I can't really remember what happened. It was just another plane ride. A collection of plane rides that lasted around 20 hours that I desperately wanted to end, yeah, but nothing crazy. I've been in plenty of plane rides. Going from Ecuador back to Japan was tiring. We were almost there! Most of the flight home was my mom and I trying to talk more. Mom was beside me, trying to listen to me gush about a book I was reading like the nerd I am. My dad was sleeping on her shoulder. That's all I remember before things get fuzzy. Everything happened so fast. My eyes were closed during most of it, but the sounds were more than enough.

Yelling, the pilot giving warnings over the speaker, my mom trying to put some safety thing on me, something that sounded like an explosion, then more screaming. Maybe not in that order, but now it doesn't even matter. I keep passing out. In and out. The only thing I can really see is the vague shapes of my parents a couple steps beside me. Everything in my mind is telling me to get closer to them, yet my body won't listen. It stings too much. The ringing in my ears covers up anything that might've been said, although I already know there was nothing. I can taste the metallic flavor of blood. What's bleeding? I'm just so tired. I can't think clearly. How long have I been here? I can't wake up.

"... there's a kid over here!"

"Poor thing. Is he breathing?"

"Oh my god, quick! He's alive!"

Huh? Without even thinking, I try to move. Bad idea. My whole body screams in pain and the bloody taste in my mouth makes it so much worse. "Sweetie, don't move so much. Does it hurt anywhere? Can you breathe? Are you bleeding? Can..." I don't listen to all of the first responder lady's questions. My head is too fuzzy. She sees my heavily bleeding leg and starts to put pressure. What was once a plane wasn't far from me. All in pieces, ripped and burnt. I'm in some forest, I think? How far was I from home? The last flight was from Tokyo to my town, but still... I look around for a quick second. Big mistake. My dad wasn't even a meter from me. His head in a weird turn, arms in an unnatural pose, dirty, bloody, and overall wrong.

"AHHH!!" When I jump and scream out of surprise, a little blood from my mouth comes out. The details of him scream out at me more than anything. The blood is coming from his neck so contrasting on his white shirt. Oh god. "Don't look! It's okay, hon. It's okay. We're getting ready to get you to the hospital." I can hear her, but my mind keeps playing the image of my dad. This is wrong... I don't understand. I don't know if I want to understand. She puts an oxygen mask on me, puts me on a stretcher, keeps talking to me, tries to get me to look at her, but I can't help glancing at dad. He's not moving. At all. Right before I get in their ambulance truck, I feel the tears come. I won't cry! "Where's my mom?" I ask as they start driving.

"She's okay. Just open your mouth, sweetie. We need to see if you're bleeding in there or if it's more serious." Even though I have no reason to doubt this first responder, I just know she's lying. If my mom was really safe, then she'd be here. I want my dad! I want them to go back and get him. He's just hurt really bad, right? Both him and mom are gonna be okay...? I want to scream and tell them to go back, but I can't start crying. If I do, then I'll lose it. "It's alright, baby. We'll get you looked at better in a moment, okay? Does it hurt really bad anywhere else?" Sweetly, she tries to wipe my tears away. Tears I try so hard to hide.

Before I can calm down enough to answer, we're at the hospital. Quickly, quickly, quickly, my stretcher gets pushed out of the truck into a room. The tears now cleaning parts of my bloody, dirty face. "...Laceration on right leg, possible broken bones in both arms, cut in mouth, and head injury..." I know they're talking about me, yet I can barely process them. My mind is trying to not cry. Dad said that crying often makes the bad things seem worse. Only thing I remember is getting an IV then going back to sleep.

Waking up feels like a weird mix of both pain and relief. Oh, I'm in a hospital bed. I've been in those before. Usually not for too long, maybe only overnight, since it's just for testing or something. I try moving, but I can't get very far. My leg is wrapped up, my head is bandaged, and my mouth isn't bleeding anymore. Hm... My mind is clearer than before. Still, I don't really know what happened. Sitting there for a minute, the TV playing some game show, no one else here with me, only my thoughts ticking. They're going so fast, I can't keep up.

Beeping of monitors makes it all feel real. What happened? Did I really dream all that scary stuff up? I don't wanna think about how dad looked. Where did I see anything like that to dream about it? I don't know how long I sat silently before a nurse came in. She pages someone first before coming up to me. "Hey, angel. How are you feeling?" She asks with a smile. "I'm... better. Where's my dad?" I want to ask everything on my mind, although I don't think she would know much about it. With a change in expression, she sits by me. Probably thinking of what to say, she sighs. "Someone will come talk to you about that." I already know that can't be good.

"There he is! The little fighter. You have no idea how lucky you are, kiddo." Some doctor comes in. All smiles. So different than how I'm feeling abd how doctors usually seem to feel. "W... What happened?" I ask him. My mind isn't able to keep up with all this. I just wanna see my dad. "One thing at a time, little man. We need to test your memory. Make sure you don't have any brain damage. First question, what's your name?"

"Nagito Komaeda."

"How old are you?"

"11."

"When's your birthday?"

"April 28."

He writes something down. The nurse looks at me with a sad face. Hm... "Okay, things seem good so far. What's the last thing you remember?" What a question. "Getting out of the ambulance truck." The doctor nods and writes more down. "Alright. Well, you have a cut in your mouth and a laceration on your leg, a fancy word for bad cut. A fracture in your arm, but that's it. You survived a plane crash with just that. It's a miracle you even lived, kid!" This guy seems too young to really know how to talk to his patients or maybe he just thinks I'm dumb since I'm a kid.

"Where are my parents?" I ask bluntly. I try acting tough. That way I won't seem so scared. I don't know why it matters. Guess I'm just trying to fool myself. With a sigh, he gets closer to me. His overly nice attitude seems to leave so fast. "I'm sure you're worried, huh? Well..." He takes a lingering second to think. "They didn't make it. I'm sorry for your loss." The nurse hugs me before I process what was said. Didn't make it? Loss? No! He's just pranking me. I wait for either one of them to say anything like 'just kidding, they're lucky like you' or 'they're being treated in a different room'. Nothing is said.

My eyes start welling up. No! No! No! This isn't fair. My mom was finally liking me. We were gonna spend more time together and she was gonna get me a new dog. This can't be happening. I want to scream. I want to wake up from this. Unable to hold back anymore, the tears flood all at once. What I held back yesterday comes gushing out. "I'm so sorry. You're just a kid." The nurse gives me a tissue. The crying gets so bad, I can't get out a thank you. It's like I'm drowning in my own tears. "I'm sure you'll have your grandma or someone come see you." She hugs me again. Breathing deep, I manage to let out a sentence. "B-both... are gone."

I try to calm down. It's embarrassing to cry in front of strangers, but I can't stop. My parents are really gone? I've been going to funerals for relatives my whole life. Since I never knew any of them, I wasn't sure what to do or feel. Now it's like God is punishing me for not being that sad at them. The tears just keep coming. I can still picture my dad's body. The noises of it I didn't understand. It hurts. Everything hurts.