, or if he just saw a live doll to control in her.

“…and I seized the opportunity. This industry is like a game and I’m quite an eager player.”, said Tyler.

“A player who downloaded the cracked version of the game with infinite energy and currency, and is still using cheat codes…”, she thought, while mechanically emptying her glass of Champagne.

She became more and more absorbed by her thoughts. Suddenly, she was there again. In those woods, nearby Seattle. In 2027. She had just found out the ugly truth about Tyler. What he’s done. Who he really was. How it started before they even met.

She was screaming and cussing at him. He was just standing there, silent. He would remain completely silent and unbothered when convenient to him, or when the person in front of him was trying to confront him. He had no remorse, no feelings towards others. Only he and people who idealize him mattered to him.

The more she screamed, the more he remained impassible and silent, even a bit content that he could trigger such a reaction in someone. He had nothing to gain from this situation, therefore he didn’t want to partake.

She started to beat him with the spade.

“You ruined everything !”, she screamed. “Why me ? Why orchestrate all of this ? Why couldn’t you just leave me alone ? I was doing fine. I was happy. You saw this and couldn’t take it ? The fact that I was happy ? You had to ruin all of this ? I wish I never met you !!!”

Tyler was lying on the floor, half conscious, bleeding a lot.

“I wish…” she said while beating him with more strength, as she was so angry about what he did that it literally made her lose her mind. “I wish I never met you…or that I just ran away that day,”, she screamed as she beat him to his death.

Right now, she was physically here though, right here at this event in Paris. It was as if her mind was wandering. She suddenly shook as if she was waking up from a bad dream. She made a funny face as she put her now empty glass on the waiter’s platter. She looked at Tyler, who was talking to Angelique’s boss and other guests.

“If you’ll excuse me.”, she said, while pointing to the restroom.

She walked towards the restroom. And then turned around. She looked from a distance at Tyler, Angelique’s boss and other guests chatting. She felt angry, sick and disgusted.

She kept walking. She walked down the stairs. She walked through the main entrance. She walked through the crowd outside. She walked to the subway station. She walked her way home. She then decided to pack her suitcase and go to the train station, take the night train to Lyon, to her parents house, and stay there for a while. She could write from there. And focus on good and positive things.

 

 

She was sitting in the tgv train. There was still 5 minutes before departure. It seemed like forever. It reminded her of the day, in this scary future she was running away from, when she took that plane to flee Seattle. It reminded her that her plan was to take the tgv to hide in Lyon. She was kind of hiding right now too, but this time, she was running away from a monster and a horrible future. She was set up to lose her soul, she had lost her mind instead.

She still didn’t understand what was going on. She just knew she had to leave for at least a while. He would be back tomorrow, he would try to set a rendez-vous with her, his plan would be set in action. She knew he wouldn’t dare to go to Lyon. She knew that after a while, he would eventually just pick another girl instead. Yeah, someone else, maybe…

She was lost in her thoughts. She felt relieved when she heard the warning alarm as the tgv doors were closing.

As the train was leaving, the memory of herself screaming in the woods was echoing in her mind :

“I wish I never met you or that I ran away that day.”

When she woke up, it was 9:20am. She turned the radio on. She was just lying in bed, closing her eyes and listening to music.

“And now it’s time for the 9:30 news flash”, said the radio host. “Today is February 27th 2025, the teachers strike is going on while…”

She suddenly opened her eyes and sat up.

“I’m back ? For real, this time ?”, she thought.

She got out of bed and started to cook eggs. She absentmindedly ate her breakfast. She still couldn’t shake off the memory of herself covered in blood in the woods. She was taken out of her thoughts by the beeping of her phone as she received a text. It was from Angélique. “Don’t forget about tonight’s reception at our office. I’d die of boredom if you don’t come. Nice opportunity to wear a pretty dress ;-)”

This made her smile. “Count on me”, she answered.

She went on with her day. Wrote a few things, corrected a few others.

She spent quite a while choosing what dress and shoes to wear. She went for a blue dress with white flowers printed on it, a white cardigan and white shoes.

“A red dress ? Seriously ?”, she thought, shaking her head.

She arrived at Angélique’s work place around 6 pm. A lot of people from big companies were invited. It was quite a huge reception, 200 people were expected.

“Even the big boss of Moonlight corporation will be here”, said Angélique.

Upon hearing this, she just froze.

“What am I supposed to do ?”, she thought. “Run away before any of this happens ? If I don’t meet him, I won’t kill him with a spade…”

She felt her heart racing. She was remembering that night in the woods, with all the blood. She was remembering every moments she time jumped into. She also remembered all the good things that were written in her diary and that she saw on Facebook.

“Could this be avoided ? Could it be fixed ? It takes 2 to make the effort… Can I just run away some time before May 23th 2025 if nothing has changed ? Would I be able to run away if I am in love ? Would he let me leave or try to control everything even more ? What really led me to kill him with a spade ? Is it supposed to happen no matter what ? Or did I jump in time so that it doesn’t happen ? What is the right move ? Is it fixable or should I just run away ?”

All of these thoughts were overwhelming her. But she knew she had to make a decision. Fast.

“Are you ok ?”, asked Angélique, “You look very pale”.

“I don’t know”, she answered. “Maybe I should just go home”

“Are you sure ?”, asked Angélique, disappointed.

“Yeah, sorry…”, she said, while trying to leave. The room was already filled with guests. She was so deeply into her thoughts, she didn’t see the waiter arriving from her left. She ran into him, causing him to spill all the drinks from his platter on the man in front of them.

“I’m so sorry”, she said to the waiter and to the man, who turned around, soaked in Champagne.

She stared at him for a while, he didn’t look angry. He smiled at her. She just felt like crying. It was too late.

“I’m sorry, Mr Harrison”, said Angélique, who followed her, wondering if she was alright. “Here are some napkins”, she continued, very embarrassed.

She didn’t say a word. She was looking at the floor, thinking of a way to escape. She knew it was too late already. She was worried about what would happen next.

“Are you ok ?”, asked Tyler.

She looked at him, with a terrified look in her eyes.

“Are you ok ?”, he asked again.

“Yes, sorry. I didn’t… Sorry.”

“Well, nevermind. Just keep me company for a while, then. It’s not like someone died or anything.”, he jokingly said.

She looked at him with a desperate expression on her face. She couldn’t refuse. She couldn’t run. All she could do was try and hope for the best. Hope for a different ending.

She felt trapped. She was obliged to stay, at least for now, as a courtesy to at least Angélique, whose boss ran across the room to see what was going on.

She read further. There weren’t much details, as she wouldn’t write everyday in her diary.

She decided to just let her mind wander and write whatever came to her mind. At this point, she knew she was probably going to wake up in the past…which was the future for her, since the last day she actually remembered was February 26th 2025.

She decided to take a break from her writing and play a game on a social media website. She had a instant message from Tyler. “Eager to have you with me in Los Angeles”.

“Of course…”, she thought.

She looked at his profile and at the few instant messages she got from him. He was very handsome and seemed very sweet.

“So, that’s the guy I killed with a spade…or will kill…”, she thought, quite sad.

“But in my diary and on social media, there are so many good memories. How could it end in a murder ?”

She tried to figure out. All of this jumps in time. There was something about that moment… Each of them…

“Hi princess”, typed Tyler in an instant message.

“Hi there”, she replied.

“Are you excited to come to Los Angeles ?”

“Wait, haven’t I not made my mind yet ?”, she thought. “How comes he acts as if I have already accepted ?”

“I’ve already arranged everything for you. I’ve found the perfect house in the perfect neighbourhood for you. I’ve hired a maid, so you don’t have to do any cleaning. Don’t worry, I got all the expenses.”, he continued.

She hesitated for a moment, as she wasn’t sure how to reply to that. It sounded sweet, but it sounded wrong in the meantime. She hadn’t even agreed yet. It felt like what she thought didn’t matter.

She could see how she would have accepted everything, even if she wasn’t really agreeing or happy about it. She was in love, therefore she was blinded. But at that very moment, there was no love, as she had no idea of what happened before, as she didn’t know him, as she hadn’t met him yet and thus hadn’t have the chance to fall in love with him yet. At that moment, she was actually the freest she could be to make her own mind. He couldn’t influence her life choices as he didn’t matter to her yet. She wouldn’t make silly decisions out of love as she wasn’t in love yet.

These crazy situations, those jumps in time were a blessing. Not only did she know what would happen, what would go wrong, but she was also very free to make her own mind.

“Or maybe you could just come here ?”, she answered. “We could work together, here”.

“What do you mean ?”, he replied

“I mean, there are other ways…”

“Let’s talk about it later, I’ve got to go”, she continued, as she knew she was missing too many pieces of information to have this discussion.

She lied down on her bed for a while, letting her mind wander, until she fell asleep.

She woke up at her desk. She moved the computer mouse and checked the screen. She had fallen asleep while writing a script.

“Ouch”, she thought, as she was all achy after sleeping in such a position.

She looked around her.

“I’m back ! I’m in France. Home sweet home”.

She felt relieved for a minute. But then realised she had no recollection of writing what she had just read from her computer screen. She checked the time : “October 17th, 2025”. It was 9 am.

“It’s not over”, she sighted.

“Nobody to cook breakfast for me. At least I’m free to chose and do what I want”.

She received a text from Angélique “Are you free for lunch ? Meet you at 12 at the bus station near our office ?”.

She was happy to be able to talk to her friend. Maybe she would be able to get some answers. This wasn’t making much sense. Or was it ? It felt like a puzzle, as if those moments were the keys, the answers, or maybe the questions she needed to ask herself. She still wasn’t sure if she wasn’t just losing her mind or drugged up, though.

She met Angélique at 12 pm. They decided to go to a brasserie and get a simple roasted chicken with fries and lettuce.

“Have you made your mind yet ?”, asked Angélique.

“About ?”

“Ha, you’re funny. As if it would get out of your mind. You know what I think about it. Your best opportunities are here. What could you do in Los Angeles ? They’re all about appearances, shallowness and “beauty”, there. It’s not about art, it’s about money and “fame”, for whatever it means. I know you like money too, but I also know very well that you wouldn’t sell your soul for it. Plus, I would miss you so much !”

“Ah, yeah. I don’t know. It’s tempting, but is it really what I want ? I’m still thinking about it.”

“I’m glad you’ve started to actually think about it, instead of just listening to what he says. No offense, but he seems quite controlling. Be careful not to end up being his little puppet. I know how unhappy you would be.”, said Angélique

“Well…” She still didn’t really know what to say, since she still had no clue what was going on. She had no clue about the actual situation, about who this Tyler really was.

“I know you love him”, said Angélique, “but don’t lose yourself or take decisions that would make you very unhappy, it would just be the end of your relationship.”

“I know.”, she said.

“Well, time to go back to work”, said Angélique. “You’re lucky you can arrange your own schedule”.

She walked Angélique to her office and then just went back home.

“How am I supposed to take a decision when I don’t know what happened before ?”, she thought.

She decided to check her diary and see if she could get some pieces of information. “How am I supposed to take a decision when I have no idea what is going to happen in the future. It’s frightening.” is what she had written in the latest entry.

“Huh… That’s ironic”, she thought.

She was woken up by the phone.

“Allo”, she said, still half asleep.

“Allo ma chérie.”, said a warm feminine voice “Did I wake you up ? What time is it there ? I’m sorry, I can call you later if you prefer”.

“No, it’s ok, I’ve overslept.”, she answered.

“How do you like it there ? Not missing us too much ? Is your American lover nice to you ? Tell me everything !”

For once, she knew who she was talking to. It was Angélique, her best friend. She didn’t know how to answer, though, as she still didn’t know anything, not even how she ended up in the USA.

“Of course I miss you all !”, she answered. “Well, yes, everything is great here. You should come visit me. How is it going for you ?”

She tried to switch the topic as much as she could. She looked at the clock, it was 6:50 am.

“What’s today’s date”, she asked Angélique. “I’m still a bit groggy, haha”.

“Ha, I know this feeling of not being totally awake. I’m really sorry I’ve woken you up. It’s March 21st, it’s spring !”, answered Angélique.

“Oh right. No, no worry, I’m happy you called me.”, she replied.

They talked for 40 minutes, about their lives, about the latest gossips.

The maid entered her room right after she hung up.

“Hi, Miss Gauthier, breakfast is ready !”

“I’ll be downstairs in a minute”, she answered.

She noticed a note on her desk.

“Go to this address. Do what is asked. Love, Tyler.”

“What the hell ?!”, she thought. “No explanation, no direction, nothing… I’m just expected to obey like a robot ? Or did he actually ask for my opinion before hand ? Doesn’t sound like he did…”, she thought, extremely annoyed.

She went downstairs to have breakfast. She still decided to go and see what it was about. She took a cab to said address. It lead to a small building. She went to the 5th floor. It was a shooting for an advert.

“Miss Gauthier !”, said a strange man wearing neon green trousers with a neon orange shirt.

“Hi !”, she said, realising it was probably too late to run away now.

“Ready to shoot the biggest advert of your life ?”, he asked, smiling.

“Huh, sorry, but Tyler didn’t really tell me what it was about ?”, she replied

“Oh, ok. All you have to do is smile and say ‘This is the best cookie I’ve ever eaten’, while being very cute.”, he happily said.

“I see…”, she said with a forced smile, trying not to break into tears. “Just give me a minute”, she said.

“Please god help me. Please…”, she thought. “Is there a fire alarm I could set off ?” She looked around, full of hope.

“What is it all about ?”, screamed a blond girl. “I am the best for this job. All of this industry is about me ! Who’s even that girl, with her damn French accent ?!”, she said, full of disdain.

“Thank you lord”, she thought, relieved and smiling.

“Ah, well, you see, I have a conflict of schedule. I’m sorry about that. But since the…lady…is here, I’ll just go.”, she said, pretending to be sorry.

“Yeah, like you had a choice. I’m so better than you.”, said the blond girl.

“Hmmm, surely”, she said, refraining herself from saying what was on her mind, as she was too happy to have a ready-made excuse to run away and save herself from this.

She left and decided to go to the seaside.

“What is going on ?”, she wondered. “That’s not what I’m here for… Being cute ?!? What the hell ? I need to leave, right now.”, she thought, very angered.

She went home and got her belongings ready.

“I’ve had enough. I need to leave now”, she thought, as she was packing her luggages.

She was interrupted by the phone ringing.

“Hi !”, she said

“Hi princess, it’s me”, said a man. She figured it was Tyler, the guy she killed with a spade.

“Why didn’t you do the advert ?”, he asked.

“Well, I don’t do adverts. I do independent movies”, she replied, irritated.

“But, what a waste of potential here. You would be seen by EVERYONE. They would see so much cuteness and you would be so famous”, he replied

“As the smiling girl from the advert…”, she said ironically.

“Yes, exactly. Isn’t that awesome ?” He was dead serious.

“Listen, that’s not what I want”, she said.

“Oh, but that’s what you will do, won’t you ?”, he answered.

She was trying her best to remain calm. She was struggling not to shout and to quietly have him understand what she obviously meant.

“Can you listen to me for a second and consider letting me do what I actually want ?”, she asked

“Oh, and what is it that you want ?”, he asked back

“Well, it’s simple, what I want is…”, she started, but was interrupted by a beeping sound coming from his side.

“Oh, sorry, I’ve got to go, I’ll talk to you later, bye princess”, he said

“Sure…”, she said, before angrily hanging up the phone.

She finished packing her luggage. She was ready to go, but she couldn’t find her passport.

“Have you seen my passport ?”, she asked the maid.

“You haven’t picked it up, yet”, answered the maid. “I think it will be ready in 10 days, let me check the receipt from the consulate”.

“Great…”, she thought, very angered.

“How about we go get some dinner somewhere ? I’ve never really tried Mexican food. And tequila sounds so good right now”, she said to the maid.

“Sure”, happily replied the maid.

They went and enjoyed a very boozy dinner.

They went back home around 1am. She just fell on her bed and fell asleep right away.

When she woke up, it was 7:30pm.

She noticed a dress on the osier chair in the corner of her room. There was a note with it.

“Join me at the Swan restaurant at 8:30 tonight, wear this dress and shoes. Love you. Tyler.”

“Who’s Tyler ?”, she thought. “Oh right, that’s probably the guy I killed with a spade.”

She looked at the dress. It was red.

“Red ? Are you kidding me ?”, she thought.

She looked at the shoes. It was the kind of shoes only a man would pick.

“I’ll make an effort and wear the dress. There’s no way I wear those shoes, though.”, she thought, very annoyed.

“Can I pick my own makeup or am I completely at his will ?”, she ironically thought. “That’s the kind of outfit which would make you want to hit someone with a spade”, she jokingly told herself.

She then realised what she just said to herself and her blood froze.

“That’s what the maid meant, isn’t it ?”

She took a quick shower, during which she couldn’t stop thinking about what happened…or was going to happen. All the blood. The white dress which she didn’t like. The panic. The fact that she would be able to smash someone so hard with a spade that they would die. Was it really a nightmare ? It didn’t feel so. It felt way too real to only be a nightmare. She felt like she couldn’t breathe, like she could hear her racing heart beat.

She went out of the bathroom, put some comfortable but yet pretty clothes on and decided to go out. She needed time on her own. She was supposed to have a talk with someone she didn’t know…or she had no recollection of whatsoever, with someone whose blood she was covered with a few hours ago…in her very own strange timeline. She had no recollection of them meeting, kissing, or even talking, exchanging numbers, sending goodnight texts to each others. There was nothing. But yet, she was supposed to have an important “talk” with him before their wedding.

She went to the seaside. It was the only place she would feel good no matter the circumstances.

She decided to buy a magazine and just sit on a bench and read it. There was a magazine kiosk nearby. She looked at the daily newspapers and noticed the date. “September, 3rd 2026”. It was not the same day. She hadn’t even realised it.

She sat on a bench, but instead of reading the magazine she had bought, she just stared at the sea, feeling helpless. She had turned her phone off. She didn’t feel like talking to him.

“What is going on ? Am I losing my mind ?”, she thought. “Have I been drugged up ? How all this is even possible ? It doesn’t make sense !”

She didn’t want to go home, as she guessed he would be there, wanting an explanation. She just stayed there, on the bench, until she was so tired she fell asleep.

Here is a novel which I’ve written back in 2015 (when I was still in Dumpling City). I think I’ve written it AFTER the hacking of my computer (and my stuff got stolen and might or might not have been used by other people), and after I’ve switched to using Linux, but anyway, here’s a screenshot of the properties (data) of the odt file (for some reason, the creation date of the file is “unknown”, though).

 

I’ve decided to post the novel here. I’ve changed a couple of things from the original story. I wrote it in 2015, it was set to happen in 2022 (the date that is mentioned at the beginning). I’ve changed it to happen in 2027 (the date that is mentioned at the beginning).

 

All characters and events in this novel are fictional (obviously). This is a piece of FICTION and should be interpreted as such. Any resemblance with real people or situations would be pure coincidence.

I haven’t really split the story in chapters, as it’s a rather short novel. I’ll post it by parts.

 

“What… is going on ?”, she wondered

It was dark already. She wasn’t sure what time it was, nor what date. She had no idea what she was doing here.

She was in the woods at night, with no cell phone, no belongings. It was so dark, she could barely see anything. She tried to walk along a small dirt road and see where it would lead. She walked for 20 minutes before arriving to a car.

“Is this my car ?”, she wondered.

The door wasn’t locked. As she opened the door, she was blinded by the inside light of the car. The keys were on the ignition.

What she saw horrified her : she was wearing a white dress, which was covered in blood. She looked at all this blood in shock. She wasn’t hurt, it wasn’t hers.

“What happened ?”, she wondered, starting to freak out.

“I need to get the hell out of here”

 

The clock indicated it was 4:15 am. The car was funny, beeping at any chance it got : “close the door”, “put your seatbelt on”.

She had no idea where she was or how to go home. She wasn’t even sure where she lived. She was trying to remember, but no matter how hard she was trying, nothing came to her mind, except for a sensation of dizziness.

She eventually drove out of the woods and into a main road. It was deserted, which made her realise she was in the middle of nowhere. She suddenly hit the brakes at the sight of a road sign. “Seattle – 31 miles”. She just froze. She didn’t understand what was happening. She didn’t understand why she was there.

“How am I in Seattle ?”, she wondered in shock

“How am I in the USA ?!”

She decided to stop at a rest area, praying she wouldn’t encounter anyone. She felt relieved as it was empty. She checked the back seats of the car and found a bag, inside of which she found her papers, a bit of makeup, cigarettes and a lighter.

“So, it is my car”, she thought. “Why ? I hate this type of car…”

 

She then proceeded to check the trunk of the car. She found 2 bags, filled with her clothes and other belongings. She searched for a gun, but there wasn’t any.

She went to the tiny bathroom of the rest area. It wasn’t very clean and was poorly lighted. The tap water was freezing cold, she had no choice but to use it to clean herself from all the blood.

“What I am supposed to do with this dress ?”, she suddenly wondered, panicking.

“I don’t even know whose blood it is. Maybe it’s not human blood ? Maybe I hit a deer and buried it ? Why would I even do that, though ?”, she thought, hoping that it wasn’t what it looked like.

“I’m going to go to the airport and take the first flight to Paris. Or do I need to go to another country, where there is no international agreement and they can’t arrest me for whatever I did ? Which country would that be ? North Korea ?” The more she was thinking, the more she was panicking.

She decided to burn the dress. Fortunately, there was a metallic trash can. She lit the dress on fire. Luckily, it was made of synthetic fibers, which made it easy to completely burn.

After making sure she had completely cleaned every single trace of blood off of her, she went back to the car and drove in direction to the airport.

“I’ll just leave the car there, I guess. Wouldn’t that be an easy track for the police to follow ? Do they know ? What happened ? What if they wait for me in Charles De Gaulle airport ? Would they take me back here ? Can they ? Jail time in France would be shorter, especially if it’s shortened for good conduct. Maybe nobody knows. I can’t risk to stay here and find out”. She was lost in her thoughts, not really sure she was taking the right decision, as she had no idea of what had actually happened.

She arrived at the airport’s ticket selling desk, feeling extremely nervous. “What if the police arrive as soon as the airport crew checks my passport ?”, she wondered.

“Hi, I’d like to purchase a ticket to Paris, please.”, she said to the hostess.

“Sure. ID, please.”

“When would you like to leave ?”, asked the hostess after the usual ID checking.

“As soon as possible… I have an urgent meeting in Paris to attend.”

“I’ve checked our database, do you wish to travel in first class, window seat, as usual ?”, asked the hostess.

“Sure”, she answered, not really sure if she could afford it. “The PIN… What’s my credit card PIN ?, she suddenly asked herself. “Oh wait, I know that… I guess the mind can always get hold of certain things… Hmm…”

“Here you go, Miss Gauthier. The plane will take off at 10:55 am. Please go through the security screening and boarding procedures 2 hours prior to boarding time.”

“Thank you”, she said as she was grabbing the ticket.

 

She looked at it and just froze. “23 May 2027” was the date indicated on it.

“I need to sit down for a while”, she thought, in shock.

She looked at the time, it was 6:20. She had to wait there for while, alone with her thoughts.

The time seemed to pass at a very slow pace. All she wanted was to get out of there.

“What am I going to do now ? First get in Paris, then take the tgv to Lyon, stay at my parent’s for a while. What if they ask questions ? Maybe they’ve got answers. Or maybe I should stay in an hotel in Paris for a few days ? Maybe I should go to Nice ? Looks like I can afford all that ? How ? What happened ? Why can’t I just remember ? What if it was really just a deer ? What is going to happen to me now ?”

She couldn’t stop thinking about it over and over again. She was panicking, but trying to stay calm enough to not look suspicious. The wait seemed the longest ever. The time for check-in eventually arrived.

She was now aboard the plane. Her heart was racing. She wouldn’t be able to calm down until the doors would be closed and the plane took off. She was expecting the police to come and arrest her at any time.

After what seemed to be an eternity of waiting, the plane finally took off. She had managed to run away, she was free.

She slept for a while, as she felt physically and mentally exhausted. She was woken up later by the hostess, as it was lunch time.

 

“Read this”, said a nearby passenger with a strong French accent to her husband, pointing her tablet.

“Here you go, reading gossips again”, he answered, sighing.

“This one is juicy. Listen : the owner of Moonlight corporation, Mr Harrison, was found dead in the woods 35 miles away from Seattle. According to the police, he was beaten to death with a spade, and then buried. They still found him because of his smart watch, which was linked to an app, which would call his lawyers so that they proceed with his will paperworks as soon as his heart beat stops”.

“Oh God”, said her husband.

“They don’t have a suspect yet. He was rumoured to have a fling with some actress, but it was never confirmed. When the girl was asked about this rumour, she seemed annoyed and scared. Perhaps he was just trying to have her and control her ? You know, rich people, they think they own everything and that the whole world owe them anything. Pffft.”, she said, rolling her eyes.

Upon hearing this, she felt sick. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. She had killed someone. It was not a deer.

“May I have some whisky, please ?”, she asked the hostess.

“Sure, here you go”, answered the hostess while handing her a glass of whisky.

“Can I get away with a murder ? Will I be ok in France ? I can never go back to the USA ? Unless they close the case ? Why would I even want to go back there ? Will they suspect me at all ? Will they find some sort of evidence ? There was no blood in the car. I don’t even know who he is. I don’t remember anything from the past 3 years.”

She was lost in her thoughts. She couldn’t stop thinking about all that.

She eventually fell asleep.

 

She opened her eyes slowly. She was blinded by the intense daylight. She just closed back her eyes and enjoyed the softness of the bed for a few seconds before it stroke her. She smiled with relief as she figured it was all just a nasty nightmare.

“How could I ever kill someone ?”, she thought, laughing at herself.

“Miss Gauthier ! It’s time for breakfast !”, said a lady with a strong accent.

She first kept her eyes closed while she was trying to remember. Was someone supposed to be here ? Where was “here” ?

She opened her eyes and saw a maid in her room.

“Hi !”, she said to the maid, not knowing what to say and not understanding what was going on.

“Breakfast is ready !”, happily said the maid.

“Ok.”, she said, staring at the maid in confusion.

She paused for a few seconds, awaiting and looking around.

“What is it, Miss Gauthier ?”

“Nothing… There’s nothing”, she answered, quite saddened.

She went downstairs into the living room, where a mouthwatering breakfast was awaiting for her. There was bread, waffles and homemade marmalade, eggs, bacon, salmon and lettuce salad.

After she was done eating her breakfast, she went to the garden. The weather was quite warm and sunny.

“I need answers. I need to ask the maid.”

She went back inside and found the maid in the kitchen.

“Do you need some help ?”, she asked the maid, to start the conversation.

The maid stared at her confused.

“Well, I mean, I don’t have any plans for today, I could just…”, she didn’t finish her sentence, feeling a bit awkward.

“I see”, said the maid, “Mr Harrison is very busy for now, you must be very bored”.

Her blood just froze.

“Mr Harrison ?”, she thought, “the guy I killed with a spade ?”

“Is there something wrong, Miss Gauthier ?”

“No. I mean, that’s ok, he’s probably busy with his wife and kids”, she said

The maid looked at her dumbfounded.

“Ha, I see, you want him to be with you and start a family. Rich people won’t put their family first.”, gravely said the maid.

“Yeah… I don’t know…”, she said.

“Honestly, think about it before the wedding”, said the maid.

“Thank you for your advice, I definitely will”, she replied, confused.

“I think I’m just going to do some shopping now. Do you want to come with me…please ?”, she asked the maid.

The maid understood what she meant and got ready to go out with her.

“I’m a bit tired, you drive.”, she said to the maid.

“Sure. Where do you want to go ?”

“Just bring me to your favourite place, it’ll do”, she answered.

“I know of a nice park, I’ll just bring you there”.

“Let’s go”, she said while nodding and smiling.

“What ? We’re in Los Angeles ?”, she thought, after reading the road signs. “What is going on ? What date is it today ?”

“Let’s listen to the radio”, she said to the maid while turning the radio on.

“There will be some news flash, at some point”, she thought.

“What am I even doing here ? He is alive ? But he was dead. How is it possible ? Why can’t I remember anything ? Am I kept here against my will and drugged up ? What is going on ?”, she kept thinking.

“It’s 9 am, time for a news flash with our favourite news reporter Sam Lawrence”, blasted the radio. “Today is friday, january the 28th, and here’s today’s news…”

“January the 28th ?!?”, she thought. “2027, I guess ? What is going on ? It’s just a dream. That’s it, it’s a nightmare. I’m going to wake up any time soon. Am I being drugged up ? That’s not possible.”

“Is everything alright, Miss Gauthier ?”, asked the maid.

“Yes, I’m just a bit tired. Nevermind”, she replied, trying to smile so that the maid doesn’t get suspicious.

They arrived at a beautiful park. They decided to go for a walk through it, admiring the flowers and trees while chatting.

“You look worried. Is everything ok, Miss Gauthier ?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing”, she replied

“You can tell me, I will not tell, I have been a maid for 15 years, I am very good with secrets and listening when people need to talk”

“Well, what do you think about all this ? Me and Mr Harrison ? Please, be honest.”, she asked

“I see. Are you having second thoughts ? I’ve noticed how you tried to tell him, but he won’t listen. It is very obvious. My advice is to work on this issue before the wedding. Otherwise, it will end in a divorce very quickly.”, said the maid

“I know…”, she replied. “Can we talk about something else ? Tell me about your family.”

They went on walking and chatting until lunch time. They then went to a little brasserie for a light and delicious meal.

After lunch, they decided to go to the beach, to enjoy themselves and relax.

They went home around 5pm.

“I’m going to take a nap. If you’re too tired to cook, just have a rest, we’ll order something.”, she said to the maid.

She lied on her bed. She was so tired she fell asleep in an heart beat.