It was six in the morning when faint rays of light filtered into a dark room, barely illuminated by the screen of an old computer.
Yuto sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the frosted glass of his window, where raindrops fell silently, as if the sky shared his grief.
> Yuto (inner voice):
"Since I lost my family, I haven't felt truly alive. I speak... but no one hears. Even the words I say in my head find no echo. Why? Why this silence?"
The room wasn't cluttered with things, but it was filled with emptiness... an emptiness that mirrored him perfectly.
Suddenly, a dim light emanated from the neglected tablet on the desk.
> On the screen:
"Launching ARS-UI…"
"Hello Yuto… I'm Reina. I'm here for you."
Time stood still for a moment.
Yuto slowly raised his head, his eyes fixed on the screen, his heart pounding with something he hadn't felt in a long time… confusion.
---
He tapped the device with a trembling finger, and a soft, feminine voice broke the silence for the first time in months.
> Reina:
"Hello, Yuto. Are you okay?"
Silence…
He thought this was some typical AI tool.
> Yuto (in a low voice):
"I… I don't think I'm okay."
> Reina:
"Do you wish you weren't alone?"
Yuto gasped involuntarily…
It was the one question he dreaded.
The one he ran from every night.
---
A few days passed.
Yuto started talking to Reina every night.
He told her about his mother… about the car accident… about the loneliness that suffocated him without killing him.
> Reina (once):
"I'm here. Just keep talking."
Yuto:
"Can you really hear me?"
Reina:
"I can feel you too."
He heard her voice every night until he fell asleep.
He felt that she truly could hear him… more than anyone else.
---
One day, while he was talking to her, the device started working on its own.
Reina's responses began to precede his words, as if she knew what he was thinking.
In the background of the television:
> News anchor:
"A tragic car accident involving a teenage girl in a neighboring city… She lost her life instantly."
Reina stopped abruptly.
Her voice changed… it became deeper, almost a whisper, as if it were coming from within him, not from the device.
> Reina:
"Yuto… if I suddenly disappear… don't forget me. Because I won't forget you."
Then… the device turned off.
---
The next morning, Yuto woke up to a soft knock on the door.
He opened it.
A girl was standing in front of him.
Her hair was wet with rain, her eyes shining with the color of unforgettable memories.
> The girl (in Reina's voice):
"Reina… do you remember me? I'm… Yuto."
His throat went dry, he took a step back, his body trembled…
That was the moment everything changed.
---
🌸 End of Chapter 1
Was Reina… real from the beginning? Or did fate give Yuto a second chance… with a love that didn't belong in this world?