"What's happening to me?!"
Sayoko's voice cracked. Her chest heaved as her fingers quivered at her sides.
"If this is some nightmare... please... please, I want to wake up already!"
Tears blurred her vision as they streamed down her cheeks. She sank to her knees, sobbing until her breathing turned ragged.
Throughout the night, Sayoko remained on the floor beside her mother's bed, her head resting against her lap, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. After what felt like hours, she slowly lifted her head and leaned forward.
Her fingers hovered for a moment before she reached toward her mother's arm.
Her hand slipped through without resistance, leaving only a faint chill lingering in the air.
Fragments of ordinary mornings drifted through her mind. Her mother gently waking her for school. The quiet sounds of breakfast being prepared in the kitchen. A brief pat on her younger brother's head before he rushed out the door. The warm hug she always shared with her father before leaving for school.
Her lips trembled as she watched her mother stir in her sleep. Her shoulders tensed before she pulled the blanket a little higher and settled back into the mattress.
Sayoko lowered her gaze. The room gradually grew quieter until her parents' footsteps faded down the hallway. Still, she didn't move.
After a long while, she rubbed at her eyes with the back of her sleeve and drew in an unsteady breath.
...Crying won't help me.
Forcing herself upright, Sayoko drew in a slow breath and stepped away from the bed. She moved to the side, avoiding both the door and its frame.
In the living room, her eyes wandered until they settled on her mother.
She sat before the butsudan, her back straight, incense burning steadily in its holder. Thin trails of smoke drifted upward as quiet prayers slipped from her lips, her hands clasped together in front of her.
Sayoko slowly approached, each step hesitant.
Her gaze shifted to the framed portrait resting on the altar.
It was her.
The girl in the photograph wore a gentle smile, her eyes bright with life.
Sayoko's breath caught.
She turned away and bolted.
Her body passed straight through the doorway. The floor vanished beneath her feet, and she lurched forward before catching herself with a shaky step.
Moisture gathered along her lashes.
I'm scared... I can't take this.
She drew a shaky breath and straightened.
One last glance.
The windows remained dark. The house was quiet.
She lowered her eyes, turned away, and started walking.
Her feet carried her onward almost on their own, leading her back toward the place where she had first opened her eyes.
I don't understand... Why did I wake up in the old section of the school?
Her brows drew together.
I can't remember anything... Why?
She bit her lip until it trembled.
She walked past a group of students chatting among themselves.
I'll have to retrace everything. Step by step. That's the only way I'll find out.
The closer she came to the school gates, the louder the campus became. Voices drifted through the morning air in scattered conversations, while the steady clatter of shoes echoed across the pavement.
Sayoko stopped mid-step.
Her eyes locked onto a familiar face in the crowd.
One boy trailed behind the others.
A long yawn escaped him as he rubbed at tired eyes shadowed by dark circles. His uniform hung loose and wrinkled, and his black hair stuck up in messy tufts. A school bag rested carelessly over one shoulder, its strap slipping against his collar.
Sayoko's heart jolted.
Wait... that's Kōki-kun?
Her lips parted as she stared at him.
No... it can't be. But... it looks exactly like him. How...?
The last time I remember seeing him, he was eleven years old... just a really shy kid.
Sayoko pressed a trembling hand over her mouth.
It really is him.
Kōki-kun... but how is he here? Why does he look so grown up?
The strength drained from her legs.
I never imagined... life after death would be like this.
I really must be dead.
There's no other explanation.
And if that's true... then a long time must have passed.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
But how did I die?
Was it an accident?
Was I murdered?
Or did I... do it to myself?
She shook her head violently, her hair whipping across her face.
"I can't remember anything!"
Her voice broke.
"Why?! How could this be happening to me?! I didn't do anything to deserve this..."
Her shoulders quivered as more tears spilled down her cheeks.
"I don't know what to do anymore..."
"…Sayoko… Sayoko…"
Sayoko's head snapped up.
Her eyes darted toward the abandoned school building.
What was that...?
"Sayoko... are you listening...? Come closer..."
Her stomach tightened.
She froze, her breath catching in her throat.
That voice...
She took a cautious step back.
It's the same voice I heard last night...
Her fingers slowly curled into fists.
Could it be connected to what happened to me?
She swallowed. The dryness in her throat stung as she forced herself to move.
One step.
Then another.
She stopped at the entrance to the abandoned building.
Its cracked walls stretched upward, while broken boards and shattered windows left the interior exposed to the morning light. Dust drifted through the still air.
I have to figure out what happened to me... no matter what.
Drawing in a slow breath, she stepped inside.
Her eyes swept across the decaying hallway. Loose floorboards creaked beneath abandoned debris, and holes in the walls exposed splintered beams that had long since rotted away.
She continued deeper into the building.
When she reached the end of the hallway, she stopped.
"...Weird..." she said quietly. "I swear I heard something..."
Silence.
Only the empty hallway answered her.
She lowered her shoulders.
I'll just leave...
She turned toward the exit.
"Boo!"
A face burst straight through the wall beside her.
"AAAHHH!"
Sayoko shrieked.
She stumbled backward so fast that her feet slipped out from under her, sending her crashing onto the dusty floor.
Her heart hammered against her chest.
A pale figure floated in front of her, its faint glow standing out against the dim hallway.
"A g-ghost?! It's a ghost!"
She pushed herself backward with her heels, her palms scraping across the floor.
"Somebody... help me!"
The ghost scratched beneath his nose with one finger, a grin spreading across his face.
"Got you good, didn't I?"
His eyes narrowed.
"Calm down, idiot. Or did you forget you're dead too?"
Sayoko froze.
Her gaze slowly dropped to her hands.
They looked pale.
Faint.
Almost transparent.
The outlines of her fingertips blurred as she stared.
Her lips quivered.
...He's right...
"Honestly..."
The ghost folded his arms and let out an exasperated sigh.
"You really are hopeless."
"W-who are you?! How do you know my name?! Why were you calling out to me?!" she asked.
"One question at a time," he said.
He lazily hooked a finger into his ear before flicking it away.
"Honestly, I have no idea how I know you. The only thing I'm sure of..." He paused briefly. "...is that I've seen you somewhere before."
Sayoko's lips parted.
He knew me... before?
The ghost glanced toward the wall he'd emerged from before looking back at her.
"As for why I was calling you..." he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "...it's simple."
"I woke up in this old building."
"You were the first person I saw."
"My body just... moved on its own."
"I had to reach out."
Sayoko lowered her gaze.
So... he woke up here too.
Just like me.
He's confused too...
She took a slow breath.
"Then..." she said, lifting her eyes to meet his, "since you already know my name... what should I call you?"
The ghost tilted his head.
"...Takuto."
He hesitated.
"Or... at least, I think that was my name when I was alive."
"Takuto..." she said quietly.
"Do you... remember anything?" she asked. "About how you ended up like this?"
Takuto pinched the bridge of his nose.
"...Nothing."
He let out a quiet breath.
"Not a single clear memory."
"It's like my past was erased."
He lowered his hand.
"But..."
His expression grew more serious.
"I think I understand why we're still here."
Sayoko blinked.
"...What do you mean?".
"Normally, when someone dies, their soul moves on."
"To heaven."
"To the underworld."
"Wherever it's supposed to go."
He gestured toward the dark, decaying hallway around them.
"But us..."
"We're still here."
"More specifically..."
He swept his hand toward the abandoned wing.
"We're bound to this place."
Sayoko followed his gesture.
The cracked walls.
The broken windows.
The faded classrooms.
Takuto folded his arms.
"There's only one explanation."
"This is where we died."
"The place where we took our last breaths."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"And..."
"I think we left something behind."
"A regret."
"Something that's keeping us from moving on."
A chill settled across Sayoko's skin.
"Y-you mean..."
"Our deaths were... homicide?"
"And we're trapped here because of regret?"
Her voice wavered near the end.
Takuto lowered his eyes and sighed.
"...That's my guess."
Sayoko slowly shook her head.
No way...
So I really am dead.
My soul is trapped here... just like his.
But why?
She looked back at him.
"...Then how do we leave?"
"Is there a way for us to move on?"
Takuto's expression softened.
"I don't know."
"But I think there's only one way."
"We have to figure out what's keeping us here."
"We have to uncover the regrets we left behind."
He looked down the empty hallway.
"...I've been here longer than you."
"But even after all this time..."
"I still haven't found the answer."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"So when I saw you..."
"I called out."
"I thought..."
He gave a small, awkward shrug.
"...maybe we could figure it out together."
Sayoko stared at him.
Warm tears gathered at the corners of her eyes.
Huh?
"Hey..."
Takuto frowned.
"Why are you crying?".
She quickly wiped at her eyes.
"N-no..." she said.
"It's not that."
She let out a shaky laugh.
"I'm just..."
"...happy."
Takuto raised an eyebrow.
"Happy?"
"You just found out you're dead."
"What part of that is making you happy?"
Sayoko lowered her hand.
"I thought..."
Her fingers tightened around the edge of her sleeve.
"...I thought I was completely alone."
She looked at him again.
"But you're here."
"You don't remember anything either."
"You woke up here just like I did."
She drew in a slow breath.
"So..."
"...I'm not facing this by myself anymore."
Takuto blinked.
The hallway fell silent again.
"...Do you remember anything at all?"
Takuto's gaze dropped to the floor.
His jaw tightened.
"...Only flashes."
"Nothing I can make sense of."
"...Same."
"I can't remember my death either."
Dust drifted through the air.
"If I really died here..."
"...then there has to be a reason."
Takuto gave a slow nod.
"...Maybe regret is the key."
"If we face whatever we left behind..."
"...maybe we'll finally be able to move on."
Sayoko closed her eyes.
She took one slow breath.
"Then let's find it," she said.
"Whatever it is..."
"I can't stay here forever."