Death.
The first is of the flesh - eyes devoid of light, not in sadness, but in absence. The face that was once held joy, sadness, pain, grief, and anger is just now nothing but an empty hull. The flesh becomes a used shell - absent to once it carried.
The second is slow and cruel - it is fragile yet always final. The thread that was once tied to you to the world is slowly severed. The photograph edges begin to curl, the word that once used to call you was spoken less and less until it fades to silence. It births the idea that someone is truly dead - no memories, no past, present, and no future.
It is truly and absolutely the absence of life.
It is death.
"Kioto-kun.. Kioto-kun." Her voice was calm and gentle, but edge with authority.
My name is Kioto Fujii.
There's nothing particularly remarkable about me. Just another forgettable person with a different story.
I look up still groggy from the lack of sleep to see my teacher standing firmly with a ruler in hand. "Sorry..." I muttered.
Ms. Nakamura, who appears to be in the mid-20s, is one of the most well-beloved teachers at school. Her gentle yet firm demeanor earns her both respect and admiration from students.
She sighed but didn't scold me. "It's okay to sleep, but the lesson isn't gonna magically go to your brain."
Half of the class giggled quietly. The other half looks annoyed. Our class is packed of smart people, after all.
Ahh... their eyes are practically melting me. Just because I stopped the lesson for a little bit.
The teacher walks to the front, and the class has gone dead silent before the teacher looks behind.
"Oi, Kioto! Did you have a nice dream. Must be great sleeping on the first day of the month." He busts out a loud laughter.
This one here is my childhood friend, Haruki. There's not really much to say about him except that his someone you can rely on when you're in the depths.
"I didn't get any sleep last night. Shut up." I place my face flat on my desk remembering the embrassment.
"Anyway, what are your thoughts about joining the paranormal club? Maybe they can use your deep sleeping prowess. It's not like they do anything other than eating and making up ghost stories."
"Whatever, l'm starving since earlier. Let's hit the cafeteria." At the time, I thought to myself that it's not pretty bad to join the paranormal club. I'm looking for a place to laze around after all.
As we are walking through the hallways. We saw an empty room that had a large table and a few chairs on it.
"What room is this, Haruta?" I looked through the space of the open windows."
"Hmm? This? It's the paranormal club room. Why, are you really planning to join? You really take my joke too seriously."
"It's not because of that, it's just that it's so empty, and it's more like a storage room than a club room."
"I heard that the club members started leaving because there is a member that they didn't like. It's the newly transferred girl from class E. Apparently, she told them that she could tell when they 'truly' die."
I ask myself, can't they just kick out the girl? It's not like it's gonna kill them to do so. And what does 'truly' die mean?
After having a quick break at the cafeteria, we headed towards the classroom right away.
Before we knew it, the final bell rang - the class is over for today.
"Oi, Kioto. You got an umbrella? The sky is pretty dark." It was followed by the heavy sound of droplets of water hitting the roof.
I reached for my bag to pull out my umbrella.
"Me and my club friends are going to the karaoke. Do you want to join?"
"No."
How can they even plan to go to karaoke with this bad weather? Extroverts' ability sure is nice.
"I see. See you tomorrow."
As I was walking, the sound of thunder echoed through the trees. It startled me a bit.
I noticed an old playground up ahead. A girl who was wearing a uniform that resembled my school's uniform was under the slide, using it as a shelter from the heavy rain. "Ah," I remembered that I had a spare umbrella.
The deafening sound of thunder is heard again. It was definitely louder this time. I looked up at the sky for a second, then looked down to see the girl.
The girl's knees were pulled tightly to her chest, head planted to her knees, arms hug like it was a shield. The downpour of the rains above her was sounding like a drumbeat. But it was the sound of thunder that made her flinch - every time the thunder roared across the sky, her body jerked like it was struck.
I'm not that good around comforting people - especially girls in playground during storm. But I couldn't just ignore her.
"Hey, are you okay?" Her face that was once placed to her knees slowly looked up. Her eyes were red and puffy. I reached out for my bag to get my spare umbrella.
"Here, just give it back tomorrow."
She didn't move. Not even a twitch.
"You're gonna be out here all day, you know. Just take the umbrella. You get sick out here."
She looked up at me, her eyes shining with something I didn't understand.
"...Thank you." Her voice is barely heard.
I turned to leave -
But something tugged my sleeve.
"What?"
".. d-don't... go." Her voice quivered.
"Hah?" I didn't hear her.
"..don't go." This time was barely louder than the first time.
"Why? Do you not know where to go? Shall I call the police?"
"No.." Her voice volume was lower than before.
Is she afraid to say she's lost? I guess I need to walk her to school unless she is.
"If you're lost, just say it. Follow me to school, your parents must be there searching for you."
"No!" She shouted, suddenly louder than before.
"Okay, okay... then where do you want to go? Do you know where your house is?"
She gave a small, silent nod.
I might get in trouble for not going to the house immediately while a strong storm is happening, but it's nice to be kind once in a while.
We walked for a long time. She gives a nod when I'm asking where to turn right or left. My sleeve was still tugged by her other hand.
It was pretty dark by then, and the heavy rain stopped. But before I knew it, her house was in front of me.
"Is this your house? Are you okay now?"
".. Yes.." She let go of my sleeves and walked toward toward the front of her house. She turned to face me, and she gave me back my umbrella.
Her house was empty, and the lights were out despite the darkness. If I normally pass here, I will probably say it is abandoned.
"Thank you, Onii-san." Her voice and words are heard clear. The eyes that were red and puffy vanished. Her mouth and lips widen to strike a smile.
I was shaken for a moment because of her sudden change of atmosphere. Her expression is not wrong, just too calm. It was... off.
"You look happy. Are you okay now?"
"I am Onii-san. Thanks to you. But can you... grant my final request?"
"If it'll help, then of course."
"Can you remember me, maybe... at least for a little while?"
"Of course, if it makes you happy. I will not forget you until I die."
I didn't forget.
"You're really kind, Onii-san." Her mouth stretched wide — it lit up the night.
"Let's meet again someday."
The sound of thunder echoed again. I turned instinctively, but I remembered that she was scared of the sound of thunder.
But when I looked back , she... she was gone.
The house was gone too. It was replaced by a towering tree.
I yelled and searched for the girl. But I couldn't find her, and she didn't show up either.
Was it a hallucinations all along? But it couldn't be. The dirt on her hands from the ground is still on my sleeves.
I ran home through the dark, soaked, and dazed. I was scolded for a long time, but the things that had happened were still on my mind.
Something hovered above her head back then — blurry, like it was supposed to be hidden.
I didn't dwell on it since my eyesight is bad, and my lenses are foggy.
But now I'm sure.
It was number 3.
But just before she vanished... it changed to 31.