"After losing a memory, thou shalt not trust—including yourself"
It may be a selfish thing to hold on to you, but I will never let go of you, even if it kills me...
Letting you go is the last thing I would do...
I will become someone else to protect you...
What was that? Why did she hear the voice of a boy, as if he were whispering to her? There was a trace of sadness in his voice.
selfish thing...
never let go...
last thing...
villain...
He continued to whisper.
She felt confused when she heard that voice. Astonishment and mixed emotions dominated her. She couldn't explain how she felt—like she wanted to laugh, cry, and shout, but was too tired to do any of it, so she just closed her eyes.
Wait, closed eyes.
As she tried to open her eyes, she immediately felt like she was electrocuted. Her vision was still a bit blurry, probably because of the dream that she had. Yes, it was just a bizarre dream, so she shouldn't worry about it.
W-What?! This astounded her to realize her current situation while sleeping. What is happening to me? Why can't I leave this post?
She moved her body, but something hit her hand. A glass. She looked around and observed the surroundings.
N-No! Why am I even here?
"Whaaaa!" she panicked in no time.
How the heck am I inside of this thing?
She was inside a capsule-like thing made of thick transparent glass, or rather, she was inside a glass capsule, sleeping in a standing position. It was big and wide enough to fit a person. And the capsule was floating to where she was now.
What shocked her more was what was outside! It seemed she was in... space? She could see the bluish-dark surroundings illuminated with brilliant white dots. As she turned to her right, there seemed to be a Milky Way.
No, no, no, no… What is going on? This is impossible!
She felt scared and greatly confused because she was floating in space inside a glass capsule. She slapped herself to see whether it was just a dream or not, but she was hurt, indicating that all of this was real.
She trembled while hitting and punching the glass. It was too thick, so nothing happened after all the effort she made. There was no knob or lock to open or close this thing. She took a deep breath to calm down because she knew no one could answer her questions, and nothing could be done if she panicked like this.
What was happening to her right now was shocking enough, but what surprised her even more was when she saw other people around her. She was not alone, floating in space, and sleeping inside a glass capsule. There were a lot of people forming a big circle. She noticed that some were still sound asleep, and others were awake, scared, and confused like her. They were equally puzzled by their condition.
A few minutes passed, and all of them were now awake. Some were shouting, crying, pounding their glass capsules, and some remained standing like her.
What's happening to all of us?
She counted how many of them were there. 1 ... 5 ... 9 ... 13 ... 17 ... 20 ... 23 ... plus me, 24.
***
"Congratulations to all junior high completers," our principal continued to speak.
All the fourth-year students in junior high school were gathered in the school's gymnasium for one of the most memorable events in their lives. The place was neatly decorated, with a ceremony and speeches from noteworthy students honed by the school. She could see some of her classmates, schoolmates from different sections, and teachers from various subjects.
This might not be an official high school graduation, but the happiness she felt was immeasurable. She sat wearing her usual school uniform while holding her certificate, proof that she had graduated from junior high school. Listening to what the principal was currently saying was indeed motivational. Finally, she had finished four years of junior high school life, and there were two more years for senior high.
This ceremony represented that she was one step closer to her dream of graduating from college soon. Because she was fond of her school, before she officially left, she promised she would make a name for it—a memory that would last long. She wished to be recognized in the field of arts, specifically drawing, so that she, her family, and her friends would be proud.
That's right! She could draw, and she was currently exploring the world of painting to expand her artistic skills and try other mediums. She was an amateur student artist who hadn't proven anything yet. She was not a professional because, aside from doing it as a form of hobby, she was just starting to explore more and hone the talent she had. She usually did this stuff during her free time, which brought her joy.
As she loved drawing, she put it to good use by making something. It was kind of embarrassing, but she was still writing an ongoing story and making it into comics. No one had read it yet. She had no idea why she was suddenly interested in writing. She never mentioned it to her family or friends, but she hoped one day she could share it with them. And the title of the story for the comics she was making was... Oh, what was it again?
"Let's take a picture!"
She heard a woman's voice that brought her back to her senses. The woman seems like she was in her mid-40s. She saw the woman looking at her, or so it seemed, because she was smiling at her.
Who was she? She even pointed at herself to see if the woman was calling her, just to confirm it, and the woman nodded, so she approached her. She did not realize that the ceremony had just ended. Students with their parents left the gymnasium and went outside to take pictures with their friends and families.
"Say, cheese!" beamed a boy who seemed just a little older than her and was holding a phone for a group picture of the three of them. He was with the woman from earlier.
The woman hugged her and had a wide smile, looking at the cellphone's camera. She turned to the woman. "Look," said the woman, and peeked at the camera held by the boy.
"Why aren't you smiling? Stop being a killjoy," the boy sulked and scratched his head.
"One more," the woman ordered him to take a picture of just the two of them. "Smile!" She forced herself to smile out of confusion. The woman kissed her on her left cheek. "Your brother and I will treat you later."
The boy called her. She just looked at the camera and smiled again without thinking about why.
"My turn!" he exclaimed and stood next to her immediately. He whispered to her before the woman pressed the phone's camera shutter. "I'm proud of you. How fast time flies, huh? It felt like it was yesterday I was studying here and was this school's former athlete. Now, look at you! But you still have two more years to go before college, haha!" he added excitedly.
She did not understand what he was saying, so she frowned and just stared at the camera again. The two continued to talk while she was still wondering what was happening. After the picture, some students were looking at her and seemed to be calling her.
"Come on, let's take a picture of our class at the gazebo!" a certain boy wearing a uniform called out.
To her recollection, he was her classmate. Apart from the fact that he said they would take a picture of their class section, it looked like he was.
"All right. We'll wait for you there," the woman stated and left with the boy that she mentioned was her brother.
If he were her brother, why couldn't she even remember having one? If he were her brother, then wasn't she supposed to be her mother? But the faces of the two weren't even familiar to her.
She followed her classmates who were shouting and talking. She noticed a girl approach her; she knew her.