[Unknown Realm]
So there I was.
Standing at a crossroads in a place that shouldn't exist.
A world of black and white.
Well… not exactly.
It wasn't pure black.
It wasn't pure white.
It was something in between.
Shades.
Layers of light and dark blending into a gray, hazy space that stretched endlessly in every direction.
If I had to describe it—
it felt like balance.
Like two opposing forces coexisting without ever fully merging.
But even that didn't explain it properly.
Because nothing in that place made sense.
Up didn't feel like up.
Down didn't feel like down.
What I thought was in front of me would suddenly feel like it was behind me.
Left became right.
Right became something else entirely.
Direction didn't exist.
And the more I tried to understand it—
the less it made sense.
It should've scared me.
And at first—
it did.
But that wasn't the strangest part.
The strangest part…
was that I wasn't alone.
At first, I thought it was just my imagination.
A side effect of whatever had happened to me.
My brain trying to make sense of nothing.
But it wasn't that.
Because they were there.
Standing across from me.
Watching.
Not one.
Not two.
More.
Versions of me.
My past.
My present.
My future.
I didn't understand how I knew that.
I just did.
Each one looked… slightly different.
Some younger.
Some older.
Some looked like they had lived through things I couldn't even begin to imagine.
And all of them—
were looking at me.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Not even me.
It was like being trapped in a moment that refused to pass.
I tried to move.
To say something.
To break the silence.
Nothing happened.
It wasn't like I was frozen.
It was more like—
movement didn't exist there either.
Time didn't pass.
Or maybe it did…
just not in a way I could understand.
I don't know how long I stood there.
Seconds.
Minutes.
Years.
It all felt the same.
At some point—
something changed.
The fear faded.
Slowly.
Quietly.
The confusion… followed.
And what replaced it—
was something I didn't expect.
Calm.
Not forced.
Not fake.
Real.
It was like…
I had accepted everything.
My fall.
My pain.
My death.
All of it.
And somehow—
that made it easier to stand there.
To exist in that place without questioning it.
Why did that happen?
I've asked myself that question more times than I can count.
I have theories.
Plenty of them.
But that's all they are.
Theories.
Because there's no way to prove something like that.
No way to explain it without sounding like you've lost your mind.
And maybe I had.
For a moment.
Or maybe—
that place was more real than anything I had ever known.
I still don't have the answer.
But I do know this.
That place changed something in me.
Even if I didn't understand it yet.
While I stood there—
locked in silence with versions of myself I couldn't explain—
back in the real world…
things were far from still.
August 4, 2005 – 5:50 PM | Mombasa Hospital
The hospital doors burst open.
A man rushed inside, carrying a small, motionless body in his arms.
"Help! Someone help!"
His voice echoed through the entrance, filled with urgency.
The boy in his arms was covered in blood.
A nurse turned, her expression shifting instantly.
"Get a stretcher—now!"
Footsteps rushed across the floor.
Equipment was moved.
Voices overlapped.
A doctor approached quickly, his gaze locking onto the boy.
"I'm Dr. Nichoke. What's your name?"
"Msemo," the man replied, breathing heavily. "His name is Dhalik. He fell… he needs help."
Dr. Nichoke nodded once.
"I can see that. Put him down carefully."
The stretcher arrived.
They transferred the boy immediately.
"Take him to the emergency room," Dr. Nichoke ordered. "Now. And notify Dr. Mwenyeji."
"Yes, Doctor!"
They moved fast.
No hesitation.
No wasted time.
The stretcher disappeared down the corridor.
Dr. Nichoke turned back to Msemo.
"Are you alright?"
Msemo hesitated.
His eyes were still fixed on the direction they had taken.
"Will he be alright?"
"We'll do everything we can," Dr. Nichoke said. "But I need you to stay calm and answer a few questions."
Msemo nodded, though the tension in his body didn't ease.
"Take a breath," the doctor added.
He did.
Slowly.
"Good. Now—tell me what happened."
"I wasn't there when he fell," Msemo admitted. "Some of the kids came running for help. When I got there… he was already on the ground. Bleeding."
Dr. Nichoke listened carefully.
"Did they say how it happened?"
"He tried to climb down from a roof. That's what they told me."
"Are you his father?"
"No. I'm just the community guard. His mother has been contacted. She should be on her way."
Dr. Nichoke nodded.
"Do you know anything about his medical history? Allergies? Medication?"
Msemo shook his head.
"I don't."
"That's fine. You've helped enough for now."
Footsteps rushed past them toward the emergency room.
And somewhere beyond those doors—
a boy lay on the edge of life and death.
Unaware…
that part of him had already crossed that line.
To be continued…