It's her!

It was the middle of the night and pitch-black outside, with only the Moon shining down on the dark streets. While pretty much every normal person would be sleeping at that time, I wasn’t.
I was instead outside, in the cold, wandering around aimlessly in my pajamas. Well, my body was moving, and I was like a spectator, only watching, absolutely helpless.

How did it come to this? What’s even happening right now? I’m so confused, and so damn cold! Am I really just sleepwalking? No, this is something much weirder.

While my body was just going in circles, without any particular direction, I could still see everything with my eyes as usual. Eventually, after about an hour, I realized I suddenly had no idea where I was.

Oh, this is bad. I have no idea where I am, it’s freezing, I’m barefoot in my pajamas, and I still can’t control my body! It’s probably been more than an hour. Why can’t I do anything? How do I stop this madness? When will this finally stop?!

But my internal monologue wasn’t achieving anything.

Okay, calm down, deep breaths. But I can’t even control how I breathe! No, you’re panicking again. It’s alright, I’m fine, I’m okay. It’s going to be alright. Maybe I can take control of my body again if I focus enough and concentrate.

So that’s what I did. I collected my thoughts and focused all of my energy on controlling my legs. I tried as hard as I could, but it just wasn’t happening. My body still walked around aimlessly.

Damn it! No, I got this, I can do this. Maybe I’m not focusing hard enough? Or maybe trying to control both legs is too much. I should start smaller to see if it’s even possible.

Now that I wasn’t panicking, well, at least not as much as before, I tried again, focusing really hard and directing all my attention to moving a single finger. And finally, against all my expectations, I actually did it. I moved my right index finger by only a centimeter, but it felt like the biggest achievement of my life.

I did it... I actually did it! Yes! Let’s go!

I wanted to dance and jump around like a monkey to celebrate, but I still couldn’t move the rest of my body.

Oh, right. It’s still only a finger. But that shouldn’t get me down. The fact that I could move a finger means I can move more and eventually control my body again. Hopefully.

I tried moving the same finger again, and it took much less effort this time. It was almost as easy as moving a finger normally. And so, I focused all my effort on moving the rest of the fingers on my right hand, one by one. Once I managed that, I moved up. Eventually, I could move my entire right arm, from shoulder to fingers.

Okay, now that I have control of my right arm, should I do the left next or try controlling one of my legs? Well, if I want my body to stop walking, I should probably focus on the legs. But which one? Since I can interfere with my right leg using my right arm, controlling the left leg should take priority.

And so, I did the whole process again. I started by controlling my left big toe, and then systematically focusing on the other toes. I did it the same way I did for the arm, but it was much harder this time. It took me twice as long just to control my ankle. I tried to trip myself, but my body wasn’t budging, so I then focused on my knee and finally my hip. It took a lot of time and even more energy, so much that I felt like I could fall asleep at any moment, but I could finally control my entire left leg. 

So, I focused some more, lifted my knee in the air, and tripped over my right leg, causing me to fall face down on the ground. Fortunately, I could also still control my right arm, though a bit stiffly. So right before my head hit the ground, I placed my arm in front of me, elbow first, so it took most of the impact.

“Ouch!”

When I hit the ground, the pain in my arm was as clear as day. But I didn’t scream. Even though my natural reflex was telling me to scream, I couldn’t, because I couldn’t control my lips.

Did I just scream?

It sounded like my voice, and it came from inside my mouth, but I knew it wasn’t me who screamed.

Did my body just do that on reflex, or was it something else?

I slowly lifted my right hand and punched myself in the stomach, but it did nothing. I was still lying on the ground, with my hand hurting even more, and now even my stomach hurt.

Okay, one more try. This time with more strength.

I lifted my hand and punched my stomach again, but much harder than before.

“Ngh!”

It hurt a lot, but I accomplished what I wanted.

Is something actually controlling my body? How does that even happen? Did I develop an alternate personality? Or is a ghost trying to possess me? Or maybe some alien parasite is trying to invade my body? What the hell is this?!

Even though I figured out that I wasn’t the only one occupying my body, I still had no idea what to do about it. After taking back control of my right arm and left leg, I felt exhausted, unable to even try to control any other body part. I also couldn’t keep punching myself, because it hurt me too. Plus, I was pretty sure my right arm was broken after that fall.

Maybe if I just rested a bit, I could recover a little and try to regain more control over my body. No, falling asleep could risk losing control over the body parts I currently control.
So, what can I do? Is my only option to just wait?

I didn’t really have a choice. I had no energy to regain further control over my body, and I really didn’t want to punch myself again. So, I waited.

*

Ugh, how long has it been? I feel like it’s been forever, I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I’m freezing outside with barely any clothes on, and my right arm hurts like hell!
Please, someone, anyone, please help me.

While the body parts I didn’t control tried to get up and walk again, I forced them down and kept myself on the ground. But that was it. I couldn’t walk anywhere, for obvious reasons, and since I didn’t have my phone with me, I couldn’t call or text anyone for help either.

*

The Moon was full, hanging in the sky and shining down on Earth. Despite the situation I was in, I watched the peaceful night sky in amazement. Its light fell on the quiet and empty streets, illuminating everything.

But the streets weren’t completely empty. Of course, I was there, struggling on my back, facing the sky, but there was also someone else.

The figure was elegant and seemed almost fragile. They had smooth and pale skin and sparkling deep blue eyes, like the sea in summer. Their hair was light blue, with a hint of silver, waving gently in the wind and shining under the gaze of the Moon.

It’s her!

She stood above me, more gorgeous than ever, still without any sign of an expression on her delicate face.

It was Rui. Her hair was a different color, and her clothes were more dignified, but I knew. I was sure it was her, especially with her expressionless face coldly staring into my eyes.
My eyes naturally followed her, even though I wasn’t controlling them. Or maybe I was, but I just didn’t realize it.

I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t, so we just looked at each other for what felt like an eternity.