episode_0011

“If you wander alone, you’ll get lost.”

Amy sits me down and talks.

I avoid her gaze.

Like a child who has done something wrong.

I was getting scolded by Amy.

Shine, who had woken up, was looking at me like that.

The tips of the ears turn red.

A sizzling heat.

It’s quite embarrassing to be caught cheating by someone.

“Where did you want to go?”

I hesitated for a moment to answer Amy’s question.

“Outside… .”

“Are you feeling stuffy?”

I nod slowly.

Amy pats my head with a small smile.

The fine hair flutters to and fro, making a rustling sound.

“How long do I have to do this?”

I raise my arms to Amy.

A bracelet that sparkles in silver.

Amy takes my arm and strokes it gently.

“Just hold on a little longer. I’ll let you go as soon as you can get home.”

A promise without a promise.

The house she said she was looking for doesn’t exist.

Because the girl named Jeff probably isn’t registered as a resident.

It’s clear that the same goes for Shine.

I let out a small sigh without telling Amy.

Moving alone isn’t easy.

One day. Two days.

Time continues to flow.

Three days after arriving here.

Amy would give me and Shine an apologetic look.

“Do you really not remember anything about your parents?”

I nod.

I’m not telling a lie.

Because my memory started from the garbage dump in District 23.

I don’t remember the faces of the people who are my parents.

Shine nods as if she agrees with him too.

Shine, sitting behind me, hugs me.

Physical contact has increased recently.

I feel a little burdened by Shine’s actions that come so naturally.

I carefully pushed her away and picked up the cookie to eat it.

The taste of sweet cookies filling your mouth.

“Did Amy really make this?”

I lift the cookie, my eyes wide in disbelief.

Cookies made in pretty shapes emit an appetizing aroma.

I couldn’t think deeply about Amy’s question because I had such delicious cookies in front of me.

He sat on a large chair and kept swinging his short legs.

A bridge that sways from side to side.

The body also slowly sways to match it.

“Jeff.”

Amy’s mood changes.

I raise my head to her, who is looking down at me with a serious face.

I couldn’t answer because my mouth was full of cookies.

“Shine.”

“Yeah.”

Shine was fiddling with the cookies with both hands, seemingly uninterested in them.

Cookies baked in the shape of cute characters break apart in her hands.

Shine, with broken arms and legs, puts the cookies down on a plate.

“If you can’t find the house.”

Amy’s words and actions are cautious.

We carefully choose what we say, lest we be hurt.

“Are you staying here?”

The hand stops.

I got a chance to get out of here.

I shook my head.

He said, swallowing the cookie in his mouth hastily.

“No… ?”

Sudden tinnitus.

My vision becomes blurry with a beeping sound.

I reach out and drink the warm milk from a large mug.

The lingering scent of cookies filling my mouth disappears into the milk.

“It’s delicious.”

“Huh?”

Amy’s bewildered face made me look bewildered as well.

I don’t remember what I was doing just a moment ago.

“Is it that delicious?”

A smile appeared on Amy’s face.

I respond with a smile too.

Amy is a kind person who treated me to delicious cookies.

I’m starting to get hungry.

“I’ll stay here.”

Shine pushes the plate of cookies she received as her share towards me.

I look at her with surprised eyes.

“Eat.”

“What about Shine?”

“I’m okay.”

I’m obsessed with delicious cookies.

The conversation between Shine and Amy continues.

But what mattered to me now was the cookies on the plate.

Pick up the cookie and put it in your mouth.

Crispy, crumbly texture.

Followed by moist chocolate.

The rich milk coats the tongue.

“Gasp… .”

I touch the plate with a surprised expression.

The cookies are gone.

Where did you go?

Where did you go?

It all went into my stomach.

I touch my plump belly.

A dirty stomach.

If I ate any more, I was sure I would spit it all out.

“Ugh… .”

I slump in my chair.

Amy’s voice lingered in my ears, faint.

“Jeff.”

A voice that can be heard clearly.

To that I raised my head and answered.

“Huh?”

“Is Jeff okay too?”

Only then do I look around.

Amy’s gaze never leaves me.

“If you like Shine, I like it too.”

I answered like that.

And touch the corner of your mouth.

Was the voice that came out just a moment ago really coming out of my mouth?

Could it be Shine’s voice?

Thud- thud-

That was when.

A red line runs under Shine’s nose.

The red drops of water falling down stained the pure white tablecloth.

nosebleed

blood?

I stare blankly at Shine.

“Shine!”

Amy’s voice is urgent.

She pulls out a tissue nearby and wipes Shine’s mouth.

The smell of red blood wafts through the air.

The soft tissue turns red.

The tinnitus in my head twitches and moves in a strange way.

It feels like something is messing with my head.

“It’s okay.”

A small, dried tissue was shoved into Shine’s nose.

Just after there was a bit of a commotion.

Shine and I got to take a picture.

The photo is taken in neat attire as if it were an ID photo.

“Why are you taking this picture?”

I looked up at Amy and asked her. She answered, stroking my hair.

“You need an ID to live here.”

“ID?”

ID.

Fragments of vague memories come to mind.

Memories that are becoming clearer and clearer.

I looked astonished.

There’s no time for this.

“Wait! Jeff!”

A voice coming from behind.

I ignored Amy’s voice and started running.

My breath is pounding.

Pass through a long, stretched-out hallway.

A gaze that moves urgently.

Check the time.

no.

It’s already started.

bang!

A roughly open door.

I ran into the room without even taking off my shoes.

After that, immediately hold the remote control and press the power button.

Beep-

The screen turns on with a small noise.

thank god.

It’s not too late.

The opening song of [Magical Girl Pretty Soldier], my favorite show, was playing on the screen.

I touch my cheeks, which are flushed with anticipation.

“Jeff!”

A voice coming from behind.

I look back carefully.

There stood Amy, running urgently while holding onto Shine’s waist.

“I was almost late.”

A pounding heart.

He speaks calmly, placing his hand on his chest.

Amy looks back and forth between me and the television screen with a blank expression.

“That’s why you ran?”

“Jeff likes animation.”

The answer wasn’t mine.

It flowed out of Shine’s mouth, dangling from Amy’s hand.

“Anyway, I already took all the pictures.”

Amy said that and put Shine down.

Shine, who got down from Amy’s arms, straightened her clothes and came over to sit next to me.

“Want to see Amy too?”

“Look at Amy too.”

Even as an adult, I found the program quite entertaining.

That’s why I recommended it to Amy.

There happened to be some snacks and drinks.

Amy bought them all for me, though.

Amy turned her head to check her watch and approached us with an awkward smile.

Today, too, the day passed without anything special happening.

An announcement announcing dinner time.

Shine and I follow Amy to the restaurant.

I blinked as I headed toward the restaurant.

What am I doing now?

What happened to my plan to escape from here?

I walk down the now familiar hallway, lost in thought.

“Jeff.”

Shine’s call as she approaches.

I raise my head.

Shine’s face is too close.

Warm breath brushes the tip of my nose.

“Huh?”

He answers her from a little distance away.

“What are you going to eat today?”

Her question causes the thoughts that were floating through my head to subside.

What fills that void is what we’re having for dinner tonight.

A delicious pork cutlet comes to mind.

“What do you always eat?”

I shake my head.

He rubs his blurry eyes and touches his cheeks.

“No… .”

“Jeff… ?”

Shine’s voice shook as if she was anxious.

She grabs my hand urgently.

“No… .”

The faintly flowing noise becomes stronger.

Chick- Chick-

A light flashes before my eyes.

“No…!”

“Jeff?”

Amy, who was walking ahead, looks back at me.

The face looks like something happened due to the voice suddenly getting louder.

“I won’t eat tonkatsu today!”

Decided.

What’s for dinner tonight?

“Then what are you going to eat?”

I answer Amy’s question forcefully.

“Hamburger steak!”

It reminds me of a hamburger with ketchup on it.

An appetizing sight.

Saliva naturally gathers in the mouth.

“Me too.”

Shine also selects the same menu as me.

We stopped and headed towards the restaurant again.

The noise in my head won’t go away.

That night.

Just before going to bed.

After finishing my shower, I come out to my room.

Amy, who was sitting there, calls me with a natural gesture.

I walk over to her and sit down.

The hair dryer in Amy’s hand blasts hot air.

She skillfully strokes my hair and dries it.

“Amy.”

“Why?”

Nod, nod-

My head is shaking.

My heavy eyelids don’t even think about opening because of the pleasant touch and warm breeze.

“I want to go home.”

Amy’s hands stop.

Pouring sleep.

I keep telling her.

“I want to drink beer.”

A blurry memory.

But the feeling that comes to mind so strongly is unforgettable.

Time to finish showering and wrapping up work.

I wanted to fall asleep while drinking a cold beer that had been chilled in the fridge.

I wanted to forget the noise that filled my head.

The headache just won’t go away.

“Jeff?”

The light body picks up and falls down.

Unable to resist the tide, he falls into deep sleep.

The body shakes slowly.

Amy’s voice was filled with confusion.

She caresses my cheek.

“Did you drink alcohol at the lab?”