The breaths begin to shallow, they become quieter and quieter until only the midnight, crescent moon and stars remain. The night sky becomes full of a red dripping substance, staining the cold, hard concrete beneath Alice’s feet which remain glued onto the ground, the cold air grasping her throat making her unable to breathe. The world around her fused together, colors running across one another, like a painting of a sunset onto a starch white canvas. The world turns pitch black, and she falls down the abyss into the depths of the ocean.

Alice woke up, her black, thick eyelashes fluttered; gently opening as the bright, fluorescent light stung her eyes. The bare, white walls depicted not even the slightest colour, almost as if drained by the lifeless room. The reflective,glass walls covering the front of the room revealed a tall, strange man with sharp angular features brought out by his square glasses. His piercing, cold, blue eyes reminded her of the deep blue ocean sea. The man stood there, his mouth pressed into a straight, tight line while his hands remained clasped in front of him. His face softened as he stared at her, giving her a somber, puzzled look almost as if disappointed.

Alice worried about her parent’s whereabouts, but if she wanted to find them, she needed to know her exact location.

With a timid voice; strange to her usual confident one, she pleaded, “Ple-ea-se. Tell me where I am, I need to know!”

Cold, blue eyes spoke grimly and vaguely said, “ You are in a test lab, in a research hospital.”

A shiver ran up her spine, prickling her skin like a needle. Shock and confusing mocked her eyes as only one thought came into mind, How did I get here?

As the day progressed the unknown man performed lab experiments and ran tests on her, only stopping to ask her questions about her life. The man, impressed by how quickly she could answer the questions only seemed in more of a rush to get through the testing. That only seemed even more unusual as Alice had lived all her life in a small peaceful town, taking road trips up to Lake Owanoke in the summer, and watching the sunset in a hue of oranges and pinks as she sat by a shady Oak tree, and now she was here- in a strange place far away from what she knew.

Blue eyes stared at down at her as she snapped out of her daydream, and grasped her arm a bit forcefully.

“We have to talk about something the very important.” He said in an ominous, solemn voice.
Alice just stared back at him, the words bouncing off of her unable to register in her mind as the words floated in the air.
“Your life was not real, and it never was.”

He continued to talk about the process and the experimenting, but she could no longer hear, his mouth continued to move but nothing made sense. A single tear streaked down her face, as she realized that everything she loved and knew never existed, she didn’t even know if her family or if anyone actually cared about her. Alice’s vision speckled with black and red dots inhibiting her vision, her arms felt weak and her breaths became small and hollow.

When she awoke the only sound she heard was the constant beeping of a machine next to her, she saw the silhouette of a someone standing beside her. When she turned she saw him, his eyes affectionate, something Alice never thought possible.
“I have something to tell you Alice.” He said carefully as if weighing each word as he spoke.
“What is it?” She said afraid.

“You were in a car accident 10 years ago, and you..nearly died. You survived the car accident but your brain suffered a deep trauma that was irreparable so we tried to design a cyberlife that would aid you in repairing your memories.”

“Does that mean that I knew you?” she said incredulously .
“Yes Alice, you and me have been married for 20 years, we met when we were young children, my name is Robert, ,maybe you can finally recall” he said matter-of-factly.

Alice sat there and he stood beside her the silence crept up on them like a fog over a swamp, sudden and unbearable. Her eyes shifted towards his face, his forehead forming small creases from obvious stress and worry, his hair streaked with gray.

How could she have not recognized him?

He stared down at her, and she said nothing her silence bringing tears to his eyes. There appeared to be only one boy that she knew in her memories, but they never even dated or married, and his name was not even Robert. Maybe the memories were distorted, they had to be. But what if they weren’t? Could he be lying?

Over the weeks passed, Alice regained the ability to walk, as she had been bedridden for a long time, her legs nearly useless. She even began to take small walks in the garden of the facility, the budding roses signaling the oncoming wave of spring. Their scent reminded her of the days she had spent at her Grandma’s, she had spoken to the roses as if they were people thinking they would help them grow, their delicate petals rubbing against her fingertips but their thorns pricking them. She remembered another boy in her memories, and he had dark hair and blue eyes. He was laughing with her as they both lay in the garden speaking to the roses.

The breaths begin to shallow, they become quieter and quieter until only the midnight, crescent moon and stars remain. The night sky becomes full of a red dripping substance, staining the cold, hard concrete beneath Alice’s feet which remain glued onto the ground, the cold air grasping her throat making her unable to breathe. The world around her fused together, colors running across one another, like a painting of a sunset onto a starch white canvas. The world turns pitch black, and she falls down the abyss into the depths of the ocean.
Alice woke up, her black, thick eyelashes fluttered; gently opening as the bright, fluorescent light stung her eyes. The bare, white walls depicted not even the slightest color, almost as if drained by the lifeless room. The reflective,glass walls covering the front of the room revealed a tall, strange man with sharp angular features brought out by his square glasses. His piercing, cold, blue eyes reminded her of the deep blue ocean sea. The man stood there, his mouth pressed into a straight, tight line while his hands remained clasped in front of him. His face softened as he stared at her, giving her a somber, puzzled look almost as if disappointed.

Alice worried about her parent’s whereabouts, but if she wanted to find them, she needed to know her exact location.

With a timid voice; strange to her usual confident one, she pleaded, “Ple-ea-se. Tell me where I am, I need to know!”

Cold, blue eyes spoke grimly and vaguely said, “ You are in a test lab, in a research hospital.”

A shiver ran up her spine, prickling her skin like a needle. Shock and confusing mocked her eyes as only one thought came into mind, How did I get here?

As the day progressed the unknown man performed lab experiments and ran tests on her, only stopping to ask her questions about her life. The man, impressed by how quickly she could answer the questions only seemed in more of a rush to get through the testing. That only seemed even more unusual as Alice had lived all her life in a small peaceful town, taking road trips up to Lake Owanoke in the summer, and watching the sunset in a hue of oranges and pinks as she sat by a shady Oak tree, and now she was here- in a strange place far away from what she knew.

Blue eyes stared at down at her as she snapped out of her daydream, and grasped her arm a bit forcefully.

“We have to talk about something the very important.” He said in an ominous, solemn voice.

Alice just stared back at him, the words bouncing off of her unable to register in her mind as the words floated in the air.
“Your life was not real, and it never was.”

He continued to talk about the process and the experimenting, but she could no longer hear, his mouth continued to move but nothing made sense. A single tear streaked down her face, as she realized that everything she loved and knew never existed, she didn’t even know if her family or if anyone actually cared about her. Alice’s vision speckled with black and red dots inhibiting her vision, her arms felt weak and her breaths became small and hollow.

When she awoke the only sound she heard was the constant beeping of a machine next to her, she saw the silhouette of a someone standing beside her. When she turned she saw him, his eyes affectionate, something Alice never thought possible.

“I have something to tell you Alice.” He said carefully as if weighing each word as he spoke.

“What is it?” She said afraid.

“You were in a car accident 10 years ago, and you..nearly died. You survived the car accident but your brain suffered a deep trauma that was irreparable so we tried to design a cyberlife that would aid you in repairing your memories.”

“Does that mean that I knew you?” she said incredulously.

“Yes Alice, you and me have been married for 20 years, we met when we were young children, my name is Robert, ,maybe you can finally recall” he said matter-of-factly.

Alice sat there and he stood beside her the silence crept up on them like a fog over a swamp, sudden and unbearable. Her eyes shifted towards his face, his forehead forming small creases from obvious stress and worry, his hair streaked with gray.

How could she have not recognized him?

He stared down at her, and she said nothing her silence bringing tears to his eyes. There appeared to be only one boy that she knew in her memories, but they never even dated or married, and his name was not even Robert. Maybe the memories were distorted, they had to be. But what if they weren’t? Could he be lying?

Over the weeks passed, Alice regained the ability to walk, as she had been bedridden for a long time, her legs nearly useless. She even began to take small walks in the garden of the facility, the budding roses signaling the oncoming wave of spring. Their scent reminded her of the days she had spent at her Grandma’s, she had spoken to the roses as if they were people thinking they would help them grow, their delicate petals rubbing against her fingertips but their thorns pricking them. She remembered another boy in her memories, and he had dark hair and blue eyes. He was laughing with her as they both lay in the garden speaking to the roses.