Departure

Rin walked out of his room and into the dining area. His mother was already sitting at the table, eating a simple breakfast which couldn't have taken her more than a couple of minutes to make. 

Neither of them acknowledged the other's existence as Rin passed her and made his way to the kitchen. Without wasting any time, he walked over to the fridge, pulled out a frozen meal, and threw it in the microwave.

Rin began closing and opening his eyes periodically. Whenever he opened them, he would be disappointed by how little the time had ticked down, which only led to him closing them again. 

Open. Time. Close. 

Open. Time. Close. 

For five minutes, he repeated this process and after what felt like an eternity, the microwave finally beeped. To which he responded by promptly snatching up his meal and retreating to his room.

***

Rin shot out of the car the second his mother stopped in the funeral hall's parking lot. 

He didn't particularly care about his destination, so he settled on a nearby bathroom. Almost immediately, he went for the sink so he could wash his face. It took three splashes before he was satisfied. Turning off the faucet, he looked up at the mirror and scowled in response to what he saw.

"You've got to be kidding me."

His reflection smiled at him.

"You didn't think I'd just stay home all day, did you?"

"So, it's not just my mirror? You can show up in any mirror?"

"It's not just mirrors in general. I can show up wherever you can see your reflection; water, foil, jewelry, TV screens, watches, stuff like that."

Upon hearing that, Rin dug out his phone and, sure enough, he was there. 

"Even your phone. As long as there's a reflection, I'm there."

Rin sighed. It was impossible not to imagine how little privacy he'd have from now on.

"Well, I might as well get this over with now.", he said.

He dialed a number into his phone and put it to his ear. It only took three rings before he heard an operator's voice saying, "911, what is your emergency?" 

He told them the location of the funeral, made a faulty report of gunfire, and without explaining any further, he hung up and stepped outside.

"So, you'll always be with me as long as I have my phone?"

"Well, not always. Alone time is important after all."

"Then, how about leaving me alone now?"

"Sure. But you should really get going. It wouldn't be right showing up late to dad's viewing."

"Leave."

Rin took the ensuing silence as a sign he was alone again, so, his attention shifted onto other things. He looked up at the sky and wondered if his reflection could appear up there too. However, there was no time to dwell on that thought.

"Fifteen minutes..."

***

The funeral proceedings were going well. Rin was obligated to sit at the front with his mother due to his relation to the deceased. However, he couldn't bring himself to focus on what the speaker was saying or anything to do with the ceremony itself. 

Instead, his gaze was fixed solely on the higher vantage points of the building. Tiny details like a camera sitting in the corner of the ceiling stood out to him, but far more conspicuous were the two men in suits. 

One on each of the upper floors to his right and left. Rin didn't do anything to call attention to these men though nor did he seem particularly surprised by their presence.

In response to noticing them, he simply leaned to his left and whispered something to his mother.

"I'll go up with you for your eulogy."

His mother didn't acknowledge his comment, but that was of little concern to Rin.

"Five minutes..."

All he could think about was what would happen next as he waited for his family's turn to speak upon the dead. Just as his patience was about to run out, the current speaker finally finished his long sermon and walked off stage.

Rin couldn't stop shaking his leg and would have forgotten to stand up if it wasn't for his mother doing so beside him. 

"One minute.", he said.

The two of them approached the stage at the front of the hall. And as they did, time seemed to move at a slower rate. Rin started counting down the seconds in his head.

-Forty-five, Forty-four, Forty-three.

He was staring down at his feet the entire time. 

-Twenty-five, twenty-four, twenty-three.

His counting was the only indication of any time passing at all for him. It was all he could hold onto and the lower he got, the louder all the tiny noises in the room became. 

-Ten, nine, eight.

They had completed their long journey to the stage and the body in the coffin was starting to come into view. His mother turned around in preparation for her speech. 

-Three, two...

One.

Time returned to a normal flow as Rin watched his mother speak. He looked around and nothing had changed. Everything was normal. 

Just as he was about to lower his guard however, something interrupted his brief moment of reprieve. 

*SCREEEEEEEEECH*
The sound of a vehicle's tires turned everyone's attention away from the stage, including the men in suits up top. They both pulled out pistols and took aim at the entrance to the funeral hall. Noticing this, Rin leaned into his father's coffin to look around. 

Before he could even get started though, he heard a bunch of glass shattering. He looked up and saw a huge truck ram through the entrance. The entire building shook causing Rin to fall on the corpse he was looking over. 

Amidst all the confusion, Rin could make out the sound of someone calling to him. 

"Over here! Hurry up!"

It was his own voice, and it was coming from his father's breast pocket. Rin reached inside and pulled out a crystal-like pocket watch made out of glass. He couldn't help but stare at his face being reflected by its glossy exterior. 

After a couple of seconds, his reflection gave Rin an okay sign, which snapped him out of his trance. The following sound of gunshots then reminded him where he was and he fell backwards to take cover behind the coffin, something he soon realized his mother had already done.

Rin peeked out slightly and was horrified by what he saw. The gunfire had stopped, and the truck was driving straight towards the coffin. In a moment of panic, he ducked back behind cover again and braced for the moment of impact. But it never came. 

He looked at his mom, shocked to see the truck right behind her, obscuring them from one of the upper levels. Rin looked at the man who should have been able to see everything still, only to find him absent from the scene. 

"Looks like you're on your own for this one.", his reflection said.

A bald man stepped out of the truck. He carried a rifle and a soft-spoken confidence as he addressed the two cowering in front of him.

"I'm not here to hurt you. I'm just looking for something."

He stepped towards the coffin and patted around. After finding nothing, he cursed and stepped away. A siren blared in the distance as he did. The shock on the trucker's face was palpable.

"No. They're here already!?"

"If anything, they're late.", Rin said.

The trucker turned around at this and pointed to Rin's mother.

"You. Come with me."

Before he could step closer, Rin intervened by placing himself in between the two of them.

"Take me instead."

"Either one of you is fine. I just need to get the cops off me."

"Oh, I'm not going as a hostage."

The trucker's eyes widened as Rin revealed his newly acquired pocket watch and simultaneously raised his arm as if threatening to slam it onto the ground. 

"Stop, you don't know what you're doing!"

"Move and I smash it!"

A siren wailed again, but this time it was much louder.

"What do you want?"

"I have what you want so take me with you."

A moment of silence overtook them as the trucker considered his offer. 

"You don't have much time.", Rin said.

"...Fine! Whatever, just come on!"

Shaky as his legs were, Rin followed the trucker to his vehicle, but before getting in, he turned to look at his mother. It was potentially the last time he would see her, so he tried to decipher the look on her face. Realizing it was to no avail however, Rin finally entered the truck.