I didn't think twice; I got out of bed, put on the shoes I found next to it, and left my room to go to the one next door. Once I reached it, I stood outside trying to muster my courage, but the moment I grabbed the doorknob, a certain embarrassment began to rise in me. I didn't know what to say to him besides a simple thank you. In my mind, ironically, I thought of going to him and saying jokingly:

"Hi, I'm that wretch who tried to kill herself and whom you saved at the risk of your own life."

But of course, that was out of the question. Although, thinking about it, he couldn't have known the reason why I was about to be hit or the fact that, if I hadn't hesitated, I could have easily dodged the car.

Slowly, I turned the handle and partially opened the door. Through the gap, I glanced inside the room to see if he was actually there or if he had gone somewhere around the hospital.

I saw him immediately. His gaze was turned toward the window, intent on watching the lights illuminating the city at night. He had a thoughtful air, but also a somewhat melancholic one.

"Ugh..." still looking outside, he let out a small sigh. What was he thinking about? Maybe the thoughts troubling him, or the reason for his sighing, was me.

How could I blame him. I had caused him so many problems that I wouldn't have been surprised if he was angry with me. Surely he was waiting to be discharged by the doctors, or more likely, he was waiting for someone to come pick him up so he could go home without any issues.

Maybe at the time of the accident he had important commitments that he couldn't take care of and that, because of me, he had to postpone.

Despite this, I still didn't know how I would interact with him or what I could say to break the ice, both because of the delicate situation and because of my own nature.

Not being particularly used to interacting with others, partly because of them and partly because of me, I had no social experience to base a conversation on that could seem, more or less, normal.

It didn't take long for my clumsiness to decide to get in the way, making me start the acquaintance in a rather unusual way.

Without realizing it, I lost my balance and fell face-first onto the floor inside the room.

"Oww!!" I exclaimed from the pain.

Hearing the thud caused by my fall, the young man turned toward me. While I was lying on the floor, he looked down at me. I lifted my head slightly, accidentally meeting his gaze.

"Hi," he said, greeting me with a wave of his hand while looking at me curiously.

I stayed on the floor for a few seconds staring at him.

It was him—I only needed to see his eyes to be sure. At that moment I could see them better; they were very dark, more than black, a very dark shade of brown.

Then I also focused on his face. He had a long, slightly aquiline nose and thin lips. His ears were almost completely covered by his messy mass of black hair, so I couldn't tell if they were big or small. His clothing was very simple: he wore sweatpants and a shirt, both dark-colored.

For a moment, I thought he was one of those classic dark and mysterious guys you see in movies.

"Are you okay?" he asked calmly.

"Y-yes, I'm fine. Hi to you too," I said as I got up from the floor.

Finally standing, I noticed he was taller than me. He wasn't short, but not excessively tall either. He must have been about 180 cm, a regular height for a boy.

Once I got up, I closed the door so as not to disturb other people with our conversation, which I was still worried about.

For a few seconds, neither of us said a word; we stood looking at each other. I didn't have the courage to say anything.

He started speaking, trying to break the tension in the air.

"So... Are you okay? Were you injured during the accident?"

"N-no. Well, I'm here to... to thank you. If you hadn't been there, maybe I... I wouldn't be here. Thank you. I'm in your debt."

Despite everything, he didn't seem either annoyed or troubled. He wasn't angry; on the contrary, he spoke to me with a gentle smile on his lips. He was strangely sociable and willing to have a conversation with me. This only increased my embarrassment, which at that moment, even after exchanging just a few simple words, was already through the roof.

"Don't worry, you don't owe me anything at all."

"Well, I'd still like to repay you somehow." His expression suddenly changed.

The smile disappeared from his face, leaving a serious and determined expression.

There, I knew it... he was angry. He looked me straight in the eyes.

"Don't worry... Actually, there's something I'd like to ask you, if I may."

"Of... of course. Go ahead," I replied hesitantly but also curiously.

I didn't understand what he could possibly want to know from me. We didn't even know each other, and we hadn't even introduced ourselves.

Unexpectedly, he started walking toward me.

I expected that at some point he would stop, but no.

He kept getting closer and closer. I started backing away while he kept advancing, until my back was against the door I had closed.

At that moment, I was regretting my choice to close the room's door.

I was cornered. He was so close, barely a meter away, and I could feel his slightly labored breath on my skin.

"So... What is it?"

I asked, embarrassed and slightly frightened.

"Why did you try to kill yourself?"

Upon hearing those words, I was completely stunned. I couldn't believe what he had said. I thought no one had figured out what I had tried to do. The nurse hadn't mentioned anything about a possible suicide, so for her it was a simple accident. Given the seriousness of the matter, if it had been known, the nurse and the doctor would have taken measures, and upon my awakening, someone would have asked me something about what had happened.

But when I talked to her, nothing of the sort came through. So how was it possible that he knew instead?

I decided to play dumb anyway, denying reality and hoping he was joking and that it was just a coincidence why he asked me that question.

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

He remained impassive, continuing to stare fixedly into my eyes and staying silent, as if he knew I was lying.

That look of his, so deep, I still remember it. His eyes were so clear that I could see my reflection in them. It was as if he was trying to read inside me.

"It's useless to tell me that. I saw you. You had time to move when the truck was coming, but you didn't want to. On the contrary, you were walking toward it on purpose. I saw you clearly."

I started sweating from anxiety. I pushed him away forcefully due to his excessive proximity to me.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but it was just bad luck. With that said... our conversation ends here."

I reiterated heatedly.

Now tired of the conversation, I turned toward the door to get away from there and put an end to that interrogation.

Raising the volume of his voice, he started shouting with an annoyed air:

"I don't know why you wanted to do something so extreme, but life is a gift and should be lived. You surely have your problems, but that's no excuse to run away by throwing your life away uselessly. If you have the courage to run away, then use it to fight. And besides..."

"THAT'S ENOUGH!!!"

I shouted, turning my back to him.

He had gone too far. Those last sentences made me angrier than ever before.

What did he know about me?

What right did he have to come and lecture me like that?

He had only met me that evening, yet he took the liberty of giving me life lessons without knowing anything about me or my life.

Sure, I knew that what he was telling me was correct, that he was right and I was completely in the wrong, but I certainly didn't want to hear it from someone I had met less than ten minutes ago, and especially not in that way.

So, with tears in my eyes, from the awareness that he was right, I still replied with my back turned to him:

"Don't talk as if you know anything about me. I don't want your life advice. You say to keep fighting, but you don't know the battles I've faced so far. You don't know who I am, and I don't know who you are, so mind your own business."

I opened the door and ran out of the room to escape from him and his lectures.

I immediately went to my room and entered the bathroom to wash my face and calm down.

"Who does he think he is?!"

I said out loud, looking at myself in the mirror in front of me.

Hearing those things all of a sudden had made me feel bad.

"*Knock* *knock*"

I heard a knock on the door. Initially I thought it was him again, that he had followed me because he wanted to continue the conversation. A conversation I would have preferred to forget, if possible.

The doorknob turned, and instead she entered—my aunt, accompanied by the doctor. She looked at me and immediately ran toward me.

"There you are, sweetheart, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

She said with tears in her eyes while hugging me with all her strength.

"Aunt, don't squeeze me so tight."

"I was worried to death. When I got the call from the hospital and they told me you had been in an accident, my world literally came crashing down, and I rushed right over."

"I'm sorry."

"What are you saying, it wasn't your fault."

She said that phrase while caressing my face. I could see her face, half pained and at the same time relieved to see that I was fine. But the guilt was indeed mine.

I felt like a horrible person for doing something that could have upset her so much.

"Are you ready to go home? You have nothing wrong, but rest for the next two days."

Said the doctor, consulting the papers he had with him. Most likely they were the same ones the nurse had.

So we said goodbye to him.

I took my things from the room, and we headed toward the direction to sign the final documents.

At the exact moment we were about to leave the hospital and cross the threshold of the door, there he was again—I saw him out of the corner of my eye and turned to get a better look.

The boy from before, who was acting so superior, was waving goodbye to me.

As much as I didn't want to have anything more to do with him, maybe I should have said goodbye, if only out of politeness.

Instead, I made a face and ignored him. I just wanted to finally close out this day.

We headed toward the parking lot where the car was parked.

My aunt and I remained silent for the entire ride. Evidently, she didn't want to tire me further after the complicated day I'd had.

Once home, I quickly took a bath and ate some fruit to fill my stomach, which had been empty since lunch break that morning, then quickly went to bed.

Hiro wasn't even home; he was staying over at a friend's house. So I could relax better without his tantrum screams or his desire to play with me. Besides, I didn't want such a small child to worry about my near-accident.

I put my phone to charge on the shelf above the bed and got under the covers to sleep, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't fall asleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, it was as if I saw him again—that know-it-all boy—reprimanding me again for what I had done.

I couldn't get his words out of my head.

I tossed and turned in my bed, but his words had become a fixation.

"Shut up."

I sighed from exhaustion.

They were the words of a stranger who knew nothing about me or my life. Deep down, he was right, so why was I so annoyed? Most likely it was related to the way he said it. There are ways and ways to say and do things, but his was so brusque and brazen that it was almost natural for me to be annoyed.

I covered myself with the blankets up over my head and then noticed something stupid and simple yet important.

"Now that I think about it, we never introduced ourselves. I wonder what his name is."

I muttered.

After those words, I fell asleep instantly from exhaustion, with the awareness, however, that most likely I would never meet him again.

Or at least, that's what I thought...