concept story written in 2012; concept revised in 2021

Scene: Internal

Setting: Epi’s apartment

Characters: Kai, Epitaph

Plot: Kai hits his head while on a bus and wakes up in an unknown place. He looks around, confused, wondering where he is. The room is dark, with little light from outside. To his left is a black phone, a little bigger than his. He taps the screen, reading 1837. Is this my phone? Since when have I had my phone on military time? Sliding his finger across the screen, the small lock image turned, as the home screen showed. What happened to my other phone? Wasn’t it 6:20, last I checked? He notices a picture of him and a girl in the background. Who’s that? He hears a noise coming from outside the room. This snaps him back to reality as he smells a hint of chocolate in the air. Getting out of bed, he heads to the door. Contemplating a plan, being too scared to open the door and be spotted, he grabs the nearest lamp. He slowly creeps the door open. Not seeing much from where he stood, he sneaks to the bathroom before him, trying not to make a sound. It backfired by underestimating the width of the lamp shade as it hit the bathroom doorframe. He immediately crouches down and freezes, hoping he isn’t heard.

              “Just in time! I’m making some sandwiches,” Kai heard from the other room. Shit, she heard me. He starts to step backward, heading farther into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him, still paranoid about making a sound. She knows my name… As he thought about why, he looked at himself in the mirror, putting both hands on the counter. He looked the same, but something felt off to him. Was my nose always this big? As he examined more, he noticed a small bump on his forehead, remembering when he was on the bus. I must’ve been knocked out hard. He turned to face the door, focusing on the other room’s clanking and sizzling sounds. He took a deep breath, holding it in and puffing his cheeks as he was ready to open the door. One foot in front of the other. The mantra repeated until he reached the kitchen, facing the familiar voice, “Hey, honey, how’d you sleep?” Kai froze, unable to say a word, “You slept pretty late. You must’ve been tir—” She went to hug him but stopped when he flinched away, “You okay?” She asked, uncertain and a little hurt. God, what do I do? I don’t know who she is, but she’s calling me ‘honey’. Is she a secret admirer?

              “I—slept okay,” He answered, looking away from her. What does she mean by saying I ‘slept late’? It hasn’t been that long, unless— Kai leaned against the wall as the girl squeamishly checked the oven next to him. Oh God, I just made things awkward. Feeling his face heat up, he started covering his eyes, too embarrassed to look at her. He contemplated what to say, his heart beating out of his chest. I need to leave. I should at least thank her for taking care of me. With a slight bow, he looked away before saying, “Thanks for taking care of me. You didn’t have to, but I appreciate it.” Her head quickly swung in his direction as she leaned to open the oven.

              “What are you talking about?” The girl chuckled as he turned to look at her. Silence ensued for a moment. Crap, have I met her before?

              “What are you talking about?” Kai asked. The girl inched closer to his face. Why’s she so close to me? What kind of girl is she?

“Who are you?” She asked. His cheeks tinted red, feeling the heat from her face. Light reflected from her eyes as realization washed over her; confusion echoed inside him. “You’re not Kai.” Silence hit the two as beeps from the oven resounded around the room.

End Scene