Oikawa Last Wish/Wishes

Part 6

15 minutes until the next train arrives.

“ Guide?” Iwaizumi raised a brow, “That’s a weird name.”

“It’s foreign,” Guide responded, shrugging. Iwaizumi didn’t believe him one bit but chose not to say anything.

He, instead, looked around again at the strange surroundings and the unlively people, noticing how their earlier conversation which he was sure was too loud in public did nothing to elicit any form of response from them. 

Yes, it was definitely weird. “Where am I exactly?”

"A train station.” Guide replied unhelpfully. Iwaizumi wanted to roll his eyes but he was too decent to do it. Instead, he sighed, “I can see that. But I don’t know what I’m doing here.”

Guide hummed his response and then turned to him with a curious expression, “How old are you?”

The question seemed simple, but Iwaizumi thought hard and long as he couldn’t seem to remember exactly. In the end, he only gave a ballpark figure which was stupid considering it was his age, “Thirty-seven, I think?” to which Guide’s eyes widened in surprise and a bit of gloom, “You’re too early. Are you really supposed to be here?” 

He sounded concerned… really concerned. 

“I don’t even know where here is exactly. And you seem to be so keen on not telling me either.”

Guide blinked at him then chuckled blankly, carding through his fringes before turning to him with an intense gaze, “I’m not allowed to tell you until I know you’re here to ride the train.”

“Why is that?”

“Because some people are not supposed to be here.” He responded.

The situation was getting on his nerves—he was confused and the only man who was talking to him was speaking in riddles, but he maintained his calm, “I don’t know what you mean by that. How would I know if I’m supposed to ride the train? Isn’t that the only way I could go home?”

Guide frowned, his brown eyes getting darker and Iwaizumi began to wonder where he saw those eyes before but dismissed the thought as soon as it came. “Well, just check if you have a ticket.” he said a little too impatiently, “Check your pocket. You must have hidden it somewhere.”

Iwaizumi didn’t understand what he was trying to imply because he definitely doesn’t remember buying any form of a ticket but the look on the man’s face convinced him to check his pockets.

He dug on the pockets of his pants and felt nothing; he checked his coat and gasped when he felt a single smooth piece of paper inside his left pocket.

He stared blankly at the train ticket he pulled out from his pocket. Wide eyes turning to Guide’s brown, sullen ones and he couldn’t mistake the sadness he saw.

He looked down at the ticket again—it wasn’t the typical ticket, too. There was no logo of the train company, no time of departure and arrival… not even a destination. Only two words were written on it bold, black letters:

ONE WAY.

The words intimidated him and the promise of not returning somehow formed a lump at the back of his throat. He didn’t know why it felt like that because he could just walk out now and go home to his family… to his  wife whom he couldn’t even remember.

Guide sighed and sat down on the bench he was sleeping on earlier. He gazed up at Iwaizumi, his somber expression unwavering and he felt like reaching out to him but he didn’t because despite being nice, Guide was still a stranger.

And yet, there was a voice inside his head telling him he knew the guy somewhere… that he was familiar because he knew him somewhere, he couldn’t remember. Like he belonged to a piece of his past that was slowly fading away.

Guide turned to the people waiting by the train, particularly at an elderly couple who sat silently beside one another. They were not talking to each other, but the man was cupping his wife’s hand like it was made of gold. “They came here a few days before you did. They came one right before the other. Isn’t that sweet?”

Iwaizumi blinked, unsure what to make of it. It was impossible for people to be allowed to stay in a train station for days, “Why don’t they just board the train?”

Guide shrugged, “Who knows? Maybe they’re not ready yet to forget. Once you board the train, that’s it. You lose memories instantly. And some of them are too precious for people to throw away.” Iwaizumi thought he wasn’t making any sense. He then, turned to one girl standing very near the edge of the platform, looking lost, “Suicide.” He said as casually as possible.

What? Iwaizumi turned to him who was still looking at the girl. “What suicide? You mean she attempted to kill herself?”

“No.” He replied softly, “She did succeed. Now she’s here.”

That was the last straw. Iwaizumi glared at Guide and hissed, “What are you saying? I don’t understand!” He was already raising his voice but Guide wasn’t paying any attention. He was roll calling the people by the train station like it was totally normal: the man on the corner drowned, the woman looking lost sitting on the bench on the far right died of childbirth.

These things didn’t make any sense in Iwaizumi’s head and he felt tremendous fear at the implication of these facts… If they hold true. What does that mean of me?

Before he realized it, he was already biting down his lower lip and clenching his fists stubbornly to the side. “Stop it. Stop. STOP.”

Guide paused, and gave him a quiet smile, “Okay.” Iwaizumi didn’t even realize he was crying until he had to wipe his tears before they fell. His senses went into an overdrive because he can’t possibly be… no, he was just lost. This wasn’t real. 

Iwaizumi was on the verge of a panic attack and he tried to calm himself through deep, unsteady breaths. When he finally calmed down, he asked, “So, does this mean… I died?” He didn't want to believe it. The notion itself was stupid... but the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became.

There was no lie in the man’s eyes as he regarded him with a solemn look before he tapped the empty space beside him, gesturing for him to take it, which he did. There was something oddly comforting in the person’s presence and their bodies fit like two missing pieces in a puzzle.

It was the man’s presence that ultimately calmed him down. Everything still didn’t make sense, but there was something in the place that stopped him from freaking out. When he asked Guide about it, he shrugged and simply said, “Yeah, it does that.”

As if this was completely within logical reasons. Guide sighed, “Stay too long and you begin to...forget things.”

“Why is that?”

“Otherwise, your soul remembers and you would be in so much pain, you wouldn’t want to move on.”

As if right on cue, the girl who died from suicide screamed in pain. She picked herself up and began rushing towards the two of them. Guide put himself between him and the girl, “Careful. Don’t let her touch you.”

Iwaizumi watched as the girl rushed downstairs, listened as her wails faded into nothing. Guide smiled sadly, “She’ll be back.”