The same day, 8.27 a.m.

 

I quickly opened my eyes and covered my mouth with my right palm as my stomach churned excessively. The dream I had seen earlier was so vivid, to the point where I could even remember every single detail of it. It then resulted in my stomach acting up and me panting like crazy. The nauseous feeling grew stronger over time, and as a result, I was sweating cold all over my body.

 

What in the world was that dream!? Who was that girl!?, my heart squealed loudly, placing a huge burden on my already stiff shoulders. Meanwhile, my left eye was throbbing a little but I just ignored it since the dream I had just seen took all my attention. I turned my glance to the right and it seemed I was still in the same bay as before.

 

“I just passed out, didn’t I?”

 

I talked to myself as I calmed down a little bit. My vision was fixated on the scenery beyond the glass windows, where greenies and white concrete created a shockingly matching scenery, along with the chirps of birds and some nurses attending people in wheelchairs.

 

“Touka…”

 

On my left, I could hear someone calling for me with a hoarse voice. I flinched but almost instantly right after, I recognized his voice. His voice was so familiar I didn’t even need to guess who it was.

 

“Dad.”

 

I turned my head to look at him while throwing my best smile to tell him that I was somewhat okay. At first, I noticed eye bags under his eyes. Was he working too hard?, I thought. Then I looked at his face and it was still the same face but a little bit older. Next, I look at his entire figure. He was sitting on a chair next to me and his teary eyes were the most distinguishable expression on his face.

 

“Why are you crying? What happened?”

 

Calmly, I asked him. Honestly, I could roughly guess. Something must’ve happened to me and then somehow I was assigned to a hospital. Well, the last thing I could remember was… Wait, what was it again? I was with Kyouko… Yeah, I was walking with Kyouko…, I tried to remember and I realized I couldn’t really remember what had happened.

 

“Touka… You’re really awake, right?”

 

When I was lost in my thoughts, my dad suddenly uttered and my thoughts were quickly dispersed after hearing his words. From his expression, what I could tell was that he was really happy to see me. I didn’t exactly know why, though.

 

“What do you mean by that? I’m awake, dad.”

 

Jokingly, I replied while smiling a little bit. But to my surprise, his reactions were completely different from what I’d expected.

 

“Thank god… After all this time… You don’t know how long we’ve been waiting for you!”

 

He then embraced me tightly. While on the other hand, I didn’t quite get why he was being like that. Wait, how long have I been passing out actually?, I screamed internally.

 

“Dad, I can’t breathe!”

 

I literally tried to push him away by tapping on his back frantically. Well, I didn’t lie, though. It really was hard for me to breathe since probably he exerted most of his grip strength just to hug me.

 

“S-Sorry! After all this time, I was just so happy to see you open your eyes.”

 

“Seriously, how long have I been sleeping!?”

 

Unintentionally, I blurted what I was thinking out loud. I then remembered that I was still inside the hospital and quickly covered my mouth. Seeing me still acting like a child like how I had used to be, my father laughed while wiping down his tears.

 

“You haven’t changed, Touka…”

 

“Of course! Why would you think I’ve changed?”

 

The smile I put on my face was genuine. Aside from the blurry sight in my left eye, I didn’t think I’d changed at all… No, actually I had changed quite a lot. I was just trying to deny it, albeit I knew that denying it would only result in everything getting more painful sooner or later.

 

“For real… These past 7 months felt like hell for us…”

 

“Heeeeh… Wait... What did you just say?”

 

My dad’s words piqued my interest.

 

“Why are you asking?”

 

With a gullible face that was so rare for him to make, my dad asked me back without giving a proper answer to my question.

 

“Just answer my question!”

 

Panicking, I placed my hands on his shoulders and shook him a little. Seeing me being unusually persistent, my dad finally repeated what he had said a moment earlier.

 

“These past 7 months felt like hell for us?”

 

Yep, I didn’t hear it wrong., I immediately thought. Everything now fell in its right place. The question that haunted me all this time was answered in the most shocking way possible.

 

“So I’ve been sleeping for… 7 months?”

 

I was doubtful. “How could I sleep for 7 months?”

 

“You weren’t sleeping, Touka…”

 

My dad’s face quickly turned gloomy. He then added.

 

“You’ve been in a coma for 7 months…”

 

I felt all my strength leaving my body after hearing his response.

 

“Lies…”

 

I stared at his eyes that were no longer as assertive as they should be. Without giving me a proper answer, my dad only shook his head slowly.

 

“... Hahaha… What the hell is this…?”

 

For the first time in my life, I heard such an unreal statement coming out from my dad’s mouth. The dream I had had for the entire time before began to resurface, showing up as a huge iceberg on the ocean called my reasoning. It wasn’t an illusion made by my fucked up brain. Everything was real.

 

“...”

 

I couldn’t even say anything, only my mouth that was gaping open and closed a few times. Then, another question flashed up in my unstable mind.

 

“Where’s mom?”

 

Yes, it was actually strange to only see my dad beside me. As far as I knew, dad and mom were always together, no matter where they went. It would be okay to call them a pair of a stamp and an envelope, as they completed each other.

 

“... She’s… still on the way…”

 

Again, his words pierced my already crumbling mental stability. A lot of possibilities showed up in my brain, and every single one of them wasn’t any good whatsoever. The only possible conclusion was that they were no longer together.

 

“Why are you not together with her? What happened to you when I was in… coma?”

 

Reluctantly, I brought out the topic, while embracing myself from the impact called reality.

 

“... Can you wait until she’s here?”

 

With a sad look on his face, my dad tried to fake a smile and placed his rough skinned palm on my head. I then decided to wait until my mom arrived, as he had suggested. Both me and my dad went silent after that.

 

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

 

8.35 a.m.

 

When I was lost in my imaginations, I heard footsteps coming closer to the bay I was staying at all of sudden. Someone must be in a hurry…, or so I thought.

 

“Touka!”

 

Together with the sound of a door being slid open harshly, a familiar voice entered my ears. I glanced at the source of the voice and noticed that it was my mom, looking all exhausted and sweaty.

 

“Hi there, mom. Long time no see…”

 

I faked a smile and gave her the most casual greeting I could think of. To be honest, after hearing my dad’s abrupt explanation earlier, I wasn’t quite sure what kind of expression I should make at that time, and faking a smile was the best I could afford. Well, faking smiles had always been one of my useless talents and I was definitely talented in that.

 

“Oh my God…”

 

With stumbling steps, she approached me slowly while covering her mouth. Droplets of tears ran down her cheeks, streaming down her face which looked much older than what I could remember. Her wrinkles looked much more visible, and it rendered my heart in shambles. She’s getting old too fast…, I wept internally. Even after 7 months had passed, she should still be in her late 40s, and her appearance was that of an old lady in her early 60s. Quite the drastic change since the last time I had seen her.

 

“Touka… Touka…”

 

I never thought I would see that kind of expression from my mom’s face. She looked so happy, doubtful, moved, and sad at the same time. I never excelled in reading others’ feelings but at that time, I could easily guess what my mom was feeling.

 

“Yep. I’m Touka, your cutest daughter. Did you forget me already?”

 

Jokingly, I asked her a question. She only smiled and continued her way towards my direction. But then, she noticed that my dad was already sitting beside my bed, and almost in no time at all, her complexion changed drastically.

 

“Why are you here?”

 

A single question flew out of her mouth and it made my dad flinch. He didn’t respond to it and just lowered his head, trying not to show his face to us.

 

Ah, something must’ve really happened when I was in a coma…, I immediately thought. With mixed feelings inside my chest, I forced myself to raise my body and my mom shouted as a result.

 

“Touka! What are you doing!?”

 

With a tremendous speed unfit for her age, my mom dashed and quickly supported my back with her hands.

 

“Thank you, mo-”

 

“What do you think you’re doing!?”

 

“Eh?”

 

I could only let out an idiotic sound after getting yelled at by mom. Never once had she yelled that loud and it made my whole body shudder.

 

“Why didn’t you help Touka!? Are you here just to watch and observe? Again? Then make another grievous decision? Seriously, this isn’t a zoo and Touka isn’t an animal either! Go away if you have nothing better to do!”

 

“...”

 

Along with the fact that it was actually meant for my dad, my heart broke. Every single word that flew out of my mom’s mouth reflected her anger and impatience, quite the contrary to how she had always been. I couldn’t even finish my gratitude, my heart chipped so badly, and what I was seeing in front of me the next moment just dug another pit hole for me.

 

“Stop it, oldies. Can’t you see you’re bothering Touka with your useless quarrel?”

 

Another familiar voice, another familiar figure. A tall young woman wearing a white coat with facial features similar to mine showed up at the door and began to walk in my direction. My eyes didn’t even have a chance to blink after seeing her figure.

 

“Sister…”

 

I murmured softly and to my surprise, I didn’t even feel anything after seeing her. I was just shocked, that’s all.

 

“Hey, what’s with that lame reaction? Is that just how little I weigh in your life, dumb lil’ sis?”

 

My sister grinned and quickly shortened our distance.

 

“Welcome back, Touka.”

 

As if ignoring my mom and dad who were also inside the bay, my sister, Ayano, lovingly embraced me, so tightly.

 

“... Uuuuuuu…”

 

I lied. I felt a lot of mixed emotions creating a whirlpool inside my chest. It was painful. I never once didn’t feel anything. In the end, I cried like a baby on her chest.