After setting the girl down on the distant grass, Cole returned to the barn. This time, he took an extremely deep breath and "FUUUUUH," he blew his breath—a virtual snowstorm—at the barn, extinguishing the fire, though a section in the rear was still smoldering. "BLUGH," Cole fell to the ground, exhausted, his entire energy drained.
"Ugh... I can't do this anymore... I should leave," Cole muttered.
Slowly, he got to his feet, grabbed his school bag, and started to leave, but he turned to look at the girl lying on the grass. His heart suddenly began to beat. He spun around and approached the girl. His hands, now human again, stretched out to check the pulse in her neck and then moved to her nose to feel for breath.
"S-she's not breathing, and her heart isn't beating," Cole said, pulling his hands away and backing up.
But suddenly, Cole's eyes flashed red. "HAAA-AH," he opened his mouth and moved closer again, even crawling over the girl, looking down at the beautiful, black-haired girl lying on the grass without realizing it. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to devour her, but suddenly, "SRAAAK," he leaped backward, stumbling, and clutched his chest. His eyes returned to normal.
"W-what was I about to do... I... I need to get out of here," Cole whispered, terrified.
Cole immediately stood up, snatched his bag, and ran without looking back, leaving the barn still smoking, though the fire was much smaller than before. Meanwhile, the girl lying on the ground opened her eyes. They were red, just like Cole's. She turned to watch Cole, who was now far away and still running. Then, she looked toward the barn. After that, she looked up at the darkening sky and smiled.
"Hee... who was that... why did he interrupt me, and those arms... where have I seen them before," she thought.
The girl slowly got up and sat down. She stood, brushing off her uniform with both hands. Then, she looked toward the grass, spotted something, and crouched to pick it up. She then smiled a terrifyingly wide grin as she looked at the object in her hand: a student ID card.
"Cole... Class 12-2... from the next class, huh? Cole? (She paused for a moment.) Cole? I remember Cole... is he really Cole? He's been close to me all this time without me knowing. Alright, let's finish this unfinished business. It looks like Cole doesn't know anything and just interrupted me," the girl said, turning back toward the partially burned barn.
Suddenly, "GRACK... GRACK," both of the girl's arms transformed into scaly, black snake-like limbs with sharp, bright red claws. Her body also turned a pale grayish-black, and her red eyes glowed. She raised her hands, and a mouth opened in her palm. "SWOOOOOSH," the palm-mouth spewed fire, re-igniting the barn in front of her.
"GYAAAAAAH," a mysterious, agonizing cry, like a burning creature groaning, could be heard from inside the barn. The girl turned, her body returning to normal, and she walked casually into the barn, what she intended to do inside was anybody's guess.
****
That night, Cole lay asleep in his bed, sweating heavily. He looked restless and uneasy, but there was a slight smile on his face, and his eyes darted around, as if he were dreaming or something was surfacing in his memory.
"Ting... tang... tong,"
"La... la... la,"
A woman's voice was singing a sweet, calming melody, accompanied by a piano in a garden located inside a glass dome. Cole opened his eyes. He looked around to survey his surroundings. He was sitting in front of a piano, with a woman playing a beautiful song and humming along.
To his right and left, he saw five children his age, all listening intently, captivated by the tune. Cole looked again at the garden. It was a beautiful garden full of flowers, covered by a protective glass dome, like a greenhouse.
"I know this place... but where is it," he wondered.
"TAP... TAP," a small finger suddenly tapped his arm. Cole turned to see a pretty little girl his age, with short hair and cute, round eyes, smiling at him.
"Cole, when we leave here, don't forget me, okay?" the little girl said.
"I won't. I promise, I won't forget you.... Celeste," Cole replied.
"Promise?" Celeste asked, holding out her pinky finger.
"I promise," Cole answered, looping his pinky around Celeste's.
"BZZZZZZZZZ," "CRACKLE," Cole's vision suddenly blurred as if hit by distortion, looking like a television screen that had gone to static. Celeste's face in front of him became unclear. Then, "CRACK," the world instantly fractured, and "CRASH," the world shattered, sending Cole falling into endless darkness.
****
"WHOAAAAAH,"
Cole woke up and shot upright in bed, drenched in sweat as if he'd run a marathon. His hands, gripping the blanket, were trembling. His eyes were wide, his mouth agape, and he was breathing heavily, yet his heartbeat was still undetectable and very slow. He raised one hand and covered his face.
"That dream again... what is that dream trying to tell me... why do I always dream that... is that my memory? I truly don't understand," Cole thought.
Cole turned to the window. He saw the first light of the rising sun piercing through his curtains. He got out of bed, pulled the curtains open—it was morning—grabbed his smartphone, and checked the time on the screen. He then sat back down on the edge of the bed.
"Ugh... my head is spinning. There's still time before school. I should calm down first," Cole muttered, lowering his head and taking a breath.
He mused for a moment, then picked up his smartphone and opened it. He checked his class chat history because many messages had come in. Almost all his classmates were discussing the barn fire incident from yesterday, as the smoke had been clearly visible from their homes, and by the time the fire department arrived, it was too late—the stacks of grain sacks inside couldn't be saved.
"Huh... didn't I... stop half the fire yesterday," Cole wondered, though he didn't type anything in the chat and just read.
"DLING," then someone sent a photo to the group chat. Cole opened the photo and saw firefighters trying to put out the blaze late at night, which only confused Cole more as the fire was huge. Then, he glanced at the grass behind the firefighters on the left.
"Oh... that girl was evacuated... I'm sorry, I was too late to save her," Cole thought, assuming the girl he rescued had died.
Cole placed his smartphone on the table, then walked out to wash his face and brush his teeth before heading to school.