The conference room was cold, maybe due to the AC humming above, or maybe it was just her.

Meera was standing at one end of the long glass table, her expression serious, maybe pissed off about some decision made recently, surrounded by unfamiliar faces. Though they seemed to know her well, maybe even fearful of the woman standing in front of them.

Men and women dressed in various types of attire looked professional and important. They were discussing something while looking at numbers in files, precise paragraphs of clauses written within them, and the screen behind her was displaying bar graphs, maybe sales figures for the current year, definitely something important.

None of it made sense to her. The room, with those large glass windows that seemed to cover the entire wall, and the never-ending glass table with so many chairs it felt like a dining table for a royal feast, felt familiar.

But the problem was she didn't recognize a single person.

A dark haze appeared, and then she was sitting in a different room. This one felt a little personal, large but definitely personal. A large mahogany table stood before her with a glass nameplate on it, though from her perspective the words seemed reversed and hazy, unreadable.

Then a phone vibrated, one like she had seen only with a rich grocery store owner. The sound echoed unnaturally loud in the peaceful and utterly silent room.

Bzzzt.

Bzzzt.

Bzzzt.

Someone was calling.

The screen was blurred, unreadable, but she could bet it was someone whose name started with an "N".

But she was happy to see it.

Because in an instant, her heart warmed, and she felt a smile tug at her lips.

She swiped toward the green icon and instantly pressed the phone to her ear.

A voice spoke from the other end.

Soft.

Comforting.

Unfamiliar, but warm.

Someone she should know.

Someone she couldn't remember.

Then a shared laugh.

Then another.

The conversation was hazy, dissolved into fragments.

"I'm leaving after the meeting..."

"...of course because it was important..."

"...stop doubting my skills so much..."

"...I'll be there by morning..."

"...can't wait..."

The warmth lingered.

Then everything shifted again.

She was in a different area now, open, spacious, beautiful sofas everywhere, expensive, the kind you would think twice before sitting on.

There were papers.

Hands moving swiftly across them, writing something.

Oh! Signatures.

Then a few handshakes, though she had never done one herself.

Then firm nods of approval, as if something important had been accomplished.

Flashes of congratulations.

Then she moved, and people bowed slightly, as if she herself was important.

And then darkness swallowed everything again.

And suddenly...

She was driving.

Which was absurd.

She had never learned how to drive.

The highway was oddly quiet and stretched endlessly ahead.

Streetlights blurred past.

The sky was pitch dark, and clouds loomed above as if they would crack open any second and consume everything in their path.

The dashboard glowed faintly.

Something was playing in the background, maybe FM radio.

The green boards showed a few places as she turned the car and ended up on another unfamiliar stretch of road.

The map's voice echoed through the car, blending with the static of the radio that was no longer catching a frequency.

The road was empty because, of course, only maniacs would drive on a highway so late at night.

There was silence.

Then...

Headlights.

Too bright.

Too close.

Too wrong.

A horn.

A truck.

A gasp.

Tyres screeching against asphalt.

Metal twisting.

Glass shattering.

A sudden white flash covering her vision.

Impact.

Smoke.

Her body jerking to the side.

Then stillness.

A sharp ringing filled her ears.

She could feel it throughout her body.

Streaks of blood flowed near her temple and across her forehead. Some from the impact to her head before the airbags deployed, and some from the shards of glass that flew in her direction.

She was trapped.

Couldn't move.

Couldn't breathe.

Couldn't think.

Then voices...

Male.

Three of them.

No, five.

Maybe more.

She couldn't count.

Footsteps, heavy against the gravel.

Crunching over broken glass.

Two hands came into view and yanked the door of the car open, maybe even tore it off completely.

Air.

A breath.

Then hands.

Rough.

Strong.

Against her now weak and trembling body.

She fought.

Or at least she tried.

Her body felt foreign, unresponsive, heavy.

Everything spun.

There were shadows, not a single face visible, but she could hear the deep, heavy, distinct male voices.

Though faceless, her instincts felt certain.

The grip on her wrists.

The pull against her body.

The helplessness.

The terror.

The vulnerability.

Fear unlike anything she had ever known.

Raw.

Primal.

Suffocating.

The urge to scream.

But no sound came.

The darkness grew thicker with every passing second.

The voices faded.

Everything went black again.

And then...

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Only fear remained.

Of nothing in particular.

But fear nonetheless.

Fear of something she couldn't remember.

Something her mind desperately refused to show her.

Meera jolted upright.

A gasp tore from her throat.

Her chest heaved violently as she struggled for air.

The room was dark.

The curtains refused to let any light inside.

Silent.

Safe.

Her room.

Her bed.

Her reality.

Sweat clung to her skin.

Her hands trembled uncontrollably.

For several seconds, she could do nothing but breathe.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

The nightmare had ended.

Yet the fear remained.

Though none of it was real, she could feel the terror as if it were a current event, happening right in front of her eyes.

As if somewhere deep within her fractured memories, a forgotten part of her was still screaming, still struggling to be remembered, while another part of her blocked it completely.

And it felt...

Well...

Agonizing.