Part 1 HERE * Part 2 HERE * Part 3 HERE

With the name “Brightman & Reid Consultancy Group” glaring down at her, Georgina felt a pang of alienation. The familiar logo of Armstrong & Keller Legal Associates was nowhere to be seen, replaced by this unfamiliar brand that mocked her disorientation.

She stepped away from the building, her mind racing. The bustling city around her felt like a maze designed to confuse and dishearten. The people passing by were absorbed in their routines, oblivious to the existential crisis unraveling within her.

Georgina’s thoughts turned again to the mysterious man from her morning run. His cryptic warning, which she had dismissed as the rantings of a lunatic, now seemed like the missing piece of a puzzle she couldn’t solve. But where could she find a stranger in this vast, indifferent city?

She jogged through the streets, her eyes searching every face, hoping against logic to spot him. She retraced her steps, heading back toward the river avenue, the place where her day had taken its surreal turn.

The city’s noise faded into a dull roar in her ears, each step feeling more desperate than the last. She reached the river avenue, her eyes scanning the area, but the man was nowhere to be seen.

Georgina slumped onto a nearby bench. The river flowed steadily before her, indifferent to her plight. She felt tears welling up, her situation feeling increasingly hopeless.

Then, a flicker of movement caught her eye. A figure, solitary and familiar, stood at the far end of the river walk. Could that be him? The man from her morning run?

Heart pounding, Georgina sprang up and broke out in a flat-out run toward the man. As she got closer, she could see his features more clearly – the same intense gaze that had unsettled her that morning.

“Excuse me!” she called out, her voice laced with a mix of hope and desperation. “I need to talk to you!”

The man turned to face her, his expression unreadable. “You’ve come back,” he said, his voice low and steady.

“Yes, I – everything’s changed. My house, my job, no one knows me. What’s happening?” Georgina’s words tumbled out in a frantic stream.

The man looked at her, his eyes reflecting a depth of knowledge that unnerved her. “You crossed a threshold this morning, Georgina Armstrong. A threshold of reality and perception. What you see now is a reflection of what lies within.”

“Wait…how do you know my name? Have we met before?” Georgina asked, mind reeling. “And a reflection? I don’t understand. But more importantly, how do I get back? How do I fix all this?”

“The path back isn’t easy,” the man replied. “It requires you to face what you have been running from. Your morning runs, they’re not just physical, are they? They’re an escape, a way to avoid confronting something. What are you running from Georgina Armstrong?”

Georgina felt a chill run down her spine. His words struck a chord, resonating with a truth she had long buried. Memories, long suppressed, began to surface – painful, haunting memories she had locked away.

“You must confront your past, face the truths you’ve hidden from yourself. Only then can the world realign with your inner reality,” the man continued.

“But how?” Georgina asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“Look within, Georgina Armstrong. The answers lie in the memories you’ve been running from. Your journey has just begun.”

And with those final words, the man turned and walked away. Georgina tried to follow him but with each step she took, her vision blurred more and more until the man seemed to flicker out of existence.

She was alone again, with swirling thoughts that made no sense in a world that even made less sense. Apparently, the path to reclaiming her reality was an emotional and psychological one, but what the strange man didn’t know was Georgina didn’t know what she was running from. She had successfully, or so she thought, blocked out her past.

Now, the only way forward, it seemed, was going back. All she needed to do was confront her past, jog her memory to unravel the mysteries of her mind, and create a path to the world she knew.

Yeah, like it would be that easy.

Not. The. End.