Shiratori Haruto

My scared open eyes, which were wet with tears, looked downwards inside the dark well. “W-Why… Itsuki…?”

“He knows that this time, he’s trapped, and he must face his destiny,” The robotic voice said.

I turned my head left and looked at the rotating logo. “Why… are we supposed to be the ones?”

“More than a hundred men were chosen to be as ‘the one’, kid. The one… a hundred. No one of the ‘ones’ was able to do what we wanted them to. It’s not like you kids are unique. It’s just that we’re now focusing on a new generation of men which can lead the others.”

“I can’t understand all of this, but…” My nose was leaking too now as I looked at the logo and snorted. “I… don’t wanna lose this peaceful little life I have.”

The little rotating figure didn’t say anything for a second, and then, with a little bit of understanding, he spoke, “… I know that your life’s been full of difficulties. I can’t guarantee you a life without difficulties at the other end of this well. But I can just say that whatever you do there… you’ll enjoy it. It’s not like it’s rotten like hell, where people are dying everywhere, fire is raging all around and shit. But… it’s gonna be peaceful too. It’d have its own set of problems, its own set of solutions, and you’d feel independent, secure, and a shit ton independent. You’re still a kid right now. But, when you’d be there, you’d grow up, learn things through experiences, and do things no ordinary human has ever done before.” I turned my head to the inside of the well, and then turned my scared and confused eyes to the logo again. I was breathing up and down quickly in fright. “Now, do it.”

“I…” My eyelids closed as my eyelids collided with the increased tear which splashed by the collision and little drops jumped out. “I… love my mom. What will she do without me?”

“You will be erased from other’s memories, as I said, Shiratori-kun,” It calmly replied. “I know you’ve been through a lot, like I said, but…” The voice stopped for a second, and then sighed. “Well, even I don’t have any words to console you. But… just jump inside. I assure you that everything will be alright here.”

I turned to the darkness of the well again, and snorted in a breath. I covered my eyes with the bottom of my palm and wiped them. I then covered my mouth with both of my hands, and then exhaled out in tension. I turned down again. I breathed in and out, trying to calm my shaking body. “As… As Itsuki said, I guess I should not think too much about it.”

“Yeah. It just delays the outcome.”

“F-Fine, then, but…” I turned my head left again at the logo. “Just make sure everything’s fine here.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay then…” I turned my head down again, and looked at the darkness. It really was pitch black, and so deep that the other end was not even visible. As I looked into the depths of darkness, my mouth said, “I want my mom to be happy, to be away from all the miseries, and to die smiling. Those are my conditions, and I shall settle for nothing less.”

“I know how much you love your mom, kiddo.”

“And I want my mom to be content in life. I want her to be peaceful, not overwork herself on weekdays, and I want her to make sure she’s enough time to make a good dinner for herself. I then want her to sleep the night happily and peacefully in her warm cozy bed. Every single day.”

“Okay.”

Hearing that mundane reply, I moved my right leg up and fixed my right foot up. Then, I pushed my body frontwards into the dark circle, and moved inside it headfirst. With my eyes fixed on the other end, I looked at my body slowly moving down, entering into the well. For those some seconds, I was unable to hear anything, and it was like time has suddenly slowed down. It then sped up, and I was moving down at an increasingly fast speed to the other side of the well. As my body glided down, my emotionless eyes dropped some tears along the way as I cut the air. “I hope that from now on, everything goes on just fine. Today has been… a different day. A rather different day. I just hope that in the new place where I go, I’m able to find people to help me. I hate changes, to be honest. Or rather, I’m… scared of them. Pal, I just hope that mom forgets about me and lives peacefully thereafter.”