Rehan: "…So what I am saying, Adam…"
…
Adam: "…So… Manori."
Mai looked at me in confusion. "Who are you talking to?" The way she said it felt familiar, even though she had never heard that name before. A name as if she had carried it her whole life. As if it belonged to another life she once lived.
She knew in her soul that it was her name… but she didn't know why.
Adam: "So, Mai— I mean…" He coughed and looked away, realizing he had said the wrong name. Was she even Manori? Or not? I didn't even know anymore.
A silence of trepidation settled, like the whole world was listening… like a hollow wendigo skull was hanging over us as a figment.
"Do you want to be saved?"
Suddenly Mai's eyes shined brightly as she hugged me so tight I nearly fell, and she almost fell with me as I caught her.
Adam: "Woah!"
Manori: "I just thought… No, never mind. That's stupid…"
She looked weak, staring down into the darkness on the ground, her eyes full of doubt. "I was anxious… because as the days passed, I failed. That I didn't do everything in my life. If I could change something…"
Adam just looked at her in silence, blinking, then slowly walked outside.
Manori: "Wait…"
Adam stopped, smiling faintly as he waited by the door. "Do you want to see?"
Manori looked down, then nodded quietly. I opened the door, and the sky above was filled with stars, making both of us feel small under everything that existed.
"In my moments in this place… I really thought I could change, if I had just done something. You've suffered… and it was truly gruesome. And there are no words I can say that would comfort you."
Manori looked at me, her eyes shining despite being dirty and exhausted, lost in her own thoughts.
Adam: "If no one cared enough to think about you… then no one would care."
Manori smiled weakly with a blank expression. This person… And as she stepped outside, the cold breeze brushed her face as she looked at Adam. I guess I don't care… Thank you… If I could say that…
All she ever wanted was hope—someone to say, I'm here. Something that would have kept her going. She smiled, feeling a strange expression on her face as her hair waved around in the wind.
Adam: "I just can't control everything."
Adam: "…You don't have to do this all alone."
Manori laughed a little, still confused about everything happening. "Hahaha…"
Adam laughed too. "Hehh."
Manori: "I can't believe… an unknown person would say this to me. You're a different person… whoever you are."
Adam: "I guess you could say… I'm your friend." He winked, hands resting at his sides, then suddenly jumped from the second floor. She was startled, scared for him, but Adam was fine.
Adam: "Come down!"
Manori walked down the stairs. He held her hands. The street lamps glowed around them. "Dance!"
Manori was confused as heck. But he jumped lightly, and dust rose around their feet like they were on the moon. He smiled as if it were normal.
I'm so tired… all these thoughts in my head about what will happen to me. But this guy… why do I feel like everything will be fine just because he's here?
They jumped through the streets like two drunk people in a fever dream. Time felt slow, like the moment wanted to last forever. They were alone, as if the world held only the two of them.
An endless journey. A fever dream.
Time passed, and Manori almost puked from the dizziness, but she smiled. She didn't care anymore.
Adam: "I guess we should go back?" He looked around, confused about where they even were.
Mai: "Yeah… okay."
The environment was quiet. Lights from windows and street lamps hung in the air. Some houses were dark, each one different, each with its own story. It felt liminal—people existed out there, yet none were here. They were alone.
Buildings everywhere. Walking toward home. And then Manori realized she was still holding my hand. Embarrassed, she let go. A playground appeared ahead.
A slide, white walls enclosing the playground. Adam recognized it. "Do you know this place?"
Mai: "Yeah… this is where I'd chill with my friends when I had the time."
The slides. Adam remembered being torn apart by a monster. "I guess…" getting chills...
Mai: "How are you going to save me?" She was confused. She'd been in this world for so long. Save her from what? From this world? From her situation? She had no family, no money—not even herself.
Adam looked up as insects creaked somewhere in the night. "I don't know," he said, smiling.
Mai gave him a deadpan stare. "Huh?"
Adam: "I realized I couldn't control everything. But somehow everything folds into what it should be. And if it doesn't… maybe it was meant to be."
Mai: "I can't just relax! Dumbass."
Adam: "Well, you should. Everything's going to be fine. It's okay to be anxious. It's okay to relax, or be anxious. It just is. There's no need to be existential about it… or drown in unnecessary thoughts. We just have to do something, right?"
Manori looked down, twirling her hair. I mean… yeah… but I can't just be like that. I'm always scared. I'm afraid. Because everything always goes to the worse…
As time passed and he was with me, I realized something. I guess it's normal to have anxious thoughts all the time… because we can't stop them all the time either…
Author:I guess it would be fun if someone were to be with you… someone who wouldn't leave, who would face the problem with you, smile at it as if it were something small—because it really is against this infinite span of the world... It's a mistake, and there's nothing we can do except solve it.
I don't care if he's negative or positive… as long as he comforts you and stays.
I guess a person… who is always there…