Aiko's eyes wander restlessly back and forth, flashing in the dark as if waiting for danger to leap out and catch him off guard. His skin prickles with self‑conscious tension, and he keeps glancing at the girl beside him. Her brilliant black hair blends almost seamlessly into the darkness, except for a lighter streak running through it like the beam of a flashlight.
One moment of silence has passed already… surely?
“Erm… I don't want to disturb whatever's going on inside you, because it's clear— I mean, I can see that something is bothering you, a lot in fact, but I'm worried if you're okay. Soo... I don't know, maybe talk to me?”
He's still speaking when the girl lifts her chin — but instead of the soft eyes he expects, he finds a one‑of‑a‑kind flame burning there, something he has never seen before. Her scorching amber eyes lock onto his, making Aiko flinch.
"Silence!" She hisses at once. "Why can't you keep quiet? Enough! I know it's like I'm in a nightmare! But it feels real!"
To his astonishment, even as she snaps, her intense feelings don't seem directed at him — she doesn't even look his way, her gaze darting anywhere else. He blinks silently and a little stunned, watching the girl as he ponders a thought as if it had been there in front of him all along; if only he'd considered the possibility sooner!
"Am I dreaming?"
The question jerks her back to reality. Blinking rapidly, as if she'd forgotten he — or she — was still there on the ground beside each other. Then, recovering from the shock, she narrows her eyes.
"I'm pretty sure not." She says, getting to her feet. "But I'm going to find out what is happening."
"Okay, but wait—" Aiko barely has time to process her words before scrambling to follow. There is something impressive about her, and the fact that he isn't the only one who feels something is wrong. "I don't even know your name!"
She freezes, her gaze fixed somewhere in the distance. "I'm Ren."
"Hi, Ren! Nice to meet you! I'm Aiko!" He manages to stand, gaining just enough time to find his balance. This time it feels much easier. "Who were you talking to— I mean, I'm not saying you were talking to other people like you were crazy or anything. But what did you do when you asked for silence?"
Ren doesn't answer right away. Her shoulders lower as she tries to relax. Aiko wonders how much effort it must take for her to stay still — she seems like someone who needs to be doing something every moment. He has seen people like that before, people who can't stay in the present. Is Ren one of them?
"Oh, are you that kind of person? Who speaks all his thoughts out loud?" Ren glances towards him, a tiny smile on her face. But she doesn’t give Aiko the chance to reply before adding quickly. "It's fine. And about what I was doing... talking to others, I guess? Honestly, I don't know to whom. They're like spirits, but I can sense their voices—"
"Oh, so you basically can hear voices!" Aiko interrupts, his eyes brightening with joy. "That's cool, that's awesome! I hear voices too!"
But Ren doesn’t seem to match his enthusiasm. Her expression shifts into a dubious, unconvinced look. The deep silence she leaves between them carries an unspoken weight — one Aiko can’t bear for long. He feels an urge, tingling deep in his chest to break it. For the balance, of course.
"I-I mean— not exactly the ones you do because they don't come unexpectedly, b-but— I can see flickers of images, scenes or... as if you would daydream!" He stares at her, his voice desperate now to let her understand.
But Ren, blinking, simply shakes her head. "I don't daydream."
"Uh oh."
The silence drags on, and Aiko looks back at her anxiously, not knowing what to say, afraid of Ren's reaction. He feels that whatever he wants to say, it's as if they live in completely separate worlds, speaking completely different languages — everything would come out wrong.
"Like hallucinating? Are you two crazy? I've never met two crazy characters in my dreams before."
Aiko and Ren, like two sides of a mirror, whirl around at the same time to find themselves face to face with someone else.
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