The air in Mei's room felt heavy, as if the walls themselves held memories too painful to echo aloud.
Riku had been searching—hoping to understand her pain better, to learn what no one else cared to ask.The air in Mei's room felt heavier now.
Riku sat on the floor beside the bed, still holding the old letter. His heart beat faster as his eyes wandered around—something wasn't adding up. Mei's story… the broken family… the grandfather… the murder. But there had to be more.
He opened her desk drawer, rummaging carefully. Pens, papers, receipts…
Then something caught his eye.
A thick, locked notebook. The cover was black leather, dusty, and cracked from age. It looked untouched for years.
That's when he found it.
A notebook. Old, with a cherry blossom sticker half-peeled off the cover. It smelled faintly of dust and dried ink.
He sat cross-legged on the floor and slowly opened it.
First Page:
"I am Mei Aihara. I'm 18 years old. I just want to ask God one question."
"Why me?"
"Every day I go to the temple and pray. Not for money. Not for fame. Just… for someone. Someone to tell my story."
Riku paused.
His chest tightened.
"When I was 15, I learned my mother's secret."
"Every weekend, she would leave the house. She told me she was going to visit a friend, or sometimes pray."
"But… something didn't feel right."
"One day, I followed her."
"She didn't go to a friend's house."
"She didn't go to the temple."
"She went to a hotel."
"Not a family hotel… not the type people stay in for rest."
"She met a man."
Riku's eyes widened. He gripped the notebook tighter.
The ink smudged slightly, as if written through trembling hands… or dried tears
Riku stared at the notebook in silence.
Only one page.
Just one—filled with a question to God… and then nothing.
The rest were blank.
Empty. Silent. Forgotten.
"Why… only one page?" he whispered.
He glanced at the clock.
2:47 AM.
The world outside was asleep. But inside him—something was wide awake.
He closed his eyes.
Dreamscape – Mei's World
The world around him faded into a gray-blue mist. The cold air carried the scent of old paper and sadness.
"...Mei?" he called.
A figure emerged.
She stood there, not the confident or teasing girl he had met days ago—but someone small, broken, trembling.
Tears welled in her eyes.
"Riku…"
Her voice cracked like glass.
"Why are you crying?" Riku stepped forward.
"I… I didn't write anything because…"
"I had no idea how to describe it, I want someone to tell my story." she said, her voice barely a whisper in the dream-space.
Riku's eyes softened. "Then tell me now."
Mei looked at him. Her lips quivered. And then… she began.
Flashback – Mei's Hidden Truth
"I was 15 when I noticed strange things," Mei began.
"My mother… she made a new bank card. She didn't tell me why."
"Every weekend, ¥50,000 was gone from it."
"She told me it was for a friend—something innocent."
"But I didn't believe her."
Her voice wavered.
"One day, I followed her… to a hotel."
Riku held his breath.
"I waited inside, behind a wall, watching."
"She came… with a man."
"They were holding hands."
"They booked a room together."
Riku blinked.
It stung—but not as much as what she said next.
"I wasn't shocked because she was with a man."
"I was shocked because…"
"The man was my grandfather."
Present – Dream Realm
Silence.
Riku's mind spun. He couldn't speak.
Mei stood, trembling, eyes locked on the floor.
"I wanted to scream. Run. Tear my skin off."
"But I didn't."
"I just… walked home."
"I never told anyone."
"Not until now."
Riku slowly sat down in the dreamspace. Not to speak. Not to fix.
Just to be with her.
With quiet, honest pain in the air between them.
She didn't need saving tonight.
She just needed someone to listen.
The dream was cold now.
Riku didn't know how long he had been sitting there in the foggy world of Mei's memories.
Her voice was shaking. Her hands trembled as she wiped away silent tears.
And then—
"I asked my mom about it."
The words were like sharp stones dropped in still water.
Riku slowly looked up.
"What did she say?"
Mei looked away.
"She slapped me."
"And then…"
"She kicked me out of the house."
The dream pulsed with sadness.
"I packed one bag. Just one. I had nowhere to go."
"Even my grandfather looked at me… like I was trash."
Riku's fists clenched.
"But that wasn't the worst part," she whispered.
He braced himself.
Flashback – The Death Nobody Saw
"I did some digging," Mei said softly.
"The police said my dad died in an accident. Car crash. No proof of anything."
"But I remember his last words to me."
"'Never trust your grandfather.'"
"I didn't understand it back then. But now…"
"I know."
Riku's eyes widened.
Mei nodded slowly.
"They killed my father."
"My own mother and grandfather."
"I heard them arguing one night… about money… about him trying to take me and leave."
"They didn't want that."
"They ended him."
Present – Dream Realm
Riku couldn't believe it.
Murder. Betrayal. Abandonment.
All this pain—hidden behind the quiet girl he swapped bodies with.
He had no idea.
No idea at all what it meant to carry that kind of silence in your heart.
Mei stood quietly, arms hugging herself. "Now you know," she whispered.
"I wasn't just bullied at school."
"I had no home. No love. No trust left."
Riku stepped forward.
He didn't say "I'm sorry."
He didn't say "I understand."
He just said, "I'll destroy everyone who hurt you."
And in that moment—Mei smiled.
The first real smile.
Small. Broken. But real.
Silence.
Riku couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Couldn't even breathe properly.
The words Mei had just spoken still echoed in his head like gunshots in a quiet church.
"They killed my father."
"My own mother and grandfather."
Riku sat down slowly, his legs weak beneath the weight of her pain.
He looked at Mei. Her eyes were tired. Like she hadn't truly slept in years.
Not peacefully.
His throat tightened.
"That's… not something a girl your age should ever have to say," he whispered.
His hands were shaking.
"You… were just a child…"
Mei didn't respond. She looked at him quietly—like a ghost who had waited too long to be heard.
Riku's mind spun.
> Your mom and grandpa… killed your father… then threw you away like garbage…
You were left all alone… in a world that refused to listen…
He punched the ground, his knuckles bleeding in the dream.
"How can people do that?" he muttered.
"How can they call themselves family?"
Tears welled up in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall.
"No one… not a single person…"
"Should have to live through what you did."
He stood, fists clenched.
"Mei… from now on… your story is mine too."
"Your pain… your rage… your silence—"
"I'll carry it with you. I'll fix this. I swear."
Mei blinked. Her lips trembled.
And just once—just once—she whispered:
"Thank you."
Riku's voice trembled as he looked at Mei in the dream.
"Why… didn't you go to the police?"
His voice cracked.
"You were a child. They would've protected you—"
Mei shook her head slowly.
Her expression didn't change. But her eyes… they looked hollow.
"The police?" she said, almost laughing. But it wasn't joy. It was bitter. Tired.
"You really think they protect people like me?"
Riku narrowed his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"I tried, Riku," Mei said, her voice a whisper of pain.
"I went to them. I cried. I told them everything."
She looked up. Her tears were dry now, replaced by a haunting coldness.
"But my grandfather was a former officer."
Silence.
Riku froze.
"He still had connections. Friends. Power."
"They smiled at me… and told me I was confused."
"That I must've made a mistake."
"And then…" she hesitated.
"My mother reported me instead. Said I was mentally unstable. That I was violent."
Riku's heart dropped.
"They turned everything around. Called me a liar. A mad girl."
She laughed bitterly again.
"I learned the truth that day."
"Justice isn't for the weak."
"This world… is corrupted from its roots."
Riku clenched his fists. Hard.
His nails dug into his palms. Blood dripped.
But he didn't feel pain.
Only anger.
"Then I'll destroy it."
His voice was calm. Cold.
But his eyes burned with fury.
"system that silenced you. The cowards who turned their backs. And the monsters who called themselves family—"
"I'll crush them all."
Mei stared at him, speechless.
And for the first time… she smiled.