Sushi with Noodles

Neo opened an envelope Len had given him. Inside was a map with directions to Carolina's laboratory. It was in the western part of the city, just as he had suspected.

He asked Uncle for a day off, then walked quite a distance until he reached the neighborhood marked on the map.

Looking around, the neighborhood seemed very different from the Union district, where people were always going from one place to another, buying things and waiting for others. In other words, it was much busier compared to this quieter place.

The notes contained instructions that said: first right, straight to the end of the street, turn left, second right... Neo followed them, but something was wrong. There were too many instructions for someone who was already in the area. To be honest, it felt like there was no end to it.

He began to think he was walking in circles, especially since he had passed a street with an electronics store about four times and the same cafe about five times. He decided to follow the instructions for a few more lines to see if he was really going in circles, and it didn't take long to realize he was right.

Frustrated, he gave up following the step-by-step instructions and jumped straight to the end. That's when he discovered something else. There was a hidden flap on the paper with something written in very small letters that were hard to read: "Open only when you've given up."

Without thinking, he opened the flap. Inside was another message written in small letters: "You fell for your brother's prank, hahaha! You've been running around in circles all this time! I don't know exactly where our sister is, but she said she's in the area where you've been running around in circles. I'm sure you can find her, especially now that you know the area well. Hahaha."

"Damn it! He's been tricking me all along, I swear I'll get him," he muttered under his breath as he vented his anger on the paper, tearing it into a thousand pieces.

Once he had calmed down, Neo was a little worried. He had walked so far, but he had no idea where his sister could be. To be honest, he didn't remember her very well. It had been a few hours since he had started walking, and with his legs aching, he remembered passing a children's park where there were plenty of benches to rest on. So he went there.

The sky was a deep blue with only a few clouds. The day was hot, a light breeze cooled the air, though it wasn't enough to take away the heat. All this combined to make him thirsty. An ice cream vendor caught his eye, but he didn't have any money.

Two children playing in the park, a girl and a boy who seemed to be siblings, decided to ask the vendor for ice cream. They called their mother, and while she was paying the vendor, they argued about who would get the first ice cream.

The scene was somehow familiar. The heat, the light breeze, a few clouds in the sky, the fight over ice cream - it was as if he had seen it somewhere or sometime before. And he had, as the children competed with each other, Neo's mind was transported into the past. Years ago. In the same park, he was shorter, holding the hand of a woman with a baby and a taller girl beside him. It was just as hot as now, and Neo spotted an ice cream vendor.

"Mom, I want ice cream," said the young Neo, tugging at the woman's hand.

"'Mama'? So that's my mother? Why can't I see her face?" Older Neo thought, a bit desperately as he tried to remember her face.

"I don't think it's a problem. What about you, Carolina? Do you want some too?" the mother replied, turning to the girl.

"If this is really my mother, 'Carolina,' then this is my sister, and the baby in my mother's arms is Leo..." Older Neo thought, paying attention to the details.

"Of course, Mom. It's so hot," Carolina replied.

While their mother ordered an ice cream and paid the vendor, Carolina began to tease her brother.

"Who do you think gets the first ice cream? Huh, Shorty?" she asked, trying to annoy him.

Without giving in to her, Neo calmly replied, "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who gets it first."

Carolina didn't give up trying to irritate her brother. "If you don't mind coming second, I'll take first."

His competitive spirit began to flare. "Not if I can help it."

"I guess Saya was right, I do like competition," the older Neo thought.

Seeing that she had hit a nerve, Carolina continued, "How are you going to do that, Shorty?"

"Somehow you don't need to know."

"You think you're smarter than me?"

"I don't think, I know."

Carolina flicked him. "If you were really that smart, you would have dodged that."

He bit her, "And you didn't."

The fight escalated, the two of them exchanging blows and pulling at each other's hair.

"You two stop fighting! If you keep this up, you'll both go without," her mother scolded them, annoyed.

Between getting the second ice cream or going without, it was better to settle for the second. So they stopped immediately.

Now that they were calm, Carolina's mind was occupied with something strange.

"Hey, Neo."

Thinking she was going to annoy him again, he replied irritably, "What?"

"What if I give you the first ice cream, but you promise me something?" she suggested.

The boy was surprised by her kindness and suspicious at the same time, sure that what she wanted was a significant favor, something he would suffer for the rest of his life.

"What do you want?" he asked, still annoyed.

"I want you to promise me that you'll never forget me."

That surprised him again-just that? It couldn't be that simple...

"Huh? Why? I'll never forget you."

"Promise?"

"Yes... Of course, you're my sister."

"Alright then..." Carolina smiled, and as soon as she had the ice cream in her hand, she handed it to him. "Here you go then..."

With the ice cream in his hand, young Neo became a little worried. "What if I forget you in the end?"

Carolina, busy with her melting ice cream, said, "We're siblings. Siblings have a bond that no one else has. So even if you forget me out here..." She tapped his chest with her finger. "...you won't forget me in here."

"Got it," Neo said, confused that she was smearing her ice cream covered finger on his shirt. "HEY! DON'T WIPE YOUR FINGER ON ME."

She laughed and said, "That's why even if I'm hidden, you can find me. Just follow your heart."

Carolina's laughter, so close, slowly faded. It was so far away now that he could barely hear it. The bright colors of the park's toys faded with time.

And Neo returned to himself, sitting on the bench as the children and their mother walked away. It felt as if only a few seconds had passed. Now that his legs had rested, he could continue his search.

He looked at the park's toys up close. Even though his mind didn't remember, his body felt a sense of nostalgia. He gently touched the slide and felt as if he had slid down it before. The same thing happened with other toys.

Carolina had always been passionate about her work, which is why she had so many different inventions. She loved to build and use technology to make her life easier. The older Neo thought, remembering fragments of his sister.

While the toys had faded, there was a structure near the wall that seemed new. For some reason, he felt drawn to it.

"Follow your heart, huh?" he said softly.

As he approached, he could see more clearly that it was a small building, closed off by several metal doors, a sign reading "High Voltage Danger".

Neo looked around and saw nothing that used electricity. Why was that there? He became suspicious. He slowly opened the door.

Inside was a small staircase. He went down the stairs, the only light coming from the open door. As he stepped onto the last step, he saw a long, dark corridor that seemed to go on forever. The open door suddenly closed, leaving him in the darkness of this strange place. His heart began to race, fearing that he might be trapped forever.

Lights near the floor lit up, revealing not only the entire corridor, but also the door at the end, a metal door. As he approached it, he saw a small keyboard and a panel that lit up with the text:

"Enter the password."

As he typed, he spoke at the same time:

"Stupid sister."

"Wrong password," a voice said, and an "X" appeared on the panel.

He tried again:

"My dear little brother Neo."

"Incorrect password," a voice said, and an "X" appeared on the panel.

"Man... Now she's got me..." Neo said quietly.

The keyboard blinked desperately for an answer, but the boy in front of the panel had none. He tried to remember more details about his sister, but it was really difficult. His mind couldn't come up with anything.

"She liked to work? What else?" he whispered as he thought, pacing back and forth.

"Coffee? People who work a lot usually like coffee... but that can't be it," he whispered while thinking.

Coffee was one of the drinks, and what if it was something similar?

"FOOD! THAT'S IT!" he shouted, a spark of inspiration hitting him.

Neo then typed:

"sushiwithnoodles."

"Correct password," a voice said, and the door slowly opened.

"My sister loves to eat, and her two favorite foods are sushi and instant noodles, so the password must be sushi with noodles," he explained.

As he finished speaking, the door finished opening, and behind it stood a slightly shorter female figure, wearing a white lab coat, glasses, and long brown hair with a braid. She clapped her hands.

"Congratulations," Carolina said in surprise. "You really were the only one who could find me, but I didn't think you'd figure out the password as well."

"Sister..." Neo said happily, realizing that he had succeeded.