River of Stars

Chapter 12 - To Find You

...

Nishikata opened his eyes, and he didn't notice much change, because all was dark around him. He raised his head, but he saw nothing, he didn't see his arms or hands, his feet, he saw no sky nor ground, it was pitch dark all around him.

But he felt something. On his hands, his wrists. Something held them, something hard and cold. He tried to move, but whatever was on his wrists wouldn't let him walk any further, and as he tried to do so, he heard a loud clank. That felt familiar. But there was something else. Far off in the distance, ever so softly, he heard another clank.

Then, he felt a pull by his wrists, and despite his struggle, the pull dragged him backwards through that invisible ground where he stood. He felt a pressure in his right pointing finger, and that also felt familiar. A small and weak pull, contrary to whatever was dragging him. But this time he perceived that pull more clearly. It felt like something was tied around his finger in a lace, and it pulled it briefly before something snapped, and the pressure there stopped.

Then he felt another pull, on his left pinkie, but it also went away rapidly, with another snap, leaving only something wrapped around it. But with each snap, Nishikata felt a horrible sensation inside of him. He felt a third pressure on his right middle finger, but he concentrated on it. He couldn't let it snap. On his right pinkie, his left thumb, no matter what, the pulls of those laces around his fingers, he wouldn't let them go away.

The pull on his wrists got stronger, and it pulled him backwards rapidly across the invisible floor, but Nishikata fought not against it. He still felt the pulls on his fingers, weak and fragile, and all that mattered was that they stayed there.

Then it stopped. Nishikata was left on the floor, no more pull on his wrists, no sound of metal, nothing. He got up, and he looked around him, and still he saw nothing.

Then suddenly, he saw something. In his hands, a glow appeared. A ring appeared around his right middle finger. No! Not a ring, a knot. A dimly glowing golden knot, made of a golden string. A string that went from the knot on his finger and fell to the floor, extending itself far away in that pitch dark void. Then, another string appeared, tied to his right pinkie, and it followed the same way as the first. Then, another, coming from his left thumb, and more and more strings appeared, coming from each one of his fingers, except from his right pointing finger and his left pinkie. There was still a golden knot on those two, but the strings coming from them seemed to have been cut off.

Nishikata felt something inside of him looking at those strings. Happiness, peace, even nostalgia, but he also felt a sense of responsibility and fragility. He started walking in that direction, taking the strings as guides, showing him where to go.

Nishikata couldn't tell for how long he walked, it seemed to be for a long time. But at some point, something appeared in front of him. A large line, in the distance glowing silver on the ground, and he couldn't see neither where it started nor ended. He continued to follow the golden strings running from his fingers, and they led to the border of that thick line. There, he could see that it was made of several glowing white spots, running from one side to the other, disappearing in the distance.

Nishikata looked up, the strings from his fingers crossed over that line and went to the other side. But there he saw something else, he could finally see where those strings led. On the other side of that glowing river, another person stood, or at least it seemed to be a person. He could see only their hands, for there were golden laces around their fingers, and the strings that ran from those laces were the same that ran from his own.

...

Nishikata opened his eyes. There was a wooden ceiling above him. He lifted his body. He was sitting on his bed, in his bedroom. His study desk had several books on it, along with a Kyunko funko and a frame with a Christmas photo of him and Takagi, and another photo with them laughing was pinned to the board above his desk.