Nightlight | electricaldisturbances
Her blinds were always closed--the ones in her apartment. The light was always a bit too bright but she found that if she closed her blinds, the light would come in grey. Her apartment was washed in monochrome and she woke not to the irritation of the sun on her eyelids but the persistent ringing of her alarm clock. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Her day would start but she would dress in the half-asleep world she had created herself. And when she would return it would be the same, a darker but quieter grey.
Sometimes the world would attempt to get in. Her cellphone would flash its bright screen against her face and messages would display cheery questions asking for company. She would decline politely and the blinds would be drawn again.
Before the game, Minori lived her life uninspired. She followed the current without a thought, letting her environment choose for her. Days would blur into a seamless pattern: sleep, eat, work, play, sleep, eat, work, play. The mechanic routine was a comfort. Sleep. Eat. Work. Play.Sleep. Eat. Work. Play. She was happy. She had been happy. There were no other obligations other than work so you could eat, work so you could play, work so you could live, and that had been enough. She had no one to tell her otherwise. The examples she followed when convenient did not tell her otherwise. The routine had become like a heartbeat and the steady beating made for false correctness. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
She did not realize her discontent.
The awakening hadn’t been remarkable; it had simply been a niggling thought that had risen to the surface of her mind. Observations of co-workers laughing with one another, passing people holding hands, couples fitting comfortably together in conversation and in movement stacked up until she realized that she was lonely. It was not just loneliness. It was a want for change. And when that want, the need, manifested itself it was all she could do but get washed away by it.
So she began to reach out. The blinds were opened, if only for a little bit. Invitations were accepted and conversations were started with painstaking smiles and hasty laughter.
When her attempt failed, she returned to her routine. The dissatisfaction was still present but distractions began to arise. One such distraction was Victory Road Online.
“Ah, shit.” Minori looked up at the hole she had fallen through then brought her attention to the surrounding environment. Other than the small amount of light that filtered in through the hole, the place was dark. Glancing up at the hole again, she debated using her Fearow to fly up but the hole was small and the place was decrepit. The wallpaper next to her peeled away from the wall with the wall itself chipping into pieces. At her feet lay dust and rubbish, her footsteps all that disturbed the layers of grey. Her hand reached up in a futile effort, blocking the sun that fell on her eyes.
Hesitant step forward stirred a cloud of dust from the floor. Minori covered the bottom half of her face with her sleeve and closed her eyes. Coughing, she groped around for her Pokeballs and released one of her Pokemon. A flash of red shone creepily against the walls, revealing her to be in a narrow hallway. Faded posters clung to bulletin boards, the words aged away into illegibility. Minori blinked and the place was mostly dark again but now a Chandelure hovered close to the trainer, soft blue flames producing a more calming circle of dim light.
“Sorry, Noire, I’m a bit lost. D’ya think you could help me find the exit?” Her voice cracked and she coughed once more. “Just light the way.” She whispered, her tone hushed as if prompted by the surrounding silence. Minori glanced up once more at the sky above her and stepped towards her Pokemon and into the darkness. Crossing her arms, she began her slow walk through the crumbling structure.
Footsteps echoed eerily against the walls. The sound unnerved her but mostly because, if she listened carefully, she could detect something else. If she listened, and all she could do was listen, Minori could hear the echo of a child’s laugh and the remote pattering of feet on tile. Shivering, she called for Noire to stay closer to her and she was cast in her blue-ish hue. The noises were probably Pokemon or NPCs, Minori reasoned to herself, but another noise was starting to shake her. The children’s laughter was distant. The echoes were faded. Minori turned around quickly to face the coming sound: heavier footsteps heading right towards her.