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all she saw that day were the lights slowly losing their brightness and the agonizing screams getting fainter and fainter, until she was left alone in her mind. she was alone for eternity now, but of course, she didn't know that.
she stood up and looked all around her, the silence painfully loud. all the warmth she felt just a few moments ago and quickly drained from her bloodstream, replacing this sensation with an uncomfortable sense of dread. was this finally her end?
she took a few steps forward, the spotlight on her moving with her. she stopped and looked up, there was no light any where she looked, just where was this center light coming from? she brushed off this question as she looked to the side, trying to see if she could make out someone to at least tell her what was happening.
everyone in her life had often told her, "its not being alone that you're scared of, you're scared of not being alone"
but she disagrees, in this moment, she was scared of herself. her mind. the darkness she herself created.
"come on yanyan! you can do it!" she heard in her ear, shocked to actually be hearing something. does this mean she's not actually going insane?
"wait! don't step over the line, ehehe~" the voice giggled
"once you cross it, you can't come back!"
she now remembered this voice.
"hu tao...?" she hesitantly called.
"yes, yanyan? what does my favorite person need?" hu tao answered back, as if they were there in flesh. they sounded very young, this gave yanyan a sense of nostalgia.
"tao? where are you? where am i? what's happened to me?" questions flew out of her mouth, silently begging for answers.
hu tao made a clicking noise with their tongue. "shush young yanfei, i can only answer the questions they ask us in school! y'know, like 'whats your favorite colour?' or 'how old are you?'. i'm only 7, yanyan! why're you asking me these funny questions anyway?" they asked curiously, probably tilting their head in confusion as well.
yanfei swallowed. there's no getting out of here. "erm... its nothing, taotao. where are you, anyway?" she asked sweetly, not wanting to scare off the 7 year old she can't even see.
"about that" hu tao started, their footsteps indicating they're now walking around yanfei in circles.
"i crossed the line. i'm sorry, yanyan" they finally said after circling her four times.
yanfei held her breath, feeling her eyes widen. thoughts rushed through her head, her heart beat getting faster by every passing second. who, what, when, why, where, how? this isn't fair!
she looked around in her panic, she bent down, her hands reaching and patting around the dark floor she stood on, feeding into every last bit of hope her heart gave her.
"yanyan..?" hu tao weakly called, probably wondering if they did something wrong.
"taotao... you told me not to cross the line yourself, so why would you cross it?!" yanfei cried, still on all fours patting down the floor for something, anything.
there was silence. the same loud, agonizing silence, biting away at every last bit of hope and happiness it could find.
"remember our game? we we're going to see who could live the longest?" they asked, gaining a little bit of positive emotion in their voice.
yanfei hummed, remembering the game from when they were kids in the playground.
"well.. i wanted you to win the game! since you always get sad about never winning any games" hu tao chirped, seeming happy about this disaster. what would a 7 year old know, really? they just wanted to make their best friend happy.
"why... why..?" yanfei whispered to herself, tears threatening to fall at any moment. she looked up, not even knowing what she was really expecting.
she saw light.
she saw the light getting brighter and brighter, until she saw a white ceiling and felt warm blankets around her.
yanfei sat up slowly, and saw a figure lying their head down on the side of her bed, almost on her blanketed thigh. she immediately recognized the hair of this person and almost cried in relief.
"hu tao, my love, wake up" she whispered, gently shaking her lover. hu tao sleepily lifted their head, blinking a few times before adjusting to the sight before them. they smiled.
they slowly lunged forward and pressed gentle kisses all along yanfei's jawline and cheeks, holding her hand ever so carefully. she giggled.
"i'm here now" yanfei said.
hu tao smiled wider, though looking so exhausted. just what did yanfei's love do during her slumber?
they slowly lunged forward once again until their mouth was at her ear. yanfei looked straight ahead, focusing on her girlfriend and what they were about to say.
"i miss you"
yanfei held her breath.
"you've won, my dear. you're finally a winner"
she bit her tongue.
"i'm sorry"
she felt her eyes widen once again.
yanfei looked back to her girlfriend, and saw an empty chair.