A faint sound of revving engine heard from the distance.

The shaky and groggy feeling engulfed through my body. I feel the gentle caress of air in an open area. A familiar sound of motor from the vehicle vividly nostalgically recalled in my ears.

“Hey, this is the last stop. Hey….”

Echoing my ears is a strange voice. The sudden shaking and groggy feeling of my body halted, as I open my eyes. The driver at the jeepney, looking at the driver’s mirror in front of him called me out.

“Huh?” I grunted. My hand holds on the handle stainless steel bar attached at the ceiling of the jeep. “You might be got over the place you’re dropping off. This is the last stop.”

The driver asked me. I got alerted after hearing his retort, quickly stepped down the jeep and goes to the sidewalk.

An unfamiliar place. Several houses are located around the area. A typical place I’ve been used to see in the news. It’s already night, and I just got off from work. My boss, I remembered she asked me to do overtime today.

Now I fell asleep while on my way home. Fishing out the phone from my pocket, I look at the time. “11:45pm.” It’s almost midnight.

Looking at the surroundings, the eerie place filled with lamp post made me feel dread. This place gives a macabre vibe. I don’t know if someone with a dark intention suddenly grabbed me from somewhere.

Only motorcycles and cars parked at the sidewalk seen in the vicinity. I started walking, while trying to calm myself and not to overthink that someone may come towards me.

The sands scratching the sole of my shoes faintly heard. I feel more dreadful as my feet drags me off from this place.

“You seem alone, kid.”

A voice suddenly heard behind me. I jumped out of surprise and turn around. A man, a man I’ve seen somewhere appeared right before me. I don’t remember where I’ve seen him, but he seems familiar.

A 30 year old man (?) like myself. “Uhm…” I utter.

“Going home? I reckon this isn’t the path on your way home, though….” the man added. What’s he saying?

“The path on your way home isn’t here, kid. You’re lost?”

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“Huh? No…. I mean,”

Still holding my phone, I swiped on the screen and starts to look at the contacts to call. Who should I call? But then…. a blank file came from my phone. A blinking cursor shown at the top left corner.

“Huh? What’s this….?” I mumbled, scrutinizing the file.

“Your home, and your life…. belongs to the story you want to know.”

The man, still standing, talked. “You are the one who can proceed to the story of your life. You are the one who can make someone happy or sad, the one who will complete the story and the ending you look forward.”

Continuing his monologue, he then grabbed my hand with my phone. “The story you’re curious to know all along, and the person who truly loves you… are your priorities to take. Go home, kid. Go and finish what you have started.”

That moment, the man suddenly vanished. Without leaving any trace, as I remained standing still. And then, a thick fluid suddenly dropped from my head. Tainting the screen of my phone, a red liquid reflects at the LCD.

“What… what the….?” My dread feeling succumbed me all of a sudden. It keeps dripping like a faucet; flowing down throughout my face. “Blood… why…? Blood is….”

And from my front is a guy, grinning at me comically while holding the revolver pointing to my head. That man who I saw the last time before I died. The guy who—

A ricocheting chime and vibration engulfed my ear, as my eyes widened open and lifts to sit. Grasping of air, like I’m drowning, I look at the surroundings. It’s my room. No, this is Kira Miyamoto’s room.

Sweat covered my body, dripping down like I took a bath. I still wear my uniform and the rays of vermilion hue tainted my dimly room. My phone keeps vibrating and the sound of the ringtone engulfed on the silence of the surroundings.

At the screen is the name of Kei Sakagami with an icon of her face. “Huh…” I uttered and picked my phone. Swiping the answering icon, I put the piece on my ear. “Hello…”

At the end of the line, a gasp heard faintly. There’s a silence for a few seconds. “Hello…?” the voice from the other end speaks.

This is the first time I heard Kei’s voice on the phone. “Kira….” Kei called. That made me feel calm. “Hi, senior…” I sigh and lean on the wall while sitting on my bed.

“What’s the matter…?” Swiping my hair up with my palm, I asked. “Nothing… I… I just want to hear your voice.”

Huh. This girl just call at this time just to hear my voice? “Huh?”

“.… No, nothing.” Kei mumbled. I feel she’s embarrassed right now. I left out a soft chuckle while shaking my head. “So,” I stated. “This means, you kind of miss me, huh?”

That line I said made Kei, or might be on the end of the line suddenly stumbled. I heard crashing of things at the background. “Wha—what are you saying!?”

I chuckled while shaking my head sideways. “I’m just teasing you, senior…”

Yeah, hearing her voice made me calm. The dream, or might I say, the nightmare I had awhile ago suddenly vanished in my mind. Her call made me ease and calm my heartbeat.

“Sorry, I might disturbed you.” Kei suddenly spoke. “I reckon you’re busy with something—”

“No…” I cut her off.

“Huh?”

I took a deep breath and pinch my nose with my fingers. “I… I am glad you called, senior. I’m just glad to hear your voice.”

I don’t know why I said these lines, but there’s something in me that I must tell this to her. “Thank you, for calling… Senior—I mean, Kei.”

Without thinking, without hesitation coming from me, I calmly called her name. And that made my heart feel fluff. Why… I don’t know the reason. She’s the reason why I ended up in a fiasco state of this story. The reason why I’m trapped within her grasp.

Yet, right now…. I just found myself smiling because of her. Because of the reason she called me, that the nightmare I have suddenly vanished.

I didn’t saved Kei, she’s the one who saved me.