Falling Out of Reality

CHAPTER 1

The morning Liora Vale’s world began to end.

It started like every other perfect day.

Sunlight poured gently through the tall glass windows of her bedroom, warming the pale blue walls and turning the floating dust into tiny golden stars. The curtains swayed as if guided by invisible hands. Outside, the sea glittered like it had been painted that way on purpose.

Everything in Liora’s life was beautiful.

Perfectly, impossibly beautiful.

Her alarm never rang too loudly.

Her toast never burned.

Her homework was never too hard.

Even the wind seemed to know exactly how fast to blow.

Sometimes, deep down, a strange thought would whisper to her.

Why is nothing ever wrong?

But she would always push it away.

Who questions happiness?

“Liora, breakfast!” her mother called from downstairs.

Her voice was warm — like honey in tea.

Liora smiled automatically and swung her legs out of bed. The marble floor was always the right temperature. It's never too cold. Never too warm.

She walked to the mirror.

Her reflection smiled back at her.

Long blonde hair. Bright eyes. Clear skin. It's not a single flaw. Not a single scar.

She tilted her head.

For a second — just a second — she thought her reflection moved too late.

Like it had been buffering.

Liora blinked.

The feeling vanished.

Breakfast was waiting on the terrace overlooking the cliffs. Fresh fruit arranged in perfect spirals. Golden pastries dusted with sugar. Her father sat reading the morning news on a translucent screen.

“Big exams today,” he said without looking up.

“I know,” Liora replied, sitting down.

“You’ll do wonderfully,” her mother added.

She always said that because Liora always did.

School was a blur of perfection.

Her friends laughed at all the right moments. Teachers praised her answers before she even finished speaking. When she tripped slightly in the hallway, someone was already there to steady her.

It felt like living inside a story where she was the main character.

A story that refused to let her fail.

By afternoon, the sky had turned that particular shade of soft pink that everyone in the city loved. It meant the day was winding down. It meant everything had gone exactly as planned.

But today… Liora didn’t go home.

She walked.

Past the bright shops.

Past the singing fountains.

Past the laughing crowds.

Toward the cliffs.

The place she had always been told to avoid.

No one stopped her.

That was the first strange thing.

Usually, someone would call her name.

Usually, a message would buzz on her wrist.

Usually, something would gently guide her back.

Today… nothing did.

The path was quiet.

The flowers growing along the white stone walkway were all the same height. The same color. The same distance apart.

Liora frowned.

Have they always looked like that?

The wind grew stronger as she reached the edge of the city.

The ocean below roared softly, like it was trying to say something she couldn’t understand.She wrapped her arms around herself and stepped closer to the railing.

That’s when she noticed him.

A boy standing alone at the very edge of the cliff.

He wasn’t beautiful in the perfect way everyone else was.

He looked… real.

His clothes were dark and worn. His hair was messy. There was a sharpness in the way he stood — like he was always ready to run or fight.

Liora’s heart began to beat faster. 💓

Not with fear.

But with curiosity.

Because she had never seen anyone like him before.

And somehow…

She had the terrifying feeling he had been waiting for her.

" It's getting pretty late," Liora said lighting up