Sho sat in the back row, one hand propped under his chin as he stared out the window. Class dragged on, but his thoughts were already racing somewhere else - the dream he had the night before.
He didn't recognize the man, he had never seen him before but he had seen that fountain before but couldn't remember where. He looked to his right and saw a classmate of his, Kana Ogawa, with a beach magazine.
He remembered she was fan of outing and tours, so he thought to ask her about the scene from his dream.
"Kana."
"Mm," She was still buried into the magazine.
Nevertheless, he described the park as he saw it.
"If it's close, it's probably Haruto Park, that place has been closed for years."
"Thanks." He was a little bit relieved.
She didn't say anything after that, but he was happy she didn't question him.
He pulled out his phone and looked it up.
It was in Haruto Park, only two train stops from school. His pulse quickened.
Almost immediately, Mrs. Yoko Tanaka, the English teacher walked in. Everyone except Sho greeted her. He was too lost in his thoughts.
Sho didn't wait. The moment the teacher turned to pick up the chalk, he slipped out of his seat and into the hallway. His heart was already pounding by the time he hit the stairs. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and opened the map app.
Haruto Park. 11 minutes. If he ran, maybe 7.
He took off.
Mina adjusted her blazer as she walked along the edge of the park. She wasn't here for a break or fresh air — she was here because of the man she'd seen in her dream.
Blue shirt. Brown hair. Tired eyes.
And above his head in that dream: 13:07.
She didn't know where the dream had taken place - she never did, but this morning, as she passed Haruto Park on her usual walk, she saw him. The same man. Alive. Real.
And it was already 13:03.
Her heart thumped in her chest. She moved toward the edge of the park, fingers tightening around her bag strap.
Where? How?
That's when she saw the road curving around the edge of the park — a blind turn. The sidewalk ended abruptly there, and the fencing was thin.
It clicked.
If anything was going to happen, it would be there.
She checked her phone again. 13:06.
She looked up, eyes scanning for the man. She found him near the rusted fountain, just like in her dream, walking toward the road.
Then she saw the car.
A red hatchback, speeding way too fast.
She opened her mouth to shout—
"HEY! WATCH OUT!"
The voice didn't come from her.
A boy had sprinted into the park from the side entrance. His eyes were wild, hair tousled, uniform messy. He lunged toward the man without hesitation.
The car screeched, swerved hard — the tires skidded.
Sho tackled the man out of the way just as the car slammed into the thin fencing, breaking through part of it before bouncing back onto the road and speeding off.
Mina stood frozen, her breath caught in her throat.
Sho sat up slowly, arm bleeding from the gravel, panting hard.
The man blinked in shock, lying on the grass beside him.
People were beginning to rush over. Mina turned quickly, heart hammering. She didn't want to be surrounded. Not yet. She needed to understand.
She stepped back behind a tree and watched as Sho spoke to someone briefly, then left the scene without looking back. Walking away without looking back till he got to school.
Sho sat on the concrete steps behind the school gym, his breath finally steadying. He had done it. This time, he had made it in time.
But he felt no pride. Only relief and a strange chill that wouldn't leave him.
He replayed the moment in his head. The man's confused expression. The way the red car had flashed by, too close. The horn still echoed faintly in his memory.
He didn't understand why he saw these dreams, or why they showed him just enough to feel helpless but this time, he had been fast enough.
He took a shaky breath and stood, brushing dirt off his sleeves.
Then he heard a voice.
"You were at the vending machine the day that girl died, weren't you?"
Sho froze.
He turned to see a girl standing a few feet away. Straight black hair, steady brown eyes. She wasn't accusing him, just stating a fact.
Sho stood up and blinked. "How do you know that?"
"I saw you," she said. "I was there. I saw her too."
Sho took a step back.
"I saw her in my dream with a time on her head." Mina moved closer. "When the car hit her, it was at the exact time I dreamt about"
"Did you have the same dream?."
He stared at her.
"The time?"
"Thirteen seventeen," she said softly. "It was written above her head. Like floating numbers. I saw her standing near the vending machine later that day. I didn't say anything."
Sho remembered the girl's bag, her green tea, the car. He remembered running too late.
"I dream about the place," he said. "The surroundings. The vending machine, the canal, the park and the person that will die in it. Not the time."
She took a cautious step closer. "Then we're seeing two halves of the same thing."
Sho swallowed hard. He looked at her again, this time really seeing her.
"I remember seeing you," he said slowly. "At the vending machine. You were standing near the fence."
Mina nodded. "You didn't notice me. But I noticed you."
For a moment, they both stood there quiet, uncertain.
Then Sho asked, "Have you... seen anyone else?"
Mina looked down. "Yes. The boy at the bookstore. 14:12. And another girl two weeks ago. I saw them both on the news."
Sho's voice dropped. "So did I."
She finally looked up. "Then we're not imagining it."
Sho nodded. "We're not."
Sho never imagined anyone else would carry this weight too.
Mina tightened her grip on her bag. "We need to figure this out. Why us? Why do we see them?"
Sho looked toward the sky, faint clouds drifting across the pale blue.
"I don't know," he said. "But I'm done letting them die."
Mina gave a small, almost hesitant smile. "Then let's stop the next one together."