Pretty in White

CHAPTER 1

It felt like a dream.

At first, it was all fuzzy. I opened my eyes and stared at the white ceiling. I turned to my right; the walls were of the same color. Slowly, I got up to a sitting position and looked around. This was a strange room indeed. Everything was pristine to the last speck of warm sunlight that passed through the pallid curtains.

There were ten single beds in the room, but mine was the only one occupied. I stared down, feeling something different with my body. I was wearing a white nightgown that I didn't recognize. For a moment, I considered that I was in a hospital room. However, aside from the beds and bedside tables, there were no medical apparatus in sight.

The air was clean and fresh, like the smell of wild flowers. It must be coming from outside the window. I had no idea where I was or why. 

When I thought about it, my memories were also blurred. I held my head, thinking it over. Gradually, it started to sink in. Like a flashback, I saw bits and pieces of my life—everything that had happened up until now.

Shit.

No wonder it felt strange.

Taking in consideration the things that had happened the last time I remembered being awake, this might likely be the hospital. But instead of feeling sore or ending up with a lot of bruises, I checked my body and it looked okay. In fact, I was too okay. Like I felt lighter or so much better than I ever did for the last few years. Had I rested that well? How long had I been out?

I was the only one in the room, and there was no one who could answer those questions for me. I had to find out myself, so I got up and put on the white slippers I saw on the floor.

The first thing I checked was the open window. Pushing aside the curtains, I realized that the room was on the fourth floor of this building. There was a view of a lush meadow, and it reached as far as my eyes could see. This was definitely far from the city that I'd always known, and there wasn't a nearby place that I could think of. How did I end up here?

There was a partition in the room, and I checked what was on the other side. To my surprise, it was actually a dressing room. There was a rack of white clothes on one side and a changing room with a curtain.

I was only wearing a nightgown, so I thought maybe I should pick a change of clothes as well. When I looked at the rack, the clothes were in different sizes and styles. The only thing that was consistent was that they were all white. It was the same thing for the shoes. The white theme was also starting to get to me.

With an uneasy shrug, I chose a casual white dress and a pair of heels. After putting them on, I headed for the door. But when I tried to open the doorknob, a warning flashed on the rectangular device above it.