The voices in her head

Determined to regain control of her life, Ava reached out and picked up her phone from the nightstand. She felt a sense of relief wash over her as she realized that she was able to move freely again.

Tapping the screen twice, she checked the time, hoping that Keys would be awake and available to talk. She needed someone to talk to, someone who could help her make sense of what had happened_ despite Key's attitude towards her.

As she waited for Keys to answer, Ava couldn't shake the feeling that something important had happened to her. She knew that she needed to get to the bottom of it, no matter what it took.

Ava's heart sank when she saw that it was only 2 minutes past 5AM. It felt like she had been asleep for hours, but in reality, it had only been a few minutes.

Just as she was about to put her phone down, Ava noticed something strange on her wrist. There was a butterfly-shaped mark on the exact same spot where she had seen it in her nightmare.

Her eyes widened in shock, and her heart started racing. She felt a wave of fear wash over her, and her breathing became laboured. The relief she had felt moments before evaporated, and she was left feeling exposed and vulnerable.

Ava didn't know what to do. She couldn't explain the mark on her wrist, and she couldn't shake the feeling that something important was happening to her.

Ava's heart was beating so fast that she could feel it in her chest. With trembling hands, she slowly reached for her left wrist to touch the butterfly mark she had seen in her nightmare.

As her fingers touched the red mark, Ava was surprised to find that it didn't hurt like it had in the dream. She let out a gasp of air as relief flooded through her. But as she looked at the mark on her arm, she couldn't shake the feeling that it was important somehow.

Ava held her hand to her chest, trying to calm herself down as panic rose again. She felt like she was on the verge of a panic attack, and she needed to get a hold of herself. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Ava's mind was reeling as she tried to make sense of what had just happened to her. Was it a nightmare, or was it real? She couldn't be sure.

Her head was pounding, and her heart felt heavy in her chest. "You have to do something, Ava," she told herself firmly. "You have to."

Glancing at the clock, Ava saw that there were still a few hours left until dawn. She couldn't wait to get out of the room that felt like a prison and get herself a phone.

For the next few hours, Ava paced back and forth in the room, counting every tick and tock of the clock. She was desperate to get a phone, to find a way out of the trap that she felt she was in.

As she waited, Ava's thoughts turned dark. She considered ditching her plan and giving up, but she quickly pushed those thoughts aside. She knew that she couldn't give up, not now. Her life was at stake, and she needed to find a way out of the city.

Ava was overwhelmed by everything that had happened to her in such a short amount of time. The seizures, the pain, the strange events, the tension, the toll on her mental health... It was all too much to process. She knew that it would take her weeks, maybe even months, to fully understand what had happened to her.

Ava felt a sense of dread wash over her as she realized that she might be stuck in this situation for another day or more. "How am I supposed to carry on like this?" she wondered.

But then she remembered her plan to get a phone and take it from there. "Just get the phone, and then you'll figure it out," she encouraged herself.

As she paced back and forth, Ava wished for time to go faster, but it seemed to drag on endlessly. She thought about the phrase "time and patience," but quickly dismissed it as meaningless.

"Shut up!" she scolded the voice in her head that reminded her of the truth. "Just let me believe it'll work out, okay?!" Ava pleaded with herself, trying to convince herself that a phone call was all she needed to change her fate.

Hours passed by, feeling like years to Ava, as she continued to pace the room. But finally, the sun began to rise, and Ava felt a glimmer of hope. It was dawn, and soon the retail stores would be open. She could finally get a phone and start to take control of her life again. So she believed!

At exactly 7:01 AM, Ava was already at the door, her phone wrapped tightly in a scarf to protect it from the cold. She had found another scarf in her room, which she wrapped around her neck for warmth.

Ava had made sure to bring a bundle of cash with her, knowing that the Stellar notes would be enough to buy a phone. She didn't care about the features or the brand, all she needed was a device with a call icon that would allow her to make and receive calls.

As she stepped out into the morning light, Ava felt a sense of relief wash over her. She was finally taking action, finally doing something to take control of her life.

"Finally Ava Cassius! Finally."

She didn't know what the future held, but for the first time in a long time, Ava felt like she had a chance to change her fate.

But of course, Ava knew not the direction to a retail store, and so she had only one option to fall back to; Keys.

With an eye roll, Ava exhaled deeply before clearing her throat, all the while encouraging herself that she had to talk to Keys.

Clearing her throat one more time, "Keys? Are you there?"

"Tap on the screen of the device in your hand, a map icon will be immediately displayed. What to do next is up to you." Keys instructed.

"How did_ nevermind." Ava said. 'She must have heard me talk about it.' she mused inwardly.

"Umm, okay. Thank you. But, I'll have to expose you to do that." Ava commented.

"I guess I didn't know that." Keys replied curtly.

"Oh no! I'm sorry. Thank... thank you" Ava quickly answered.

Almost immediately she unwrapped the phone and double tapped on the screen. And just like Keys had said, only a Map icon was displayed on the screen.

Without hesitation, Ava clicked on the icon and typed away for a couple of seconds. And in no time, she started walking towards the direction of the Retail store she assumed was closest to her.

Ava followed the map on her phone, barely raising her head to look where she was going. She was so focused on the device that she didn't notice the people around her. Maybe it was anxiousness or naivety, but Ava couldn't help but focus her gaze on the screen till she bumped into someone!

"Hey! Can't you watch where you're going?" the lady complained.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" Ava pleaded, before she proceeded to pick her phone and scarf which fell to the ground.

"You are?" The lady asked before folding her arms, while Ava raised her head to look at her before she stood up slowly.

"Ummm... Excuse me?" Ava asked with streaks of lines visible on her forehead.

"You heard me. Are you really sorry?" The lady asked again.

"You_"

"Don't you know you're not supposed to operate your phone while walking? What if this wasn't a street in a residential area? Huh? Don't you think something worse would've happened?" The lady asked Ava, whose brows deepened in confusion while she stared at the lady, trying to figure out the words fit for response.

"Well I already said I'm sorry miss. If it wasn't a matter of urgency, I wouldn't have been on my phone. Besides, I wasn't surfing the net, you know." Ava replied.

"Oh. So you're not even sorry for what you did?" The lady asked with a scoff laugh.

"I already apologized miss. What more do you want me to do? Why are you sounding like you're not at fault as well?" Ava quarreled softly.

"Oh I am?" the lady asked with a quirked brow.

"If you weren't absentminded as well, you would have avoided our collision." Ava argued, but in a low voice.

"Oh really now?" the lady answered with another scoff laugh.

Seeing that she was ready for an argument, Ava decided to close the curtains. She didn't have all the time. She didn't know when one of those crazy seizures was going to start. Neither did she know if the butterfly mark was disappearing anytime soon. And even if it was, was it going to be dramatic? Was it going to hurt? Was she going to experience any weird dream or encounter?

"Oh now you're lost in thoughts" The lady said dramatically, bringing Ava back.

Clearing her throat slightly, "Umm, I'm sorry. I was wrong. It's my fault. Apologies." Ava said with a slight bow before she took a step forward to leave.

But before she knew it, the lady held her arm and tugged her lightly.

"Didn't you hear me?" The lady said, causing Ava to turn towards her. "I said I was just pulling your legs." she said with a smile that reached her eyes.

"Oh. Okay. That's nice. I... I have to go." Ava replied promptly, not wanting to get delayed a minute more.

Although she let out a sigh of relief as she realized that the woman wasn't going to start a fight with her. She had been on edge ever since she had entered the city, and the last thing she needed was to get into an argument with a stranger.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" the lady asked, maintaining her smile before letting go of Ava's arm.

Clearing her throat, Ava replied immediately, "I just need to get a phone quickly. I need a phone. It's urgent."

"Oh... I see." The lady commented, not wanting to point out the obvious.

A pretty obvious idea then struck Ava, prompting her to speak further. "Umm. The thing is, I was wondering if you could_ Umm I mean, I don't really need a phone. What I need is to make a call."

"Oh. But you have a phone in your hand." the lady replied.

''Yeah. But it's completely useless. Very, very useless." Ava added, emphasizing on the last three words.

"Oh. Then you should trash it, cause it seems kinda weird that you need to make a phone call, when you have a phone in your hand."

"I know. I should really trash it. It's too useless." Ava said, smirking at the fact that Keys could not clap back.

"Uhh...Okay then. Do you still want to get a new one or not?"

Glancing at the lady one more time, Ava then shook her head.

"No. I'll...I'll just get a new one." she replied.

"Okay then. I'm sorry about the incident earlier." the lady apologized.

"Oh no, it's fine." Ava answered quickly before looking ahead, letting the lady know she wanted to continue walking.

"Do you mind a cup of coffee?" The lady asked politely. But immediately, bells rang in Ava's head.

'You are not supposed to have anything to do with her or anyone here, remember?!' A voice rang in her head.

'But you don't know your way around here. Maybe you should just get acquainted, find out the information you need, and disappear. It won't hurt you will it?' Another voice countered.

'What if she's not real? What if she's just a Spirit in human form looking for a victim?'

'How can she not be real? Remember you doubted even the food yesterday, and it turned out to be above par. It doesn't_'

'No! Have you forgotten how rude she was at first? How could she turn nice all of a sudden? Don't you think it's suspicious?'

'No, it's not. She's just the dramatic type. Listen, it won't hurt to have a cup of coffee after making the phone call. She'll keep her distance afterall. She doesn't know you, so she_'

"Miss? Is everything okay?" The lady asked with a creased brow, as she observed how Ava jolted.

"Oh...Uhh, I'm good." Ava replied.

"Okay? Are you sure?" the lady asked.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm sure."

"Okay then. I said that'll be after you make the call."

"What?_ Oh, you mean the coffee?" Ava asked.

"Yeah."

'You see! I told you it was going to be after you made the call.' The other voice in her head said.

'No Ava! Stay away! She's not real!' the first voice countered.

'Don't stay away. She won't harm you.'

'Yes she will!'

'No she won't!'

'She will!'

'She won't!'

'She will!'

'She_'

"Fine!" Ava replied the lady, trying to keep a straight face.

"Let's have coffee."