ALiVE (KHR Fanfic)

4. Fall

4. Fall

"Sae, Sui, Mama Lula!" I called, standing at the front door with a pack of lunch boxes. It was early spring, and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. or the sake of seasonal tradition, we were headed out for flower viewing. "Are you guys ready to go?"

As if on cue, the twins charged out the door, skipping at each step. "Wait, Rei-chan!" Sae ran ahead of her younger sister, a bright smile on her face as she headed toward me. Meanwhile, Sui was helping Mama Luna with holding a basket of thermos bottles as Mama Luna locked up. 

I held Sae's hand and Mama Luna held Sui's hand as the four of us headed toward Namimori Park, chatting about random things. 

"Red man, green man-" Sae chanted over and over again as we waited for the traffic lights to change, "Green man, green man, red man, green man-"

I chuckled. Sae's black hair is put up in twin tail's today, I noticed. Like that vocaloid with teal hair-- I stopped myself. What's a vocaloid?

I gritted my teeth. Again, I growled, careful not to say it out loud, these weird recollections of things that probably don't exist.

"Rei?" Sae spoke up. "The green man's here."

I snapped out of it. The light was green. Quickly, I gave my sister a dry chuckle. "Sorry, I was daydreaming!" I made up an excuse that wasn't far from the truth. "Let's go."

Rushing them so they wouldn't ask questions, I led Sae across the road. Sae, brushing ff my earlier behavior, ran ahead of me, dragging me along instead of the other way around.

"Hey, Sae, not so fast or you'll tri--"

Roughly, I tugged her back. I pulled her behind me just in time to avoid a zooming motorbike that nearly blew me off my feet. Sae screamed, and when she'd realized what had nearly happened, she began crying.

I quickly wrapped her in my arms, trying to soothe her. I looked towards the bike which had gone a well distance beyond us now. It was too far away for me to catch the number plate, and I cursed mentally at that.

"Oh god," I heard Mama Luna gasp as she rushed over to us, "My god," putting the basket on the ground and checking for injuries, "Are you okay?"

Realizing we were still in the middle of the road, I picked up Sae with one arm and ran to the sidewalk. Mama Luna, catching my drift, took Sui's hand and the basket and made her way over too. 

Sae was sniffling and wailing into my chest, and I could do nothing but hold her, rubbing soothing circles around her back for the littlest comfort I could give her. 

Mama Luna watched closely, her face stained with worry and concern. I turned to Sui. She hadn't spoken a single word, and now I knew the reason. She was frozen in shock. There were no tears, but she was clearly freaked out; scared.

I put down the lunch boxes and signaled for the youngest to come over. Complying obediently, she took small, hesitant steps forward, then dove into me.

"It's okay," I whispered to them, "It's all okay." They both clung deeper in for some reason. After thinking a long time for what to say, I decided to assure them. "Rei-chan's here."

The first to look up was Sae. "Really?" she asked, her voice muffled by her running nose and her eyes dripping with tears.

"Promise?" Sui added, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.

I laughed at that. "Yep, and Mama Lula's here too." I patted them both on the head. "We'll both be here forever."

Well, maybe not forever, but hopefully, long enough.

-----

Now, we ran. Playing chase. Thankfully, the incident seemed to have drifted to the back of their minds, and they laughed, like the children they were.

Huh? am I running?

Suddenly realizing the fact, I stopped short. I looked around. We had somehow wandered into a more isolated part of the park, near an empty road and away from the center, a place where there was nothing. A plain.

"Sae, Sui!" I called out to the girls in the distance, "Let's go back to where Mama Lula is!"

They didn't hear me. They were still running, headed towards the woods.

I've to run after them.

But the first step I took was met with a strangely familiar pang of pain. My breath stuck in my throat and no sound came from my mouth. I fell to my knees and couldn't get up.

I tried to take a breath, but the strength to gather oxygen didn't muster. I stayed on the ground, hacking and coughing. My lungs were agony, and tears unintentionally welled up in my eyes at the strain.

What was this?

"Rei!" A voice broke through my thoughts.

That was when I realized how blurry my vision was. Black shadows filled my view as I lifted my head to discern the owner of the voice. I saw Mama Lula.

Sae and Sui were standing around too, along with an older man I didn't recognize. I tried to speak, but I erupted into a coughing fit.

"Rei?!?"

"Ambulance! Call an ambulance!"