What constitutes truth? Is it by means of perceiving the realness of existing tangible or intangible materials? Or by believing what others might want you to consider? Belief is different from the knowledge of truth, and yet, the fragility of humankind never ceases to fail us—oftentimes resorting to trust lies and slander. Because of these variations of perspectives, we frequently doubt something so obvious, and trustingly ignore all the red flags. What a waste if you think about it. It is the doubt that kills a man, a fearless animal that devours the weak and not their decision-making.

Questioning our own sanity, is there anything we can consider as truth? You can, and you are free to believe. Besides, it is a human right, a fundamental aspect of being a human person, to choose whatever things they would cherish later on in their lives.

But if we are free… what if we can choose? To choose to live according to our own truth? The rules that defy us all along suddenly seem powerless, and we are free to choose without the bearing influences of other people’s ideals.

Just what if…

We are free to choose our own sense of truth, our own sense of reality?

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[MASUMI’s POV]

The breeze glided across my skin while I felt pacified and appeased, admiring the sunset as the tall buildings in the distance slowly engulfed the orangeness of the sky above. It was a busy afternoon teeming with students walking home from school, being carefree and lax. The joy brewing in their voices as they acclaimed their plans for the weekend created a lively atmosphere in the then-gloomy and quiet residential area. Whereas for me, I had no such desire. All I wanted was to curl up on my cozy bed, with its soft pillows and warm blankets, and sleep away the hours. Sleep was my escape from the troubles and worries of the world, and I cherish my bed more than anything else.

All this deep and resolute reflection filled my imagination as someone tapped on my shoulders, abruptly escaping from my immersive daydream. I flinched at the suddenness of the tap, looking behind me to see who it was.

“Yo! Wanna grab a bite?” The familiarity in his voice immediately brought me up to ease as I realized that it was my co-introverted friend from the same class.

“Oh, it’s you.” I looked at him with a plain expression, observing his contained excitement hidden behind his gleaning eyes.

“I have other plans for today, though. Thanks for inviting me anyway.” My social battery is insufficient enough to afford another social event in this state, which is why turning his offer down was for my own benefit as well.

He was not satisfied upon hearing my excuses. “Are you sure about that?” All while standing in front of me with a sinister expression tainted on his face.

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“I told you I’m not going—” Then, he showed me a pamphlet, which startled me at first. It appears that it was a concert organized by our school, which was set to happen the day after tomorrow. I looked at it and saw what I considered to be just a bunch of gibberish junk, but what piqued my interest the most was her appearance in the middle of the pamphlet. Her dazzling portrait sent butterflies in my stomach, and my eyes suddenly glistened brightly by her beauty.

“Oh? What’s the matter? Suddenly intrigued, aren’t you?” He began teasing, hinting that he knew how he would get me to join his wild adventures. I was hesitant to give in, but he insisted that it would be worthwhile to venture out of one’s comfort zone once in a while.

“Fine…” I sighed and gave in. There was no point in trying to come up with more excuses related to my own laziness. He grinned and gave me a concert ticket.

“See you, then!” He winked as we parted ways in an intersection where our houses deviate from one another. I scratched my neck, asking myself if it was the right decision to attend or not.

Lingering doubts soon left my mind when I saw the same woman on the pamphlet. She had a striking appearance, with blue hair that she braided in a Dutch lace style, tied with a blue ribbon that matched her brown hair. Her eyes were dark brown and seemed to pierce through anyone who looked at her, which is a charismatic highlight of her rise to fame. She was tall and slender and wore something similar to a wolf haircut, not too long nor short. She also wore a mask and a jacket, as if trying to hide her face from the public. She had a bag filled with sweets, indicating she was at the nearby convenience store just now.

In the eyes of others, the disguise seemed enough to fool everyone that she was an ordinary human being, but that didn't stop me from recognizing her as she walked right past me. However, she doesn’t seem to identify me as someone who shares the same class as hers; perhaps it was just a fluke—but I do not blame her, for she has seen countless faces in her life. Or perhaps I am so trivial in her memory lane that she has no clue who I am. Or maybe she was clouded with elusive thoughts that her surroundings did not register in her senses. Geez, why am I so deep in thought about this?

I turned around to see her off, but to my confusion, she was nowhere to be found. In the middle of an alleyway without any way of turning corners or hiding behind obstructive structures, it felt a bit odd. “She must have been in a hurry,” I thought.

I was about to turn a blind eye and hurry to my destination when I saw a bag filled with sweets laying on the ground, candies scattered around it. Immediately, I was worried. Someone who I knew just dropped a bag filled with sweets and was nowhere to be found. Was she running away from something?

Is she in danger?

I carefully examined the bag, looking for any signs of something suspicious. I was left stunned when I saw a brown leathered wallet hidden underneath the rubble of candies. Already having an ominous feeling about this, I opened the wallet, and it finally dawned on me. Seeing her picture in the wallet made my heart drop.

This grocery bag belonged to her!

“K…” I couldn’t bring myself to say her name, given that we’re not even acquainted with one another.

But this was not the time for me to hesitate. This was a matter of life and death!

“Katsumi-san!? Katsumi-san!” I can't just leave someone like that behind. Someone's life could be in danger! I began running in the opposite direction where she was supposedly headed, along with her grocery bag and her wallet.

This is where my search for her began.