Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - this iS my life

Chapter 2- i don't want to know thE truth

Chapter 3- we don't nEed anY events

Chapter 4- you are the persOn who wants to know the truth.

Chapter 5- i need yoU

Chapter 6- SEE YOU

Character List:

Ami - She is the main character of this story.

Shin - He is Ami's friend. He is so handsome. But he can't read between the lines.

Faty - She is Ami's best friend. But she is keeping a secret from her.

Jason - He is a new student at Ami's school. He is normal. Or maybe it looks like he is...

Chapter 1 - this iS my life

My name is Ami. And now, I'm in my bed. My favorite thing is to talk about scary things and sleep. This year, I'll be in grade 12. This week my parents have some work to do in a different city, so I'm living alone now.

"Hey! It's time to go to school. Are you ready to go?"

The boy who is calling me out my name is Shin. He is my oldest friend from kindergarten. Usually, he comes to my house and gets me to go to school in the mornings. Mostly it's because I'm bad at waking up. He is handsome, so when Valentine's Day comes, he gets a lot of sweets and flowers.

Actually, I secretly like him. I realized this feeling when I was in grade 6. My heart won't stop beating quickly when he looks at my face for a long time. After those incidents, I noticed that it was the start of my first love.

”Hello~? Are you still sleeping? Do I have to go inside to get you up? We don't have enough time. So, hurry up!" I could hear him yelling outside.

"What? I think we have enough time. Now, it's 7:20. We always leave my house at 7:45. We don't have to hurry." I yelled back.

It takes 15 minutes to go to school from my house, and school starts at 8:20. So we can prepare things slowly. Also, it is winter now, so it is especially hard for me to get out of bed because the bed is so warm and comfortable. I feel angry at Shin for disturbing my sleep. His voice is so loud and obstructive!!

"NO!!” he yelled up at me even louder. “Yesterday our teacher told us that we must come to school by 7:50. So leaving your house at 7:45 will make us late. Did you forget about that?"

"What?” I sat up in my bed. “Our teacher told us that the day before yesterday. Yesterday we went to school before 7:50. So we don't have to worry about that this time."

"What are you talking about? Are you still half asleep? Yesterday we went to school at the same time." He argued back.

I remembered yesterday I got up as fast as I could. But maybe it was all in a dream.

"Hmmm...wait for the moment. I'm going to prepare my things for school. It'll take at least five minutes. So just wait there, ok?" I yelled down to him.

"Ok. If I think we will be late, I'll leave you here. Do you understand?" He yelled back.

"Oh...So Shin thinks that time is more important than me…." I thought with a frown. "That's sad!"

"Hurry up!" He cried out again.

I started to look around for the things we had to bring to school today. I needed my textbooks, a pen case, my lunch, and some notebooks. Today, my class will have art. I'm excited because this is my favorite subject that I absolutely love. Shin likes it too. I grabbed my things and packed them in my backpack.

"Ok. I'm ready.” I said, running out of the house. “Don't you think that I prepared as fast as I could? I've never prepared for anything like that in such a short time. I'm the greatest girl." I said smugly, giving myself praise.

"I think the greatest girl doesn't forget that we must go to school before 7:50.” He mocked. Shin looked at his watch. “And now we have to run to school. We only have 10 minutes to get there. Are you ready?"

I nodded. "Ok! Let's run to school. 3, 2, 1, GO!!!"

We ran to school and never thought we would have any troubles today.

When we arrived at classroom 321, the bell rang. Now it was 7:47. Which meant we could get to school before 7:50.

"Few! Safe.” I exhaled, tired from all of the running. “We got to school on time."

"Ami!! You guys were almost late for school!"

That was the voice of my fellow classmate, Faty. She has been my friend since the start of high school. She sits next to me, and she is always making people laugh. I remember that we introduced ourselves to the entire class on the first day of high school. When her turn came, she said loudly to everyone," I like aliens!!!" We never thought that someone would say something like that. She is always saying strange and funny things.

She runs to me and hugs me.

"Oh. Hey. Good morning Faty.” I said, hugging her back. “You look so well and happy. Did anything happen that made you happy?"

"Today, my teacher called me and gave me a prize." She was jumping while saying these words.

"Did you enter some kind of tournament?" I asked.

She is in the basketball club. She is very good at all ball sports. So that means she is good at playing volleyball, tennis, and baseball. On the other hand, I'm so bad at sports. For example, in the P.E class that we had last week, we played soccer. At that time, I couldn't pass the ball to my partner. Not only am I bad at sports that use a ball, but I'm also so uncoordinated.

"Yes! I went to the regional championship. And there I got 1st prize!" She exclaimed.

"Wow, that's great. And now I get why you look so happy."

Then the teacher came and then the homeroom started.

"Ok. Students. I'm so glad you remembered to come to school before 7:50. I called you guys early today because I have some things to tell you. Today we have new students joining our class. Please come in."

After the teacher's announcement, everyone became so excited. Our class was shouting things like "yeah" or "OH!!!" We stared at the door in anticipation. And then the door opened. We saw him. He was just like any ordinary boy. He didn't have any strong features, and he wasn't particularly handsome. He was just normal. Nevertheless, some girls screamed, "Oh My God!!". The teacher sighed and continued, "Everyone, be quiet. He is a new student. Hey, introduce yourself." Our teacher said to the boy.

"Oh, um. Hello, my name is Jason. And, I like to watch movies. nice to meet you." He was obviously nervous, but he was trying to act calm. We all looked up and watched him carefully. We were all interested in him.

"Then your seat is next to Ami." The teacher gestured over to the seat next to me.

He walked over to his seat. I quickly introduced myself. "Hello, my name is Ami. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, nice to meet you. My name is Jason. After school, would you mind showing me around this school?" He asked quietly.

"Mmm ... Today I was planning to go back home with my friend, but I will ask them at lunchtime if it's ok."

After we talked about that, we had some classes before lunchtime. In every class, I ended up sitting next to him. I'm guessing that since the teachers are the ones who decide where the students' seats are, maybe they thought that it would be good for him to sit next to me. Since this was the first day of school for him, we chatted about a lot of things. We talked about ourselves and the teachers at this school. For example, my math teacher, Mr. Sasaki, is very scary when he gets angry, so I warned him about that. It was so fun talking together. When lunchtime came, I ran to Shin's classroom. It was always so exciting to meet with Shin. I fixed up my hair and ran to his class. Before opening the classroom doors, I took a deep breath.

"Excuse me. Is Shin here?" I asked the girl that was closest to me. I think I can communicate easily with people I don't know.

"Yes, here is. He is talking with his friends over there." She pointed towards Shin. He was talking and laughing with his friends. One of Shin's friends noticed that I was standing there.

"Look over there. Your girlfriend is here, Shin! You must go to her! Go!" He teased.

All the students in this class looked at me. I felt myself getting a little bit shy.

"No, she's not my girlfriend. She's just a friend. Don't joke about stuff like that." Shin said, laughing as he came closer to me. But at that time, I noticed that my heart was wrenching. I like him so much, but I don't mind when stuff like this happens because he is always like this. He doesn't care about my feelings. When we were in grade 3, I gave a piece of chocolate to him. This chocolate was in the shape of a heart. But he obviously didn't understand my feelings because he shared the chocolate with his friends. "I don't care. I reminded myself. "I mustn't care about it."

"Hey Shin." I said as casually as I could. "Today, we have a new student named Jason in our class, and he asked me to show him around the school. So, Shin, could you go back home alone? Or maybe you can come with us? Maybe you can be friends with him."

Shin thought about it for a while and said, "Ok, I will go with you. I want to know the new student." He checked his watch. "Then, after this class finishes, I will go to your class. Is that ok?"

"Yes, ok" I agreed.

I had thought that Shin wouldn't come with us and never would. He always goes back home so quickly. He is known for leaving the school so quickly that when we have something to tell Shin, we all know that we have to tell him the news before the end of class. So, I have to prepare things very fast every day if I want to go back home with Shin. Anyway, it's decided. Today after class, Shin and I will show Jason around the school.

Chapter 2 - i don't want to know thE truth

When school finished, the three of us met and talked about ourselves. I think that Jason and I will become good friends. Suddenly Shin said, "Oh!!" in a loud voice.

"Shin? What happened? Is there a problem?" I asked with concern.

Jason was staring at Shin as he spoke.

"Yes, I forgot to submit an assignment to Mr. Sasaki.” Shin panicked. “Oh, shit! What should I do?!"

Shin looked so panicked, so I told him to calm down. "Shin, you should go and give it to Mr. Sasaki immediately. He will accept your apology."

"Hmmm. Ok." He agreed. "But I can't go on the school tour with you guys because of that. Ami, I'm so sorry about this."

It's frustrating, but I could understand his situation.

"Good luck, Shin. Have a good time!!" Jason said very happily. I saw that Jason's face was smiling, and his body was shaking like he couldn't stop laughing. I couldn't help but make the same face as Jason. However, Shin looked very frustrated because he felt like Jason was making fun of him.

”Bye. Good luck. Shin." We both said to him with smiling faces.

Shin called out, "Don't you forget about me!" as he ran down the hall.

"Are we going to wait for Shin or not?" Jason asked me.

"When Mr. Sasaki gets angry, he scolds his students for so long. If that happens, we'll be waiting here forever. So, let's just go. If Mr. Sasaki somehow ends up angry with us, too, we can all go back home together." I answered. As I said, when our teacher gets angry, he is so scary. Also, he gets mad easily. So, students are so afraid when they forget some assignments.

We chatted after Shin left. Suddenly I recall that we hadn't been to the art room yet. So, I said so immediately to him, "Jason!! I remember that we didn't go to the art room! We can go there. No, we MUST go there!! It is very nice. There are many kinds of brushes and paints. Also, we will be able to see the artworks that graduates made. You must see that! It is very beautiful!!! Let's go!"

After that, he looked so surprised and laughed again. "Ok, let's go. At this time, I get that you love art class. I feel kind of excited to see it."

We went straight there. The art class is in a different building from where we usually study. The name of the other building is Hoffen. Only the art class is in another building. I don't know why, but the teacher said that the building was specifically made for art class only. There are many kinds of artwork in the hallway that students make. For example, you can see carvings, paintings, and reproductions there.

"Wow," Jason said, looking around. When Jason saw Hoffen, he was just as surprised and astonished about the building as I was. Hoffen is not a typical building. Its shape is so strange, so we all wonder why it is able to stand on its own.

"Don't you think it is so strange? It…" I stopped short. I couldn't keep the conversation going because, at this moment, in my head, I felt like the building for the art class's name was not Hoffen. I also thought that the building looked a little different than usual. It wasn't normal somehow. It wasn't usually like this.

"Hey, Ami. Are you feeling ok?" Jason said, staring at my face. So, I said, "Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry. It's nothing.” I waved my hand. “Anyway, let's go inside."

We went inside, and I tried to forget about the strange feeling. While walking through the long hallway, we looked at all of the artwork and chatted about them. I wish I could join the art club, but now I don't have any time for clubs, so I can't join it. I wonder if Jason is thinking about the club he wants to join.

"So, you have no idea about the clubs at our school, right?" I asked, looking at him.

"Yes, but I think I'm not going to join any club activity."

"Why?" I questioned him. "I think it is good for you to join one. It will be so much fun!! You have to join one!"

"I have no interest in clubs, “Jason said quietly.

"Oh." Suddenly I felt a little awkward.

After that awkward moment, we talked about pointless stories. After a bit more walking, we finally arrived at art room 301. It is a normal-looking room, but it is also huge. There are special materials, various coloring tools, and more.

"Now, we've finally arrived at the art room. This is the artwork that I wanted to share with you." I went to stand behind the picture. It was a piece of art that a graduate had made. It is a very huge painting. I like this the most in the entire building.

"Oh, this is very beautiful." He looked at the picture for a while. "I have never seen a view like this before. "He looked at every part of the picture.

"I think that pictures show people's feelings and what's inside of their hearts," I whispered.

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked curiously. "A painting is a picture that people want to show or share with other people. I agree that paintings show their feelings, but I don't think they show their hearts." He said frankly. "Also, a painting is just a drawing we want to see or want others to remember."

"Yeah, that's true.” I agreed. “But I think that people show their feelings in the picture, without thinking."

We both thought quietly for a while. "Ok, I'm gonna remember your opinion. But I'm not going to change my opinion. " I said to him, and Jason laughed again.

"Ok, but answer me this, what is your dream? What is the most important thing to you?" Jason asked seriously.

"What do you mean by that? My dream? What is the most important thing? I already know that!! My dream is to be an artist and the most important thing to me is…''

I couldn't say anything after that. At that moment, my head began to hurt. It was so hard to stay standing. Also, I was confused and I couldn't think of anything. And in my eyes, Jason started to look so blurry, and I could hear him say to me, "Hey are you ok?! Are you well? Your face looks so pale." When I saw Jason's face, my breath came back easily. "Hey, are you ok? Is it ok?"

“Yes.” The word got stuck in my throat, but I felt myself getting better.

"Deep breaths, Ami. Deep breaths." Jason said in a calm voice and rubbed my back.

"Thank you. Jason. Now I'm fine. Don't worry, I just started feeling strange after hearing your question." I felt a bit weird. I didn't feel sick, but it was hard to stand. Then suddenly we heard footsteps. We were so surprised. Usually, no one will go inside this building if they don't have something to do. So, we held our breath and hid under the desks. The footsteps were coming closer and closer.

"Wait, Ami. Why were we holding our breath? Even if it's a teacher, they won't be angry. They never told us not to go inside."

"Oh, yeah," I remembered. "Our school doesn't have any school regulations that bar us from going into the Hoffen. So, we don't have to hide from the teacher."

We chatted so quietly, but slowly we got out from under the desks.

"So yeah. Let's continue looking at art!"

"Hold on, Ami. You are here to give me a school tour, not to appreciate art."

"Shit. Ok.” I said, remembering my purpose. “Let's go to another classroom. But next time, if you have time, you SHOULD come with me.” I proposed. “Ok. hmm… What should we do next? Let's call Shin, too! I bet he's finished getting scolded."

We went back to speak at a normal volume of voice. Then suddenly, room 301's door opened.

"I think I forgot it around here..." The voice said in confusion.

"Faty!! Oh! The footsteps were yours!" The person who made the sound of the footsteps was Faty.

"Why are you here? Do you have a problem? “I asked her.

"Yes! I forgot to bring my brush to the classroom. Today, my homeroom teacher told me to do my artwork at home." Faty said loudly. She was panting, so I guessed that she had run to this building.

"But I can't find it. Do you know where it is?" She questioned us, staring at Jason.

"I don't know. But what kind of shape is it? We can help you look for it. Is that ok, Jason?"

"Yes of course." he nodded in agreement.

I thought I wanted to help Faty because she is always helping me. Like the time when I forgot to do my homework. She said, "You can copy my notes."

"Really? Thank you!!” She said excitedly. Then she turned to Jason, remembering that he was there. “But Ami. You have a mission to show Jason around. So, don't worry about me." She said so sadly.

"Oh. Yes. But Jason also said that he could help. So, I don't worry about my mission." I assured her. However, she continued to look so confused.

"But…"

I cut her short. "It's ok. Don't worry about it!!" I told her. Finally, she gave up and gave us permission to help her.

"Then I'll tell you what my brush looks like. It's very short, and the color is blue."

"Ok. Let's find out together!!" Jason said in a loud voice. Then we started looking around for her brush in the art class. But we couldn't find it. But suddenly, she said, "I found it." When she found the brush, she jumped up and ran around the classroom.

"Thank you guys!!" She said with a smile. It was a similar smile to when she got a good score on a test.

Jason replied, "You're welcome. But we didn't help you so much."

“Yes. That's right.” I agreed. “We were just looking around and didn't even find the brush for you.”

"Don't worry about that!! You guys helped me so much!! Ami. I will give you some sweets or drinks if you have time."

"Really? Thank you. Then, are we going back to the main school building? Or shall we stay and hang out in the art class?" I said it looking at them.

But Jason quickly replied. "Ami? I told you that I want to see other classrooms. I am interested in the computer room. Shall we go there?" Jason astounded me.

However, Faty said "But we don't have much time. The school will close at 17:45, and now it's 17:30, so I don't think we have enough time to visit the computer room."

"Oh gosh." Jason looked frustrated. Then we heard more footsteps coming closer to us.

" Do you think it's Mr. Ine?" Faty asked me. Mr. Ine is the art teacher and he is very strict about the time.

"No, it's Shin. Listen... This person sounds like they are running. And this running speed is definitely Shin's one."

"WOW! How do you know something like that" Jason asked in surprise.

"She becomes very dangerous when Shin is involved." Faty laughed.

Jason and Fati both looked at me and teased me. I couldn't help but feel sad.

"Hey!! Finally, I found you!!" Then the room's door opened so loudly, and we all stared at it.

"Shin!! Come in" I called out.

"Now he has finally returned. Hey, Shin. Are you alright?" Jason asked.

"Are you tired?" Fati asked with concern. "Sorry, but we don't have any drinks here."

"Hey guys.” Shin said with confusion, appearing from the door. “Why weren't you guys surprised? I never said that I would come here."

I wanted to tell Shin that I was very happy that he was able to come here, but instead I said, "But Shin, why are you here? Where is Mr. Sasaki?"

Instantly his face became very strange. It is like both anger and sadness were mixing together inside him.

"Yes, Mr. Sasaki left me like 10 minutes ago, and I was out looking for you. I couldn't find you in the main building, so I guessed that you guys would be in the art room. However, I didn't think that Faty would also be here."

Wow, I couldn't believe how shy I felt around Shin. When he looks at me, I will always turn red. So I spoke louder than usual to try to hide the fact that I was feeling shy. "So, let's leave this school and go back home!!"

With that, we prepared our bags and left our school. When we were about to leave the school, Jason touched Faty's shoulder and said, "You don't have a lot of time. You must choose."

When Faty heard this, she started glaring at him. After that, she looked at Shin and Ami as they walked into the distance with smiling faces.

"No one is allowed to break this." She said in a quiet voice.

Chapter 3 - we don't nEed anY events

The next day I walked with Shin to school as usual. Today we don't have any special announcements, so I'm guessing we don't have any new students, and we won't have to go to school early in the morning. "Wooooo!!" I shouted with relief.

"Ami, you look so happy. Did something happen that made you so energetic?"

"Not at all. It is just a normal day. So being excited about it is normal. Yay!!"

"You are saying the opposite of what people usually say." Shin commented.

I shook my head. “A normal day is very wonderful, y'know. We don't have to wake up early in the morning.”

"Oh, yeah. I suppose that's true." He agreed casually. "By the way, do you know why Faty was in the art room?" Shin asked, looking at me. Every time I talk to Shin, I feel he always looks directly into my eyes.

“Yeah, she forgot the paintbrush at school. She was there to try to find it. She said that the brush was blue and short."

"Oh, that's why she was there.” Shin nodded slowly in understanding. “But I thought that she usually uses a red, long paintbrush. I never saw a short blue one."

I tilted my head "Really? That's weird."

Just then, I realized that I only heard Faty's saying that she had discovered her paintbrush. We didn't actually see it. No, I'm being ridiculous. Maybe she just put it inside of her bag quickly.

"Anyway, did you have fun yesterday?" Shin asked.

"Of course! it's was so fun to talk with Jason." I said. But when I returned home from school, I could only think about the words Jason said to me yesterday.

"What is the most important thing to you?"

My most important thing. What comes to mind clearly is Shin. He is the most important person in the world to me. And when I think about it, my head starts to hurt a little bit, but not in a bad way.

"Hey. Ami. Are you all right?" Shin asked, waking me up from my daydreaming.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just zoned out."

"Really?" He asked with concern in his voice.

When I looked towards Shin, I noticed his face was close to mine. My heart skipped a beat. I could feel that my face was getting red.

"Ami! Your face is very red. Do you have a fever?"

"No!” I flustered. “It's just because, um… today is hot! That's all."

I ran to get far from Shin. Soon after he started running after me. When we arrived at school, we met with Jason and Faty at the same time.

Chapter 4 - you are the persOn who wants to know the truth.

For today's first class, we have math. I think that math is the worst subject in the world. That's because it is hard to understand and sometimes we mess up the calculations. So I'm going to sleep in that class. That's the best way to run away from math.

"WHY DO WE HAVE TO LEARN MATH!!!!!!!!" I yelled, slamming down my textbook.

"Hey Ami. Your voice is too loud." Jason said angrily to me.

"You can't say that! Your voice yesterday was louder than mine." I complained.

"What are you talking about? Are you joking?" He replied annoyingly. Suddenly Faty came into the classroom.

"Ami! Shin fainted!!" I was so surprised and I couldn't believe my ears. Jason opened his eyes widely.

"Faty. Are you for real?" I asked her to check what she said.

"Yes. Ami! Now he Is lying on a bed in the nurse's office.”

Even before she had finished her sentence, I started running to the nurse's office. While I was running in the hallway, I heard many teachers warning me not to run. But I didn't listen to them.

"Excuse me. Is Shin I here? “I asked the nurse． They directed me to the bed where Shin was sleeping. While the nurse and I were walking over, we started chatting. "Is Shin going to be ok?" I asked the nurse.

"Yes, he was just hit in the head with a ball. He will be fine."

When I heard that, I felt comfortable. After that Jason and Faty came to the nurse's office. They also asked how Shin was doing.

"Here he is.” The nurse said, pulling back the privacy curtain. ”I will go back to work now. If you have any trouble, call me."

"Ok thank you.", I said. That's when I saw the Shin. He looked like a dead man. My headache has started again. It hurt so badly. It was a pain that was incomparable to yesterday's one.

"Ouch. My heart is really hurting." I told them.

"Hey, are you feeling ok?" I could hear someone talking to me, but it was hard for me to answer. Then I passed out.

When I woke up, I felt forgotten memories rushing back to me. I suddenly knew why things felt so strange before. Faty and Jason were on either side of my bed.

"Oh, Ami! Are you all right?" They asked in unison.

"Yes, I'm fine." I replied.

They continued asking me questions. “But, Ami, you are crying. What happened to you?"

Then I realized that I was shedding a single tear.

"Faty, I'm already feeling better. So that's enough now."

I said, smiling at her.

"Ami? What are you talking about? I can't get what you are talking about…"

I looked straight into Faty's eyes. "We must leave from here."

A look of surprise crossed over her sad face. "Why do you know that? How do you know that we are not in the real world.”? Faty was almost crying. She was trying her best to hold back her tears. Then Jason came closer to her and added the words,

"Time is up, Faty. You don't have any more time. Stop using your ability."

I turned to face Jason. “Jason? Who are you?" I asked him. His mood changed instantly.

"I am the police for Humol." He answered in a serious tone. He gestured over to Faty. “This is a fake world that Faty made. All people in the real world can use some kind of special ability. And the people who make fake worlds call it “Humol”. Her specific ability is to show and control others' dreams. Also, Faty can go inside of people's dreams if she wants to. But if she goes there, she can't control what goes on within the dream.”

I thought carefully about everything that Jason was telling me. "So it means that Faty showed me a dream, and then she joined my dream." I explained out loud to myself. I turned to face Faty again. "Faty, why did you do that? Why did you make me dream about a school life where people don't have any abilities?"

At that moment, she started to cry, and she watched me carefully. "It's because your heart was almost broken. When Shin got in that car accident, you cried nonstop every day. And then one day, you said to me that you wanted to go to the place where Shin is. I was so scared that someday you were going to die."

Jason had been listening quietly to our conversation up until this point. "But you knew the rules. You can't use your own ability for personal reasons. It is crime."

She glared at him and said angrily. "I just want to save Ami! She likes Shin so much. So she couldn't undergo such feelings any longer. "

Jason and Faty were talking about me, but I could only think about Shin. I remembered the truth. Shin Karmas had already died in an accident. So actually, the Shin sleeping on the bed beside me is not the real one. He was just a man who Faty made up in my dream. After thinking through all of that, I took one last look at the fake Shin. I said to Faty and Jason. "Let's stop. Everyone. Please. As I said earlier, this is enough. Faty, I'm fine now." In that moment, she stopped talking and stared at me. "Really? Are you alright?" She came closer to me and held my shoulder to get a better look at my face. After a few moments, she sighed with relief. "Ah great, I'm so relieved. I'm so, so happy to hear that." After saying that, she walked to Jason and said, "You can arrest me now," with a smiling face. I thought that I had never seen such a beautiful smile before.

"Ok." Jason said curtly. After that, he put handcuffs on her.

"So, then… I guess this is it. Bye Ami. Bye Shin."

I couldn't find the right words to say ”Faty. Thank you so much for all of this. You did all of this for my sake." I walked to her and held her handcuffed hands. "Goodbye"

Then, in a flash, the world around us broke. There was a light shining so brightly that I couldn't open my eyes anymore. When I opened my eyes, I realized I was lying on a bed. I felt lonely. I remembered that I would never meet Faty and Shin again. When I realized that, I wept.

Chapter 5 - i need yoU

A few years later, I became an adult. Now, I can drink alcohol, and I have a driver's license. However, I'm still single. I have never been to a singles party and don't plan on ever going to one. I decided early on to never get married. I work as a designer now. So in that area I made my dreams come true.

This evening I'm at a dinner with my good acquaintance. His name is Jason. His job is still to police Humol. I met him when I was a high school student.

"Are you sure that you won't marry? I won't take care of you if you regret that choice" He chuckled.

Jason and I are at the bar in the restaurant. We are drinking wine. Jason chose a nice Cabernet Sauvignon. He said that this wine is easy to drink and the acidity is very nice.

"Oh. It is so yummy. I like this wine." I commented, ignoring his comments about getting married.

"See, I told you. I recommended this one a month ago, but you didn't try it!" He sighed, chugging down the last bit of wine in his glass.

"How is it going with Faty?" I asked, "Did you meet with her?"

"......Yes" He replied without emotion.

Because of the incident back in high school, Faty was immediately sent to jail. It was a crime to use our special abilities for our personal lives. We can only use them when we get in an accident. So that's why no one uses their abilities in the city.

"She said that she is doing very well. She doesn't feel so bad." He admitted.

"How long does she have to stay in jail?" I asked him, but he looked perplexed. And then he opened his mouth.

"Forever."

I stopped drinking wine. But soon, I continued drinking it. It was as I expected. But he kept on talking.

"People who break the law and use their abilities can never leave jail. They have to spend their whole life there." He recited the rules.

It's been a few years since she went to jail. However, no one ever said when she would be free, so she gave up on going back to her normal life.

He could tell that this was a sensitive topic so he stopped talking about the rules for my sake. Instead, he said, "Don't feel guilty. If you feel that way, you must stop thinking like that."

I smiled at him and said, "I don't think like that. I just feel thankful for her. But I've never felt guilty about anything." I knew that if I let myself feel guilty for what happened, Faty would feel bad.

"Oh, that's nice," Jason said. Then suddenly, he became silent.

"Hey man. Are you ok?" I asked with concern.

"Ami, do you have a grudge against me?" He said with a very heavy voice. When I looked at him, I could see that he was scared to know the answer.

"Not at all. Because you did the right thing. People praise you so much for the difficult job that you have to do. So you don't have to feel sorry for me."

He thought about what I said for a little while and then started to speak. "Thank you, Ami. Anyway, let's change the topic. How is your work? You are working as a designer, right? How are you feeling about that?"

I laughed at his serious nature. "This is starting to feel like an interview. I'm happy to have the job that I wished for."

During our dinner, we talked about a lot of things. For example, we discussed the complaints that we had about our jobs and what we did during our free time.

A few hours later we started getting boisterous. "My boss is so annoying. He doesn't have any hair. It serves him right!!" I said in a very loud voice with anger.

"Wait Ami, you should stop drinking alcohol. Drink some water."

"No! I want to drink wine! Or beer!!" I proclaimed.

Jason suggested drinking water, but for some reason, I was in the mood to drink some more alcohol. I had to drink it. On the way back home, I had to be piggybacked by Jason.

"Why do I have to bring you to your home?!" Jason said it like he was fed up with me.

"Sorry, Jason." I mumbled.

"That's why I told you to stop drinking alcohol." He warned.

I was drunk on all of the wine I had, so it was hard for me to stand and walk home. When he stopped talking, we fell into silence. Jason continued to carry me home. We were both silent. I felt a kind of sadness in that moment.

"I miss them." I said unexpectedly. He said nothing. He didn't have to ask who 'they' were.

"Yes. Me too." He added quietly.

I never thought that he would say such a thing. After that we didn't talk to each other. When we arrived at my house, Jason helped me down.

"Thank you, Jason."

"Have a good night." He replied. "Then I'll see you around." After saying that he turned around to leave my house.

I called after him. “Wait!"

Jason was surprised to hear that. He turned back immediately. "What? Is something wrong?"

"I want to visit a grave. Could you come with me?" I asked him.

He thought about my proposal for a minute. "Ok. Tomorrow I'm free. How about you.?"

I was so happy that Jason said it was ok. "Me too! I'm free then, too." With that, we agreed to meet up once again.

Chapter 6 - SEE YOU

The next day, we went to the graveyard. It was located kind of far away from the city where we lived. So we had to ride the train for almost two hours to get there.

"Now we have arrived at our destination," I said to Jason.

After a short walk, we found Shin's grave. I knelt down beside it. "Long time no see. Shin." I whispered to him.

After arriving, we got to work preparing Shin's grave. We put out a present for Shin, and then we cleaned his headstone.

"Why did you ask me to visit the grave with you?" Jason said, looking at me.

So I said, "I needed help to say goodbye to him. I wanted to talk with him. I know this is sudden, but could you go somewhere else for a minute? I want a moment alone with Shin." He didn't say anything but respected my wishes and left the grave. I started to talk with Shin.

"Hello, Shin. This is my first time seeing your grave. As I told Jason, today I came to say goodbye to you. Did you know I have loved you since I was a high school student? I think you didn't know that. Truthfully, I still love you. But I have to keep walking forward. Even though I won't forget you, I've decided that I will forget this feeling. Bye, Shin."

After saying this, Jason returned, and we left the graveyard together. I could see the flowers we went there as we walked away. I decided to live a full life by carrying the memories of my friends' lives. Shin and Faty would always be with me. I won't stop anymore.

Glossary of terms:

Incidents - an event or occurrence

Boisterous - noisy, energetic, and cheerful; rowdy

Grudge - a persistent feeling of ill will or resentment resulting from a past insult or injury

Glaring - giving out or reflecting a strong or dazzling light

Uncoordinated - badly organized; clumsy