Evening

5:15 PM

“What am I doing in the river? I don't know how to swim. I will sink, someone helps me. I can't breathe anymore, I'm sinking.”

In the meantime, he heard a voice seems to talking to him slowly and lovely that he never heard at all. At that moment he find himself filled with joy. The same feeling he enjoyed in his childhood. He was about to pass out but he can remember the voice trying to say to him….

“Please hang on there and wait for me.”

And suddenly he falls out of bed and wakes up from his dream. Atsuo screamed and said…

“ohh! It was a dream. i thought, i will definitely die today.”

He takes a deep breath and his body is covered with sweat. He pick a water bottle, but it's empty, so he goes to the kitchen to drink water. He hadn't realized when he falls asleep while watching anime. He still thinking about the dream.

“I can remember that voice. It seems to me that was a girl's voice, but I'm not sure. I never had such dreams in life.

What did that dream mean?”

He washes his face, changes his clothes and is ready for a shrine visit.

On his way to the shrine, he stops at a nearby supermarket to buy some snacks. Before he buys anything, he checks the balance he has with him. Then he buys some snacks and drinks. The way to the shrine is not very crowded, only a few people are on the street, some children are playing and some families are also going to the shrine.

The sky is full of clouds and due to the orange color, it is looks very beautiful. The orange color of the clouds turns them into delicious fluffy cotton candy. His eyes shining and his mouth is full of water and he wants to eat them. Eventually, he reaches the shrine and closed his eyes to pray. He prays to God daily and as always he begins to pray….

“Do you want to help me? I am waiting for a very long time please show me the way to fill my loneliness and emptiness. Otherwise, I have not a single reason to live I want to end this miserable life. What I have done wrong? If I did something wrong, tell me and I will correct that mistake. As far as I can remember, the only mistake I made was caring for others, and being nice to others.”

During that moment tears start to fall out from his eyes. He try to control himself, finished the prayer and wiped out tears with his hands.

On the way to the exit, he saw a girl fall, hurt herself and start crying. There are many people there, but nobody cares about the poor child. He thought she was separated from her parents or friends. So, without hesitation, he offered the girl help.

Stolen novel; please report.

“Are you alright kid? Let me help..”

He gently picked up the girl and carried her to a nearby bench. He has some water and tissues with him. Since the girl got a few scratches, he decided to clean that area with water and wipe it with a tissue and advise her to get some medicine at home. She smiled and they start a conversation.

“Are you separated from your parents or friends?”

“No… They are waiting for me inside the shrine. I don’t have any practice of wearing a kimono so I fell.” She giggled and replied.

“Ohk, that’s great. In that case i think i should move now.”

“Thank you for the help! You are so caring, I also want a husband like you.” She give a cute look and replied.

He smiled and neglected what the girl said and start walking.

“Wait.. Wait.. handsome boy…” She try to stop him.

She smiled thank him again and while leaving gave him an omamori.

“Good Luck charm for love.” He smiled put Omamori in his pocket and exit the shrine while thinking..

“Why did she give me this? I don't think I will get any love in my life”

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He finally reached his destination, he sat on the bridge and began watching the river water flow. Now the sun has completely set so there is darkness everywhere but there is visibility due to some street lights. He can hear the voice of the flowing water. Since he's alone, the sound gets clearer and clearer over time. The voices of the leaves of the trees refresh him and also the noises of nocturnal insects give him a different feeling.

The moon is yellow and its reflection on the river is easy to see. After a long time, he feels happy because of the scenery. He wants to draw this scenery, but he's not very good at it and he doesn't have any drawing tools at the moment. He closed his eyes and began to remember everything that had happened to him in the past.

“I'm Aikawa Atsuo. A junior high school student. I'm useless to family, friends, and everyone else. I see myself as tissue paper for others. The person with no family, no friends and no one to take care of me. I also left some of my friends who care about me because I don't want any trouble for them. But things used to be different. There was a time when I loved many of them. But over time, love is replaced by hate. I pray everyday but no one is willing to help me, so I think today is the last prayer of my life.

Thank you God! Here I come…”

He got up and without thinking about anything, closed his eyes and with a proud expression on his face, jumped into the river. He fall in the river like a knife on butter and began to feel the water. He can see the moonlight on the river's surface, it looks beautiful to him. He was never experienced anything like this in his life.

The omamori pops out of his pocket and begins to hover above him. The omamori [charm for love] seems useless to him since today is his last day, but he is happy because he was able to help the little girl. Due to the moonlight, the omamori also seems magical to him. He has trouble breathing and loses control of his body. His lungs are getting heavy and his eyes are about to close. He begins to lose consciousness. At that moment he heard a voice, the same one he had heard in the dream.

“Please hang on there and wait for me.”

He can see that someone is coming to save him. The person trying to reach out and grab his hand.