I woke up to an unsettling silence. My apartment, once filled with the sounds of the city, was now a vacuum, devoid of any noise.
I lay in bed for a few moments, trying to shake off the feeling of unease that had settled in the pit of my stomach. As I got out of bed, I noticed that the room was darker than usual.
The curtains were drawn, but the light that filtered through it was dim, as if the sun was struggling to rise.
I walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains, revealing a world that was unlike anything I had ever seen.
The streets were empty.
Not just empty, but devoid of any sign of life. There were no cars, no people, no birds flying overhead. The city, which was once a bustling hub of activity, has now become a ghost town in the curtain time of 8 hours, counted by when I was asleep last night.
I stood there, frozen in shock, as my mind struggled to comprehend what I was seeing.
'Where was everyone? Had there been some kind of evacuation that I wasn't aware of? Was I the only one left behind?'
I shook my head, trying to clear the cobwebs and getting rid of the jumbled baseless speculation that kept appearing inside my head.
I had to get out of there, to see if anyone else was around.
I grabbed my jacket and headed out the door, with no fixed destination ahead.
Currently in my mind, checking the situation and making clear of the current fate I was in is what occupied my mind.
As I walked through the streets, the silence was deafening. I could hear my own footsteps echoing off the buildings, but that was it. There were no sounds of traffic, no chatter of pedestrians, no wail of sirens in the distance. It was as if the city had been abandoned, left to decay by the humanity who had once built in the first place.
I walked for blocks, searching for any sign of life. But there was none. No people, no animals, nothing.
It was as if I was the only living being left on earth.
As the reality of the situation began to sink in, I felt a sense of panic creeping up my spine. What had happened to everyone? Was I really alone
I quickened my pace, as my heart raced with every step. I had to find out what was going on.
Currently I had to find someone, anyone, who could tell me what was happening.
After all, the sudden circumstances I am in now were just too creepy that it started to make my nape hair stand to no end.
So, meeting someone was the same as salvation in my current situation.
As I walked through the streets, the silence was oppressive, like a heavy blanket that slowly suffocated me. The city, which was once a thriving metropolis, has now become a tomb, devoid of life.
I felt like I was walking through a graveyard, the buildings looming above me like gravestones, their windows like empty eyes staring back upon me whenever my sight looming over them.
Every step I took echoed off the walls, a hollow sound that seemed to bounce off the very air itself. It was as if I was the only living being left in the world, and the weight of that realization was slowly crushing me.
I passed by street corners, which were usually bustling with people, but now they were empty, devoid of souls. No chatter, no laughter, no arguments. Just silence. The kind of silence that made you want to scream just to break the tension.
I walked by cafes, once filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and the hum of conversation, but now they were empty. The only sound that I could hear from it was the creaking of the doors, a slow, mournful sigh that seemed to echo through the streets.
I strolled by my favorite parks, which once vibrant with children's laughter and the chirping of birds, but now they were deserted, leaving behind the empty swings creaking in the wind, and the rusty and empty slides.
The only movement I could hear was the rustling of leaves, soft whispers that seemed to carry on the wind.
Everywhere I looked, I saw signs of life, but no life itself. Cars were parked, but there was no one to drive them. Buildings stood tall, but there was no one to inhabit them. It was as if the city had been abandoned, for whatever reason that only happened the same time as asleep, mysteriously.
I felt like I was trapped in a nightmare, which reminded me of the apocalypse movie genre where the main character lives alone in a desolated city, but different from him who put mannequins to liven up the city, now, what I found is a dead city with no sign of life existed.
I was searching for someone, anyone, who could tell me what was happening, but there was none. I found no one who could give me an answer for what actually happened.
I found out that I was alone, utterly and completely alone, in a city that was supposed to be teeming with life. As I walked, the shadows seemed to grow longer, darker, and more menacing. In the horizon, the golden hour slowly came, as the day came to an end.
But different from the beautiful golden hour described beautifully in a song, far from it, the one I saw looks more like a horror movie soundtrack.
The creepy and eerie feeling was that menacing, as a shadow blanket the empty city slowly.
And So, I decide to go back home in a rush, tracing my way back, putting my emotion slowly at ease.
As expected, even though my apartment was not the most comfortable place in the world, for my current situation, it was the only safe haven I had, the place that I belong.
But unbeknown to me, "someone" who held the answer from all my question jam packed in my head was there since the beginning of this eerie situation began.