"𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐦 𝐈? 𝐀𝐡, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞."
-𝐿𝑒𝑤𝑖𝑠 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑙, 𝐴𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑊𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑
Being the Arisu's little sister had never really been a blessing. Stuck after the pride and t...
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Your hands shake as you grip the closet handle. The worry of being left in the middle of the night with a little girl pushed back your stupor enough to allow you to find an apartment where you could spend the night. But now, the memories of the night replay in your head like a fever dream. Part of your brain refuses to accept this as reality. But deep down, you know it's true.
Your brain is racing as you review products without really paying attention.
The night is pitch black without the light of the street lamps. Only the glow of the Moon illuminates the kitchen worktop. Despite the heat, you shiver. It's too much emotion hitting you at the same time. Too many to handle. Then your body enters a sort of lethargy where everything gives you the feeling of being on autopilot.
You take out a can of fruit syrup, one of the only ones still closed and therefore edible. You grab one spoon and join Soraya on the couch.
The little girl stands up when she sees you approach and gives you a beaming smile. You don't know how to respond to her good mood. Her smile further reinforces the gap between what your brain is able to process and what is at stake.
Soraya doesn't get offended when you don't return her smile. She picks up the can to open it while you grab your notepad. Normally, you would never let a little girl open a can on her own at the risk of cutting herself, but now you barely bat an eyelid at her resourcefulness.
"Go ahead," she said with her mouth full of fruit. "You must have lots of questions in your head."
Soraya seems like a fairly mature child for her age. She already knows how to read and has good control over her emotions. However, you don't know how far her abilities go. For that you will have to test.
"Are you here since a long time?"
Given the attitude of the other players, it seems unlikely that everyone arrived at the same time as you.
"A week, I think. I was lucky to come across easy games and nice ladies."
You're less surprised than confused. How come only you have just arrived?
"Where were you when everyone disappeared?"
"At the hospital," she replies, licking her fingers. "With a lady who wanted to talk to me about my problems. A psycho-something. She went to get some water and left me alone. Then there were fireworks, and the lights went out. That's all."
She tells you all this with a detached air as if it were a banal story. The fruits in syrup seem to absorb her attention. You decide not to delve any further into her history and stick to the present.
So she also saw, or at least heard, the fireworks... There is no hospital near the convenience store. That's a big coincidence.
