Despite it being late in the afternoon, it felt as if it was the deepest of nights. The sky was completely covered with thick, black clouds that only occasionally lit up with menacing lightning bolts. From the clouds came endless streams of water that beat heavily onto the city below. Rapid rivers formed in the plastered alleyways of Zürich, dragging everything with them that was lying in the streets. A lone figure slowly made its way through the torrents of water, down through the narrow channels between the buildings of this old city. The figure dragged a black, soggy briefcase with them. Combined with the soaking wet clothes, it made for a miserable appearance. The movements of this sad individual were devoid of all feeling and felt cold and mechanical. It was as if they took on the look of the environment. Cold, wet metal and stone, drowned out by the powers from above.
Monika slowly pushed herself through the rain. Her mind was blank. The only thing she felt was the tight grip of her hand around the handle of the suitcase. As she finally found herself out of the alley into the open she looked over the lake towards the mountains, as she had done so many times before. But this time the mountains did not show themselves. All she could see was the dark sky and the thick rain. Lightning somewhere in the distance. Monika remained still, her body frozen in anticipation of the coming thunder. She waited. Five.. Six.. Seven. And there it was. And yet, it did not fill her with excitement like it usually would. She felt alone and powerless, insignificant and weak.
The train station was almost completely empty; nobody wanted to go outside in such weather, let alone travel anywhere. The soft, yellow lighting and the thick atmosphere gave it a ghastly appearance. Silence reigned as the heavy air seemed to swallow all sound. A single train was stationed. It looked unnaturally heavy and rigid, as if it had been stuck in this forsaken station for eternity. The wagons were lit brightly, yellow light flowing out onto the platform. A few lost shadows could be seen through the windows; empty husks biding their time, waiting to be freed from this darkest of days. Monika boarded the train and let herself fall onto one of the many seats. Having escaped the rain, she slowly regained her consciousness. She felt alone and distant from the world, as if she was merely spectating it from far away. She saw herself in her drenched clothes, sitting in this ghost train. She saw the train in the empty, hollow station. She saw the city, slowly drowning under the masses of water. Soon the water would overflow the rivers and lakes, fill the streets and houses, rising and rising until everything was buried in a sea of rain.
As the train went farther and farther, Monika looked back on the remnants of a once great city. Dark ruins against an even darker sky, struggling to fight against the might of the heavens. The wagons sped through the gray landscape, nothing but soulless plains and hills as far as the eye could see. For the first time, Monika looked around the interior. It lay in a strange contrast to the outside. Everything was overly bright and saturated, painted in gold, orange and red. And yet, nothing felt real. She could touch things, but it was as if she did not really exist. Monika laid back into her seat and closed her eyes.
Written by shinmera