DAYMARE 1: Curiosity Starts

HESTRAL’S POINT OF VIEW

Summer has become unbearable!

I am grounded for two whole months. Extracurricular activities are strictly advised unless permitted. They strictly forbade me from meeting with my friends, which is the only thing I want for the whole summer. My anticipation and precious time are wasted on doing nothing.

*cellphone rings*

I grasped my phone under my pillow. A video call.

"What?" I mumbled in a bored tone.

“How’s Hestral? Is your house okay?” Again, it’s Neilsen, aka Neil.

He’s wearing a yellow sando, making the new tattoo on his left arm visible, along with his nose piercing and other body piercings.

“Our house is fine, it's still alive and well. Me? I don't know if I'm even alive,” I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"Pfftt, Hahaha!” What a moronic laugh.

“Hey, that’s mine!” Neilsen exclaimed when Jethro stole his cellphone he was using to video call with me.

“Hestral, how are you?” Jethro spoke.

Jethro removed his amber lens sunglasses and looked at me directly. He’s dressed in a summer-themed polo and white shorts.

I sighed in frustration. "I'm pissed."

“I'm sorry. We talked to uncle and auntie so you could come along… but…”

They even talked to my parents, huh.

“I know,”

They most probably persuaded Mom and Dad to go with them.

“Hestral… sorry.” I can feel his sincerity.

"My turn!” This time, it’s Anikka. “Hey! We’re here!” She stole Neilsen’s phone from Jethro.

“Isn’t hair color forbidden at school?” I asked her. “You even dared to bleach and use a vibrant color.”

“This?” She touched the tips of her hair and showed them to me. “Just this summer! I’m going to cut my hair after this break.”

The same hair length as mine.

“You’re not jealous anymore?” Neilsen continues to tease me as he swings his phone around the beach resort they’re currently in.

“Go and live to the fullest, idiots. Have fun!" is what I’d like to tell them, but my angelic side prevails.

"Look at my new tatts! Isn’t it cool?" It is still Neilsen's voice. So, he got a new tattoo at that beach resort. I didn’t bother looking at and analyzing its design. “Also, we’re goin’ bar hopping hahaha!” The nerve of this jerk.

They’re not allowed to drink, not until they’re 18, including me.

"Hestral, do you want us to go there with you?" It’s Jethro’s voice.

I whisper, "I'm okay,"

“Tsk,” Neilsen pouts. “We visited this place, still remembering you.”

Yeah, you should remember me for leaving me out.

"We have a souvenir for you! They have a lot of cute keychains here." Anikka said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, your call," I replied.

"Are you sure?" Jethro asked me.

“Mm,” I confirm with a yes. “Have fun. I’m hanging up the phone.”

"Bye!" The two said goodbye, except for Jethro.

Good grief. I’m jealous of them, but nothing can be done right now.

They’re probably having a great time in the sea and will have a boodle fight... without me. Ugh!

I convinced my parents multiple times, but in the end, it was still a big no. They feel bad for leaving me, but I also convinced them to proceed with the plan without me. I don’t want to spoil their fun.

Grrr! Whatever.

I checked my phone to browse the nonsensical stuff still bored me. With continued browsing, a social media advertisement popped up on my screen.

Freaking ads. It’s an app, and it looks like it’s famous nowadays, particularly for teens.

bookfiend.com

So, this is the app. After a few minutes of downloading, I signed in with a newly created account.

This is said to be an online application exclusively for local aspiring writers where you can write and read stories, novels, and poems of various genres.

Quite a lot of readers here, let’s see then. Started with the first 5 chapters, but I’ll look for other stories to read.

Hmm

What about another romance? Not the cliché plots.

Sci-fi? Sounds cool, but not in the mood to be logical.

Vampire? Maybe these are another romance with a twist of a vampire. Skip.

Fantasy? Nah, I only read one story worth commending.

Non-fiction? I might need some self-help and inspirational books to be motivated in my life. However, this reality demands an escape.

Humor? My will to laugh is absent because I'm mad.

Drama? My summer is already sad, and my life’s already full of drama.

Horror? Okay, maybe—now that this genre has been mentioned, I've never read a horror story yet.

Scrolling down revealed a book that stood out. The book’s title alone piqued my interest.

CURIOSITY KILLS

The title of the book itself stirs my curiosity!

I tapped it.

*whooo*

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the curtain at my bedroom window sway… even though the air was perfectly still. Strange. The windows were shut tight because the air conditioner was on, yet the curtain moved, as if something unseen had brushed it.

There’s a certain chill running down my spine.

“Aw!” I shrieked when my phone fell on my face.

Let’s shrug it off.

The book cover is almost all black, the font color is red, and the title is in horror font style.

What?

No read/s or view/s or vote/s or comment/s or share/s.

There’s a prologue, I see. Perhaps the author is still writing and is a newbie.

I visited the author’s account. The pen name is yourgreatestdaymare. Your greatest daymare… He/She has no followers, pictures, or whatever. The picture is plain black. No more info about the author. No idea if yourgreatestdaymare is a celebrity, so as not to reveal their information to the public, or maybe their parents are strict like mine. Kidding.

Well, my pen name in this app is bloodyreader

I might end up using this app more often. This summer bores me, so I can only use my naughty imagination to travel anywhere without leaving this house. That beats my friends who are on vacation, leaving home, but me? Hmp, I’m just sitting here, but simultaneously traveling around and outside of the world—even in another world.

Aside from it, named it 'bloodyreader' because I love horror movies! Reading horror stories isn’t my thing because, apart from the lengthy story ones, I prefer horror movies over books.

Clicking the prologue to read, I felt goosebumps for a second. As if bugs were crawling all over my body. Hugging myself, perhaps feeling cold. I turned off the air conditioner and turned on the electric fan.

I started reading the short prologue.

I am nothing. My name is Nothing. Just like my name, I am not a thing.

That was weird. Okay, continue.

I’m a living person living in a dead world. Living in a dead world is like living as both a living and a dead.

Interestingly weird.

I’m in a world that is not alive. A world without color. A world without sound. A lifeless world. A world where I live, but it feels dead. A world that has nothing but me, Nothing.

Wondering why I am living in this dead world. A world that I was not supposed to be. But I think this is where I belong, like my name, I belong in the world of nothingness.

I was glad. Despite being nothing, I still have the only thing I have, my name. Even if my name means ‘nothing’, this means everything to me. In all of the things in the world, this would be the most precious one.

One thing happened that changed my whole world, my whole life.

After being distressed about living in a dead world, in the snap of a finger, the dead world came to life. It has colors and sound. Everything went beautifully. I was not the only one who was living in this world. Everything went so peacefully. I was happy.

It’s been a long time since I used ‘I’, now, I can use ‘we’.

Gosh. What is this?

I rechecked the writer's account, but still no info other than their pen name and the story, ‘Curiosity Kills’. I searched on other social media platforms to see if yourgreatestdaymare has social media accounts, but bad news, there were none at all. It seems their page hasn’t been created yet. Maybe they use real names in their other accounts.

Disappointed, I read the prologue again.

I wondered about the second-to-last line. ‘I was happy.’ Why ‘was’? By reading the prologue alone, my curiosity is killed because of the cliffhanger. Nobody knows when the author will write the next chapters. The start wasn’t enticing, but I can’t wait.

Added the story to my library.

Still bored, I thought of messaging yourgreatestdaymare after following them, so they already have one follower.

bloodyreader: Hi yourgreatestdaymare! I’d like to ask when will u update ur chapters? I’m proud being your first reader, and I’ll definitely vote! The prologue had a good start. ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

4 smileys for 4 words: I Love Your Story, even though I only read the prologue.

Hope yourgreatestdaymare can reply soon. And since it’s afternoon and I’m done with lunch, it’s nap time. I turned off my phone and tucked it under the pillow.

***

*yawn*

I looked at the wall clock, and it was 4:45 PM. Surprised because I slept too long; it was no longer a nap. Perhaps it's because I dreamt of the prologue. I imagined I was ‘Nothing’ and lived in a world of nothingness, full of mystery.

I accidentally tapped on the bookfiend app and checked if yourgreatestdaymare has already messaged… they have replied!

yourgreatestdaymare: I’m glad you liked it. Tomorrow, chapter 1 will be released.

Yes!