Chapter 02

Chapter 02

Hana Hanazawa was remarkable. She was so remarkable that the main thing that made her remarkable was her pure natural remarkability.

Her name suffers constantly from hyperinflation due to how much it rolls off from people's tongues. Her name is so powerful that it inspires growth in the lives of boys, encourages them to work out and lose weight, to study in class and get good grades, only to bring that growth crashing down to a great depression when they realize the investment they put in her would prove fruitless.

Hana Hanazawa had an aura about her that invited you to say her name. Her name was as much in our vernacular as “Good morning” and “How are you?” Hearing her name was not only natural but expected, especially on days she didn't come. To hear her name so many times that it's impossible not to know of her existence would be like someone who never heard the name God.

Her existence was always known to everyone as this entity in my class, this ethereal Lovecraftian Leviathan with a million heads that can turn you to stone with a single glance. She is an immortal being that stood the test of time, like a diamond; it's almost like she had all the right elements with her when she was conceived.

She has long, flowy hair. Her eyebrows were thick. She's extremely tall for her age and she towers, literally and metaphorically, over all who have the hubris to think they have a chance with her. Her eyes were like a watchtower; whatever direction she looked, the cockroaches would scatter. All except one. All except one bug. A bug who was already crippled and had no way of running away. That bug who was disabled crawled its way to her greatness; he looked her in the eyes with a blank, emotionless gaze.

“Hey...”

“...”

Hanazawa, who had usually kind and cheerful eyes, had them now narrowed and dagger-like.

“We're in the same class; my name is Nakamura, but my friends call me Mura.”

“So...” she crossed her legs, her eyes were glued to her phone, “ ‘Mura’, what's up?”

“Not much, I just have a favor to ask you.”

“...”

“Can you meet me on the roof during PE class today?”

“...Okay...? Why?”

“Nothing much,” the pathetic bug said, “I had a crush on you since our first year of high school... So I wanted to confess to you.”

Hanazawa was taken aback; she took her eyes off from her phone to the bug's eyes, she blinked several times.

“...Okay,” she said, “I'll meet you there.”

My body compared to hers is a stick figure, and she isn't even that muscular to begin with. Hana's thickest muscle must be her thighs and calves; she plays basketball a lot. The thickest muscle in my body is my heart. My heart is huge, or should I say... swollen.

My left ventricle, or better yet the main pumping station of the heart, is defective. The wall is swollen and stiff; because of that, it can only narrowly pump hard enough to supply my body with the minimum amount of oxygen.

At times, I feel a squeeze in my chest, and my mind entering the clouds. Those are the times I must stay calm, but also make sure I'm not too calm as to give in to sleep. It gets to the point where I dread having to go to bed. Will I wake up after I close my eyes? Will I see the rising sun again?

Sometimes I feel disappointed when I wake up and feel the sun's warmth on my face.

“...”

For some reason on the rooftop, I wasn't afraid; it was like I was in heaven.

I have a cane to help me walk, one which I'm currently hugging as I sit on a desk in the empty class in the corner, leaning next to the window with an empty cup of rainwater in front of me.

It feels peaceful if not foreboding. The view outside is chaotic as trees hold onto their roots and the rain crashes down on them. It feels like waves on a beach the way the rain is. There's quiet tranquility and then a loud wash of aggression, and then it repeats itself. As if the clouds are breathing in and out.

I try to keep myself from falling asleep as Hana asked me. The room is dark and has only the light of the windows and the water washing down it, making this look like a set designed for a movie.

I looked at the clock at the front of the class and then looked at my watch I keep on my wrist.

“...Eh?”

I gasp. Neither of them is moving, and both of them have stopped at the same hour, five o'clock in the afternoon.

“...”

I see...

The door swung open with a sound that startled me; I instinctively held my chest. After a few seconds, a tall figure wearing a bright yellow raincoat waddled into the room. It was Hana; she looked at me with a bored face as she just came back from doing something outside; the coat was still dripping on the floor.

I swallowed as she moved her hands to gently unbutton the coat and heard the rubbery splash it made as it hit the floor. Underneath, she was wearing her high school uniform that was completely dry except for some streaks where the rubbery coat met, on her wrists and a bit on her face. She took a step away from the coat on the floor and kicked it to the side; she bent over and took off her red boots that clenched at her foot; it made an unpleasant rubbery squeak as her foot came free.

She straightened her blazer and smirked at me.

Pat pat pat. Her bare feet made that noise as she came closer to me, in front of me, she placed her hand on the desk in front and she asked if that seat was taken; I shook my head, and she sat down backward on the chair.

She looked at me with those red eyes and smiled warmly.

“So... I'm glad you didn't fall asleep,” she thanked me.

I nodded.

“I know how sleepy you must be, but please don't do that.”

“So...” I gathered my courage to finally speak, “I...Ummm.... I really did have a heart attack, didn't I?”

After I asked that, her smile hadn't changed a bit.

“And none of the clocks are working, not even the one on my wrist... or the one at the front of the class.”

Saying that made her turn her head to check; she gave off an impressed whistle and looked back at me still smiling.

“And both my watch and the clock stopped at the same time...” I looked out of the window. “No one's inside this building, despite there being a storm outside.” My forehead wrinkled as I try to remain calm.

I look back at her and ask, “Am... Is this heaven or something?”

Hana scoffed, “Not yet,” she rubbed her nose, “This is what's called limbo... it doesn't matter how much time passes in here; once you go back outside, it would be like nothing ever happened.”

I raise my eyebrows, “That's....cool I guess.”

Her face lit up hearing me say that, “You're quite calm for someone who's dead...”

I sigh.

“To be honest, I'm not used to being in situations like this, so I don't know how I should act.”

“Understandable,” she remarked, she smiled again as she stood up from her chair, she offered her hand to me as to help me up.

I blink and look up to her; her eyes glowered in the shadows.

I gingerly take her hand, and she helps me up; I didn't need to grab my cane as she already did it for me; she held my arm in a way that didn't make me feel like I was being handled. However, my head was still spinning, and standing up made it worse; she could tell that from my face so she put me back down, and she sat on the seat next to mine this time with a pouty face.

“Come on, you're not gonna sleep on me again, are you?”

“N-no, I just feel lightheaded.”

Hana sniffed, and her attention drifted elsewhere, as if she was reminded of something.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, I ask her, “Why are you worried that I'm gonna fall asleep again?”

“Because last time you did, it lasted ten days,” she said it bluntly.

“Ten... Ten days?”

She nodded.

“Ten days?!”

“Ten days, although, I'm not sure since time doesn't pass here, I counted the minutes.”

I put my hand on my head, trying to process this information. “And I'm still alive?... Uhm... well, I guess I already died, but... um... I guess I didn't need to eat or drink anything...”

“So!” she slapped the desk, “You wanna leave here or not?”

“...”

She stood up, walked to the wall next to me, and leaned on it.

“You have two options, think of them as two pills.”

“...”

She looked to the whiteboard with a stern and intimidating expression; she held her fists in front of her and opened her left one.

“Blue pill. You leave this place, and I erase your memory.”

“...”

She then smirked and giggled to herself.

“Oooooor,” she opened her right arm, “The red pill!” she said with a grandiose tone, “You leave this place, I erase your memory, and you get to keep your new heart!!!”

“...!”

I was shocked to hear that, to say the least. I couldn't find what words to say.

“Or you can take the black pill and just kill yourself right now, Te-he~”

“I...”

I covered my mouth and held back my tears.

I.

I can't...

“...Believe... I don't believe you!!”

“...!”

Her face grew dark after hearing that. I don't know if it was rage, if it was desperation, or...

“You... don't say things like that!!!.... I ....I!”

Thud!

“...”

“...”

A loud noise came from above, and I felt something wet fall on my head; it ran through my hair and slid onto my brow like sweat. Like sweat, I wiped it.

As I look at my fingertip, I notice it's red.

I look up, and I see that Hana had her fingers were inside her temple.