Shin Ashiro:
The downpour was so high it felt like the atmosphere had reached its breaking point. The air was thick with the scent of churned mud and mourning. A rolling, distant grumble echoed something sinister . It's like the world is coming to an end. Maybe it should come to an end. Everything was dark but a silhouette of a wall can seen surrounding the area. The area was filled with small stone or marble Structures elevated from ground and flowers can be seen placed before them. I was standing before one of them . A sudden lightning castes it's light on the stone . The words
". LILY ASHIRO
( 2012 - 2026 ) ."
can be seen. My sister . The relentless downpour tried to wash everything away, but it couldn't touch the heat of the tears burning down my face.I was drenched, my clothes a heavy, freezing second skin, yet I remained.
How many days has it been ? It felt like the time has stopped since the last time I have seen her .
Why should it has to be this way ? Why did her last words have to be 'I am sorry'. It is me who should be sorry . I should have been the one to die in her place .
I started to remember her face , her smile , the way she used to call me and suddenly I remember her last moment. Nausea surged and a pain which felt like splitting my brain .My legs couldn't hold out and I fell to my knees in front of my sister's grave .
[: I want to die .I should die. There's nothing left ,I should die :].
These words resonated through my brain . I know it weren't my thoughts but somehow they felt they were mine . And then more of them could be heard .
[: I will die. I should die .Death is the only way . I want to die. Death. Die. Death . Die .Death .Death. Die. Death . Die. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death.. Death. Die. Death . Die .Death .Death. Die. Death . Die. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. Die. Death . Die .Death .Death. Die. Death . Die. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death.. Death. Die. Death. Die .Death .Death. Die. Death . Die. Death. Death. Death. Death. :]
I leaned my forehead against the cold stone wishing I could feel her touch , wishing if I hold onto it long enough she would comeback . But then the intensity of the thoughts spreading like dark mist through my head increased and I blacked out.
* * *
Kelly :
He had been standing there for hours. I was standing under a makeshift shed of wooden planks in the corner of the grave yard . The scent of extinguished Incense Sticks and wet mud made the air feel heavy. I looked around the graveyard which was completely empty, then my eyes drifted back to Shin . The ceremonial black suit he had been wearing since the day of the service was now a ruin of drenched wool and mud. His long hair, slick with rain, acted like a mourning veil, shrouding his face in a curtain of black strands . he was standing in front of... ....lily's grave. With that thought a fresh wave of sadness spilled over my cheeks. I rubbed my eyes wiping The tears off and looked at him again.
The sky showed no sign of mercy, but compared to the storm raging inside Shin, the downpour was a mere drizzle.. He had loved his sister very much. She was the axis his entire world spun on; without her, the stars had simply gone out. He must be now thinking that there is nothing left for him in this world .I swallowed hard, forcing the lump in my throat down. Even though I feel so much of my own grief ; I couldn't afford to break—not now. I had to be the anchor for him to this world, Because I am the only one left who would comfort him in this entire world. I then thought about everything that has happened recently, the pain he has been through and the reason all his pain. I tightened my grip on the wooden planks of the shed and thought about how our lives could have been in a different world. Does an other world even exist where I , shin and lily could live together happily exists. I couldn't stop the train of thoughts and they continued on…
Coming back from my reverie I noticed shin was now on his knees now hugging the stone as if he was trying to hold onto lily's soul. I felt deep sadness looking at that scene . I couldn't even comprehend the amount of sadness he might be carrying right now. Then he suddenly collapsed. My heart froze momentarily. I ran towards him. I ran, slipping on the slick grass, my breath hitching as I reached for him .
Shin lay there, shattered and lifeless. As the cold rain fell on his body, he didn't flinch—he was as still as the stone he had been hugging .I hauled his arm over my shoulder, my boots skidding in the mud. He was freezing, his skin like ice through my own drenched clothes. It took a while for a cab to arrive due the heavy rain but eventually we were able to make it home. I managed to get the door open, the sudden silence of the hallway feeling louder than the storm outside. I laid him on the bed and changed his cloths to dry ones and powered the heater to make the room warmer . After a while his breathing became steady and color started to return to his face. The same happened to me after seeing him recover .I lowered myself onto the floor beside him, pulling his frame against mine .As I held him, the rhythmic sound of the rain outside began to fade into a dull hum. For a brief, flickering moment, the world regained its equilibrium .I closed my eyes, clinging to the warmth of his breath. It felt so serene, so hauntingly normal,. I didn't want the sun to rise; I wanted to stay trapped in this silent, frozen moment. I hope that tomorrow never happens….
* * *
?????????:
"A world is not built of stone and soil, but of the accumulated data of a thousand lives—the stories its residents have woven into the fabric of time. But in the cold logic of existence, no narrative is infinite. Every beginning carries within it the seeds of its own conclusion. Every story, no matter how cherished, must eventually meet its final line."
A small spark appears on a dark wall separating two sides of everything. The spark pierces through the wall making a small hole starts to form. Through that leak a different reality can be seen . A town which was in a void of silence, except for the rhythmic, muffled drumming of the rain. Then, the stillness shattered. A cry—sharp, thin, and full of life—pierced the dark.
Standing at the edge downpour, on the balcony , his face a mask of exhaustion and hope, A man froze as the sound reached him. A woman appeared on the balcony, her white dress a pale ghost against the stormy night. "Sir Richard! You have a healthy boy!" she called out, her voice trembling with excitement . "Go and have a look" she said wit a smile on her face.He rushed inside, leaving the cold rain behind for the golden warmth of the bedroom. A lamp on the bedside table cast a soft, amber glow over the scene. There, lying on the bed with her long, sapphire-blue hair fanned out across the pillows, was his wife.
"Dear! We have a beautiful son!" she cried out.
"Rosy, please—don't scream ,"Richard urged, his voice thick with concern as he knelt by the bed. "Your body needs rest."
"But I can't," she whispered, tears of joy shimmering in her eyes. ''This feeling… it's overflowing.''
Richard moved to the cradle and lifted the infant. His hair was a deep, oceanic blue that seemed to swallow the light around him. The baby had a lot of similar features to her mother . He kissed the baby on the fore head and placed him back into the cradle .He started to speak something ''He's beau…'' spark around the hole reappeared sounding 'chuck .chuck' ''like yo….'' his voice became inaudible .The leak slowly started to patch up and it looked like nothing has ever happened to that wall . In the absolute darkness of the divide, he wall is standing with full might.
*****