Year: 2018
Location: Hallow Lake, Fairyland
It’s too early to make any hasty moves. A blatant approach is too risky. Right now, I still don’t know how far Bianca’s fangs have sunk into the people here and just how far her eyes reach. At this point, I need to be extra careful and suspect that everyone here is my enemy.
For now, I need to get to know these two Servants better. Only once we become friends will they even consider helping me… at least, that’s what I think.
“S-sorry, it’s not like I’m trying to be mean or anything…” I awkwardly respond to Gwenllian’s query, nervously scratching the back of my head. “In fact, I’d like it if we could get along from now on.”
“Oh? Well, in that case, say no more! Now that you’re here, it means we’re already friends.” She cheers, slapping me amicably on the back with a little too much force. “If there’s anything you need to feel at home, just leave it to your Big Sis, here. I can immediately answer any questions you might have about this world.”
“R-really?” I raise my voice and brow. “In that case, there are some things I’m curious about. For example, how is the government of this world?”
“I have absolutely no idea!”
“… eh? You don’t know …?”
“But I did immediately answer, didn’t I? Ohohoho~” She laughs proudly, folding her arms in abject majesty.
Ah, I see. So, this woman is an idiot. I understand how utterly useless she is now.
“Oh, um, I’d like to get along with you too, Scylla.” I remember to mention, turning to the girl sitting next to me.
In response, she merely shrugs, keeping her own face titled away.
“Meh. Whatever.”
It seems she isn’t the friendly type. Well, I can’t say I really have a problem with it, but it does make things more troublesome for me.
One Servant is overly friendly and the other one is cold as ice. Thinking about it like that, I really begin to wonder whether or not I can actually convince these two to become my allies.
“So, Ben. Do you have any plans for today?” Gwenllian suddenly asks with a grin.
“Huh? N-no, not really. I just thought I’d go around and greet everyone.” I answer honestly.
“In that case, you don’t mind hanging out with us today, do you? Since we’re friends now.” She proposes energetically.
“O-okay? But what do you have in mind?” I wonder, not sure where she’s going with this.
“Well, about that…” Gwenllian smirks a little before elegantly circling to my back. “How about… this! Teyyaaa!!”
“Eh?”
Before I even realize it, Gwenllian gently shoves me from the back, pushing me right off the docks and into the water.
“What the blubububuuuaglagjk!” My scream is quickly cut off as I topple into the crystal-clear lake. Before I can even catch myself, I begin sinking straight to the bottom.
“Ohoho, nothing beats a nice cool swim on a day like this, right? I’m sure you don’t have such nice clean water where you came from, so take your time and play around today.” Gwenllian decrees magnanimously.
Seemingly satisfied with her fun little prank, she stands over the docks with an expectant smile, waiting for some sort of amusing reaction from her poor victim.
Yet, for some reason, even after almost a minute of expectation, the only thing that rises up from the water is a flurry of bubbles on the surface and the occasional violent splash. How strange. Normally, wouldn’t a person have swum back up to the surface by now? In fact, from where she was standing, it almost looked like the boy she pushed into the lake was drowning…
“… eh?” She gasps at last. “Could it be that you can’t swim, Ben?”
“No, duh, you idiot!!” I shout back as I finally manage to claw my way back to the surface of the water.
I channel my anger into my limbs as I thrash them about wildly underneath the water, doing whatever I can to somehow keep my head above the surface. At the same time, I violently cough up the water caught in my throat and nostrils in between desperate gasps of air.
Geez, what the hell was that for, throwing me into the water all of a sudden? Well, I’m sure she didn’t mean anything nefarious by it, but it still makes me rather annoyed.
“Haah… good grief.” Scylla sighs, watching my pathetic excuse for floating.
Then, with an exasperated expression, she pushes herself off the docks and onto the water. Surprisingly though, she doesn’t sink in and float like I did, but instead her feet stop on the surface.
“Come on, stop flopping like a fish. You won’t drown as long as I’m around.” She states calmly as she stands on top of the lake, right next to me. Then, in one clean swoop, she grabs the back of my shirt and pulls me out of the water.
“Huh? O-oh. Thanks.” I thank her and quickly stop resisting
“Don’t mention it. I can’t be having people drowning in my territory.” She says without any clear emotion.
Without another word, she drags me back to the docks in a weird image where she’s standing on top of the water while I’m being pulled along with half my body still submerged. It feels almost too surreal to believe, if I didn’t already know her identity. I guess it makes sense for a nymph to be unimpeded by the waters.
Soon enough, I’m dragged back to the dock and I flop pathetically onto it, feeling mighty thankful for its nice, solid state.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry about that, Ben. I had no idea you couldn’t swim.” Gwenllian quickly apologizes, the moment I’m out of the water. Putting her hands together, she bows sharply, seeming to be quite sincerely apologetic for her good.
“Haah… haah… it’s fine. I guess it’s not that big of a deal.” I respond in between my gasps. Now that I’m safe and sound, my anger quickly fades and I’m able to brush off the little prank. “It’s not like I have a problem with the water or anything; I just don’t know how to swim.”
“Oh, really? Did no one ever teach you?” Gwenllian asks
“Well, I guess you could say that…” I nod shamefully.
It’s not really that I never had the opportunity to learn or anything. It’s more that I never cared about it before. Far as I gave a shit, there was never a reason for me to go to the pool or anything, so I never bothered learning how to swim. Though, thinking about it, I’m a little surprised Chaldea never included it in the combat training. Maybe they thought it wasn’t worth the time and effort? Who knows?
“Ooh, in that case, how about we teach you? We have perfect location, perfect weather, and a perfect opportunity! Consider it our apology for earlier.” Gwenllian cheerfully suggests.
“Wait, what’s this ‘we’ being thrown around here?” Scylla quickly retorts with a scowl.
“Oh, c’mon, Berserker. It’ll be fun. Don’t you like swimming in the lake?” Gwenllian pleads.
“My affinity for the water does not extend to looking after inept amateurs. It’s none of my business whether a human knows how to doggy paddle or not.” Scylla counters sharply.
“Hmm, but didn’t you say you can’t allow people to drown in your territory? If he never learns how to swim, doesn’t that mean you have to keep saving him, Berserker?” Gwenllian points out.
For a second, Scylla pauses, properly processing the validity of that logic before shrugging.
“… tch. Fine, whatever.” She relinquishes at last.
“Perfect. So then, we’ll both help teach Ben how to swim. You’re fine with that too, right, Ben?” Gwenllian asks, seemingly confident about my answer already.
I think about it for a brief second. It’s not like I really feel like I need to improve my swimming skills or anything, since I doubt it’ll come in handy later, but it would be rather rude to refuse at this point. Plus, this could be a good chance to strengthen my bonds with them.
“Well, I guess I don’t mind. In fact, I’m thankful for your offer. I’ll be in your care.” I respond, mustering up a nice-looking smile.
“Fantastic. Then, let me go and grab my swimsuit. And I’ll get one for you too, Ben.” Gwenllian merrily decrees before gracefully gliding back towards the mansion.
Well then… this is a thing now. It looks like I’ll be spending the rest of the day on swimming practice.
“Oi, stop standing around slack-jawed. You’re already wet, so let’s not waste any time and just get started.” Scylla interjects sharply. Without even waiting for a response, she turns back towards the lake and jumps in.
“Oh… okay.” I nod and follow after some hesitation.
It looks like Scylla doesn’t care about waiting for Gwenllian to bring me a swimsuit. Thinking about it, I guess she isn’t wearing a swimsuit either. Is that just the mindset of a natural, water spirit? Or maybe she’s just being impatient with me.
Anyways, I follow Scylla’s lead and begin to nervously lower myself into the water. Taking my time, I slowly submerge half my body while keeping a firm grip on the dock to keep myself from completely sinking.
“How are you feeling?” Scylla asks, while seemingly floating without any movement whatsoever.
“To be honest… kind of unsettled. It feels weird to not be able to touch the ground.” I admit, waddling my feet a bit to see if I can feel anything. I’ve never really been afraid of the water, but now that I’m actually in it and not panicking, the strange sensation and sublime horrors of drowning are beginning to finally dawn on me.
“That’s pretty normal. Try letting go of the dock for now. If you stay calm, you should be able to float.” She states coolly.
“L-let go, huh? Y-you’re sure this is okay?” I ask, feeling the sense of unease creeping up on me.
“It’s fine. You were already able to keep yourself afloat earlier, right? So, there’s no problem.” She points out keenly. “After you let go, I’ll grab ahold of your arms before you sink. How about that?”
“O-okay. Then, I’m going for it. M-make sure you grab me okay. Okay? I can trust you right. You won’t let me drown right? I can believe those words, right!?” I repeat with a quivering voice.
“Oi, are you a wimp or something? Sure, you can trust me, so just do it already.”
Taking a leap of courage, I let go of the docks and swiftly turn to Scylla, reaching out my hands towards her. The moment I do, I feel gravity immediately kick in and try to drag me into the depths, but I’m grabbed almost instantaneously. Scylla holds me by the forearms, keeping my steady and safe.
“See? As long as we’re in the water, you can trust me.” She declares casually.
“Y-yeah, I guess… thanks.” I find myself agreeing, just thankful for the steady comfort of her arms.
Maybe it’s because we did something like a trust fall exercise, but I suddenly feel a lot more comfortable around Scylla.
Putting myself in Scylla’s capable hands, I begin to follow her instructions on getting used to the water. Bit by bit, I become more familiar with it until I’m finally able to stay afloat without her holding me or by wildly thrashing about.
“Good job. Looks like you’re a quick learner.” Scylla remarks after witnessing my steady progress.
“No, no, it’s thanks to your teachings. I’m able to take risks to learn because you’re here with me.” I humbly reply.
“Is that so? In that case, shall we try submerging your head and opening your eyes underwater?” She suggests, unfazed by my compliment.
“Mn… opening my eyes underwater, huh? Is that safe? I heard that’s bad for your eyes.” I ask earnestly.
“It should be fine. The biggest concern is infection, but you don’t have to worry about that in my lake.” Scylla reassures me confidently.
Judging by how she spoke, it seems like she keeps her territory clean, so there’s nothing to worry about. Perhaps her mere presence causes the water to purify? Either way, it looks like I can have an underwater gander even without goggles.
“Okay, then… here I go!” I cry out with umph and boldly dive under.
This time for good, I delve into the world of water, completely blocking myself off from the sensations I’m familiar too. Muffled sounds I’m not used to hearing. I can’t breathe and it’s hard to move. But moreover, I find myself floating in a black, directionless void. With my eyes closed, I’m unable to make out my left and right, nor up and down.
A light pressure is being applied to my eyes, giving me the all too vivid image of water flooding into my eye sockets the moment I open them. But I do my best to fight back against that fear and place my trust in Scylla’s reassurance.
There’s nothing to be scared of. I can do this. I can open my eyes!
“!?!?”
A startling sight greets me. Pale, alabaster skin and flowing white cloth. The lower body of the woman floating in front of me. But this close up underwater, the beauty of her pure, goddess-like skin seems clearer than ever, along with the fact that her white clothing has become transparent from the water, fully baring the goods undernea—
“Oh, you’re back. How was it?” Scylla asks as I resurface. “The view underwater is beautiful isn’t it? Makes you want to go back down immediately, right?”
“… I don’t think I ever want to go underwater ever again.”
“Huh? Why is your face red all of a sudden?”
“Please don’t ask…”
I cover my face in shame and quickly try to shake off the image of Scylla’s hidden privacy from my mind. To think that there would be a sneak attack there of all places. How devious!
Just as I pull myself together and calm down, a loud cheer ripples the lake.
“I’m back! And I brought friends~!”
It’s Gwenllian’s voice, booming from the direction of the mansion. It sure took her a while to change into her swimsuit, even considering how much longer it takes for women to change. When I turn to face her though, I immediately understand why.
“Hello…”
“Good day, you two. Do you mind if we join you as well?”
Walking alongside Gwenllian are Saber and Caster, both wearing their swimsuits as well. I guess Gwenllian must’ve ran into them when she went back to the house and invited them to come swim with us. They weren’t at home when I looked around earlier, but I guess that’s a moot point when Saber can teleport. Well, it’s not too bad to have them join in. As they say, the more the merrier. Just by having everyone here in their swimsuits, it immediately makes the atmosphere livelier.
… wait, swimsuits?
“So, Ben? What do you think? Bianca designed it for me, so I’m proud of this lace pattern.” Gwenllian innocently asks as she struts her stuff.
“Too Dangerous!!!”
I quickly jab my own eyes without any hesitation. Secret technique: instantaneous self-poke!
“Guaaah, my eyes!” I scream as the pain bursts.
Nevertheless, I find myself also sighing in relief. Phew, that was a close one. If I had continued to look at their bikini-clad figures even a second longer, I would most likely have died.
Ugh, I should’ve known that the lake swimming event would raise the swimsuit flag. How careless of me. I was lucky to survive that mistake by only sacrificing my eyes.
“B-ben? What are you doing?” Gwenllian voices worriedly.
“O-oh, it’s nothing. I just had the sudden, uncontrollable urge to jab my own eyes.” I lie, trying to brush the matter off nonchalantly. “Ah, that swimsuit does suit you a lot, Gwenllian. It looks great on you.”
“Don’t say that when your eyes are clearly closed shut!” She retorts. “Geez, if the water irritated your eyes, you could’ve just said something. I know you’re not used to the water but trying to scratch the itch yourself is way too reckless.”
“Come on, idiot. Let’s get you back to shore.” Scylla plainly adds, before grabbing me once more and pulling me along again.
Phew, it seems I managed to survive the initial assault of these assassins. I’ll have to use the time it takes my eyes to recover to properly steel myself for whatever is in store.
In the meantime, Scylla leads me back to shore while the others seem to settle in for a nice, afternoon swim.
“Ahh, the weather sure is good today. It’s just perfect for swimming.” Saber comments in his usual dignified tone. “It’s a shame that milady can’t join us since she’s preoccupied, but I’m certain she would want us to enjoy the occasion even without her.”
“Right, right. With such a prime location, we really should take advantage of our private beach more often. Though, let’s forget our main objective is to teach Ben how to swim, okay?” Gwenllian points out.
“By the way, your majesty, might I be allowed to just say that you look absolutely gorgeous today?” Saber suddenly praises without a hint of bashfulness. “Milady’s work is flawless as always, but it’s true worth is revealed when worn by a lady as lovely as you.”
“Ohoho, why thank you. You sure know how to make a girl feel good about herself.” Gwenllian beams.
Uwaah, what shameless lines. It’s like listening to a language from another world. Saber really is something if he’s able to say that kind of stuff without flinching. Is that just the difference in our calibur?
“Umm… do I really have to be here?” Another voice abruptly interrupts. I can’t see the speaker due to my blindness, but process of elimination says it’s Caster. Her voice seems meek and timid like before. Is she not comfortable being out here?
“What’s wrong, shrimp? Need something?” Saber asks in a surprisingly casual tone, starkly different form how he was addressing Rider.
“Mm. Don’t call me shrimp…” Caster seems to pout. “It’s nothing. I’m just not in the mood for swimming, blockhead.”
“Eh? But everyone’s here.” Saber remarks. “At the very least, you can hang out a bit to accompany our new friend, right?”
“… mn, I still don’t really want to…” She replies with a slightly quivering voice.
“Hmm… Could it be you’re no good at swimming?” Saber abruptly guesses.
“Huh? N-no, that’s not it.” Caster denies. More surprised than defensive, it doesn’t seem like she’s lying. Yet, Saber doesn’t seem to relent.
“Ah, now that I think about it, I’ve never seen you in the water. So that’s what it was. How careless of me to not notice sooner. I am a failure of a knight to not pick up on a lady’s needs.” He laments dramatically.
“Wait, wait, I said that’s not it—” Caster tries to correct, but to no avail.
“Now that I think about it, aren’t witches bad with water? They used to kill them by drowning, right? Maybe that has a factor…” He deduces out of nowhere.
“N-no, the superstition is that witches can’t drown. It’s the other way around. Also, I’m not sure it’s true…” Caster explains.
“Hm? So then, you’re really good with water? Then, you’ll come swimming with us.”
“N-no, I don’t—”
“Ah, so you can’t swim after all. Can’t be helped, can’t be helped.”
“Mm!”
Even blinded, I feel like I can see Caster’s vein popped after finally getting fed up.
“Tah! Ora ora ora ora!”
“Eh? Wait, why are you hitting me?” Saber questions as a series of soft punches start landing on him.
“Hmph. Jerk. Idiot. Blockhead. Dunce. Midget.” Caster angrily pouts as she keeps punching away, more to vent her anger than to actually do damage. “Hmph, whatever. I bet I’m actually better at swimming than you anyways.”
“Oho? Is that a challenge, shrimp? As a knight, I can’t take insults regarding my ability lightly.” Saber states, proudly. “I’ll have you know that I’m also a man of the sea. On my many adventures, I’ve crossed countless waters, so I’m well acquainted with the ocean.”
“Mnnn, then prove it. I bet that’s just another one of your empty boasts, anyways.” Caster challenged sulkily.
“Very well. Allow me to show you just how capable I am.” He confidently puffs. “In fact, at my level, I do not even need to swim to traverse the seas. Blessed by the Queen of Fairies, no body of water can impede me. Like Berserker, I can also walk on the water surface. Just watch and witness my grand heroics.”
With an assured attitude, he strides over to the lake, his entire body seeming to brim with magical presence. Is he activating his mystical blessing? The power he is emitting make it feel as if nothing can stop him now.
And thus, as he stands proudly at the edge of the lake, he smiles broadly before he takes a bold step onto the water surface—
Splash!
— and immediately falls straight into the lake.
“Oh, by the way, the blessings and enchantments of other fairies won’t work in my territory.” Scylla mentions nonchalantly.
“Tell me that sooner!!” Saber shouts as he burst back up from the water.
“Pupupu. What was that about your grand heroics?” Caster giggles.
“Gnnnnn, how shameful. That was so un-cool.” Saber groans, seemingly embarrassed for once at his unheroic display.
“Hm, hm~ That’s what happens when you rely on someone else’s power.” Caster snidely remarks, taking much joy in Saber’s failure. “I, on the other hand, could easily walk on water on my own merits.”
“Oh, really? Then let’s see it, shrimp.” Saber replies expectantly.
“Then watch and learn. A witch of my level can easily concentrate the mana from the lake around my feet to create a foothold. Walking on water is a piece of cake.” She declares and confidently walks up to plate.
Grinning smugly as if it were the easiest thing in the world, she takes a small breath, concentrates her senses in order to gather the mana, and steps onto the lake—
Splash!
— only to also sink straight in.
“All the mana in the area is under my control, so of course you can’t use it.” Scylla points out coolly.
“… I thought you were going to let me borrow some, blublublub…” Caster bubbles as she floats head down on the water in shame.
It seems that both of these Servants are way too cocky for their own good.
Seeing his fellow failure in lament, Saber waddles over and places a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry, kiddo. I wasn’t expecting anything anyways.” He states with a warm smile.
“Mou, you jerk!” Caster pouts angrily and quickly splashes some water into Saber’s face.
“Ah. Oh, you’ve done it now, shrimp.” Saber playfully declares and immediately returns fire.
“Take this!”
“Take that!”
“Ohohohoho, you two are so cute.” Gwenllian laughs as she watches her fellow servants play around in the water like children.
“Hehehe.” I also chuckle as I watch the childish spectacle.
Perhaps the laughter was contagious as it quickly fills the lake with the two other Servants in the water also giggling as they play around.
An aura of merriment blankets the area as we all just enjoy ourselves and each other’s company. I wasn’t sure how well I’d be able to get along with the people here, but it looks like there won’t be any problems. The people here all seem pretty nice and easy to befriend.
From now on, I’m sure I’ll be able to become good friends with everyone here.
… wait.
What the hell am I thinking?
Why the hell am I laughing so wholeheartedly?
This isn’t right. I… I shouldn’t be actually enjoying myself right now, right?
What’s with this talk of becoming friends with everyone as if I plan to stay here for a long time? Aren’t I supposed to be desperately finding a way out of here as soon as possible? And yet, my previous wariness and aggression seem to have evaporated in the merriment.
These Servants here aren’t people that I should be getting along with. They’re all Bianca’s pawns, potential obstacles that could stand in the way of my escape.
Yet, the more I hang out with the them and laugh with them… the more I feel attached to them.
That's why, despite the pure, happy atmosphere, a dark thought suddenly creeps into the back of my mind. It urges me to hurry up and find a way out, and it warns me to open up my heart too big.
Otherwise, if I end up liking this place too much… I may not want to leave anymore.
Year: 2018
Location: Bianca's Mansion, Fairyland
“Haah…”
Feeling conflicted, I lounge in the living room alone after a full day of play and a quick bath. In the end, we spent the rest of the day playing around in the lake, before everyone went their separate ways. Since Servants can just dry off by dematerializing and rematerializing, I didn’t need to line up for the bath and ended up on my lonesome before I knew it. Now, all alone once again, I just sink into the couch, thinking about what happened today.
I don’t get to reflect long, though, as she finally returns.
“I’m back! Did you miss me, Ben?”
Swinging the door open, the devil herself shows her face bombastically
“Not at all.” I respond coldly, glaring at her with clear hostility.
“Well, I missed you a lot! I was in boring meetings the whole day and I couldn’t wait to come home and see you again.” She proclaims cheerfully.
“I don’t care.” I scowl.
“Now, now, don’t be like that.” She hums as she skips over and plops onto the couch next to me. “So, how was your day? I heard from Saber that you were playing with everyone. That’s fantastic! I’m so happy that you’re making friends. Tell me all about it!”
“Like I hell I will.” I scoff and immediately get up.
“Huh, Ben? Where are you going?” Bianca asks with clear concern.
“My room. I’m going to bed.” I reply while continuing to walk away.
“B-but what about dinner?”
“Don’t want it. Just leave me alone.”
Without pausing or turning back, I stomp up the stairs and head straight to my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. The moment I enter, I flop onto the bed and groan.
“Dammit…” I bemoan, feeling all the tension drain out of me.
Right now, I’m just not in the mood to deal with Bianca’s bullshit. Even if there might be some tactical benefit to humoring her, I just can’t tolerate it at the moment. Though, then again, I don’t know when if ever I could tolerate everything wrong with her.
No, that’s not it. Bianca isn’t the reason for my sour mood. Well, no, she kind of is, but she’s not the main cause this time.
It’s this world. This place and its people. They… scare me.
It’s just so peaceful here. There isn’t any immediate danger. There isn’t any apparent discomfort. There isn’t anything wrong at all. Everything is just perfectly beautiful. Each and every day can be spent in joy and harmony.
But that peace is like a poison. Bit by bit, it erodes away at your spirit.
The more time I spend here, the more content I find myself. The more I start to think that this place isn’t so bad. The more I question if I really do need to go back. The more I find myself losing the will to resist.
This place is basically paradise. I’m sure that if I just close my eyes and plug my ears, I’ll come to realize how wonderful it is. If I try, I could easily see myself becoming friends with all the people here and spending the rest of my life with them. Saber, Caster, Gwenllian, Scylla… would it really be so wrong to befriend them and stay here with them? Of course not. It would be so easy to just lie back and indulge in this idyllic peace.
All I’d have to do is submit to Bianca and bask in this hollow ataraxia.
And that thought frightens me.
“God dammit…”
Exhausted and frustrated, I just lie still on the bed, waiting for my fatigue to lull me to sleep. Perhaps I’m just retreating to my dreams in order to escape this horrifying heaven.
The clock in the room ticks by, lulling me with its monotonous rhythm. The muffled sounds of activity can be heard outside the door and I begin to smell something savory. It seems that dinner has started without me.
My stomach grumbles, reminding me that I still need to eat, but I force down the urge. I can’t bear to go back downstairs and join what must be a joyous, welcoming dining table. I don’t want to take a single bite of food while Bianca’s nearby. I…
“… I want to eat Yingying’s cooking.” I find myself saying with my face buried in the pillow.
The moment those words leave my mouth, it feels as if something I was keeping buried flows out of my heart and my eyes begin to water.
“I… I want to see Assassin. I want to have a hear Saber call my name. I want to discuss random topics over drinks with Rider. I want to do dumb shit and joke around with Berserker. I even want to get into a fight with Alisha…”
A heavy chain wraps around my heart and begins yanking on it, urging me to hurry up and escape utopia. My entire body quivers uncontrollably as I realize my heart’s innermost desire.
“I… I… I want to go home…”
Soaking my pillow in tears, I slowly cry myself to sleep…
I feel drowsy.
And yet, I awaken in the middle of the night.
It’s not like I jolt awake and jump out of bed or anything. I just simply find my consciousness surfacing randomly in the middle of slumber.
What time is it? The room is completely dark. I can’t see the clock from here. It doesn’t seem like it’s morning yet, though – probably the middle of the night, then. I must’ve woken up early because I went to bed extra early.
… my body is exhausted.
But I can’t fall back into a deep sleep. I just rustle around feeling unsatisfactorily rested.
I just want to hurry up and go back to bed, to retreat into my dreams where I don’t have to deal with this torturous reality.
Tick, tick, tick.
The sound of the clock’s second hand gets on my nerves.
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, creak, tick, tick, tick, tick—
“Eh—?”
I think I heard something mixed in with the ticking.
It sounded like the door opening, but who would be coming at this hour?
Tap, tap, tap.
No, there’s no mistake. Someone came into the room and is coming near me.
“——”
Who is it? … if someone was to come this late at night, it would be—
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