The woman shrieked so loud that you couldn’t help but blurt out, “I-I wish this never happened!”
You closed your eyes tightly, hoping this would all just stop… and it did.
You opened them back up and watched as the street continued as usual. You looked left and right, even spotting the same woman walking along as if nothing had even happened.
Had it even happened?
Before you could ponder any further, you were quickly interrupted,
“Hey!” A voice called from your right. You turned your head to see your friend, Wade. You totally forgot you’d made plans to get coffee with him,
“Hey, man,” you say, awkwardly waving,
“You wanna get going or is there anything you wanted to do?” He asked,
“N-no, let’s just go,” you said, still feeling a little uneasy about everything.
As you both walked, you couldn’t shake away how oddly real that whole situation was. A woman suddenly losing all of her clothes, right in front of you… that doesn’t just happen, and it can’t have happened! Yet, you look down at your hand and see that same ring still on your finger.
“Where’d you get that?” Wade asked, looking at the ring, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear jewellery before,”
“O-oh right…” you said. You realised that if anyone had seen what had happened, it would be Wade, so you ask, “did you see a woman across the street…” you pause, hoping he’ll know what you’re talking about, but you just continue walking, an awkward silence building between you both,
“…I’m sure I saw a lot of women…” he replies, “I don’t really keep track… what about this ‘certain woman’?”
“N-nothing, I just…” you sigh, knowing now that you’d imagined it all in your head. Maybe you just needed to stay off the internet.
After coming to this conclusion, you don’t let it affect you any longer. It was something to do with a lack of sleep or perhaps some kind of hallucination you’d convinced yourself was real. Sure, it’ll all come back to you later.
—
You and Wade had made it to the coffee shop with good time, managing to find a decent seat towards the back of the shop. You ordered yourself a coffee, Wade ordered himself a cup of hot tea,
“Don’t make a comment on the tea, by the way,” he says,
“Huh?” You respond, confused by him,
“My ex said ‘oh tea is such a women’s drink, men don’t drink tea,’”
“Oh right,” you add, “I wasn’t gonna say that at all,” you assure him, “I mean, I drink coffee but I’m not gonna think you’re ‘girly’ for drinking tea, that’s just weird,”
“Right?” He says, happy with your reply, “well, I gotta go to the bathroom, I’ll be back in a minute,” he finishes, lifting himself up and heading towards the bathroom.
You sit by yourself, staring at your cup of coffee, seeing the dark liquid spinning slowly. You look over at Wade’s drink, seeing it sit calmly.
Alone with your thoughts, they come all the way back to earlier.
You had accepted that what happened was all inside your head…