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"Those things are becoming super popular, huh, Rin?" Len said nonchalantly, holding the TV remote in his hand. He was sitting on the living room couch next to his twin sister, Rin, who was mindlessly tapping away on her phone.
"Those doll-robot things? Yeah, they're kinda creepy, I think."
"Apparently the match the dead person's height and everything. What the hell do you do with it once you're done with it though? Throw it out?"
Rin shrugged unknowingly. Detecting her lack of interest in the conversation, Len got up, turned off the TV, and stretched.
"Mom and Dad should be ready soon. Man, I can't wait to see this new movie! I get to see it before all my friends!"
Rin didn't look up from her phone, "Uh-huh."
Len pouted, "C'mon, please be as excited about this as I am, Sis."
"I am, I am! I'm just dealing with some friend drama right now."
"You always are. Someday, I'm gonna straighten all your shit out myself."
Just as Len said that, the twins' mother and father appeared in the living room, ready to depart for the late night family movie outing.
Mother said, "Sorry for the wait! Let's get a move on!"
And so, the four shuffled out of their home to the family car. It was raining outside, which caused them to rush inside the vehicle. They all made it to the car, but not without getting a little damp.
The car pulled out, and the family happily makes their way to the movie theater in the dark and pouring rain.
"So what's the drama this time?" Len turned to Rin, sitting next to him in the backseat.
"Teto and Miku got into another fight. They want me to pick a side, but I can't," Rin pouted.
"Again? That's just not fair."
"Yeah. I shouldn't have to pick a side."
The car soon reached a red light at an intersection, and came to a slow halt.
Len crossed his arms and said in a quieter voice, "Maybe you should pick new friends, though."
Rin sharply turned to her brother and narrowed her eyes, "I heard that, Len!"
"But am I wrong?"
"You don't see me critiquing your friendships! I'm surprised you aren't in jail!"
"And I'm surprised you aren't in an insane asylum! Why're you tryna pick a fight with me now, huh?!"
"Hey, you two! Stop fighting back there!" Dad called out from behind the steering wheel.
"If you were to drop dead right now, I'd be so happy," Rin retorted to Len quickly.
The light turned green, and the car starts to roll past the light. Len just rolls his eyes and looks out the car window nearest to him. It was not long until the boy was blinded by a bright, white light. It was rapidly getting closer, and Len sharply inhales when he realizes that it wasn't going to stop.
Soon, the family car was toppling over. It flipped over itself several times for a few seconds, but to Rin it felt like an eternity. She could feel her entire body being jerked around in the car, although the adrenaline made her go numb. The car violently skidded and rocked to a halt, and for a moment Rin had forgotten where she was. Her ears were ringing, and her eyes shut tight.
"Is everyone okay..?" the strained voice of Rin's mother calls out to everyone in the car. She could hear her father breathing sharply as well.
"I-I'm alright…" Rin says in a shaky voice.
"Len?" her mother calls out. There was silence.
Rin slowly turned to her right, where Len was sitting. There was a great deal of wreckage next to her. The window had shattered, and the car door had bent inward. Rin looked down.
Her brother was still fastened in, but he was slumped over onto his side, his head hanging, limp, near Rin's shoulder. He was still.
"Len..?" Rin reached over to gently shake her brother awake. He remained still. She lightly tapped his head with her palm. Still, he was motionless. She slowly took her hand away from his head. Panic started to sink into the girl when she saw the palm of her hand now covered in blood.
He had cuts and bruises on his body. His right arm was bent the wrong way. His vibrant blond hair was stained in strawberry red.
"Len, wake up..!" Rin reached over with both her hands to shake the boy.
"Please..! Please, please..!"
Rin continued shaking the boy until the wailing of police and ambulance sirens was heard. In nearly an instant after that, she felt herself being pulled out of the car by paramedics.
"Wait! Help my brother, my brother needs help..!" she screamed. No one seemed to listen to her.
She was dragged into an ambulance. Paramedics were swarming her, flashing lights in her eyes, asking her questions. She couldn't seem to hear any of it. Her attention was fixated on the car. By now, all of her family was out of the car. All except for Len. Only a couple of paramedics were looking into the car, to Len.
Soon, she saw them pull Len out of the car and onto the ground. One put their fingers on Len's wrist. They then put their hands onto Len's chest and started doing compressions. He needed someone to be there for him.
He needed someone.
"He needs me..!" Rin cried, "He needs me! Please don't take me away without him! He can't be there alone!"
In the next instant, Rin felt lightheaded. She saw the paramedic administering CPR move away for the other one, and the other begin to defibrillate him with an AED. But this is where the girl's memory ended. She quickly fell unconscious.
"You're a very strong girl. You had a mild concussion," explained a doctor. This is where Rin's memory had resumed.
Due to the adrenaline rush she misunderstood how bad it was, up to the loss of consciousness. It seemed to have only been an instant between the crash site and her white hospital room. When she woke up in bed, a doctor gave her a quick examination.
"Other than the concussion, you seem to be fine! Only light cuts and bruises. You'll be okay," the doctor continued to explain.
"Oh...is my brother okay..?" Rin asked.
The doctor paused for a moment, "...You know what, I think your parents are waiting outside. How about I bring them in to see you. They only have minor injuries as well."
Rin blinked, "O-okay…"
The doctor turned and left, and a moment later Rin heard a knock on the door. She called for them to come in, and her parents gently opened the door and smiled at her.
"Hi, honey, how are you feeling?" her dad asked in a soft voice. Both he and Mom had some bandages on their faces, but other than that appeared to be fine.
"I'm okay...my head hurts a little bit."
Mom gently stroked Rin's arm, "The pain relievers might be fading off. You'll get a prescription once you're discharged."
Rin looked over at her parents, "How's Len..?"
Mother stopped stroking Rin's arm, and instead moved it down to her hand. She exchanged worrying and pained glances with Dad, then she slowly looked back at Rin.
"Uhm…" Mom hesitated, voice cracking, "L-Len was giving CPR at the crash, he was taken to the hospital but, no matter how long they tried to bring him back, uhm...th-they said that nothing more could be done, so…"
Rin's heart sank, and she started to tear up, "What are you saying, Mom..?"
Dad looked away, and tears started rolling down Mom's blushed cheeks, "I'm so sorry, Rinny...Len's dead."
"No…" Rin shook her head, eyes growing wet, "That's not true, he was so happy just earlier...he was going to see a movie before all of his friends, he had plans for tomorrow, he told me he wanted to go to college..! So he can't be dead, he—"
"Rin," Dad interjected, "I know this is hard to hear, but we wouldn't lie to you about this, sweetie…"
Rin clenched her hospital sheets tightly, "You don't understand, Dad...I told him I'd be happy if he died! He left thinking that was what would make me happy! It's not fair, it's not…"
The girl looked down at her sheets and began to sob. Mom got choked up as well and leaned in to embrace her daughter. Dad walked up and hugged them both tightly. But no matter how tightly the Kagamines held one another, it still felt like another body was missing in their embrace.
Rin was hardly able to attend the funeral. Seeing her brother's body lying in the open coffin, dressed in his only nice suit, eyes closed as if he were just sleeping without a care—it was all too much for her. She was only able to give a passing glance at him without being overwhelmed with guilt and grief.
Everyone who entered the funeral home said empty words to her— "I'm sorry for your loss," and "I can't imagine how hard this must be for you," and "I'm sure he's resting peacefully now," —none of them meant anything to Rin. Those are merely words you're conditioned to say to someone who just had a family member die. At their core, they held no weight.
Nevertheless, Rin would give them a small smile and say a sweet "thank you."
That's all you're supposed to say as the grieving sister, isn't it?
Those "thank yous" said meant nothing to Rin, and she's sure they meant nothing to everyone else, too.
Before the procession, Rin and her parents were given time to say their goodbyes to Len. Mom and Dad simply kissed him on the head and held his hand, like they were just putting him to sleep. Rin took a long glance at his body, frowning painfully, before leaning in to make it look like she was kissing his forehead as well.
Instead, she whispered into his ear, "If you can hear this, wherever you are, Len, I know you're mad at me. Because I've seen you in my nightmares. I'm sorry. I know I should have been the one to die that day. Someday, I'll fix all of this. But for now, I need my punishment. So please don't watch over me."
In the end, Len's coffin was closed and he was placed six feet into the ground without anyone objecting.
Rin was eating breakfast as usual. It had been nearly a month since Len had died in the crash. Rin hasn't felt anything since then. She was still dealing with friend drama, as usual, but now she kept it all to herself, not venting to anyone about it. She was taking her last bite out of her breakfast sandwich when there was a knock on the door.
"I'll get it," Dad called out from across the room as he quickly made his way to the front door.
"Ah, that was quick. Sign here? Yes, thank you very much," Rin heard her father talking to the delivery person in the distance. Soon Mom walked over to the front door as well and Rin overheard the two chatting amongst themselves and fiddle with the package. Rin wasn't interested, so she simply played on her phone in the kitchen.
"Thank you for welcoming me into your home," Rin heard the familiar voice faintly from the other room. She jumped up out of her seat, and quickly made her way into the living room, where her parents were.
What she saw quickly made her boil.
A boy—no, a thing—sat on the couch, with the exact same appearance as her deceased brother. Blond hair, blue eyes, he was even wearing similar clothing. He sat on the couch with a smile, and looked over to Rin when she entered the room. His eyes looked lifeless and his smile empty.
"You must be Rin!" the thing called out, mimicking her brother's voice, "I know a lot about you! I'm very excited to see you!"
"What the fuck is this?" Rin laughed sarcastically, "This is a joke, isn't it?"
The thing looked at Mom and Dad, and then back to Rin, "I don't think so. I was sent by Anidoll to help you. Mom and Dad requested me, actually. My name is Len, but you already know that, huh, Sis?"
"Do not call me, 'Sis,'" Rin snapped back, "and they aren't your mom and dad, so you have no right to call them that, either. You're not Len."
The thing stood up and took a few steps toward Rin, "I know it's hard, Rin. But that's why I'm here. I want you to get better."
"Don't tell me what's hard and what's not! You have no idea! You're just some robo-thingy, you don't have any emotions! You're just saying what you're programmed to say!" Rin screamed.
She turned to her parents, teary eyed, "How could you two do this?"
Before Mom and Dad had a chance to respond, Rin rubbed her eyes and ran upstairs to her room, locking the door. She didn't understand why.
She didn't understand why Len had to die.
She didn't understand why people say "sorry" at funerals.
She didn't understand why Mom and Dad bought a worthless piece of junk.
But she didn't understand herself most of all.