> "When someone gets tired during childhood…
how does the world keep them alive?"
---
Scene:
The narrowest alley in Ningenai.
At the end, there's a tiny rooftop no one visits.
And sitting there… is Akari, a 13-year-old girl.
There are no tears in her eyes.
No hope either.
Just an empty stare — like she stopped waiting for life to change a long time ago.
---
Saito arrives.
No reason.
Just a pull in his chest —
As if something inside him knew... something was about to break.
---
He walks closer.
Akari doesn't even look at him.
Saito (softly):
"It's cold up here… You'll get tired."
Akari:
"…So what?"
Saito pauses.
Her voice — cold, like a person still breathing but already gone.
---
Saito (sits down beside her):
"I'm Saito. You?"
Akari (still not looking):
"I don't want to tell you.
Names make people remember you…
and memories hurt."
Saito is stunned.
---
He doesn't know what to say.
She's just a child…
And yet she sounds like she's already lived too much.
So he sits beside her — in silence.
After a long pause, Akari speaks.
Akari (slowly):
"People say I'm weird.
Some say I'm stupid.
Others say I'm unfixable."
Saito:
"…People say I'm perfect."
For the first time —
Akari turns to look at him.
Her eyes… a little angry.
Akari:
"Then you don't know pain.
You've never cried in secret.
You've never wondered what life even means
when no one wants you."
---
Saito's breath catches.
He'd never imagined pain could feel this raw.
---
Saito (quietly):
"I cried in secret too…
but only because I was told
'Perfect boys don't cry.'
So I hid it."
Akari:
"…So you wear a mask too?"
Saito (looking down):
"Yeah…
And lately, it's started to choke me."
---
Silence again.
Then…
Akari pulls a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket.
She hands it to Saito.
It reads:
> "I want to disappear.
So no one remembers me.
Memories only feel good…
when they're not full of pain."
---
Saito just stares.
It's not a note —
It's a scream.
One no one ever heard.
---
Saito (gently):
"Can I tell you something?"
Akari finally looks at him —
For the first time,
she listens.
Saito (tears in his eyes):
"I want to remember you.
Not to fix you…
Not to save you…
Just… to remember you exactly as you are."
---
Akari's face twitches.
A small light sparks in her eyes.
Faint… but alive.
Akari:
"But you're perfect.
You'll never be like me."
Saito:
"Maybe that's why I was meant to meet you.
You showed me something I never knew how to feel."
---
Suddenly, Akari stands up —
and hugs Saito.
No tears.
No words.
Just a silent hug.
---
Saito (thinking):
"I couldn't save her…
But somehow…
she brought me back to life."
---
As they part, Akari says:
Akari (smiling):
"If you ever remember me…
don't make me perfect.
Just remember me… as I really was."
---
Final lines:
> "Some people disappear…
But if they live inside someone's memory —
They never fully die."
---
TO BE CONTINUED…