***Tokyo – First Day***
The noise of Tokyo was unlike the silence of Alaska. Here, the sound wasn't hidden; it came at you. Lila paused for a moment as she stepped out of the subway. The crowd was directionless but determined.
—It's easy to get lost here, she said to herself.
This sentence wasn't a fear, but an observation.
Face to Face with Hiro
Hiro Tanaka sat in a small, simple office. The windows were frosted, the desk neatly arranged.
—Since you've come, you haven't given up, he said. —I don't know how to give up.
Hiro lowered his head.
—That's not a good trait.
—But it's necessary.
Hiro opened the file.
—Your sister…or the person you're looking for… has consciously erased their tracks. This isn't escape. It's a choice.
Lila's voice hardened.
—To make a choice, you need to know. —Some people choose without knowing.
This answer angered Lila.
— You don't know him. — You don't know him either.
Silence created the first crack.
***Diary – 6***
"Empiezo a discutir con todos. Quizás el problema soy yo."
Sandra – Intervention
Sandra no longer waited. She acted directly.
She remotely accessed Billy's computer. The system sounded an alarm, but Sandra ignored it.
— Lila, she murmured. — I'll stop you.
This wasn't a threat, it was her job description.
Billy and Sandra – The First Open Fight
— What are you doing in my accounts? — In your lies.
Billy raised his voice.
— This isn't your business! — My marriage.
Sandra's eyes filled with tears, but her voice didn't tremble.
— You're choosing him. — I'm not choosing anyone. — Not choosing is also a choice.
This sentence cemented the distance between them.
Lila – Border Violation
The police check in Tokyo was unexpected. They asked for her passport a second time.
—Is there a problem? —Routine.
That word angered Lila.
—Everyone is paying attention to me. But no one is telling me why.
The officer avoided eye contact.
—Please calm down.
Lila was not calm.
***Diary – 7***
"Me están observando. No sé quién, pero lo siento."
This line bordered on paranoia.
Ashley and Lila – Conflict
—You should go slower, said Ashley. —If I slow down, I'll stop. —Stopping is sometimes good. —You can stop. I can't.
Ashley raised her voice for the first time.
—You'll set everyone on fire like this!
Lila didn't answer. This was not acceptance. It was exhaustion.
Sandra – Direct Contact
Sandra sent a message.
Sandra: "Quit this. Or you'll face the consequences."
Lila looked at the screen. She smiled. But it was a cold smile.
—You're too late, she said.
***Diary – 8***
"Ahora la lucha es abierta. Ya no es solo interna." (The fight is now open. It's not just inside anymore.)
---Closing---
The night was heavy in Tokyo. Even the neon lights couldn't dispel the darkness.
Lila closed her notebook.
—They won't be able to stop me.
But as she said this, she doubted herself for the first time.
The cracks were growing.
*****
---Sandra's Move---
Sandra had prepared this not like a police report, but like a personal threat file. She was surprised that her hand didn't tremble as she wrote Lila's name. The real trembling came when she signed.
"This woman," Sandra said, pushing the file on the table toward Billy, "is sabotaging an active investigation."
Billy replied without looking up.
"No. She's just bothering you."
Sandra smiled. It was a smile Lila had seen on some students in class years ago: the serenity of an undetected intention.
"I've removed her from the system," Sandra said calmly. "Flight records, passport access, health access. She's officially gone."
Billy jumped to his feet.
"You can't do that!"
"I did."
This move reached Lila two days later.
In Tokyo, one morning when she entered the clinic, the attendant looked at the screen, then at Lila.
"I'm sorry… your record isn't showing up."
"What do you mean?"
"You don't have insurance. Passport verification failed."
Lila's knees trembled as she walked out. She pulled out her phone and called Billy.
"Did you do something?" she asked, unable to hide the tremor in her voice.
There was a long silence.
"Yes," Billy said finally. "But not me."
That night, Lila felt truly hurt for the first time. Not physically. Existentially.
She wrote in her diary:
"No existo en ningún sistema. Tal vez nunca existí." (I am not in any system. Perhaps I never existed.)
Opening the Diaries
Ashley saw the diary as she packed Lila's bag. Brown, worn. An open page.
She didn't want to read it. She really didn't.
But her eyes caught the first line:
"Tengo miedo de encontrarla." (I'm afraid of finding her.)
Ashley stopped.
She could have closed the page. She didn't.
Her face paled as she read. Lila saw her self-hatred, her guilt, her dark thoughts about Sandra, even the suspicions written about Billy.
She gasped at the last line:
"Si ella aparece, yo desaparezco." (If she appears, I disappear.)
When Lila entered the room, Ashley was holding the diary.
"Did you read it?" Lila asked.
Ashley looked up. Her eyes were filled with tears.
"Yes."
At that moment, everything in the room shattered.
"You had no right to do this!" Lila screamed.
"No one has the right to see you like this!" Ashley retorted.
Silence fell.
This silence announced the end of their former friendship.
Lila took her diary back. Her hands wouldn't stop trembling.
"Ahora saben lo peor de mí."
(Now they know the worst in me.)
And for the first time, she wrote:
"Tal vez Sandra tenía razón." (Perhaps Sandra was right.)