It was an abnormally cold morning : Maribel was shivering next to me under her coat and gloves, and our breaths misted up the windows of the bus we were riding to our university. We were on our daily half-hour commute from our apartment, which only had a few stops along the way; usually, it passed in a flash thanks to Maribel chattering the whole way about her ideas for the Sealing Club, but today, she was too busy burying her face as far down her coat's collar as possible to keep warm.

The low rumbling of the bus, coupled with the stillness of the morning air, had a soporific effect on me : my head had just started to droop onto my friend's shoulder when we came to the first stop.

The doors opened, letting in a blast of freezing air, blowing away my drowsiness along with any warmth that had accumulated in the bus. Maribel let out a small gasp, before clinging onto my arm for warmth. Silver lining...

The people who were to blame for the gust of cold were a couple of students that I recognised from sight only, since they always took the bus on the same route as us. One of them was a tall guy wearing a black leather coat complete with metal studs on them and an intimidating frown on his face to go with his overall punkish attire, and the other was a short blond girl, much more innocent-looking in comparison, almost comical even, as she struggled with her handbag packed with more books than were ever intended to be able to fit in such a small place. Ah, the woes of fashion. Were they dating ? Did they even know each other ? My knowledge of them started and ended at the fact that they went to the same university as I did; I knew nothing about them, nor did I particularly want to. Maribel and I form a perfect duo, and anyone else would just get in the way, anyway. Even if she does often speak about trying to get more members in the sealing club, with that enthusiastic sparkle in her eyes...

The two new arrivals sat on the opposite end of the bus to us as the doors closed again, sealing us back into our cold metal box. The bus accelerated, and the hum of the motor grew louder again; this time I wouldn't let my guard down, though, since the next stop was only a few minutes away.

...

Surely enough, we had to suffer through another blast of cold when we arrived at the second stop, but this time, Maribel was expecting it, and had hidden her face in my coat. Yup, the cold definitely has its benefits.

Another couple of students poured in, one that I recognised, the other not so much. The one I did was recognisable a mile away, though : with his oversized glasses and short, messy hair, he stood out a mile away, as the kind of guy who just screams "nerd !", but I kept those kinds of comments to myself, knowing it would be completely hypocritical coming from me. Next to him was someone else who stood out, but for completely opposite reasons : she was a tall, beautiful, dark- green haired girl with a distant air about her, making her seem intelligent yet unapproachable. I don't think I've ever seen her here before, or at least, I hadn't noticed her, unlikely considering how she stood out. What was for sure, though, was that there were fewer students that usual today. Probably the cold; I can't say I blame them. I didn't pay attention to the people I shared my commute with out of interest for them : it was just something to pass the time, to give me something to look as I usually listened to Maribel's chatter. It had grown into a habit, though, and by now, I was fairly confident when I said that someone was or wasn't a regular on our morning commute.

...

Third stop, third blast of cold. I had given up trying to get warm between stops by now, and Maribel had contented herself with clinging to my arm. As the third group of students barged in, all eager to escape from the cold (little did they know...), I didn't pay them much interest, as something else had captured my attention : Maribel was staring anxiously at something, and following her gaze, I saw that it was the driver. Well, the back of the driver's seat, to be precise, since from where we were sitting, we couldn't see him. I asked her if she was all right, but she only nodded slowly in response. She's hasn't been herself today. This is more than I she can pin the blame on the cold for. Still, during the rare times she was quiet, I preferred to respect her desire for silence, and so I turned my attention back to the bus.

The stillness of the morning had been broken by the chatter of the students, now louder than the hum of the bus's engine. This change in volume was usually enough to shake me out of the early-morning floating state between dreams and reality, but with Maribel as quiet as she was, and the cold almost forming a barrier between us and the outside world, I remained distant, lost in my own thoughts. With this amount of people, the windows of the bus had misted up even further : I could barely even see outside any more. The houses and shops all blurred together, familiar through their lights and signs yet distant, as if they weren't quite there, like a fading memory. It felt quite surreal : my mind started to wander, thinking back to the dreams Maribel often told me about. How I'd like to be able to see all the things she has seen...

...

I was roused from my daydreaming when the bus came to an abrupt halt. Wondering what had caused the driver to slam the brakes on with such force, I looked out of the front window. My question was quickly answered : a fissure had torn the road ahead of us apart, making it impossible to pass. An earthquake ? Not uncommon at all in Japan... but for it to have caused damage like this, yet for us to have heard nothing about it... Looking closer, the edges of the road didn't seem like they had been torn apart in a way an earthquake would have : they were cleanly cut, as if part of the road had simply vanished without trace.

"I regret to inform you that it is currently impossible to continue along the usual road. An alternate route will be taken."

It was the driver speaking; it was a woman's voice, which surprised me since our regular driver was a middle-aged man. She must be a replacement driver or something. "Unlucky", I murmured, not really sure if I was talking about us or the driver. Thinking back, I realised that I hadn't noticed the driver when boarding the bus, even though we had entered from the front, meaning we must had passed right in front of her. Even now, I couldn't get a good look at her. Maribel was still staring in her direction, looking even more worried : I caught a glimpse of long blond hair around the driver's seat, which she seemed fixated on. Was that there before ?

"Merry ? Are you sure you're ok ?"

Before I could get an answer, the bus lurched back into motion; I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach, one that I associated with the drop of a roller coaster. We're falling ! Panicking, I assumed the bus must have driven straight into the hole, but a moment later, I felt it lurching around violently, the sudden change of direction pushing me into Maribel. Through the misted windows, I saw some trees lining the road. We must be taking the street that goes past the park.

Lifting my head off of Maribel's shoulder, I looked out the front window, but to my horror, it had fully misted up, too : there was no way to see outside, even for the driver. I heard some frightened gasps coming front around the bus : others had noticed, too. The bus had started to gain speed, hurtling down the small street. The trees along the road seemed to multiply : instead of the occasional tree planted at regular intervals, they were now almost a constant stream, their branches growing longer, extending above the bus, replacing the buildings... Are we in a forest ?

Just then, a loud crash rang out, and everything went dark.