Chapter 31: The Nightmare

In the end, Hajime decided to sleep on the couch and let Megumi sleep on his bed instead. Although he was using his old sheets and not the new ones that Megumi replaced them with, they were still newly washed, just like the pillow covers. Ever since Megumi brought about change in his living quarters, he made it a routine to keep everything clean, including the sheets which he wash twice a week and expose to the sun every day. Megumi would've thought twice about lying down on his bed but after taking in the fresh smell of the mattress, she agreed. She denied the invitation at first, though, since she felt like it would be too imposing if she were the one to sleep on the bed.

"It would be much more embarrassing for me if I let a girl sleep on the couch while I sleep on the bed." Hajime simply responded. Since there was no getting out of the situation, he couldn't really do anything. Besides, his visitor is not just any other girl, she's Megumi, one of the rich girls in town. Even though he hates her to his very core for looking down on him, that won't justify anything at all if he were to treat her badly.

"Sorry, and thank you," Megumi formally said, bowing toward Hajijme before heading to the room.

"You can lock the door if you want, but that won't do anything since the doorknob's broken." Hajime teased. "Be careful though, someone might attack you in the middle of the night."

"I have a pepper spray with me, a-a-and a taser." Megumi nervously said before slamming the door to Hajime's room.

Hajime shrugged, this was the first time he saw Megumi get flustered like that. He could also tell that she was lying since no one who owns a pepper spray and a taser would actually announce it to anyone. "Goodnight!" Hajime slightly raised his voice just enough for Megumi to hear it.

She didn't respond, or rather, Hajime didn't wait for her response. He immediately went back to the couch and lay down there, his hands placed on his head. 'A bottle of beer would be nice right now.' He said to himself, reminiscing the time when his dad used to prohibit him from drinking beer. Ironically, he wasn't there anymore to prevent him from drinking just when he came of age. Hajime imagined what it would've been like, drinking with his dad and talking about both their troubles and just life in general.

"As if," Hajime let out an exhale before closing his eyes, trying to lull himself to sleep as the night wore on.

Meanwhile, Megumi had a hard time sleeping, probably due to the new surroundings but it was more than just that. Hajime's house didn't really have electricity so there was no light source at night. If they wanted light, Hajime had a few spare candles and matchsticks which he rarely uses since he's used to the way of the bats. To Megumi, this was a new experience and it made her feel oddly uncomfortable despite the comfy touch of the bed. She stared up at the ceiling, hoping that doing so would make her sight adjust to the darkness. But it didn't, and she was left with no choice except force herself to sleep.

.....

"Yes! We're going to the beach! We're going to the beach! Did you hear that big brother? We're going to the beach!" A familiar voice of a young girl echoed in the scene, muddled by the hazy imagery that seemed to encompass the entire surrounding. It was a never-ending doubt of consciousness and unconsciousness, weaving through reality and dreams at the same time.

Another voice echoed, and the point of view shifted from the figure of the young girl to an older woman, smiling as she patted the young girl on the head. "Now now, it's okay to be excited but not too much. You might trip on yourself." She advised in an enthusiastic manner, ruffling the hair of the young girl as if to tease her.

"Mou~ mom!" She said, but her voice had a certain lightness to it, she was going with her mom's teasings. She laughed heartily as she slung her backpack on her shoulder.

"Right, this is our first day off so let's enjoy it to the fullest!" A voice of a man reverberated around as if to fill the entire room. In response, the woman and the young girl cheered, pumping a fist in the air before looking at the fourth person in the room.

First day off, huh...

The man headed outside, his steps slowing down as if time continued to stretch. The scene bent backward and forwards, and then the next scene suddenly appeared. This time, the man was already in the car, pressing on the horn as he called out to his family. "Get in the car and let's go. We don't have all day!"

"Let's go, did you forget anything?"

No, how could I forget?

Unrecognizable faces, indistinct voices, misinterpreted sounds.

The smell of iron wafting in the air.

The whirring of automobiles, an uneven tire slowly rolling around as if to hypnotize.

The distant lights. Police cars. The sticky reddish liquid flows on the asphalt. NO!!! WATCH OUT!!!

"So? How was school?" A soothing cold voice asked. A face from the front seat turned and smiled.

The unrecognizable face of the man. His lips curved upwards as if to say everything was going to be okay. That smile. It had never faded.

A sudden flash of light, a deafening noise, and a crashing sound all drowned the response that the voice was about to receive. It was all in a matter of a split second and everything became a fleeting moment, just like snow as spring began to approach. All of their eyes met, it was just a split second but they could feel the connection between them. Everything is going to be all right, that's the expression written on their faces filled with longing and despair.

It all happened so fast that no one was able to react. The passengers by the front seat. The girl. Their eyes fixated on him and him alone. 'What... what can I do?'

Gone.

All Gone.

Only the sound of the ambulance could be heard in the background.

Everything's all gone.

Hajime shot up from his bed, looking at his same old room and it was already morning. Sunlight peered through the windows, warming his bed and causing him to sweat a bit. He looked around, feeling kind of dazed and heavy at the same time. Somehow, something feels weird but he couldn't wrap his head around it. The nightmare was much more vivid than usual as if he was experiencing everything all over again. Hajime shook his head, trying to forget the details that continued to plague his mind like a terminal disease.

"You're awake, you seemed to have a nightmare."