CHAPTER 1
PLUNGE INTO THE DARKNESS, Part 3

 …!

I come to with a scream of metaphorical pain. I must have been having a nightmare to have reacted like that.

The last thing I remember is the darkness around me, then nothing. A complete blackout.

… A dream. It had to be.

“I was sleeping, you know!” my brother snaps, still half asleep.

“I didn’t mean to.” It came out weaker than I intended.

“Damn it, Brian, I was sleeping so well, and now…”

He doesn’t even finish his sentence and quickly retreats under the covers.

“I said sorry. Take it up with my subconscious. Besides… it’s eleven in the morning,” I say, grabbing my phone. “It’s time to get up.”

“N-no…”

When my brother is sleepy, only God himself could get him out of bed, though an earful from Dad is also effective.

I sprawl across the bed, processing everything. I rest my face in my outstretched hands to calm down a bit, as if I’m instinctively bracing myself for something that’s looming over me.

… My eyes itch. I pull my hands away from my face and… stare at them, stunned.

“Um… James…?”

My brother tries to ignore me, but I can’t help it. Something’s wrong with me.

“James, please!”

“What is it…?” He doesn’t even bother hiding his irritation.

“Look at my hands and tell me…”

I’m scared. I have no idea how he will react.

“What? There’s nothing wrong with your hands.”

… All I can muster is a sharp hiss.

Checking them again, they seem fine.

“I could’ve sworn…”—how do I explain this without sounding crazy?—“that my hands were emitting black vapor.”

“Ah…”

I hate it when he gives me that blank look, pretending to listen or understand.

“Did you take your medicine?”

“I’m not crazy.” I try not to snap. “And my medicine isn’t a hallucinogen. Don’t make me angry.”

“Oh, so I’m not supposed to make you angry? I can’t even sleep thanks to you.”

I don’t even know why I bothered trying.

I grab my toothbrush from my suitcase and hurry toward the bathroom.

I really need a mirror here!

I must have been mistaken earlier. I was still half asleep. A good splash of water on my face and I’ll be fine.

“…”

Now that I’ve brushed my teeth and washed up, I can confirm that I’m okay. Just looking at me, it’s easy to see: the usual pimples, the usual stubble on my chin, the usual sideburns, the usual brown pupils surrounded by black, the usual crooked teeth…

What’s wrong with my eyes?! I stumble on the rug and fall backward onto the floor.

“What’s going on?” My mother from the kitchen. “Well?”

“I…!” I check myself again. I have to make sure I’m not having yet another hallucination. “I’m fine. I just tripped…!” Apparently another false alarm.

“Can’t you go even a single day without hurting yourself?” she snaps.

If she ever shows a little concern, I might even get choked up.

A walk… We’re going for a walk…!

I need to not think about how crazy and unbelievable today has been!

I don’t understand how I ended up like this. I should’ve gotten enough sleep. Actually, now that I think about it… I slept too much. I must have fallen asleep around nine-thirty last night, so I literally slept for half a day. Maybe a little more.

“So, why you so down? Watch out. If you keep this up, you won’t be come back here.”

“Leave me alone.”

…! I can’t believe it. I actually said it.

“Ah. I not ask you anything else, then.” She frowns.

I admit it. I overreacted. She just wanted to know how I was doing, even if she went about it in her own way.

“Sorry, Mom.”

“…” She doesn’t even look at me. That usually means she’s done talking to me. Fine by me. If we don’t talk, then we don’t fight, and I can be more relaxed.

I bump into someone. I apologize immediately, but this pale young man with deep blue hair and red eyes doesn’t seem to be as cordial. The chill he gives off almost sends shivers down my spine.

“Guarda dove metti i piedi… babbeo.”

…? He hesitated, as if he had wanted to swap the insult for another one at the last second.

Maybe I should appreciate his attempt at self-control?

The albino shoots me one last icy glare before walking off, but my brother isn’t going to let him go that easily.

“Apologize to him!” He tugs at him.

The young man doesn’t even look our way. He turns in the opposite direction. No sign of alarm at the situation.

“Leave him alone, James.”

My brother still doesn’t get it. It’s too late for him to be the big brother. I can’t fully blame him. We didn’t have a good relationship in the past, and he wants to make up for it. But I’m eighteen now, and his reaction is just embarrassing.

“I was the one who bumped into him. I was lost in thought.”

“Okay, but he shouldn’t have treated you like that!” James replies.

“And I should’ve been paying attention, so just drop it.”

He finally lets him go.

…? Such a serious, cold gaze. Maybe it was his tough guy way of saying thanks.

With that settled, my family and I go on our way. But not before I turn around for one last glance at the young man.

“Have a good day.”

“…?!”

I caught a fleeting glimpse of his… surprise? About what? I only wished him well.

We’ve stopped at a stand to get some crepes. If I may say so, I like to think I make better ones myself, but it’s interesting to try a version that’s different from my own.

My father has been giving me the side-eye for a while. Let me eat in peace! I try to ignore him, but his gaze seems a bit reproachful and fed up for some reason.

“If you’ve got something to tell me, just say it, please.”

He laughs in response, but quickly turns serious again. “You shouldn’t have let that boy treat you like that. What, were you scared?”

“Come on, I know you don’t have much faith in me, but I can defend myself if I need to,” I reply.

“Then why didn’t you?”

“I already told you, Dad. It wasn’t necessary. Why go looking for trouble for no reason?”

“Tsk… nothing but excuses.” … Poison. I want nothing to do with it.

I’m tempted, but I won’t let his words get to me. I know I did the right thing.

My brother acts like nothing happened. Actually, no, he shoots me a knowing smile. My mother, on the other hand, hides her proud gaze to avoid giving me the satisfaction. She’s still resentful from earlier.

“You two aren’t saying anything?” Why does he always have to drag them into it?

“Well, Jay handled it good,” my mother says. “But Brian is right that it wasn’t worth wasting your breath on a rude, racist—though we don’t know if he was— Canadian like that.”

“He couldn’t have been Canadian,” I say, savoring my fritter.

“Why do you say that?”

“He was far too pale to be Canadian… Actually, that’s irrelevant. I think he’s albino,” I say, correcting myself. “Besides, he didn’t have the slightest accent in his Italian.”

“Maybe he’s not originally from Canada, but he grew up here,” my brother suggests.

“But also true that Canadians not usually react like that, right? I don’t know if he was have a bad day, though.”

I have to disagree with you, Mom. “I told you, you have to pay attention to his accent. He immediately spoke perfect Italian. Not English or French. Anyway, his reaction had nothing to do with having a bad day. Usually, people who react like him in that situation—after a provocation like James’s—either retreat like turtles or make threats so they’ll be left alone. That boy ignored James the entire time, so his behavior today was just his nature. Who knows, he might’ve even done it for fun… Oh!” I’ve overthought it.

My family looks at me, scrutinizing me as if they don’t recognize me. My mother even has her mouth wide open. It’s probably because, in their eyes, I’m a fool who doesn’t understand the world, and on (rare) occasions like this, they’re taken aback. I decide to ignore it and continue eating. For some reason, I have a huge appetite today.