Bad Dream

“Honey, wake up. You’ll be late for work.”

“I don’t wanna, you’re way too warm. Screw work, I’ll come in late today.”

“Oh really? Well, I have to go to work, so could you please unhand me?”

“No,” I japed, playfully blowing wind down Yuri’s neck.

“Hey, that tickles,” she chuckled, while slowly turning away from my arms.

“Honestly, Laura. We had our fun last night, but it’s the dawn of a new day. Monday, to be exact. So ruffle your feathers and stand up, because we both need to contribute our worth to the working society of Japan. We can cuddle up later at your place, alright?”

“Sure, that’s a deal. But can we please stay like this for five more minutes?” I tried negotiating as much time as possible with her.

“Alright, I’ll set a timer. Five more minutes, no second more. Got it?”

She jumped back under the cover and pressed her chest against my back.

“Got it.” I closed my eyes for a little while longer, at peace once more.

Suddenly, I felt something shaking me very roughly.

“Hey you, wake up.”

“Wake up, damn it!”

I slowly opened my eyes, only to find myself lying in fetal position in a large pile of rubble. Before me was the cracked picture frame of the photo we took on our first date, which always stood on the small shelf near Yuri’s entrance. But something was off. A thin layer of ice had formed around the entire thing, and as I reached for it, the frame crumbled simply after grabbing onto it.

I still held her keys in my right hand, yet they, too, seemed to have been frozen solid.

“Good, you’re finally awake.” A disembodied voice yelled.

I slowly rose, nearly tumbling down the pile of rubble with my still shaky legs.

“Hey you, take it easy there. Don’t need you destroying anything more than you already have, alright?” The same, disembodied voice said, now slightly closer.

I finally managed to stand up and turned toward the street. Completely surrounded by rubble, I finally spied the voice that was talking to me.

It was a man wearing a neat suit and some kind of sunglasses. He gestured for me to step closer and shoved a hand mirror in my face as soon as I did.

What I saw wasn’t my usual reflection, though. I stepped back out of shock when I saw my glowing eyes, almost blinding me when keeping contact with them. My usually brown hair had turned completely white for some reason, and I felt as cold as the inside of my fridge.

“You have two choices now, kid. Out of respect for both your late parents and Doctor Wada, you can either follow me to my car and we’ll drive somewhere with less prying eyes and public attention, or I’ll kill you, right here, right now.”

Did I just hear that right? Kill? Where even am I? What happened? Isn’t this Yuri’s apartment?

My head began aching terribly, and blood began flowing out of my nose.

“I guess you shouldn’t have stood up so abruptly. Well, now would be a good time to answer me, kid. Your choice. Life, or death.”

“I suppose I’ll follow you”

“Are you sure? There’s no turning back from there. I could end your suffering here and now. Just saying, in your situation I couldn’t be able to decide.”

My situation? What’s he talking about? And where is Yuri? It’s her apartment, isn’t it? Did he do something to her?

“Where is she?”

“Who are you talking about? Oh, that girl? You were muttering her name the entire time while laying there on the floor. Yuri, was it?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know, shouldn’t you? We sure didn’t do anything to her, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“We?”

I took a quick glance around. Dozens of similarly dressed people, and a few policemen, blocked the road.

“Apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. Special Agent Hideki Araki, Department of Spiritual Affairs.”

He held a badge in front of me as if I was supposed to know what the Department of Spiritual Affairs was. On it, a dragon wrapped around the globe.

“And what is that supposed to tell me?”

“Everything you need to know for now. And no further questions. You have five minutes to make your decision. Really think about it.” He backed away and crossed the barrier tape placed around the entire collapsed building, which I was still standing in.

My headache slowly faded, and I could think more clearly again.

What the hell is this situation? And what even happened here? And to me? Where is Yuri? Someone’s gotta know, I guess. Maybe that someone is this weird guy. What is that Department even supposed to do? Guard temples and priests? Maybe they’re responsible for funerals nowadays? Spiritual Affairs. He seems off.

“Excuse me, sir, but I think I’ve made my decision. I’ll go with you, for now.”

“For now? Didn’t you listen to me, lady? This is a once in a lifetime deal. Literally. You either follow me, or die. There’s no “for now” in this scenario. Once you follow me, you’ve made your decision, there will be no turning back then.” He raised his voice slightly.

“Alright, I get it. I’ll follow you, then.”

Pretty rude. And what does he mean, kill me? I suppose I’m still a bit too hazy to actually comprehend what he’s saying at all.

He led me to a black limousine with blacked out windows, as if it couldn’t get any more suspicious, and held the door open for me.

“I’ll explain it once you’re in the car,” he said, waving his hand to make me hurry up.

As soon as I entered, we drove off. And fast.

“Alright lady, listen. I’m here on the orders of your adoptive father, Doctor Satoru Wada. Do you remember him? You seem a bit disoriented, so I’m not too sure what you’re even aware of right now.”

“Yes, of course I do.”

“Great. Now, he wanted me to take care of you instead of any other squad leader, because that could have gotten very rough for you. Are you aware of your parents’ research?”

“No? That’s kind of a touchy subject for someone I just met, you know?”

“Right, I’m aware of what happened. Do you know anything about the spirit realm then?”

“Excuse me, the what? Spirit realm?”

“Yes, the spirit realm. From that answer I take it that Doctor Wada did, in fact, not involve you in his field of research. Well, we have a long ride ahead, so I guess I’ll start from the beginning.”

What is this man talking about? And why is he still wearing sunglasses? We’re inside a car with tinted windows, what kind of bright lights can even pass through those?

“You’re special, alright? That’s all you need to know for now. You have a specifically strong connection to the spirit realm, thanks to it being able to leech onto you from a young age.”

Special? What nonsense is this man even spouting? This has to be a dream, there’s just no other way. It’s way too ridiculous.

“You’ve seen yourself in the mirror, right? Your white glowing eyes and white hair? They’re still glowing, by the way, which is why I’m wearing these.” He pointed at his sunglasses.

“You’ve just awakened a Traumata, a term your parents coined, like most of the language we use at our department. Its literal meaning just translates to trauma, but this isn’t literal. Well, it kind of is, but you’ll see. To awaken a Traumata, one must fulfill three conditions at a very young age, but up to 12 years old is the latest it had a recorded effect.

1. The Person must witness and be part of a Mass Casualty Incident

2. The Person must witness the death of a loved one

3. The Person must have a near-death experience, or be resuscitated

Now, is there anything you can recall that fits that description from your childhood? Think long and hard.”

Of course there is, and since he knows Satoru, he should be aware of it, too. Snow, too much to physically comprehend, crashing down on me. Horrid.

“Yes, there is.”

“Exactly. And you witnessed their deaths, right? Since you fulfilled all three of those conditions, the spirit realm clasped onto you immediately after the incident. Every Traumata is connected to the incident it was formed in. Meaning your Traumata is somewhat frost or cold based, we’ll figure out more after some testing. And one more thing kid,” he leaned over to whisper in my ear.

“Don’t even try escaping from now on. Nobody will help you. There’s no documentation of you left anywhere in the world. Even your birth certificate in Germany was already disposed of. Congrats, I guess. You’re now officially a WMD, you know what that means, right? You. Have. No. Rights.”

He gently nudged the tip of my nose, as if this was all just a game to him.