I was laid off from work. It seemed like I was inconvenient, but I just wanted to make good products as an engineer. I had told them we had a critical flaw in our product.

  I'd already clashed with the head of my department, and he fired me in one day. Okay. I actually didn't care. They even paid me, and I had some savings, so I was almost enthusiastic about this sudden vacation.

  I was collecting my things from my workplace. No one from my team approached me. So who cared? They weren't good workers or good people anyway. I didn't like them.

  When I was already heading home, one of my colleagues from another department came up to me.

  "Did they really fire you, Anna?"

  "Yes. Those jerks can't take responsibility for anything."

  "And what are you going to do now?"

  "I don't know. Probably take a vacation. Maybe go to some warm country."

  "Text me if you need anything. I can help. Actually, text me even if you just want to chat."

  He was handsome, and pretty good. I was single, so why not? Maybe. But right now, I wasn't in the mood.

  "Yes, of course. It's time for me to go. Goodbye."

  "Goodbye, Anna."

  I left the building. The weather was pretty shitty - mid-fall, a light rain falling. I looked up at the sky.

  How did I end up in such a situation? I'm a thirty-three-year-old woman. I live alone in a one-room apartment, and now I'm unemployed. No relationship, no friends, all alone. But it's okay. It's my comfort zone.

  I'd hated my job for the past year, so maybe this was a sign. A sign to improve my life, find some easy work, start a new hobby, make new friends. But those weren't plans for this week. Right now, I was planning to go home, watch something, drink cola, and eat crisps. Yes. That was a good plan.

  By the time I reached home, it was pouring, and I was soaked. I looked around my apartment — one room in a pretty good district, modern renovation. Probably this flat was my best achievement.

  I changed into pajamas and looked at myself in the mirror. I was tired. My eyes had lost their spark. Dark circles underneath. I was so fed up with all this work crap.

  I started to fulfill my plans: watching movies, eating snacks, drinking cola, and finally I went to sleep.

  There was nothing unusual.

  But if I had known what would happen the next day...

  I woke up, but not in my room, or even my flat. How? Seriously, I hadn't drunk anything the night before. To be honest, I hadn't been drinking for months. I realized it was my childhood room. But how had I ended up here? Before I could make any conclusions, I heard a shout:

  " Anny, why are you still in bed!? Get up immediately! Are you trying to be late for school, or do you just want to irritate me first thing in the morning?!"

  Oh. It really was my hometown, my childhood room, and the woman shouting was my mom. I had never been in a good relationship with her, thanks to her big expectations and ridiculously high demands. Like right now - I wouldn't be late even if I spent twenty more minutes in bed. But I responded that I was already getting up. I’d decided this must be a dream, but even in a dream, I didn't want to face my mother's fury.

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  When I entered the kitchen, I saw my mom. She was already dressed for work with her makeup done. She was leaning against the wall, drinking coffee. In my childhood, I had never realized how beautiful she was: short blonde hair, blue eyes, pretty tall, slim, even sporty, with a sharp glance. In short, she was exactly the type of woman I tried to avoid. In contrast, I'm not so tall, with black hair and green eyes, but sporty too - probably I take after my father, whom I've never seen.

  She told me that she had to go and gave me a lot of instructions, but I was just looking around, not listening.

  "Hey, I'm talking to you! I hope you understand everything. See you in the evening."

  I just mumbled in response. What a realistic dream.

  It was time for breakfast, and I definitely wasn't going to skip it - there were salmon toasts on the plate. Mom always made such tasty, Instagram-worthy breakfasts, even in my childhood. For me, it had been impossible to get up early enough to make something so sophisticated. It was tasty. My mom became a little more bearable thanks to her cooking.

  It was time to get dressed. I thought about staying home until the dream ended, but I was feeling curious about visiting school. I got dressed: a classic skirt, blouse, jacket - all in black and white. I looked in the mirror. What a beautiful, sweet girl I was. I'm not ugly in the future, but I've lost something important. I'm still sporty, still good-looking, but not like this. Not so... fresh.

  I checked my backpack. So, I was in the ninth grade now. In the end, I went to school.

  In school, I had never appreciated how close I lived to it. It was actually pretty cool not to spend an hour commuting to work. My mom was the one who chose that flat, probably for my comfort and, of course, to facilitate my great future achievements.

  I got to school in five minutes, and it was exactly as I remembered: the same stream of students flowing toward the entrance, the same H-shaped building. I passed through the old iron doors and reached the hall. A wave of sound, scents, and memories washed over me, leaving me stunned. Suddenly, someone shouting "Annnyyyy!" crashed into me, stunning me even more.

  "Hey Anny, hellooow?" It was the girl who had crashed into me-my best friend from school. She was small, with long blonde hair, a cheerful girl loved by everyone-so easygoing, so kind. Even in the future, she succeeded in life: a good job, two kids, and a handsome, rich husband. I probably stopped communicating with her precisely because of how successful she became.

  "Hi Kate. Feels like I haven't seen you in ages."

  "Really? I saw you yesterday. Are you okay?"

  "Yeah, yeah. I'm just happy to see you."

  Kate looked confused. It was funny - she was so cute in that state.

  "I'm happy to see you too, but... this isn't like you."

  I just laughed in response and then asked, "By the way, what's our first lesson?"

  "You don't remember? Seriously? We have that important math test now."

  "Oh my..."

  "Are you messing with me?"

  "Okay, okay, let's just go."

  And we went to class. Kate chattered about her conversations with boys-she was really popular. Such a realistic dream. I'd never had one like this before.

  When we arrived, I saw my classmates. Oh, it had been so long since I'd seen those faces. I hadn't been on good terms with most of them; I was too arrogant. So my only friend was Kate, and she was my deskmate.

  The lesson started, and it really was a test. Are you kidding me? How could my brain conjure up all these derivative problems? While I was staring in confusion, the teacher said:

  "I think this would be too easy for you, Anna, so here's an extra task for you." And she handed me an incredibly complex problem.

  You can shove this extra task up your ass. I don't remember how to solve any of this. Enough. I looked at my classmates. I stood up.

  "Anna, is something wrong?" asked the teacher in a worried voice. Kate was looking at me with concern too.

  "These tasks are too simple for me. I'm leaving."

  And with that, I left the class. No one even said a word. I hoped they were shocked; such behavior was completely unlike me. Now I needed to leave the school. I could try to deceive the guard, but I simply jumped out of a first-floor window. It was fine.

  Was this dream ever going to end? I felt like going for a pointless walk.

  My wandering led me to a store. Oddly, I felt hungry and thirsty. I found some cash in my backpack and was standing there, looking at the buns, when I heard:

  "Girl!"

  Was someone calling me?

  "Girl!!!"

  Okay, okay. I turned around and saw a man. Oh my gosh... he was faceless. His features were just interference, like static on an old TV. Such a scary thing. And in that exact moment, he stabbed me in the stomach with a knife.

  A sharp pain erupted in my belly, spreading in waves through my entire body. Before I could do anything, he stabbed me two more times.

  I collapsed on the floor, convulsing in agony. He bent over me and whispered:

  "You were a bad girl."

  The pain left me. I felt so far away from my body, as if it wasn't mine anymore. Was this my death? Oh, how I hoped it was just a dream...