When her head went past the edge, things became weird. Her vision shifted. She couldn't feel her body any longer. She saw it as a black form, with yellow bubbles softly lighting it from the inside. The void outside changed too, some lights becoming much, much closer. She quickly got back to where she was before, to inspire. She had not dared breathing in the void.

  Back outside, she inspected one of the lights. Those lights didn't look like stars, even though it would have made sense, in a starry night sky. They were more like a place seen on a screen too bright. The closer one looked like a road between trees, another showed a small upward hill, maybe, with some big crops.

  Inside the world once again, she took the time to think about those other lights. Were they other reality pockets, too ? Other... Shards, like where she was ? They all had irregular edges and a somewhat blurry look. Some were close, some were barely visible, like luminous dots without any details to them, just a bit of color. Unfortunately, despite some being close, she wasn't sure at all she could reach them in one breath.

  She walked the length of her current place, reaching the void on the other end of the road. Out there, it was more of the same, but the visible shards were different. None were closer than the road she saw earlier, and again all showed different places. Some were clearly urban, other seemingly isolated places. One even looked like a forest ! Unfortunately, it was too far away. She would have loved to go there.

  She took her time looking around, going back inside the real world to breathe when needed. None of these places, on either side of the void, looked like what should be in front of her. If she walked further in, would she reach one of those places she saw, or would she end up further in the normal world ? She had too many questions that could only be answered by trying and taking risks. She had never been risk averse, but... She shivered. It was a bit much for her tastes.

  She found herself a low wall to rest against and sat on the concrete. For now, she would wait a little. There was still a possibility that the problem was in her head. By reflex she put her hand to her pocket... And it hit her. Her phone ! She could check on the internet, maybe call a friend !

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Getting the phone out, filled with hope, she was soon met by an indicator signifying a complete absence of any kind of network coverage. It was... impossible around a big town like hers, unless her phone was broken. Or maybe it was her brain showing her bad info ? She wouldn't lose anything calling someone. If it was in her head, she would hear... The call wasn't starting. There really was no coverage. Or her brain was not only messing with her sight, but also her hearing ? Really, it was too much. If she was losing it, it wasn't just a little. She was really becoming crazy. Or the world had ended. The world was broken.

  Sitting there, she let that possibility sink in. The cold clutches of fear took hold in her stomach. Her throat became tight, she had trouble breathing. The world was becoming blurry. She fought against the emotions, with her unstable state becoming worse and worse. Whatever the reason for her world to be what it was now, it was bad. It would never be the same, if only because that experience was breaking her. She couldn't tell what emotion she was feeling anymore, just that it was a bad one and she didn't want it. She needed it gone. It was ripping her apart. What could she do ?

  She knew a few techniques for crisis management. It should be a major subject taught in school. As it was, she had picked a few tricks along her way. Of course, practicing relaxation and breathing was WAY easier when you weren't currently submerged by your feelings. She tried. It did nothing. She felt even worse. Of course some damn breathing exercises wouldn't help against such a case, stupid ! And there it was, again. Her bad habit of yelling and insulting herself. She answered it by telling it to come get a hug. And also, gently, reminding herself that if she thought from the beginning that something wouldn't work, she was sabotaging the attempt.

  So she started again, trying to be positive and open minded. Not stopping at the first failed attempt. Not the second difficult slow breath in, breath out. Not even the third... And it ended up working. Little by little, the physical symptoms receded. Of course, she still felt like shit if she dwelt on it, but it was manageable.

  In control again, she looked at her phone. She was late for work. She should already be there, by this time. She had been in this area for around 40 minutes now, and nothing had moved. Not a car, no one. It was a quiet, out of the way area, but not that much. Something was wrong, truly. One more proof.

  She finally got up and walked to the edge. Staying here wasn't doing her any good, it was ruining her mental state. It was time to walk in the void and see where it got her. Let's try to get to that road place !