I don’t know how long it’s been since I woke up in this white room. There’s no clock, no calendar, no way to tell time. It could be minutes, hours, days, or even years. I’ve tried to remember who I am, where I came from, and how I got here, but every time I try, the time resets and I’m back at square one.
The only other person here with me is a stranger. They don’t remember anything either, but they seem to be handling it better than I am. They’re calm and collected, while I’m angry and frustrated. I can’t stand being stuck in this room with no way out, no way to contact anyone, no way to find help.
The window is the only thing that gives me a glimpse of the outside world, but it’s not much help. All I see is a reflection of the room and the pitch-black emptiness beyond it. It’s like we’re in a void, a purgatory of sorts.
I don’t know why we’re here, who put us here, or how we can escape. All I know is that I need to find a way out before I lose my mind. Maybe writing this down will help me keep my thoughts in order, maybe it will help me remember something I’ve forgotten. Or maybe it’s just a futile exercise, a way to pass the time until the time resets again.
Either way, I need to keep trying. I need to keep hoping. I need to keep fighting.
~Diary of Lennerd, Page 1
I wake up with a start, my eyes adjusting to the blinding white light all around me. Confusion and disorientation hit me like a ton of bricks as I try to remember how I got here.
The last thing I remember is…nothing. I can’t recall anything about myself, where I came from, or why I’m in this featureless white room. Panic sets in as I realize that there’s no door, only a single window that reflects an empty void. What is this place? How did I get here? And most importantly, how do I get out?
As I take a deep breath and try to calm down, I notice something out of the corner of my eye. There’s someone else in the room with me. I turn to face them and see a figure huddled in a corner, their back to me. “Hello?” I call out tentatively, unsure of what to expect. The figure doesn’t move, doesn’t respond.
“Hey, are you okay?” I ask again, taking a few tentative steps towards them. As I get closer, I can see that they’re slumped over, their head in their hands. “Hey,” I say more firmly, reaching out to touch their shoulder. Suddenly, the world around us shimmers and fades away, leaving us both standing in the same white room. The figure turns to face me, their eyes wide with shock and confusion.
“What the hell just happened?” the figure asks, their voice quivering. I shake my head, just as baffled. “I have no idea. It’s like…the room reset itself,” I say, trying to make sense of the situation. “Do you remember anything about how you got here?” The figure shakes their head. “No, I can’t remember anything. It’s like my memory’s been wiped clean.” I nod in agreement. “Same here. I don’t know who I am or why I’m here.”
We stand in silence for a few moments, both lost in thought. “Do you think there’s any way out of here?” the figure finally asks, breaking the silence. I glance around the room, taking in the featureless walls and the single window that reflects nothing. “I don’t know, but we have to try something.”
Together, we begin to explore the room. We run our hands over the walls, searching for any hidden doors or switches.
We examine the window, trying to see if there’s any way to open it. But everything is solid and unyielding. It’s like the room is airtight, a sealed container. “This is insane,” the figure mutters, frustration and fear seeping into their voice. “How did we even end up here?” I shake my head, feeling a sense of dread settling over me. “I don’t know, but I don’t think we’re going to get out of here anytime soon.”
The figure slumps back against the wall, looking defeated. “I don’t want to die here,” they say quietly, their eyes closing. I take a deep breath, trying to steady my own nerves. “We won’t. We have to keep trying. There has to be a way out of here.” But even as I say the words, I feel a cold, heavy weight settle in my stomach. What if there isn’t a way out? What if we’re trapped here forever, in this endless white purgatory?
Suddenly, a faint sound breaks the silence. At first, it’s barely audible, like a whisper on the edge of hearing. But then it grows louder, swelling in volume until it fills the entire room. It’s a song, a haunting melody that seems to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. The figure jumps to their feet, their eyes wide. “What the hell is that?” they shout over the music. I shake my head, my heart pounding in my chest. “I don’t know, but maybe it’s a clue. Maybe it’s leading us somewhere.” Without another word, we begin to follow the sound.
It leads us to the window, which now glows with a soft, pulsing light. As we approach it, the song reaches a crescendo, and then suddenly cuts off. We stare at the window, transfixed, as it begins to slowly dissolve, revealing a blinding white light beyond. “What’s happening?” the figure whispers, their hand tightening around mine. I take a deep breath, my heart racing with excitement and fear. “I think we’re about to find out.” And then, without hesitation, we step through the window and into the unknown.
As we step towards the window, I feel something sharp under my foot. I look down to see a nail, its pointy end sticking up from the ground. Before I can react, I step on it, and a sharp pain shoots through my foot. I cry out, hopping on one foot to avoid putting any more weight on the injured one. The figure rushes to my side, their expression one of concern. “Are you okay? What happened?” they ask, their voice filled with worry.
I grit my teeth, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in my foot. “I stepped on a nail. It hurts like hell.” We continue towards the window, but as soon as we reach it, the room suddenly resets back to its original state. The nail is gone, and my foot no longer hurts. It’s as if nothing ever happened. I look at the figure, frustration and confusion etched on my face. “What the hell is going on here?”
The figure shakes their head, looking as bewildered as I feel. “I don’t know, but something is seriously wrong here,” they say. I nod in agreement, taking a deep breath to steady my nerves. We’re stuck in a white room with no idea how we got here or why, and things keep happening that make no sense. It’s like we’re in some kind of twisted purgatory, doomed to repeat the same sequence of events over and over again.
I glance at the figure, studying them more closely. They’re wearing a plain white shirt and trousers, just like me, and their hair is short and dark. But that’s all I can discern about them; their face is a complete blank, as if it’s been deliberately obscured. “What’s your name?” I ask, hoping to establish some kind of connection. They hesitate for a moment, then reply, “I don’t remember.” My heart sinks. If they don’t remember their own name, then what chance do we have of figuring out how to escape this place?
Suddenly a question is in my head, wait, name? what is a name?
The figure looks at me quizzically. “You don’t know what a name is?” they ask. I shake my head, feeling a sense of unease creeping up on me.
It’s not just that I don’t remember my own name, but I don’t even know what the concept of a name is. The figure seems to sense my confusion and takes a step closer.
“A name is what people call you,” they explain. “It’s how they identify you, distinguish you from others.” I nod slowly, trying to absorb this new information.
It’s like I’m learning everything from scratch, as if I’ve been born into this white room with no prior knowledge of the world. “What about you?” I ask the figure. “Do you remember anything else?” They shake their head, looking just as lost as I feel. “No, just bits and pieces. Flashes of memory, like a dream.”
a dream..
The figure nods, their eyes distant as if lost in thought. “Yes, like a dream. But one that feels more real than anything else. I remember a face, a voice, but it’s all hazy, like trying to recall something from a long time ago.” They pause for a moment, as if gathering their thoughts. “What about you? Do you remember anything else?”
I shake my head, feeling a sense of despair creeping up on me.
“No, nothing. It’s like my memory has been wiped clean.” The figure places a comforting hand on my shoulder. “We’ll figure this out together,” they say with a small smile. “We’ll find a way out of this room, and we’ll uncover the truth about who we are.”
I feel a glimmer of hope at their words, but it quickly fades as the reality of our situation sinks in. How are we supposed to find a way out of this room when we don’t even know how we got here in the first place? I look around the room once more, searching for any clues or hints that might help us. But everything is just white, stark and featureless, except for the single window that reflects nothing but darkness.
As I continue to stare at the window, I notice something strange. It’s like there’s a faint glow coming from behind the glass, as if there’s something out there beyond the darkness. “Do you see that?” I ask the figure, pointing at the window. They follow my gaze and squint their eyes. “I think I see it too,” they say, their voice barely above a whisper.
We both move closer to the window, trying to get a better look. The glow is definitely getting stronger, and I can make out shapes and shadows beyond the glass. It’s like there’s a world out there, just beyond our reach.
Suddenly, the window shatters, and a blinding light floods the room. I shield my eyes, and when I open them again, everything has changed. The room is no longer white, but a deep shade of blue, and there’s a door in front of us, with a golden handle.
I glance at the figure next to me, and they nod, as if they’re thinking the same thing I am. We move towards the door cautiously, unsure of what might be waiting for us on the other side. As we reach for the handle, the door swings open of its own accord, revealing a long, dimly-lit corridor.
Without a word, we step through the door and into the unknown. The corridor seems to stretch on forever, and as we walk, I notice that the air is growing colder, and a sense of unease is creeping up on me. We pass by several doors, but they’re all locked, and there’s no way to tell where they lead.
After what feels like an eternity, we finally come to the end of the corridor, and a bright light spills out from the room ahead of us. We pause for a moment, taking a deep breath before we step into the room.