The clock on the wall reads 11:47 p.m.
Six hours and seventeen minutes since Kiyomi waved goodbye with that bright, careless smile.
I've been sitting on the same spot on the couch the whole time, phone in hand, pretending to watch videos but really just staring at the lock screen (a photo of us at last year's festival, her sticking her tongue out, me trying not to laugh).The apartment is too quiet.
Every creak of the building makes my heart jump.
At 11:52 the phone rings.
Unknown number.
I answer on the first ring.
Me
Hello?
A woman's voice, calm, professional, and somehow still gentle.
Woman
Good evening. Is this the residence of Kiyomi ███████?My stomach drops.
Me (voice already shaking)
Yes… this is her brother.
Is she okay?
A pause that lasts a thousand years.
Woman
Sir, this is Officer Satō from ███ Police Station.
We've recovered a body matching your sister's description.
Female, seventeen years old, wearing a blue dress…
We need a family member to come in for formal identification.
The room tilts.
Me
No…
No, that's not—
She just went on a date—
She was supposed to be home by eleven—Officer
I'm very sorry, sir.
Please come as soon as you can.
I don't remember hanging up.
I don't remember grabbing my keys or shoes.
I only remember running.
The night air is freezing, but I'm sweating.
Every streetlight blurs into streaks of white and red.
I run until my lungs burn, until my legs scream, until I reach the police station and almost collapse against the glass doors.
They lead me through corridors that smell of disinfectant and old coffee.
My hands won't stop shaking.
They stop in front of a window.
A sheet-covered shape on a metal table.
An officer pulls the sheet back just enough.
Blue dress.
Silver hair clip.
The same one I gave her last birthday.
Her eyes are open.
Staring at nothing.
A sound comes out of me I've never heard before.
High, broken, inhuman.
I scream her name until my throat tears.
Then I'm on the floor, sobbing so hard I can't breathe, fingers clawing at the cold tile like I can dig my way back to six hours ago.
Someone tries to help me up.
I can't stand.
The world narrows to the sound of my own heartbeat and the sight of her face frozen forever in that gentle, surprised expression.
Everything after that is white noise.
Hands on my shoulders.
Voices saying words like "shock" and "family member" and "we're sorry."
I don't feel the floor when I fall.
I only feel the moment the world ends.
Kiyomi is gone.
And I was waiting at home like an idiot while someone took her from me.
The last thing I see before everything goes black is her open eyes.
Still waiting for me to save her.
I failed.
Again.
Again?
Why it does feel like it already happened?
The scenario went black