Chapter 1 Welcome To The New World

My eyes sprung open.

I quickly got up and scanned the room. I'm in the living room. The place was quite messy, the couch was slanted out of place, blankets and pillows were thrown, and there was a cut - a scratch - on the wallpaper. What happened here?

I wandered, trying to gather my thoughts and remember what happened. "Hello?" I walked towards the kitchen. "Is anyone here?"

No answer. Just the deafening silence. I looked out the window and it is very quiet outside too. No vehicles, no people walking around. I hugged myself as the cold wind blew. It's very chilly, and it's a little foggy too.

I noticed a note stuck on the fridge.

"Asteria, don't look back." I read. What does that even mean? Am I Asteria? Pretty name. I wonder who wrote this note. Maybe I should look around and see if someone else is here?

I went upstairs and entered a room with dainty floral wallpaper. There is a vanity across the bed and unlike the living room, this room is very neat and organized. It looks like a bedroom for a princess.

I opened the closet and took a coat. I looked at my reflection in the mirror as I tied my hair in a side braid. That's funny. I looked down to think about the situation I am currently in, then I looked at myself again, touching my face.

I don't remember anything. I don't even remember what I look like, so I was surprised to see my reflection for the first time. How can I not know anything about myself? How is this even possible? Why is there no one around here?!

I took a flashlight from the bedside table and stumbled as I walked down the hallway and went outside the house.

"Hello?" I screamed. I waited a couple seconds, maybe even a minute, but nobody answered. I'm completely alone.

I've been walking around the town for what feels like hours but there's no one here. What's going on here? Are they all dead? That can't be possible, there's no trace of blood anywhere too, also no dead bodies laying around.

I hugged myself while walking when the cold air suddenly blew. It's very dark outside and I can notice the light of my flashlight getting dimmer. I should get back home and get new batteries, I'll continue looking around tomorrow morning.

I was about to leave when I heard footsteps. "Is anyone there?" I pointed my flashlight at the forest because it sounded like the footsteps came from there.

I was about to approach the forest and see if there's anyone in there when a big wolf suddenly jumped in front of me!

I fell on my back and the wolf immediately got on top of me. I moved backwards, hoping to escape from the wolf but it was too strong, it held me down and stayed on top of me while growling.

After a few seconds, I stopped moving. Why is it not doing anything? It's just there... staring. Why? It can eat or bite me easily but it's not moving.

I was about to try to fight it so I could escape when it suddenly howled. I gasped out of shock because of the sound it made. The wolf looked back at me, this time looking angry and wild, however, it got off of me.

I stood up and looked at it again, not sure if I should run or not, scared that it would chase and kill me. It howled again, this time, more howls followed, the sounds coming from inside the forest.

Upon hearing those howls, I ran as fast as I could! There were more wolves inside the forest. I looked back and saw that the wolf was just staring at me, not doing anything though I expected it to chase after me. What was that? Did he call other wolves so they could chase me all together?

When I got home, I immediately locked my doors and windows. I peeped outside, no one was there. Of course no one was there. What was I expecting? They were just animals, it's not like they'd intrude my house. But still, just to be safe, I made sure everything was locked and no one could get in.

I grabbed a journal and pen that I found on the desk inside the room I was in earlier and started writing on it.

-

?/??/????

I woke up with my memories wiped away. I didn't know who I was, how I got here, and why there's no one here but me. I found a note on the fridge that says 'Asteria, don't look back'. Is that me? Maybe my name is Asteria. I have no clue, but I will just call myself Asteria from now on. I looked around to see if anyone else was in this world, but all I found were wolves, however, none of them attacked me, they just stared. Why?

-

I attached the note I found on the page as well. I put question marks since I didn't know the date, I guess I'll have to find out.

The next morning, I woke up early and went on a walk. I'm not sure why, but I went into the forest to check if there's something weird or suspicious there. Surprisingly, there was nothing. What I find weird is that there was also no sign of wolves. Maybe they're hiding, but how come there's no scratches on the ground and trees? There's also no footprints. The forest was... clean. No marks at all.

After my morning walk, I went to the grocery to get some stocks. I wasn't able to sleep well last night because I was bothered by how I can survive in this world all alone.

My plan was to stock up on canned foods and instant noodles, or any food that lasts longer. I also want to consume fish and meat first while they're still fresh. I can just plant vegetables and fruits so I still have food when the stocks from the grocery store have gone bad.

I had everything planned in my head, I needed to survive. I'm not dying alone. I'm going to be healthy and live peacefully while I try to find out what this place is, how I ended up here, who I am, and how I can get back to the real world. It sounds impossible, but I trust I can figure it out. There's no way I can spend years trapped alone here.

It was a long walk, I had to carry all my groceries back home, and there were no vehicles or any means of transportation so I had to walk back. They were very heavy!

When I arrived at home, I quickly put everything in the kitchen and went to the backyard so I could plant some vegetables and fruits. I found these seeds at the store today so I figured I should start planting now so they would be good to go once I ran out of food from the grocery.

After planting, I went to look around the house for a bit.

July 7, 2023.

That date was encircled on the calendar hanging at the door. Assuming that it was July 7 yesterday, maybe it's the 8th now. I should probably keep track of the date too.

I don't have anything to do and I was getting bored being here by myself, so I decided to just clean the house. I fixed the living room first since it was a mess yesterday when I first got here.

I also cleaned all the rooms, this house has a total of four rooms, it is pretty big. The main bedroom has two bunk beds so I'm assuming four people sleep there. I wonder if this is really my house? If it is, how many people do I live with?

When I'm done cleaning, I was about to rest when I realized there's a ladder at the end of the hall that leads to what seems to be an attic.

It was a mess up there! There were spiderwebs everywhere, and it was very dusty, so I kept sneezing. There were also lots of boxes in here so I realized that maybe we use this to store all our old stuff.

I reached out to the box that has my name 'Asteria' written on it. The first thing I saw was a baby dress and some rag dolls. At the bottom, I found an album.

Intrigued, I opened it to see if there's any useful information here. Inside the album was just a bunch of old pictures of me as a baby, a kid, and a young teen. Well, at least I now know for sure that I am Asteria.

What caught my eye, however, is a picture of me when I was a baby with a woman carrying me. Maybe she's my mother? I took the picture out of the album to get a clearer look of my mother when I noticed there's a note written behind it.

'May 26, 2004 - 5th child, Asteria Marie Woods, was born ♡'

If I was born in 2004, that means I'm 19 years old now. Well, I may have not found anything in this attic about how I ended up here and where this place is, but at least I got to know information about myself.

Everyday, I do the exact same things. I take walks in the morning and look around to see if I truly am alone here. I plan my meals so I can budget food and drinks wisely, and I make sure to stock up.

I've been doing those things for two weeks now.

-

07/22/2023

I think I'm going crazy. I convinced myself that it would be fun living alone on my first day here but now I feel so lonely. I don't even have a pet, I have no one to talk to. I don't like keeping diaries but this helps keep me sane, I've been writing everyday for two weeks, and it makes me feel like I have company. I know no one will get to read this diary since I am all alone here, but if someone is reading this, please help me.

-

After writing, I stood up and carried my backpack. I'm not giving up. There has to be a solution, an answer to why this is happening. There's no way I'm all alone, how come there's still water and electricity running? Someone has to be in control.

I went outside again and tried to look for something suspicious. I went to places that I usually go to, and I even went deeper down the forest.

My mind was a blur, I wasn't thinking properly, all I know is that I need to find something that will help me. I'm not quite sure what it is that I need, but I'll know when I see it.

As I walked further in the forest, I realized that I was no longer familiar with my surroundings. I got worried for a while but I just shrugged it off. I don't think it's dangerous since I am alone, and I'm sure I can still find my way back.

Wait, what if the wolves appear tonight? That won't happen, right? It's been a week, and I haven't seen any wolves since the first day I got here.

It was getting dark, especially because there were too many trees, so they're shading the sun. However, I can see light seeping through a small path behind a very large tree. I don't want to assume anything, but it looks like it's been hidden, seeing how it was covered with plants, leaves, and bushes.

I decided I should go there, see if I can find anything. The entrance was a bit small and tight, but I can fit through. Once I was able to enter, I brushed off leaves and dirt on my shirt.

Wow. I've never seen such beauty.

It was magical here, how come I've never seen this place before? There was a river, the sound of water flowing covered the area, and it sounded so beautiful and refreshing.

I also noticed that fruits have been growing here. In the middle, there was a small cottage, which I decided to enter. I don't think I'm intruding on a house since there's probably no one living here anymore and I don't want to get my hopes up, but deep inside, I do wish there's someone here. Being alone for weeks is not easy, I feel like I'm walking on fragile glass and I break down and fall off once things get too hard for me.

Everything was so neat and clean inside, but there was no one.

I didn't find anything useful here so I was about to head out when I noticed something strange. At the dining table, there was a fruit basket filled with fresh fruits. How did they stay fresh?

I walked towards the table to look at it more clearly, when I suddenly felt someone moving behind me. I gasped and quickly turned around, only to find nothing.

Weird. Am I hallucinating? I could've sworn I felt someone move, I even think I heard footsteps.

I was thinking about it for a while when someone moved behind me again, so I quickly turned back and looked at the table, only to see the fruits from the basket had spilled, some of them rolling on the floor. Wait, what just happened?

Again, it moved behind me, so fast, it feels like they're moving along with the wind. I didn't even get a proper look because of how fast the person was moving, but it did hit my shoulder, causing me to fall down. How can someone walk that fast? Was it even a person?

I wasn't sure what it was. I don't think humans could move that quickly, and I didn't really see it, I just felt and heard it.

All I know for sure is that I am not alone. And I'm not sure if that's a good thing.

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