ECHO

     Presenting itself before Mirai was the exact same view from outside of Yukue’s study. She was peering into the living room of Yukue’s home, just as she left it not too long ago.

     Her heart skipped a beat, and the walls suddenly felt tighter than usual. She scanned back and forth in search of an explanation. Eager to feel grounded.

     Mirai stepped forward, canvasing over the space before her. “What the fuck...?” she whispered. Anxiety engulfing her, Mirai swiftly stepped back into the study. The door swinging shut behind her. Just as the click of the handle reached her ears, so did a faint kiss of pain. Her eyes bloodshot and her heart beating out of her chest, she lightly caressed the back of her head as she frantically looked around the room in search of answers.

     “What…? This doesn’t make any sense,” she cried out while peering around the room and realizing the doctor was nowhere in sight. A throbbing pain then abruptly pierced through her head. Struggling to focus, her stomach began to churn as she hunched over and vomited.

“Hey!”

     Someone could be heard calling out in a muffled voice. But barely holding on to consciousness, Mirai could only stare ahead aimlessly until she found herself drawn to something vaguely appearing in front of her. A face that she could barely make out but somehow felt familiar.

     Trying to gather her thoughts, she began losing the fight as the presence in front of her descended more and more into a blur. Drifting off into a dark vacant space, the voice echoed from afar. Reaching closer and closer with every word but remaining unintelligible all the same.

     Mirai then leaned forward, her rubber shoes squeaking against the marble floors and reverberating around her. She unexpectedly found herself walking down a long path flanked by walls covered in an off-white textured wallpaper and accented by rich varnished wood. She peered at the tall stature and vast shoulders of a mysterious man as he walked ahead of her. With his every movement traveling to her ears like sound moving through a funnel. Her body almost felt as if it was underwater.

     He felt towering, and his aura enormous. Only now did she take note of another young girl walking between the man and herself. She could faintly see the girl holding onto her wrist, running her finger underneath a red band. Mirai peered down at her own wrist to find a similar band around hers as well; the numbers 3055 imprinted on it.

     As she glanced back up, the young girl slightly turned her head and peeked over her shoulder at Mirai.

…

“Yukue?”

     Mirai’s lips then sealed shut with her body faintly wavering as a terrifying thought began to fill her head.

That’s right… I don’t have a sister…