Day 4: The weight of what floats

She was floating in darkness.
There was no shape, no sound.
Only the sensation that the darkness itself was watching her.

—Shit!
Sally woke up gasping, sitting up in an instant.

She stayed still for a moment, breathing unevenly.

“…Again,” she muttered. “Why these dreams?”

She rubbed her face with both hands.
The interrupted sleep left behind a strange exhaustion,
as if something had continued happening even after she woke.

“…Well. I’m not sleeping again after that,” she sighed.

She turned on her PC.

She had been neglecting her games lately.

Sally always had very defined tastes:
anime-style games,
zombie survivals,
and competitive shooters.

Her channel was varied, but unmistakably hers.
She never played for trends. She played because that was where she felt alive.

She recommended games, anime, and manga she genuinely liked.
Some were popular.
Others were obscure, deeply niche… almost unknown.
And yet, her community welcomed them with genuine enthusiasm.

Her channel was exactly that:
sincere recommendations, calm analysis, guides for F2P players,
explaining how to progress without spending money.

And during live streams,
she made everyone part of the experience:
discussions, team matches, questions, inside jokes.

It wasn’t just “content.”
It was a place.

Sally loved what she did.
Not for numbers.
But because she shared things that mattered to her
with people who also cared.

After a couple of hours, she saved her progress and closed the game.

Silence returned to the room.

Without thinking too much, she played the astral projection video again.
She watched it quietly.

Something within her responded.

“…I think… I’ll try it. It’s not like I’ll lose anything.”

She turned off the PC.
Went up to the terrace.
Sat down.
Breathed.

The sky, as always, was there. Vast. Calm.

Sally closed her eyes.
She tried to quiet herself.
To balance.
To release a weight she hadn’t realized she was holding.

And then she felt it.

Lightness.

As if her body dissolved into a soft point.
Not falling.
Not rising.
Just floating.

She opened her eyes.

She saw herself.
Sitting.
Her body, right there… unmoving.

And what she was at that moment… had no physical form.
It was energy.

A shiver of fear rushed through her—
and in a blink, she returned.

Sally pressed a hand to her chest, breathing quickly.

“…I… did it,” she whispered.

Her heart pounded hard, but excitement outweighed fear.

She wanted to try again.

She relaxed.
Felt the weight fade.
Felt that gentle floating—

But this time—
something rose from within.

A memory.

Her mother.
Her voice.

“He never came for you.
He never cared about you.”

Sally felt her heart tighten.
As if something old, buried, had been ripped open.

Tears came.
Burning.

She clenched her fist.

When she opened her eyes again—
she saw it.

Her hand… wrapped in energy.

This time it wasn’t just presence.
It was shape.

The energy moved, following the rhythm of her breathing.

“…I can feel it,” she whispered.

She thought of something familiar.
Something safe.

A plush toy.

The energy shifted.
Uncertain at first—
then gradually forming.

A small, soft figure.
A plush made of pure energy.

It lasted only a few minutes.
Then dissolved.

Sally fell back onto the couch, exhausted.

“Hah…” she let out a weak laugh.
“It feels… like I’ve run for hours.”

Using that energy
seemed to drain the body.

“…So it’s true. The body and the soul really are linked to this energy.”

Her gaze drifted toward the sky.

“But those memories… what were they?
What did I forget?
Or… what did my mind choose to hide?”

She pressed a hand to her forehead.

“…Maybe I should get checked.
Or… maybe someone in the group went through something similar.”

She stood up.

“…It’s time to make my first post.”
A small breath.
A quiet determination.

“As a member of BASTARD SOCIETY.”