Live in Every Moment Like it was your Last

Chapter 3: The Mysterious Stranger

???: "Hello there, you must be (Y/N)..! It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person..!" The stranger's smile was warm and inviting, however you never had trusted anyone...

"Who are you...?"

???: "Wow, you don't recognize me? Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since you forgot who you were as well anyway..."

"Wh-What? How do you mean? What do you mean by that?"

???: "So it was true... What he said about you was true..."

"What who said about me?! What are you talking about?!"

The hooded figure seemed very uneasy from your shouting, but they didn't falter their words as the figure stands, feeling your body stand in the same motions as it...

???: "Look at your clothes, then look at mine..."

As the figure prompts it, you follow the order, noticing that the clothes both of you are wearing are the exact same...

"O-Ok, so what does this have to do with you being close to me and you being with me...?"

???: "My God, am I really like this..? An oblivious, stubborn boy that apparently can't see the obvious..? Welp, this is going to be a big shock to you then..."

Your eyes, glazed with curiousity, watch the hooded figure slowly pull the hood back, their face slowly coming into view... The face that you can see... Is none other than your own...

"Wh-What the fuck? What is this, some kind of game you're playing?! Who the fuck are you?!"

???: "Ahh, just as stubborn as I thought. You still can't accept this supposed doppelganger standing before you, yet you are looking at the truth!"

Your eyes begin to widen slightly, and anger sets in with you..

"What the fuck do you mean?! You are just impersonating me!"

???: "Actually look with your eyes and your black fucking heart for a fucking second! Look at me!"

After the figure shouts at you, you cower a little and decide to do as it says, staring into the figure's eyes with your own and understand it through your heart, gazing deep into the figure's subconscious...  And finding past, forgotten, and shattered memories...

???: "You have forgotten who you are... The person you see before you is you... The true you... The one you used to be... Before everything happened..."

"So, what I'm seeing right now... Is memories of my past that I have forgotten...?"

???: "That is correct..."

"S-So, y-you are..."

???: "You... Yes, I am you... The true you... The you that you should be..."

Your mind seems to throb as you take in this information...

Th-the figure before me... It was me all along..?

"S-So... What does my soul look like...? The soul I own currently..."

The figure shudders a little, puts the hood back over its head, and pulls it back down after a moment, the face cracking and small fragments falling, the face looking like it's made of ceramic...

You can't help but cry a little, the realization almost too much to bear...

???: "This form of you, however, is temporary, unless you stay this way... The only way to reverse your form back to the true you is to accept the truth and let it fill you..."

Your gaze affixes itself to the figure and you slowly nod, slowly closing your eyes, accepting the light-hearted thoughts, memories, and the light you truly bear...

It is time to awaken now...

Your eyes slowly open to see a room surrounded in white... Your vision slowly adjusts before seeing where you are.. You are in a hospital bed, an IV to your right and a heart rate monitor to your left.. A figure to your right still seems blurry, but it's close...

???: "Thank goodness! You're awake!"

The figure hugs you, and your vision adjusts even more, seeing the figure better... After it pulls away, you can see the face fully... It's the face of your mother... Tears of joy roll down her eyes as she hugs you again and cries into your shoulder...

Mother: "I-I thought we w-wouldn't be able to see you again!"

After a moment, you slowly hug her back, your eyes welling up with tears of its own...

"H-Heh... Well, you are able to now..."

She sobs softly and gets off of you...

Mother: "My poor, poor baby... I'm so sorry all of this happened to you..."

"It's ok... S-So, how long was I out...?"

Your mother seems uneasy with your question as she looks away and whispers the answer...

Mother: "A-A full year..."

Your eyes widen and tears of sadness roll down...

"Wh-Why was I out for so long..?"

Mother: "Y-You had gotten into a nasty car crash and... Well... A lot of things happened while you were out..."

"S-Spare me the details..."

Mother: "O-Ok... Well, the only thing we can do is wait for you to fully recover..."

"And that will take...?"

Mother: "About a month..."

You take the answer lightly and softly nod, a small smile forming...

"So, did I lose anything..."

Mother: "....."

"Mom?"

Mother: "You... You're paralyzed now... Unable to walk anymore..."

You see the sadness in her eyes as you try to move around, unable to feel your legs. More tears well up, but you smile and laugh it off...

"H-Heh... Well, I guess I now have an excuse to use the elevator at school, don't I? Eheh..."

She giggles a little, covering her mouth to muffle the laughs...

Mother: "I love you..."

"I love you too..."

Mother: "I have to go now.. I'll be sure to come and visit you every single day after I get off work, ok?"

"Heh, ok..."

She smiles, gets up off the bed, and walks away, turning and smiling at you before she disappears from view... Over the next month, she did as she had said, visiting you every single day and checking up on you, giving you updates little by little every time... You had finally gotten your true feelings back, and soon, it'll be time to face the new world for what it is...