Today feels like just another normal morning—at least, to me.
"Happy 10th Birthday, Lila!" Ai yells as she jumps onto my bed.
I yawn.
"Ai… it's still tomorrow. Can you please get off and let me sleep?"
Ai hops off my bed but grins excitedly. "I know! But it's an early greeting! I'm so excited for your birthday!"
I stare at her, half-asleep. I think she's more excited about my birthday than she was for her own.
She suddenly grabs my arm and tries to pull me out of bed. "Come on, let's go to the neighborhood!"
I don't budge.
"Let. Us. Go. To. The. Neigh. Bor. Hood!" She pulls harder, struggling.
I sigh.
She's not going to stop, is she?
I glance at her and say, "I'll go—"
Ai's eyes sparkle with hope.
"But only if you study with me before we go."
Her excitement vanishes instantly.
"Ehh?! I don't want to!" she whines.
"Then I won't go with you."
She pouts, crossing her arms, before finally giving in. "Fine, fine! I promise I'll study."
I smirk.
Bingo.
I quickly get out of bed and head to the bathroom. As I close the door behind me, I hear Ai scream, realizing she's been tricked.
"Lila!!!"
—
One hour later, I'm teaching Ai math.
"You just divide this by this, and you'll get the answer."
Two hours later, I'm teaching her English.
"No, Ai! You have to say 'You're welcome' when someone thanks you."
"Y-Yur W-Weh-come?" she tries to imitate me.
"You have to say 'You're,' not 'Yur.' And add the letter 'L' in 'Welcome.'"
"Y-You're Welcome?"
I clap. "Yes! Good job!"
Two hours later, I'm teaching science.
I place a gemstone picture book in front of Ai. "These are different gemstones. This is a diamond, the hardest of them all. This purple one is an amethyst. And this green one is called an emerald—they sometimes put it in necklaces!"
Ai tilts her head. "What's your favorite gemstone, Lila?"
"My favorites? Hmm... I actually have three. Amethyst, ruby, and aquamarine."
"Aquamarine?"
I giggle. "Yeah, funny, right? It's also the name of a place where they showcase live fish. But I love its color—it reminds me of a crystal-clear ocean."
"And the ruby?"
I hesitate for a moment. "...The color reminds me of painful times."
Like blood.
"But when you really look at it, it's beautiful… like a blessing in disguise."
"What about the amethyst? Is it because of its color too?"
I smile softly. "Yeah… It reminds me of someone's eyes."
Your beautiful eyes, Ai.
"That's cool," she says, nodding. "For me… I like the diamond."
"Why?"
She hesitates. "...Because I want to be like it. Someone who's hard to break."
I smile. "I thought you liked it because you wanted to be pretty like a diamond," I tease.
She turns red. "W-Well! M-Maybe a little bit of that too…"
I laugh.
She crosses her arms. "Anyway! I've studied enough! Let's go to the neighborhood!"
"Haha! Alright, alright. Let's go."
—
Me and Ai go to the orphanage to buy food. I notice we still have more on our list, so I hand Ai my bags. "You head back to the orphanage while I buy the rest."
"Okay! Make sure to come back safe!"
She runs off, and I continue shopping. As I walk, I see one of the neighborhood bullies running into a dark alley. Curiosity gets the best of me. I quietly follow, hiding behind some boxes.
"Alright, tomorrow is Lila's birthday. Remember the plan? We'll lead Ai to the mountain and bully her. That way, Lila will realize she's gone and feel miserable on her birthday!"
What?!
One of the boys hesitates. "But how do we get Ai to go there?"
Another adds, "Yeah! And are you sure it's safe?"
The leader scoffs. "We'll leave her a letter, threatening to hurt Lila if she doesn't listen. The orphanage always sends a search party if kids get lost, so she'll be found after a few hours. That's more than enough time to mess with her!"
I clench my fists.
"But what if Ai or Lila tells on us?" another boy asks.
The leader laughs. "We'll beat Ai up until she keeps her mouth shut. She'll just say she got lost and hurt herself trying to find her way back!"
The boys cheer.
I grit my teeth.
This is too far!
If I tell Nana, nothing will change—especially since the leader's father is the head of town. If I tell Ai, she'll still walk into their trap.
I have no choice.
I slip away and head back to the orphanage, my mind racing.
—
That night, I sneak into Ai's room. A letter is taped to her window.
They really climbed the wall just to leave a note? They're serious.
I snatch it, tear it into pieces, and shove the scraps into my pocket.
As I head to the exit, Ai grabs my wrist. "Where are you going?"
I freeze.
Calmly, I answer, "To our special tree. I left something there, and I want to get it back."
"Can I come?"
Yes—
"No."
She blinks in surprise.
"It's… a secret. I promise to show you in the future."
I lie.
Ai's shoulders drop. "...Alright. I'll just wait here."
"Okay."
Before I step outside, she asks again, "Are you okay?"
No.
"Yeah, never been better!" I force the biggest smile I can. It's fake, and it hurts.
I walk away, making sure she can't see me. Then, I run.
Straight to the mountain.
Straight to the bullies.
When they see me, their leader scowls. "Why is Lila here?!"
Three boys charge at me, throwing punches. I dodge them all.
"Why are you doing this?! Is it fun to hurt people weaker than you?!"
The leader laughs. "Sure it is! But Ai—she's the worst. That clumsy orphan, acting all important, saying she'll be an idol. Just like Akemi. A bunch of nobodies dreaming big."
That's it.
"You're just jealous!" I yell.
The leader's eyes darken. "Get her!"
More boys appear, surrounding me.
I brace myself.
One swings at me, but I duck, punching his solar plexus. He drops, gasping for air.
I spin to the leader—just as he throws a punch. I dodge and land a kick to his cheek, sending him tumbling.
Silence.
Then fury.
"GET HER!"
I run.
Straight toward a cliff.
No escape.
The leader picks up a rock—hurls it at me.
Something hard slams against my head.
Wait.
Why are they getting smaller?
Why am I—
Falling?
Thud.
"S-She fell! What are we gonna do! We'll all be in trouble!"
The leader began to shake, his voice breaking, "I-It's just a small cliff. S-She w-will be alright... l-let's get out of here!"
All the boys quickly fled the scene in terror.
Ahh... I could hear them running away.
Good thing this cliff isn't that high, or else I would've died.
Or maybe...
*Blood flowing*
Am I starting to die?
As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw a branch of a tree pierced through the side of my stomach.
"It hurts, I have to go to the doctor..."
I slowly stood up, trying to put pressure on my wound to stop the bleeding.
It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts...
I started walking slowly, feeling my blood flowing down my legs.
"It's cold. Help..."
I'm starting to feel cold, this is bad...
I have to get back...
I want to say sorry to Ai for lying to her.
*Breathing heavily*
I kept walking and walking until I finally could see the night sky above me.
"I think...
I knew.
"This is it for me."
I knew.
I sat down by a huge rock, leaning my back against it.
I took slow, deep breaths as I watched the night sky.
"Good thing I covered my head when I fell; now I can see the night sky. It's beautiful."
The stars that night seemed even more beautiful than before. As I watched, scenes started popping up in my head. I chuckled.
"Is this what they call 'life flashing before your eyes?'"
Memories of my time in the orphanage, meeting Mr. Yasu, Ai, and our Thanksgiving performance started flooding back.
I think two hours have passed; I guess it's already my birthday.
I took a deep breath and sang gently, "~H-Happy birthday to me... Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday d-dear... M-Me... H-Happy tenth b-birthday to me.~"
Hic!
*Starts crying*
It's so hard to sing; it hurts every time I try to take a breath.
*Ache*
My blood... I'm losing a lot of blood.
I...
I looked up, and heavy tears started flowing out.
"I don't want to die!"
Ai! I'm sorry, but I think I've broken our promise much sooner. I wanted both of us to become idols when we grew up, making an impact on people through our songs, just like Akemi.
"S-Sorry Ai! Ughhkk! Sorry!"
I'm Sorry!
I'm Sorry!
I'm Sorry Ai!
I clenched my fist and yelled, "P-Please! Let me live to see Ai once more! Please! God!"
I cried my heart out until I had no strength to continue.
And the next thing I knew, I was about to reach my end's door.
Ai, I pray that you'll be able to reach your dreams without me. Thank you for bringing happiness into my life.
Before I took my final breath, I put all my strength to these last words...
"I love you, Ai. And my only dying wish is to have one last performance together..."
Ahh, my eyes are starting to close.
I'm scared, I want to continue seeing the stars.
"Lila!"
I'm sure Ai will cry.
"Lila!"
It's my fault, I'm the one who made her cry.
"Liar."
Sorry, I have been a bad friend.
"You Liar."
Let me please...
"Liar"
Perform with you one last time...
*Wakes up*
"AGHK!"
*Breaths Heavily*
"I-It's... a dream..."
Tears started falling from my eyes.
"It's been a while since I remembered my past... I guess the world wanted to remind me. Don't worry, I will never forget what I have done."
After my death, I never knew what happened to Ai and the orphanage. She must have felt a lot of pain—her mom already left her, and then I did too.
I started feeling a mix of anger and sadness inside me. I hit my head and began crying even more.
I'm sorry Ai...
An outsider observed Akari in the sky, surrounded by crows, a cheeky smile on her face. She laughed, "Hehe, oh how I love messing with people's lives!"