Page 101 of Stolen Omega

Everything is exactly like I remember from that flash of memory I had while I was being kidnapped.

Every piece of furniture, every toy I can see sitting around on the baby blue carpet.

It’s all so familiar, even if that flash showed it to me in the dark.

How can I remember this doll house so vividly if I only saw it in a memory, for a fleeting second?

I kneel down in front of it, transfixed. It’s painted white on the outside, but inside there are colorful walls and white pieces of furniture, just like there are inside the room. I pick up the white piano from the room with the miniature records on the walls, and the musical instruments on stands all around.

“I remember this,” I murmur, a flash of excitement pouring through me in memory of spotting it in a store and asking if I could get it. I begged, and pleaded, and the man I was with relented after a few seconds of consideration.

It made me so damn happy to have this.

I told myself this was what my house was going to look like.

This doll’s house was my attempt at building what I wanted to grow up to be.

“This can’t be real.”

I put the miniature piano down and get to my feet.

This room, wherever it is, isn’t mine.

I never had a room like this.

My childhood wasn’t full of toys and pretty colors and excited memories.

That’s something I wanted. Not something I had.

Moving across the room, I open a closed door. It leads into a big bathroom that looks like every other big hotel suite bathroom I’ve ever seen. It’s a spacious, windowless room with a huge bath that’s probably also a hot tub. A toilet that’s probably Japanese, and a mirrored wall over the sink with a makeup counter that has spotlights all around it.

“What is this place?” I wonder out loud.

I should be freaking out that someone brought me here, but so far all I feel is curious.

That’s not normal, but none of this is.

I step out of the bathroom and look around the weirdly familiar bedroom.

There are no windows in this room, which is the only difference to the room I remember.

I head toward the door that should lead out into a hall.

The handle turns when I grab it, but it won’t open.

It’s locked. Of course it is.

Why wouldn’t it be?

I’ve been kidnapped.

So, why do I feel kind of … safe?

That’s messed up. I’m so far from safe right now.

You’ve been brought here for a reason, Zey.

You should be worried about that.

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