Taking Dio's Heart

Chapter 1

Sounds were the first thing that hit me, loud, thunderous sounds. Horns from cars and people murmuring. The next was the blaring sun and dust that made me start wheezing, waking me up. The brightness of the sky blinded me, but when my eyes finally adjusted, I was greeted by several men and vendors directly in front of me. Some walked past, and others gave me odd looks.

I was confused. I went to bed last night after a long day of work, exhausted, so I chalked all this up to me dreaming. Looking down, I noticed I was wearing my gown, which I would guess is the reason why I was given odd stares. It wasn't exactly something one should wear out in town.

The surroundings were familiar but extremely different culturally than what I was used to. Although the stone buildings were modernized, they looked as if they were held back a few decades. The street I woke up on was filled with markets, people, and older cars. I stopped next to one vendor, curiosity setting in, but nothing else settled in.

The vendor began yelling at me, though unfortunately, I couldn't really understand what he was saying, which I believe was Arabic. Still, I wasn't too sure, and so I gave a small bow of apology and walked away. Seeing as it was just a dream, I continued to walk, but with each step I took with no shoes, the rock would pierce into my foot, shooting pain throughout. A small part of me is starting to realize it's not a dream, but it's not the first time I've had a dream as realistic as this one. The heat beating on my pinkish tanned skin, however, was another strange feeling.

Was I perhaps kidnapped by someone? No, that can't be, because they wouldn't just let me roam around like this, right? And so how did I get here? Perhaps it was a prank, but no, it couldn't be because my family was already struggling to put food on the table, so there was no way they could pull something like this off.

I tried to continue questioning what was happening,g but it was as if something was preventing me from feeling. The pain in my foot would normally have me bawling, and yet here I stood treating it as if it were just a pinch. I felt almost...numb to any emotions.

Now and then, I would try to stop and communicate with the locals; however, very few could speak English, and the ones that did speak were incredibly broken, and they also couldn't understand my very southern accent, and thus, another barrier was added.

I passed by a shop that had multiple TVs set up in its shopping window.

"I know this place."

Yes. I do know this place.

A sense of deja vu washed over me. Sure, they were old box TVs, but it was the shop itself that seemed oddly familiar. Then a sharp pain hit my head, and a fog came over me once more. I know this place, and yet for some reason I wasn't allowed to remember.

"I think.....I'm on the outskirts of Cairo?" How did I know this was Cairo? I don't know what the cities of Egypt look like, and yet I knew.

The more I discovered what I knew, the more I began to wonder if maybe I brought myself here and perhaps lost a chunk of time. Yet what would lead me to even want to come to Egypt? I barely even want to visit a single country in Europe.

I sat a few steps next to a beautiful fountain. The more you looked around the area, the more beautiful it looked. She can imagine herself living here if not for how dry it made her lungs feel, which contributed to the denial of coming here herself.

The sun began to set into the night, and red and pink hues swept the sky.

Ah, right, she had forgotten about that. She isn't completely sure, but she knows it gets quite cold at night in Egypt, yet she has nowhere to warm up for the night.

Looking around, she noticed almost every person was boarding up their shops and homes. She walked to a homely-looking woman who was locking up her window door thingy.