A/N: A loooong one, enjoy <3
My friend Catherine showed me how to use Google Maps a few days ago. It's an app which lets you use satellite images to look at locations all over the world. Two years ago, I was in a car accident. Since then, I don't really leave the house that often because of my severe injuries. It's difficult and even if I were to go out, the idea of seeing a car drive by me makes me feel lightheaded. I was fascinated by the fact that I could see around the Earth, feeling like I was there by walking down streets virtually.
I became instantly hooked, as it let me have a real eye on the world. I had seen so many major cities and beautiful tourist places. My favorite was to go to random places and see how many people I could find. The faces of the people were blurred to protect their privacy, but it was still nice to see them out there, enjoying their life, like it was no big deal.
"She must have good taste in fashion" I said as I saw a girl carrying a unique green little purse that hung on her wrist. I had a great sense of fashion myself, so I liked observing what people wore.
I zoomed in closer and noticed her standing in a relaxed manner, one hand trailing the wall besides her. I bet if I could have seen her face, I would see her smiling.
I began to feel a little sad, as I let my arms fall on the sides of my wheelchair watching her closely. I wish I could be like her, walking so carefree. I know that won't happen though. I was stuck in this chair. I sighed and zoomed out of Tokyo. Enough of this for tonight. I turned off the computer and went to bed.
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I got up a little early today. I had some avocado toast and orange juice for breakfast. I decided to take a look around Paris today. Paris was always fun; I liked the look of the city with all the beautiful buildings and structure. I also loved looking at the people and their clothing for inspo. I randomly zoomed into an area and saw a street, lined with old brick buildings, a few small shops, and an old tan brick church. A businesswoman looked like she was walking quickly past with a plaid black and white pants, black shirt, and a red scarf she was in a hurry...for some reason.
I spun around the view a few more times and noticed something peculiar. Sitting on the bench near a bus stop sat two women. One was pretty young and sat staring down at her phone in a relaxed manner. She sat wearing leather red pants, a collared cropped white shirt, a red and white bandana and a pair of red sneakers, like my own. Her light brown hair was tied loosely behind her head. A little green bag was resting on her lap, the handle hooked on her wrist.
"This is crazy" I thought. "It can't possibly be the same woman. This is a different country, different continent even. How could it be her?"
This is stupid. It wasn't as if these were live photographs. They were taken ahead of time and then stored. It's not like she is in two places at once. She could be a traveler. Besides, without seeing her face, it was impossible to tell it was the same person. Brown hair was probably the most common hair color in the world. Those red sneakers were ones I purchased online. I'm sure a million other people did too. I shook my head and went to fix lunch.
When I came back, I decided to go to Berlin. I picked some random street as usual and roamed around. The street was pretty empty. There wasn't much to see, really. After some more searching around I found this little boy, he looked like he was dressed for school. He had brown pants, white shirt, navy blue tie, and the same blue colored jacket thrown over it, and finally a dark brown backpack. He was looking down at his phone. I started scrolling out, but then something caught my eye. I turned the view and there it was.
That damn green purse.
She was standing on a street corner next to a stop sign. She stood at the edge looking back and forth from the cars and to the street, as if she was waiting to cross the street. This is crazy. Is this some kind of joke? Had google decided to play a prank on its users since they used it so much? It could be a good joke....
Leaving the Berlin image on my screen, I sent a text to Catherine, asking her to look at the locations. I asked her to see if she found the same women. Then I waited, my hands sweating like crazy. My heart thumped in my chest so hard I could hear it in my ears. I jumped when my phone made a "ding" sound with a text in return from Catherine, ten minutes later.
The text read, "I see the lady you're talking about in Berlin. I didn't see her in Paris or Tokyo. Is this some kind of game, or what? You okay?"
I switched the maps to Spain. It was lined up with building close to each other. I quickly scanned the streets. They were not very busy. I did a second sweep. She wasn't there. I sighed in relief. I couldn't believe I was getting so worked up about this.
It's nothing but a coincide -- I stopped, my eyes frozen on the screen. There was a building at the fork of the road and there she was. Standing on the balcony with her head slightly turned as if she was staring directly at me.
I switched to Sydney. She was leaning against the wall, near the gates of doorway. I proceeded to Venice and saw her standing on a bridge, I went to Hong Kong and saw her in a restaurant, she walked across a crosswalk in Zurich.
She was everywhere I went.
I was terrified. What do I do? I clenched my fists tightly and closed my eyes. Who was she? Why was she following me? Was I following her? I wanted to get out of my chair and run.
I finally grabbed the courage and decided to search up my town.
I zoomed into a random street; it was a few miles from my house. There...There she was. She looked at the camera, directly at me. I felt like I was about to throw up. She was near me. Watching me. What did she want from me?
I typed in the name of the apartment complex, where I live. I could see the outside of the building. The parking lot full of cars, and there were blurred out children playing in the playground. She wasn't in the parking lot or on the sidewalks. I scanned the cars and behind bushes and windows. She wasn't there. I curled myself into a ball and sat quietly.
This place was safe. I didn't leave the apartment anyways. I just won't use google maps again. I smiled to myself softly. "I'm safe" I said in a whisper.
As I said it, there was a knock at my door. Probably Catherine checking to see if I was okay. I had a camera hooked up to my computer to easily see who it is and to unlock the door so that I didn't have to get up.
I opened it up and saw a girl. She sat wearing leather red pants, a collared cropped white shirt, a red and white bandana and a pair of red sneakers. And of course, that unique small green purse that hung on her wrist. She looked directly at the camera. As I tried to hold back my screams, she raised her hand and knocked loudly on my front door.
