chapter 0: I am lost

"Now where the heck am I?" I say while looking around at buildings I had never seen before. "I should stop following Apple Maps at this point. It feels like I use it to get lost and use Google Maps to find the way." Then I pull out Google Maps to find my home, only to see that I am in the wrong town. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!"

*sigh* "To think I ended up in another town entirely... man, this just sucks," I murmur to myself, the initial shock giving way to reluctant acceptance as I survey the unfamiliar buildings around me. 

A thought crosses my mind, a silver lining in this unexpected detour. "Maybe this isn't that bad. Uni has been taking a toll on me; maybe I could use a change of scenery." With that sliver of optimism, I decide to make the most of this unintended adventure. I'll explore this place a bit, indulge in some window shopping, and then head home.

With a smile stretching across my face, I find myself humming a cheerful tune. "Hmmm hmm, today is the best day of my life," I say, as I just got the figure of Gilgamesh I was looking for. This was a very exclusive figure; it was a fem Gilgamesh, not the guy one you normally get. It was a limited-time figure. 

"To think this mishap would bring such a treasure to me. I don't even care that it cost $80; it was money well spent," I say as I look at the bag in my hand with stars in my eyes. The plan was to window shop, but who cares? I am happy; that's what matters.

"Well, with that, I think it's time to go home, as it will take me a few hours just to get there." With that, I check my phone for the nearest bus stop to my home. It seems I have to change buses 2 times and take the train. *sigh* "Changing buses is always annoying." Then I go to the stop. 

"STOP!" I suddenly hear someone shouting behind me, and I look back, seeing no one. It feels like the streets are unusually quiet; maybe it's just the town. I continue my way to the bus stop.

After a while, I reach the bus stop, and after waiting for 5 minutes, the bus arrives, and I get in. I take the window seat in the middle of the bus. "With that, I think today was a fruitful day, even with a stupid accident on my part." 

Then I become a bit serious. "I really should be careful. To think I was lost this badly today, maybe the stress of uni and work is getting to me more. Should I see a doctor?" 

As I contemplate what I should do from here, I look around to notice the bus is empty, even though when I climbed in, there were quite a few people, and the bus hasn't stopped. I get confused and check my phone to see that I have already passed 3 stops. They weren't my stop, but to think I didn't even notice we had stopped. "Yeah, I really need to see a doctor. This lack of attention can be very bad." With that, I decide to check the booking for the next few days when I am free. 

Just then, I look out the front window because I suddenly feel something amiss, and the driver is gone. I immediately try to run to the driver's seat to hit the brake, but then the bus goes out of control.

"What happened?" I say as I am completely being thrown around in the bus, trying to reach for the front to get control of the bus. Even if I have never driven a bus, I can still hit the handbrake. 

As my mind is filled with thoughts of reaching for the handbrake, I get thrown to the back of the bus. When I get up again, I see an ambulance rushing through the traffic. Due to the bus being out of control, it gets hit by the rushing ambulance, sending it in the direction of the railing of the bridge. The bus is about to fall down the bridge. 

I try to go for the handbrake again, but my body won't move. "Move, move, move, MOVE, MOVE!" I shout, but I can't. The fear won't let me. Seeing the bus go in the direction of the railing, I can't move.

And I am again thrown into the air as the bus is in mid-air from the fall, about to hit the water below. "Ahhhhhhhh..." I feel like time itself has slowed down, as if everything I have ever done comes to my mind, yet I am forgetting as quickly as I lived through them. It is like half of me is panicking from what is happening, and the other is reliving the life I have already experienced.

Then it feels like I am living a dream from a 3rd POV. "Son, you know you shouldn't run without tying your shoes. Look how badly you've fallen," a gentle voice chides, laced with concern. I can see the child crying. 

"There, there, don't cry. Mom is here, and as long as I'm here, everything will be alright," a woman—my mother—soothes. She is holding me and hugging me. I can't picture the face, and the world is disoriented, maybe because it is a dream, but I know it is my mom, as the shape of the figure matches. 

I see it must have been one of the many memories from my childhood, even though I have forgotten most of them to some extent. Even this one feels familiar. Then I suddenly feel my cheek is wet. I see I am crying. Is it the dream of my mom or the fact that I am going to die? I don't know. Maybe, yeah, I have an idea.

Then suddenly, "OW!" I feel my back hit a wooden wall. I am confused. "What?" I look around. I am in the middle of the sea on a wooden ship that feels like a pirate ship from Pirates of the Caribbean. And then I look up; it is almost noon. And then I lose it.

"Hahahahahhaha....ha...this is just insane. Hahaha, what the heck? From getting lost in a town to a sudden driver and passenger disappearance, to the bus flipping in the air, to a ship in open waters. Someone drugged me, didn't they?" I say this while completely losing it, as I have given up hope on any logical explanation. "I am lost."

After story:

Junior: "Huh? What? Where am I and why is there a TV here?"

[Time passes as Junior watches the screen in confusion.]

Junior: "Okay, that was an episode... but why am I here like this?"

[As Junior's complaints fill the room, the author steps in.]

Author: "That's it thank you for watching ."

Junior: "hey I am not don-"

[The scene closes with Junior still voicing her bafflement, the author's words marking the end of the chapter while Junior is left pondering her surreal situation.]