Flag 3.1

When I opened my eyes, I saw a bright light flash. I squinted to adjust my eyes to it. It was glaring and my head spun. For a second, I thought I was dead and I was sent to heaven.

But as I came back to my senses, I found myself not in the confinements of heaven but back at the hotel room. I was lying in my bed.

I yawned and stretched, my fingers searching for my PFP. Surprisingly, I came up empty.

Then, I suddenly remembered the terrible accident that bestowed upon my PFP. It fell off the window while I was lost in reverie and plummeted until it reached the edge of a cliff.

Maybe, I thought, that my PFP is still there. It's probably dangling there waiting for me to rescue it.

So without further adieu, I got down the bed.

"Where do you think you are going?" A voice suddenly said.

I jumped at the sound of that voice. At first I thought it was Elsie. But her highly pitched voice is almost completely different from this one.

I turned around and I saw this mysterious girl sitting at the foot of my bed. She had long black hair. She had smooth alabaster skin. She had blue eyes hidden beneath her glasses. I figured she was just the same age as I am, but she looked like she had the perfection of the girls in my games. And with that, I was moved away. But then, I snapped away that thought. And before long, I saw her as nothing more than an intruder.

"Who are you?" I asked her.

She didn't respond. She just looked at me with earnest eyes.

"Who are you?" I tried asking again.

Once again, she didn't respond. Her face hadn't moved one bit.

I felt annoyed by this stranger. She refused to answer that one simple question. I sighed and asked another question.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

After a long moment of silence, she finally spoke up. But it weren't the words I was looking for.

"If you started roaming around here in that condition, it'll get worse," she exclaimed in a gentle yet worrying tone.

I looked confused. "What will get worse?"

She pointed to my head.

I moved my hand across my forehead. I felt something like a cloth wrapped around it.

"Stop touching it," she instructed.

I took my hand off my head.

I looked even more confused. First, I woke up here on this bed without even remembering how I got here. Second, my PFP is gone. Third, I seemed to have injured myself without knowing it. Last but certainly not the least, there is this stranger who is in my room who refuses to answer my questions. I examined each event in my head, analyzing what have led to this. But unfortunately, I came up empty.

All I can resort to now is asking the stranger. So I asked her the same question once again.

"What are you doing here?" I asked calmly this time, my gaze sternly locked at her.

There was another moment of silence.

Then she looked back at me.

""I saved your life."

My stomach twisted nervously at her words. What did she mean by saving my life?

She smiled at the surprised look at my face. "Did your sister ever tell you the story?"

"No. In fact, I didn't remember anything," I replied. I wondered if she could hear the alarm in my voice. The way she said the word sister was as if she knew that Elsie was just pretending to be my sister. Did that blockhead Elsie do anything weird while I was unconscious?

She laughed again. "Oh, I forgot that you were asleep the whole time," she mused.

I waited while she stared out the window. She seemed to be trying to calm herself. She composed herself before turning back to me.

"Would you like to hear the story?" She suddenly asked me.

I nodded, suddenly somber.

She readjusted herself such that she is facing me now and motioned me to sit. This gave me an idea that it was going to be a long story.

"I came here on vacation alone. Since I just moved to Mainland Okinawa over a month ago, I didn't have many friends to begin with. Neither can I take my family, if I had one. Don't be surprised when I say I was an orphan since I was young," she said.

"I am sorry," I said as I felt the slightest bit of sympathy for her. I fell completely abashed.

"It's okay. Don't be," she said quietly. "I got used to it already."

She continued on. "So I was all alone since I came yesterday. I spent the whole day in my room playing video games. They say it is geeky and people think I'm weird because I played a lot of video games"- she broke in a case of giggles-"but somehow I always felt better when I play games. It's one of the things I enjoy doing even when I'm alone."

I felt myself smile a little bit. I knew how that felt so much. I was surprised we had something in common.

She sighed. When she spoke again, her voice was different and the smile was gone.

"But then, I suddenly realized that I wasn't there to mop around in my room playing video games all the time. So I decided to go out and spend some time outdoors.

"When I finally got out, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to be out there-where the cool wind blows across your face, where you can feel the warmth of the summer sun against your skin, and the soft sand and the refreshing waters are beneath your feet. I am telling you, it is like magic."

She broke off suddenly, thoughtful. For a moment, I thought that she had forgotten my presence.

"Something bothered me despite being in that paradise," she said. "As I walked past the beach, I saw people with their families, friends and loved ones. They were all smiling and happy and had no care in the world. I looked at them wistfully, wishing that I could be like them, too."

"Then something came up to me. In the late afternoon, I rushed to the cliffs. People had told me that it had the best views of the sunset. When I got there, I wasn't mistaken. I was even lucky to see the first star in the sky. So right there, I made a wish.

"Before long, I was interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind me. When I turned around, I saw a young man who was short of breath running towards the edge of the cliff trying to reach for something which looked like a game console. And right then and there when he reached the edge, he fainted and sooner or later, he was collapsing right before my eyes. For a split second, I felt my heart skip a beat. Then the next second, I was running towards him, a definite reflex reaction. It was an adrenaline rush. I thought I wouldn't be able to make it. But luckily I was able to grab his hand before his whole body fell off the cliff. His head hit slightly on the ground as I brought him back up, but it was all okay."

As she spoke, I moved unsteadily from where I was sitting. I knew that the person she was talking about was me. I felt my face becoming white as the thought of my attempt at dying through cliff diving made me woozy. I shuddered away the thought.

"I was glad I was there," she told me in a complacent tone. "If I wouldn't, then who knows what will happen to you. It would be a shame. You reminded me of someone I knew not a long ago."

She stared out the window with a smile on her face. It was a few moments before I was brave enough to break into her reverie.

"Then what happened?" I was able to ask her.

She shrugged. "Your sister came a little while later. She amused me because she was very apologetic and she looked as if it was all her fault. She called for help to bring you to your room. I took care of you from there."

I was completely embarrassed at the thought of having a stranger take care of me. "You didn't have to," I said sheepishly.

"No, it is okay," she tried reassuring me. "I had nothing to do and anyways, I am always happy to help."

I held myself back, completely perplexed. This vacation is turning out to be worse than I expected.

Then out of the blue, she suddenly asked me something.

"Would you mind doing a favor for me?"

"A favor?" I asked, completely taken off guard.

"Yes," she said. "What else did I said. I said I want you to do me a favor."

I didn't say a word more. I was expecting the worst.

Then she started to speak.

"I want you to go with me in the summer festival."

My mouth hung open.

As she said those words, I stared at her dumbfounded.

"You want me to go with you on the summer festival?" I repeated just in case I misunderstood her.

Unfortunately I didn't. She nodded back. "Was the hit that hard that you had to repeat everything I say?" She still managed to joke. "What was the problem with that?"

I had one answer to that question. Everything. Yes, I owed her so much for saving me and taking care of me but still, I think that the idea of going to a summer festival with a girl you barely know is completely wrong. I had all the reasons to object it right now.

As if she read my mind, she reached for something in her bag.

"Oh. I was guessing you don't want this back," she said.

I looked at the object in her hand and stared at it for a long time before I could react.

"My PFP," I exclaimed.

I reached or it, but she jerked it back. She held a hand right in front of my face before I could get an inch closer. I glared at her. How could one girl be so innocent then suddenly turn this… this menacing?

This was blackmail.

"Okay, I will go," I grumbled. I'm doing this for the PFP.

And with that, she felt contented. "Katsuragi Keima, am I right?" She asked.

I nodded back.

"Thank you so much, Katsuragi-kun," she said as she extended her hand towards me.

When I shook her hand, she finally introduced herself.

"It's nice to meet you, Katsuragi-kun. I am Azuka Suuichi."