I had the same experience as before. Once again, I was trapped in this place of nothingness.
I thought this sensation had just been a dream.
Is this real?
This time, a graceful, white figure approached me. She spoke:
"Clematise. You are no longer in your own body. From now on, you will be living as Clementine—to fulfill your dream."
My death... was real?
And now I'm taking control of Clementine's body?
What kind of nonsense is this?
"Your consciousness wandered through darkness. But consciousness needs a vessel. Clementine's body will be that vessel, Clematise."
She seemed to know exactly what I was thinking. She sensed my hesitation—my refusal to accept death—and she made it all too clear.
"You have some restrictions. You cannot reveal that you are Clematise, nor can you deny that you are Clementine. From now on, you must live as her. But you won't have access to her memories."
But… what about Clementine?
Where is she now?
"I shall take my leave. I wish you the best."
She turned and walked away. Before I could even fully process what was happening, she had already moved far into the distance.
No, wait!
You haven't told me anything about Clementine!
You can't just leave me hanging like this!
She didn't respond. The divine light around her grew smaller and smaller.
Wait!
No! I said—
"WAIT!!"
I screamed as I jolted awake, sitting upright in bed. My heart was pounding, and I was drenched in sweat. I struggled to catch my breath.
I was in the school infirmary.
Albert sat beside me, watching over me.
"Clementine, are you okay?"
Albert? Even you?
He called me Clementine, too.
I wanted to correct him—tell him the truth—but I couldn't. Everything that white figure said was true. I was truly unable to tell anyone that I was Clematise, or deny that I was Clementine.
My death was an undeniable truth.
I broke down crying. Albert, who seems really confused, did his best to calm me.
Eventually, I was too exhausted to cry anymore.
"Do you want to go home? I can ask for permission if you'd like."
I nodded.
Albert went to talk to a teacher and soon came back with approval for both of us to leave early.
We walked down to the school basement where he parked his bicycle. I rode on the back as he pedaled us to my boarding house.
We didn't say a single word along the way.
When we arrived, I turned to him.
"Thank you, Albert. Sorry for causing so much trouble."
"Don't worry about it. But… are you sure you'll be okay alone?"
"…I hope so. I just need a little time to myself."
"Alright. But if anything happens, call me immediately, okay?"
"I will. Thank you, Albert."
He left. I went inside.
My room was on the second floor. After the front door, the stairs led straight up, and mine was at the end of the hallway.
I dropped onto the bed and checked the alarm clock.
11:30 AM.
I laid there, trying to process everything that had happened today.
"Is this really my reality now? What kind of messed-up world is this?"
Was this still a dream?
I sat up and pinched myself.
It hurt.
So… not a dream.
Or was it?
I hugged my pillow tightly.
Did I really become Clementine?
How could I be sure again? Was the birthmark the only proof?
I lay back down and buried my head in the pillow.
I couldn't talk to anyone about my death—something was preventing me from doing so.
Then it hit me: if I really died, there should be a grave, right? Or ashes? I need 'PROOF'
A knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts.
I had overslept. Someone called my name.
"Clementine? You in there?"
I didn't respond at first—I still didn't want to accept I was Clementine.
But the knocking continued.
Finally, I answered:
"She's not here."
"…Then who are you?"
I'm Clematise.
Yes… Clematise.
But I couldn't say it.
I took a deep breath, trying to accept it all.
Eventually, I opened the door.
It was Albert. Still in his school uniform.
He looked annoyed at first but then smirked when he saw me.
"Guess I interrupted your beauty sleep. Fix your pillow face before greeting me, will you?"
I stared at him blankly.
Then, without saying anything, I closed the door again.
"Hey! Don't just shut the door on me!"
He knocked again, but I ignored him.
I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.
My hair was a mess—what you'd call a "wob."
I splashed water on my face, wiped it with a towel, and fixed my hair.
Then, I went back to properly greet Albert—sarcastically, of course.
He held up a plastic bag and handed me a packed lunch from the cafeteria.
"Thought you might be hungry. But since you were hibernating, maybe not."
I glanced at the clock.
1:15 PM.
I'd been asleep for two hours.
"It was a nap, not hibernation!"
"Sure. So, are we eating or what?"
"... Wait for me in the living room."
The living room was across the hallway from my room. It had a table and sofas. We often used it for club activities when the school was off-limits.
Albert set the food down while I grabbed the tableware.
We said a quick prayer before eating.
"Thanks for the food."
I opened the lunch pack—it was fried rice with a sunny-side-up egg.
I had barely taken five bites when Albert was already done.
"Are you a vacuum cleaner or something?"
"You're just slow. That was my normal speed. I could go faster if I wanted."
...
Maybe i am slow because I had been thinking about earlier. I wanted to bring it up but couldn't risk making Albert think poorly of Clementine.
So instead of asking directly about my body, I made it sound like a favor.
"Hey, Albert. Are you free after this?"
He rubbed his stomach.
"Yeah. Thanks to you, I got out early today."
"Then… could you do me a favor?"
"What kind of favor?"
"Could you take me to… where Clematise is?"
I avoided saying "grave" to see how he would react.
His expression softened.
"Yeah. It's been a while since I last visited her."
He stopped rubbing his stomach and looked solemn.
"I'll take you there after you finish eating."
"No—it's fine. Let's go now."
"Alright. You can bring your lunch and eat it there."
I cleaned up the living room and packed my leftover food.
Albert waited for me at the door.
Once I was ready, we left together to visit… me.