48: Kizuna – Ties That Remain

“But then… where’s the ‘me’ from your world now?”

Rena nodded slowly, recognizing that it was the very question that had been weighing most heavily on her mind.

She still wasn’t sure if the Tom she had fought with in that park on their way home from school—the one she had parted with after a silly argument in the real world—was the same Tom who had later appeared out of nowhere in Giraffe Park, inside the Picture Book World.

Rena also wondered if she had created him from her own imagination—because she couldn’t stop thinking about Tom.
But even so, she still wanted to believe that the real Tom truly existed.

Then, out of nowhere, the memory of that moment came rushing back—when he had suddenly changed, as if possessed, and began speaking incoherently about engagements and weddings. A sharp throb pierced her head.

“Now that I think about it… didn’t he say something about me disappearing right before the wedding?”

—You vanished, just like that.
On the day before our wedding.
And then… you were found.
Here. In this pond—

“Ugh…!! My head… it hurts!!”

“Are you okay, big sis!?”

Tom looked up at Rena, who was clutching her head in pain, a worried look on his face.

“Just hang on a second.
I’ll get you some medicine—headache pills okay?”

As he spoke, Tom reached into the pocket of his red shorts, pulled out a device that looked like a smartphone, and began flicking through it with his finger.

“Wait—what? Is that a phone!?
Why do you even have that!?”

“This? Stuff falls through all the time near the mirror hallway.
Food, tools, things like that. I think they come from other worlds.
You’re lucky you didn’t get swept away, big sis!
You ended up here safely.”

“O-okay… but how are you going to get medicine from that thing?
Don’t tell me you’re ordering it online or something…
There’s no way you’ve got a signal here—”

“Phone? What’s that?
I don’t really get how it works, but it’s easy to use!
It tells me what to do, and I just follow the steps and ask for what I want.
I touch this part, then pick that, and then… ta-da!
There it is in my hand!”

And then, like something carried in on the gentle ripples of a mirror’s reflection, a packet of medicine settled softly into Tom’s small palm.
With a proud smile, he offered it to Rena.

Rena blinked in disbelief.
The scene felt eerily familiar—almost like déjà vu.
It reminded her of Mr. Fishing Rod she’d met by the pond.
This time, however, she managed to suppress her curiosity and ask calmly:

“…Is this, by any chance, some kind of AI technology?
Just kidding. That can’t be right, right?”

“AI? I’m not sure what that means, but there are some words here I can’t read.
Do you know them, big sis? They kinda look like English.”

He held the glowing screen up to her, and Rena squinted at the text.

—xxxx - Mill - Ema Tenner - xxxx—

“Hmm… ‘Mill, Ema Tenner’…?
Is that a name? Or maybe the name of the device…?”

“‘Mill’? ‘Ema Tenner’?
That sounds so cool! Let’s call it Mill!”

Tom’s innocent excitement brought a smile to Rena’s face.
His tone, his gestures… They reminded her of the boy she had known since childhood.
She found herself watching him fondly, wondering how old this version of Tom was—and how long he had been in this lonely place.

“Hey, Tom. You’re not wearing your usual cow-print T-shirt today—it’s got a full-on picture of a cow!
And it’s staring straight at me… haha!”

“Huh? Yeah! I love cows, so I always wear cow-print shirts!
I even have a cow mask! Wanna see it?”

In the midst of their playful conversation, Rena realized that their bond hadn’t faded—no matter which world they were in.
She felt a strong desire to protect this Tom’s innocent smile.
Then, gently, she asked him a question.

“Tom…let’s get out of this dark world together.
I think one of those mirrors in the hallway might lead us back—to our original world.”

“Our world…?
But the Rena I know… she’s not there anymore, right?”

Seeing the sadness in his eyes, Rena quickly continued, hoping to shift his thoughts.

“That’s why we’re going to go to the world from before she drowned.
We’ll go together—and I’ll save both of you!”

“…Really? You think that’s actually possible?”

“Of course it is!
Because “believing without a doubt”—that’s how Rena, the big sister, lives her life!”

Tom’s expression lit up instantly.
He looked up at her, eyes sparkling with hope, his smile as wide and bright as ever.