The people shifted, uneasy under the faint glow above the platform.
" - Excuse me… sorry… excuse me."
Out of his mouth came those words, repeated, empty, without thought. Each time they surfaced, a mechanical echo replaced meaning. Repetition drained them, leaving only form behind. Hollow sounds emerged once more, detached from intent.
"Sorry… excuse me… excuse me."
A shoulder grazed his arm. Irritation came through a sharp click of the tongue. A whisper slipped out, low and quiet. Nothing reached himFragments of speech tangled together. From overhead, a metallic voice hissed between bursts of static - yet nothing remained clear. Steps repeated on hard surfaces. The message slipped away before understanding could take hold.
.
He kept moving.
A fraction of space opened among unfamiliar faces while he moved ahead, gaze fixed downward as though the earth pulled at him. A slight shake ran through his fingers; whether from chill or some hidden cause remained unclear. Then silence settled again.
A moment passed before it appeared.
Vanishing soon, regardless.
Ahead, the station appeared. As he moved forward, the crowd thinned at his rear. The platform's border drew near under slow steps.
He paused, just then.
Breath came in irregular bursts.
From where the train was expected, his head began rising. Gradually it moved upward, facing that point.
And then -
He heard it.
A sound, far off, of metal grinding. It came through the air like a warning without words.
Underfoot, a quiet tremor moved along the tracks. It came from metal meeting metal, distant but clear. That noise meant only one thing now. Arrival of the train could not be far off.
"…So it's really happening."
Quietly, the words left his mouth. A soft release followed.
Footwear met the bright boundary marker.
Then, without hesitation -
He stepped forward.
Down.
Footsteps broke the silence as he stepped onto the stony ground near the rails. Gravel shifted under his weight, yielding slightly with each movement. A hush followed, broken only by tiny pebbles settling into place.
Someone gasped.
"!?H-Hey! What are you doing"
"Kid! Get back up here"
Chaos erupted from the sound at his back. Toward the platform's edge, footsteps drew near. In overlapping tones, voices carried fear.
"Are you insane?!"
"Climb up!"
"Hey! The train's coming!"
Yet their words carried faintly across the space.
Muted.
Like echoes underwater.
His eyelids fell shut.
From somewhere beyond the trees, a shift came across the air just before the train drew near. Not long after, a deep rumble traveled along the rails, rising steadily without pause. The sound built itself into presence, each moment feeding its weight.
This is fine.
It was his own repeated assurance.
The pain lasts briefly.
Behind closed eyes, a quiet darkness settled. Not until now, in days or perhaps longer, had thinking eased so completely.
No expectations.
No disappointments.
Breath moved without resistance through his ribs.
Just silence.
Then -
"…Dad, look."
A small voice.
Through the noise it moved, sharp as steel. A sudden stillness followed its path.
Slowly, his eyelids lifted a small amount.
Above, on the platform, a small boy stayed close to a tall man, fingers curled around his father's hand. Toward him, the child shifted, arm extended, gaze fixed ahead.
"Dad… will that person get hurt?"
The father froze.
A silence followed the opening of his mouth. The air stayed still, untouched by speech.
Yet somehow -
Harder than any shout nearby, those few quiet words hit.
Could harm come to them?
Within him, the query lingered. Quietly, thought held its breath.
Hurt.
A strange word.
He almost laughed.
I'm already hurt.
But then -
A memory surfaced.
Uninvited.
A tiny hand held fast to the fabric of his father's arm. The gesture small yet firm, fingers curled like whispers against worn cloth. Not a word spoken between them, only motion guiding motion. Each step taken under shared weight, silent but certain.
A long corridor inside a medical building. The air carried a sharp cleaning scent.
His voice, unsteady, echoed faintly from long past
"Dad… is Mom going to be okay?"
A sudden image arrived, sharp as stone. The past pressed close without warning.
Downward was the gaze of his father upon him.
The forced smile.
A gaze worn thin by sorrow too heavy to carry.
"…No."
Focus returned, sharp and sudden. The moment reappeared without warning.
The noise of the train filled the air completely. From ahead, gusts tore at his clothing without pause.
Bright beams filled the rails.
Last moments remain.
I…
Before the idea fully arose, his legs were already in motion.
He jumped.
Slamming down, hands struck the rim of the platform while others seized his arms, dragging him higher. Hitting flat, his torso met rough concrete during the roll across the surface.
And then -
Beneath his feet, the train rushed forward with a roar.
Footsteps of the earth trembled without warning.
Seconds passed before a sound broke the silence.
A cry broke the silence, sharp with rage.
"What the hell were you thinking?!"
A sound emerged, unsteady yet eased.
"You idiot… you almost died…"
Yet sound reached him only faintly.
There he was - the child - once more caught within the man's quiet gaze. Across shifting faces, attention settled where it had before.
The young one looked up, gaze fixed, unblinking. A pause settled between them, filled only by breath and silence.
His fingers remain closed around his father's palm.
Still pointing slightly.
"…I see."
It came through so faint, one almost missed it.
From afar, the hum of the station began to rise again.
Beneath the surface of his ribs -
A part broken, nearly gone -
From the disorder, a quiet order began to emerge once more at the station. It settled into routine, step by gradual step.
Interest faded over time.
A moment of almost dying caused a brief alarm - yet people found it simple to overlook events distant from their own lives.
Almost ordinary once more appeared on the platform now.
At the distant edge of the platform, separated from others, a young male occupied the hard surface just beyond the entrance. Minutes earlier, his life had nearly ended. He remained still, eyes fixed downward, voice absent.
A single can sat still within his grasp.
An energy drink.
The metal felt chill on his skin. From stillness, he raised the can, then drank deeply.
The aftertaste of synthetic sugar lingered, faint but sharp, near the rear of his mouth.
"…Bitter."
He exhaled softly.
A distant hum filled the nighttime streets - cars murmured far off, voices drifted in fragments, while now and then a train's low shake echoed through unseen parts of the depot.
He remained silent for some time.
Afterward, within his mind -
From somewhere unseen, a soft sound started forming words.
A person called Arian exists. That individual happens to be me.
I am seventeen years old.
A teenager now in their third year of secondary education
A failure to my father.
Fixed upon the pavement remained his gaze.
And today…
A faint trace of amusement pulled one side of his lips upward.
On the morning of the third consecutive attempt, silence filled the room. Following two prior efforts, this moment arrived without warning. It happened again, though nothing felt different from before. Each effort shared the same outcome - unresolved, hanging in still space. Three days had passed with no change, only repetition. The weight remained untouched by time or decision.
A second drink came from the metal container. The hand returned it slowly to the table.
As expected…
I failed again.
Arian shifted backward a small amount, hands placed flat against the earth beneath. His posture settled into quiet stillness, arms bearing his weight just so. The space around him held steady, unmoving save for the faint rise of breath. Ground met skin without ceremony, supporting what gravity demanded. He remained there, positioned between effort and ease.
He paused, then drew air slowly into his lungs.
His eyes moved then toward the sky above.
Above the city, the sky carried a deeper dark than normal that night. At some point after dusk, the clouds withdrew - revealing an unbroken stretch of black.
Yet spread throughout the night -
Stars.
A few faint glimmers far away blinked without sound.
"…Wow."
Out came the word, slipping free ahead of thought. It left his lips without permission.
"The stars are beautiful."
It came out before he could think. Why, remained unclear.
Perhaps beauty seemed odd tonight.
A moment prior, he had fought fiercely to discard it - yet here he remained, gazing upward, untouched by what came before.
Humans are weird.
Then came the moment he started wondering -
Without warning, the device stirred inside his coat. It moved once, sharply, against his leg.
A glow emerged across the surface.
Alex calling.
Arian paused, eyes fixed upon the object. Stillness followed his gaze.
"…Right."
He answered.
The instant the device touched skin beside his face -
"ARIAN!"
The moment he heard the sound, the device was moved from his ear.
A sudden burst of sound came from Alex, sharp as an alarm. The speaker carried it forward without delay.
"ARIAN! ARIAN! ARE YOU ALIVE?!"
Arian exhaled softly, drawing the phone nearer once more.
"…Unfortunately."
"LISTEN TO THIS!" Alex continued, clearly ignoring the sarcasm.
"A new anime just came out! It's about a high school boy and girl who fall in love, but then the guy becomes a vampire one day! And then he realizes everyone around him is secretly a vampire - including his girlfriend!"
Arian blinked slowly.
"…Alex."
"What?!"
"You just spoiled the entire story."
A moment of silence followed. Then stillness settled between them.
"…Oh."
"How am I supposed to watch it now?" Arian said flatly.
"Details! Details! The point is it's awesome!"
Arian rubbed his forehead slightly.
This was normal.
It was noise that marked his presence. Drama followed him like a shadow. Silence never stood a chance when he arrived, pushed aside by bursts of energy without warning.
Almost nothing about this matches Arian.
Minutes passed while conversation continued, most of it filled by Alex describing moments from animated shows and personal guesses about plots.
Without warning, Alex began speaking differently.
"…Hey."
Arian didn't respond.
"By the way," Alex said carefully, "it's been six days since your dad disappeared."
Silence.
The silence grew thick. A weight settled where words had been.
Arian looked again at the darkened heavens above. The stars reappeared in his sight slowly. Above him, the vastness waited without sound. Night held its position across the sky once more. His eyes settled on shapes formed by distant light.
There remained the stars. Still present, they stayed above.
Quiet.
Distant.
Uninvolved.
"…Arian?"
No response.
Into the silence stepped Alex, clearing his throat after a brief pause. Shifting topics followed without warning. A new subject emerged, breaking the stillness. Conversation moved elsewhere, quietly.
Eventually -
"Alright, I'll call you tomorrow," Alex said. "Don't disappear on me too."
The call ended.
Darkness filled the display.
Some time passed before Arian rose. Stillness held him in place until motion returned.
After that, rising occurred. He was upright.
"…Guess I should go home."
A flicker of light caught his eye as he walked home. White fluorescence spilled from a narrow shop front. The building stood quiet among shadowed trees. Glass reflected the pale glow onto wet pavement. He moved past without stopping.
Inside, he moved without pause. A step followed thought too late.
A low sound came from the machines cooling food nearby.
Drifting past shelves without focus: crisps here, soft drinks there, packets of quick-cooked noodles further on.
Later, a movement drew his attention.
A sign positioned close to the checkout area.
A manga volume.
Across the top of the cover appears the title
Sirius.
Arian took hold of it.
A figure appeared on the front image, positioned beneath a faint lunar glow. Her strands of white extended outward, resembling delicate filaments caught in air. Behind her, stillness held everything quiet. Above, light filtered down without warmth.
Yellow filled her eyes completely.
Sharp.
Almost glowing.
"…Wow."
Longer than intended, his gaze remained fixed on the cover.
"This girl is beautiful."
Oddly enough, something about the picture seemed off.
Familiar, even.
Yet the reason remained unclear to him.
Then came his slow step toward the counter, where the book was set down. The movement followed in silence. Its edge touched wood without sound. A pause shaped the air. Position changed, yet nothing shifted fully. There it stayed, lying flat under dim light.
"Buying this?"
The item was processed by the cashier using a scanning device.
Arian nodded quietly.
A short time passed before he moved out again beneath the dark sky.
A thin book pressed against his side. It stayed there, held close without effort.
Ahead lay the path leading back. Behind remained everything he had left.
And somewhere above -
The stars, far away as before, kept their light steady.
Footsteps echoed under a sky thinning with light.
Faint pools of light puddled on the ground, strung out beside the path where figures stood stiff and worn. He moved without hurry, book pressed against his side - Sirius - the quiet hum of pavement answering each step.
Floating without direction, his thoughts wandered off.
About the train.
About Alex.
About his father.
About nothing.
Footsteps slowing, he spotted a sight that didn't belong near his front path.
A figure appeared by the entrance. The man stayed close to the fence line. Near where the path met the road he waited. He took position just beside the opening.
A tiny light pulsed in the blackness, slow, like breath. Smoke curled from it, thin and quiet. The dark did not move, only watched.
A young person stood still, sunlight catching their pale hair. Towering over the sidewalk cracks, they wore a flowing top - wild blooms bursting across the fabric. The colors clashed sharply against trimmed lawns and silent driveways.
A thin trail of smoke curled upward as he breathed out beneath the darkened heavens.
Arian slowed down.
"…Uncle?"
His gaze shifted sideways.
Surprise flickered in his eyes - soon replaced by a slow, broad smile stretching ear to ear.
"Oh?"
A small motion sent the cigarette flying off to the side. Then he spread his arms a little.
"Well, well. If it isn't my little nephew."
Out of nowhere, his voice came soft, like a person who'd skipped stress entirely. It lingered, calm without trying.
"Where's your father? Isn't he home?"
Arian blinked.
"…You don't know?"
A twitch crossed his mouth, just for a second.
"Know what?"
Arian adjusted the manga tucked beneath his arm.
"My dad… has been missing for six days."
Right away, things shifted. Without warning, everything changed.
"…What?"
A hush followed, then the syllable slipped out - too soft, like thought lagged behind speech.
"Six days?"
"Yeah."
A pause stretched out, hanging in the air.
Behind his neck, fingers scraped lightly as a strange laugh slipped out.
"Hah… well, that idiot."
Arian frowned slightly.
"What?"
A shrug came from his uncle, loose and unhurried.
"Your old man used to disappear for a few days all the time when we were younger. Just wandering around doing stupid stuff."
A fresh cigarette appeared between his fingers.
"That guy has always been an idiot."
Arian stood silent, words caught somewhere between thought and speech.
Funny how unfamiliar it seemed, that looseness. Then again, ease had always been rare.
With smoke curling from the tip, his uncle stole a look from the corner of his eye.
"By the way, nephew…"
He squinted slightly.
"Are you old enough to drink yet?"
Arian fixed his gaze upon the man. He stood still under the weight of it.
"…No."
"I'm still in high school."
"Ahhh."
A sharp click came from his mouth, loud enough to fill the quiet room. The sound hung there, sudden and pointed, like a pause that meant something.
"What a shame. I was hoping we could drink together."
A slow pull on the cigarette filled the silence, then came the lazy wave.
"Well, guess I'll see your father later then."
Arian hesitated.
"Oh… um…"
"…Goodbye, uncle."
He raised his hand but kept walking forward.
Arian paused, then shifted direction, heading for the house.
A faint groan came from the hinge when his foot crossed the threshold.
The quiet met his arrival without delay.
Something about the night made it seem bigger than normal.
Empty.
Down the hall he moved, door opening by itself almost, shadows stretching long behind him. Room reached, hands found the knob blind, click soft in the quiet. Not a switch touched, just darkness kept close like an old coat.
A book lay open on the wooden surface while he dropped back across the mattress, eyes fixed upward.
"…What was the name of that anime Alex told me about?"
A haze fell across his gaze. The lids dipped, not fully shut.
"Something about… vampires…"
He yawned.
"…Whatever."
"I'll ask him tomorrow."
Falling deeper, his frame disappeared into the bed's soft surface.
Sleep crept closer.
A whisper of calm passed through him just before everything went still.
Dad…
Maybe you're doing fine.
Darkness swallowed him.
-
A sudden shake ran through his phone where it sat beside the bed.
Fumbling through the dark, Arian let out a low grunt while stretching toward it.
"…What…"
He could just about manage a slit of vision.
A shape appeared on the display. It was someone trying to reach through.
Uncle.
"…Uncle?"
Fingers gripping the receiver, he spoke - tone sharp, edged with annoyance.
"What is it, uncle…?"
His fingers moved across his eyelids, brushing away the tiredness that had settled there.
"Why are you calling at this hour? Do you want to die or something?"
Silence.
Then -
A voice responded.
Yet that belonged to someone else entirely.
"…Do you know the owner of this phone?"
Arian's body froze.
"…What?"
"I apologize," spoke the voice, steady and quiet.
"Your uncle…"
The sentence never finished.
Arian jerked awake, sitting straight up out of nowhere.
"Where are you?! I'll come - "
A sharp burst of agony tore through his ribs. Then came the tightness, like a fist squeezing behind his heart.
" - ghk - !"
A thick noise cut off his words. His breath snagged, stuck between silence and something ragged.
The moment it slipped free, his phone dropped straight down. Hitting the ground came right after.
Frozen spasms shook him from within.
A thick warmth ran out of his mouth.
Blood.
A single crimson bead smeared across the fabric. The wool soaked it slowly, deepening the color beneath.
"What…?"
His chest burned.
Something inside his chest just would not pull in air.
Flooded with pain, he felt it burn through every part of him. A sharp heat spread wildly, replacing calm with raw sensation. His breath caught as flames danced beneath the surface of his skin. Each heartbeat pushed the ache deeper into bones and muscle. Nothing stayed untouched by the blaze racing inside.
His vision blurred.
Am I…
Down he fell across the mattress.
Am I Going To Die?
A sharp stab hit his body again.
Inside his mind, a quiet voice whispered.
This was your goal, correct?
Three days.
Not sleeping for three days while wishing it would stop. The world feels too heavy when you try that hard to disappear.
Breathe easy now - everything's already fine.
Fingers dug into fabric, knuckles pale under dim light.
"N… no…"
Fever climbed through her bones. The ache settled deep, refusing to leave.
Frozen jolts shook him from within.
"No…"
Fog pressed against his eyelids. A damp weight gathered where sight began.
"I don't want this…"
His voice cracked.
"I don't want any of this!"
Fear pressed into his ribs more tightly than hurt ever could.
"I want to live!"
Breath came in short, uneven bursts now.
"Dad…"
His voice trembled.
"Dad… where are you…?"
Fingers trembled as wet trails carved paths through dust on his cheeks.
"Save me…"
His vision darkened.
"I couldn't live up to your expectations…"
"I'm sorry…"
A shudder passed through him, then silence took hold.
And everything stopped.
-
His eyes opened.
White.
Endless white.
Nothing beneath stood firm. A void opened where ground should be.
No sky.
No sound.
Away it goes - endless light pouring through all space. Direction means nothing when glare fills each way.
Arian pushed himself upright, bit by bit.
"…What?"
A hollowness shaped his words as they moved through the room.
"Where am I…?"
Then -
A voice spoke.
It was deep.
Ancient.
Terrifying.
A pressure built inside him, not noise exactly - more like a weight settling deep within. It didn't enter through ears but arrived sideways, quiet and firm. This wasn't listening. It was being touched from the inside out. A hum without source took shape where breath meets thought. His chest tightened before he noticed it. The world dimmed around edges he hadn't seen.
"It is time."
Arian's body froze.
"To repay the debt you owe."
"…Debt?"
He never saw it coming
A crack split the light. Snow turned jagged. Shapes fell apart.
Darkness swallowed everything.
A flash of time passed. Suddenly, everything paused. Then, just as quick, it moved on
Arian saw something.
A world.
A beautiful world.
Footsteps echo through trees that never seem to end. A green sea rolls out under endless sky.
Above him, sky burned in shades he had never seen before. Colors spread like whispers across a horizon he couldn't name.
Mountains towering into the heavens.
Floating ribbons of water catch the light, threading through fields and hills.
A space too strange to be real. Impossible corners folding where they should not. Quiet echoes in rooms never built. Shadows sitting wrong under absent light. Nowhere that fits, yet somehow remains.
Quietly, his last thought lingered.
Did I…