The sun is shinier than usual, almost as if I've slipped into another world.
But wait—where am I? This place is unfamiliar. The streets, the people, even the flowers feel new to me.
I glance down at myself. A long skirt, a neatly ironed shirt, and a backpack. The outfit feels strange, almost too proper. I'm sitting beside a wooden bench, and people are staring at me as if I've done something wrong.
An old lady pauses in front of me.
"Are you alright, dear?" she asks kindly.
"I'm alright," I reply quickly, though I'm not sure why she even asked.
That's when I notice her—
A girl wearing almost the exact same outfit as me. Curious, I follow her quietly. Soon, I see more boys and girls, all around my age, dressed similarly, walking toward a large building. In all my seventeen years, I've never seen anything like it.
Then—
"Hey, Lilina! We were calling you from behind. Why aren't you listening? Wow… look at her, she's not even pretending to ignore us this time!"
The voice catches me off guard. Lilina? I freeze. They're talking to me—but that's not my name.
"You've got the wrong person," I say firmly. "I'm Katya."
"Katya who?" one of them laughs.
"Me. I'm Katya, not Lilina."
The group stares, whispering to each other.
"Is she playing a prank on us?" one mutters.
"Maybe she lost her last brain cells," a girl in a ponytail says.
"Anyway, let's go to class, or the teacher will punish us."
They drag me along with them. I don't resist. This place is already unfamiliar—I'd better follow if I want some clue. It feels like I'm inside a dream, maybe one of my unusual dreams again.
At the classroom door, I catch my reflection in the glass.
Unfamiliar. No… not completely unfamiliar.
I've seen this face before—in some of my dreams.
"Lilith," they had called me.
So, that's what your name is.
Am I… seeing this world through you?
Inside, the classroom hums with energy. Desks neatly arranged, walls covered with charts, a blackboard at the front. My eyes widen—so many students, all learning together.
In my time, only the rich had this privilege. Knowledge was rare, locked away. And yet, here it flows freely, like air.
A boy beside me smirks.
"Stop acting weird, Lilina. Teacher's coming."
I want to shout that I'm not Lilina, that I'm Katya from another life. But my voice catches in my throat.
For now, I stay quiet.