The diner was small, tucked away on the corner of a quiet street. The scent of coffee and frying bacon filled the air, making my stomach twist painfully. My body was exhausted, my thoughts tangled in a chaotic mess of memories—some mine, some not.
I pushed open the glass door, the soft jingle of the entrance bell echoing through the near-empty space. A handful of patrons were scattered around—a couple sipping coffee at the counter, an old man reading a newspaper in the corner. The atmosphere was quiet, the kind of stillness found in small towns untouched by the rush of the world outside.
Behind the counter, a waitress in her late forties was wiping down a coffee pot. Her name tag read Linda. She glanced up when the door swung open, her expression indifferent—at first.
Then she saw me.
Her hand faltered, nearly dropping the pot. Her eyes widened, her breath catching just slightly. It was subtle—too subtle for most people to notice—but I saw it. The flicker of disbelief, the way her lips parted as if she had momentarily forgotten how to speak.
It was a look I had started getting used to.
Even if I hadn't seen my own reflection yet, I knew—I was unnaturally attractive. The kind of beauty that didn't belong in a place like this. The kind that made people stop and stare before they even realized what they were doing.
Linda recovered quickly, but not completely. She cleared her throat, her voice just a little too forced when she said, "Uh—sit anywhere you like, hun."
I nodded silently and made my way to the farthest booth, ignoring the curious glances from the other customers. The vinyl creaked under my weight as I sat, exhaustion settling over me like a heavy blanket. My body ached in ways I couldn't explain, a dull throbbing under my skin, as if my very existence here was something unnatural.
I leaned forward, pressing my hands against my temples. This world... It wasn't mine. It shouldn't be real. And yet, here I was, breathing in the scent of coffee and maple syrup, listening to the hum of casual conversation, trapped in a place that should have only existed in fiction.
The clatter of porcelain snapped me out of my thoughts.
A steaming cup of coffee was placed in front of me, the dark liquid rippling slightly. A moment later, a plate of toast and eggs followed. Linda stood beside the table, watching me with a look that hovered somewhere between curiosity and something else.
"Rough night?" she asked, her voice softer than before.
I hesitated, my fingers tightening around the warm ceramic of the mug.
"...Yeah. Something like that."
More than rough. I had woken up in a world that wasn't my own, in a body that shouldn't exist, with powers I didn't understand. But I couldn't say that. Not without sounding insane.
I took a slow sip of the coffee, letting the bitterness ground me.
Linda lingered for a moment, then nodded toward the window. "If you're new in town, there's a small motel down the street. Not the fanciest place, but it'll do in a pinch."
I swallowed a bite of toast, choosing my words carefully. "Just passing through."
A half-truth.
She hummed in response, not pushing for more. "Well, if you need anything, just holler."
Then she left me alone, moving to refill the coffee of a man sitting by the counter.
That's when I remembered—I didn't have any money.
I stilled, my grip tightening around my fork.
Damn it.
I had been so focused on surviving, on making sense of this world, that I hadn't even thought about how I was going to pay for food.
My mind raced for a solution. I had powers. That much was clear. But how far could I push them?
I focused, reaching for the strange hum beneath my skin.
A soft ripple of something invisible spread out from me—a suggestion, a nudge in the right direction. I didn't know exactly how it worked, only that I could tilt the odds in my favor when I concentrated.
When Linda returned with the check, she barely glanced at it before setting it down.
"You know what?" she said, almost as if she had just thought of it. "This one's on the house."
I blinked.
She looked slightly surprised at her own words, as if she wasn't sure why she had said them—but she didn't take them back.
I exhaled slowly, keeping my face neutral.
"Thanks," I murmured.
She gave me another lingering glance before walking away.
I finished my food quickly, not wanting to push my luck.
Even as I left the diner, the unease in my chest wouldn't fade.
Something about this world was wrong.
---
After leaving the diner, I wandered aimlessly through Forks, letting my feet carry me while my mind struggled to make sense of everything. The town was small, the streets familiar yet unfamiliar, as if I had walked through them a hundred times in my imagination but never in reality.
Flashes of memory surfaced at random—some from my past life, others from this world. It was like my mind was a shattered mirror, slowly piecing itself back together.
And through it all, I could feel something.
Something unnatural.
It started subtly.
I passed by a man arguing on the phone, his voice sharp with frustration. Without thinking, I focused—and the noise dulled. Not because the argument stopped, but because I had somehow blocked it out. It was like flipping a switch, shutting off the mental noise around me.
A mind shield.
The realization sent a shiver down my spine.
Then there was the pull.
At first, I thought it was just my imagination. A strange instinct tugging at the edge of my consciousness. But the longer I walked, the stronger it became, leading me toward the outskirts of town—toward the woods.
I stopped at the tree line.
The air was colder here, the towering evergreens casting long shadows over the damp forest floor. The pull in my chest thrummed with urgency, demanding that I step forward.
I hesitated.
Something told me that following it would change everything.
But then again… hadn't my life already changed the moment I woke up in this world?
With a steadying breath, I stepped forward.
And the future shifted.
---
The woods were eerily silent, save for the soft crunch of leaves beneath my feet. The deeper I went, the more the pull intensified, like invisible threads wrapping around my very soul and dragging me forward.
Then it happened.
A vision.
It struck me like a tidal wave, my surroundings blurring as colors melted into a chaotic swirl. The world tilted, and suddenly, I wasn't in the forest anymore.
I saw her.
A girl stood before me, bathed in soft light, her presence more vivid than anything else.
Short, inhumanly graceful, her dark hair framing delicate features. But it was her eyes that held me captive—golden, wide with recognition, with something deeper.
Not fear.
Not curiosity.
Something like longing.
The moment stretched, the vision lingering longer than the others. She was looking at me like she already knew me, like she had been waiting.
Then—just as suddenly as it came—the vision snapped away.
I staggered, gasping for breath as the real world returned, my pulse pounding in my ears.
I clutched my temples, trying to steady myself.
That was not normal.
I had already suspected something was different about me. The mind shield had been the first clue. But this? Future vision? That was something else entirely.
I took several shaky breaths, my thoughts racing.
Why now? Why her?
The cold wind bit at my skin, but I barely felt it.
I wasn't just a random anomaly in this world.
Someone—or something—had put me here for a reason.
And I needed to find out why.
-----
Hello, dear readers!
Behold! The updated chapter has arrived—polished, refined, and free of the unholy typos that haunted the previous version. I have ventured deep into the realm of revision, battling plot holes and logic gaps like a warrior on a quest for literary perfection.
For example, some of you sharp-eyed detectives (yes, I see you, lurking in the comments) noticed that Ash somehow escaped from the dining area without paying the bill. Was he secretly a master dine-and-dasher? Did he use some supernatural loophole? Or did the restaurant staff just decide he was too handsome to charge? The world may never know—but worry not, for I have patched this inconsistency!
Oh, and I've also made a slight modification to Ash's vision. What did I change? Well, my friends, that is for you to find out. Consider it a hidden side quest in today's reading experience.
Enjoy the revisions, and remember—if you find any more plot holes, don't hesitate to point them out. I will either fix them or gaslight you into believing they were intentional.