Hello
It was yet another stormy day in Ryou's neighborhood. The school bell was ringing to warn the students that if they didn't come inside they'd get wet. Ryou didn't care. He simply stood; holding the golden pendant he had found in the mail yesterday.
//Playground school bell rings again//
Ryou looked up in alarm. What was that voice?
//Rain clouds come to play again//
He bowed his head. "Amane," he whispered. "I think I'm going mad."
//Has no one told you she's not breathing?//
Ryou's eyes widened. Nobody here knew about Amane. His older sister had died three years ago, in the same accident that had killed his mother; but he had never accepted it. Who was this stranger who knew about her?
//Hello, I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to//
Now he knew he had to be dreaming. What would this strange voice say next? And why would he dream about something like this?
//Hello//
He shook his head. If he just ignored it then it would go away. He'd wake up and everything would go back to normal. Back to the wearying, unbreakable round that was as bad as any nightmare. But at least it would be real.
//If I smile and don't believe soon I know I'll wake from this dream//
Maybe he did need to go to a psychiatrist.
//Don't try to fix me I'm not broken//
His father seemed to think he was though. He seemed to think that just because Ryou wouldn't keep being the happy go lucky boy he had been before they died there was something wrong with him.
//Hello, I'm the lie living for you so you can hide//
Ryou smiled ironically, eyes filling with tears. He wished he could hide behind a lie. That someone else would protect him, would care for him like his sister had.
//Don't cry//
Ryou's eyes widened at this, as the rain suddenly started to pour down, soaking him. How could a dream voice know, and why would it care about him? No one else did.
//Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping//
Ryou curled into a ball on the hard asphalt. He really was alone. No one cared enough to bring him inside, out of the rain.
//Hello, I'm still here//
The voice inside his head. Ryou's tears wouldn't stop. Even if it was just his imagination, he needed to have someone who would talk to him. Who was this stranger in his head?
//All that's left of yesterday.//
Strong arms wrapped around Ryou, lifting him and carrying him inside, out of the rain. He looked up, and saw his reflection looking down at him compassionately.
"Hello."
