He heard that it was rather common for people involved in accidents to develop hallucinations. Perhaps the best cause of action would be to humour Fuji until help arrived. He glanced around the tennis locker room, but spotted no other telephone in the vicinity. Should he hang up and call the ambulance and civil defence? Surely the people living in the vicinity of the crash, must have noticed the wreck by now?

"Fuji. Please, listen to me. You're confused, and you are experiencing some mental trauma. This is common in victims who have just suffered from an accident. Stay where you are. I'd go and call for help and – "

"How did you know my name?"

"...I'm your tennis captain. We've been in the same team for 3 years. Don't you remember?"

"Not really... Something is rather strange here. Are you in Japan?"

"Yes, I am."

"It clearly states on my cellphone and watch, that it's approximately 9.15 at night. How is that possible?"

"I have no idea. Maybe...maybe there is a strong magnetic field nearby? Maybe in the force of the collision, electrical gadgets have been rendered useless?"

"That's not true. I left the university past 8. It should be correct."

"University?"

"I'm attending Todai as a third-year medical student. What about you?"

"...Seigaku. I'm in the third year of junior high."

"Ah? Tezuka-kun, you're younger than me?"

"..that's not possible. I'm telling you, it's amnesia."

"Saa...so the owner of the deep, mature voice, belongs to someone much younger than I am? Alas!"

He could almost see Fuji's infernal smile in the way he spoke, gentle and humorous at the same time. There was so much he didn't understand. He was alone in the current existence, a life that began to seem as superficial as a thin layer of skin stretched over a wide drum. His mind was unable to tear itself away from the gentle voice on the line, a presence that caused this glitch in his world.

An idea registered, when his eyes caught sight of the unused television set in the corner.

"Seriously, Fuji. What do you remember?"

"Hmmm...I remember my classmates. I remember my siblings, Yuuto and Yuri. I remember my music lessons, the university itself, oh, and the tennis team I joined!"

"Well, at least some memories are still approximately the same. Your siblings are called Yuuta and Yumiko. You don't have music lessons, but you do like to listen to good music. You're in junior high with me, and I happen to be your tennis captain."

"You seem to be talking about a completely different person, Tezuka-kun. My memories are intact. I can remember incidents that occurred since I was a young boy."

Static abruptly filled the line, throwing both parties into a state of panic.

Tezuka realised that the earlier banter had been an effort on the other boy's part, to keep his tone light. Now that silence had re-established itself, he could hear Fuji's voice cracking from the strain. This could not be true. He tried to imagine a world that existed 5 hours later in time, and a Fuji that was simultaneously real and an impossibility. Suddenly, the reality of the situation hit him. Somewhere, there was a train wreck and Fuji was trapped in the debris, and perhaps he would die alongside the other passengers who had not survived the collision.

"Hello? Hello? Are you there, Tezuka-kun?"

"...why is there no help on the way?"

"Ne, I heard of a story..."

"We exist in a world, amongst many worlds. Somewhere in this layer of worlds, there is an infinite number of our "self"s, taking every chance and every decision that we could ever have plausibly made. Ne, if you die in this world...do you think you'd still be living in another?"

"Saa...I really wonder..."

The words were getting fainter as the clock ticked by. Seconds felt like minutes, and blended into hours.

Tezuka gazed silently at the clean, unmarred scenery of Amagasaki indicated in the news, and felt like crying.

END CHAPTER