"Red," he whispered to the psychiatrist. One knee jiggled in a restless beat and his fingers twisted tightly together while his eyes slid sideways, away from the doctor's pitying gaze. "Blood red and burning. So much rage… The rest of them, her eyes, were blacker than night, so utterly dark they were just a tunnel into a void. But in that void was a raging bonfire of anger, no, of some unholy wrath and hatred. I wanted to reach for my gun but I knew it wouldn't help. She was…God, she wasn't human."
"Anger and pain should be expected," Dr. Naboru tried to reassure the shaking man. "She had just seen the murders of six people. Even you and your partner were traumatized, and in that moment—"
"No!" Officer Fujino had roared, lunging up from his chair. "I am telling you exactly what I saw! Why the hell would I imagine black and red eyes? She looked at me and I knew she could burn me down and there was nothing I could do to stop her."
"Then why didn't she?"
Strangely, the officer's face softened into gentleness and grief.
"She put her hand down, probably to push herself up, and it fell on the boy next to her. She looked down at him…"
Fujino shook his head.
"I've never heard a sound like that before. It wasn't crying, or screaming. Maybe it was wailing? She pulled him towards her, sort of rolling him into her lap, and this horrible sound just kept coming from her. She didn't look at me even when I jumped up and reached for my gun. Instead she held his face between her hands and cried out, 'Endymion!' Over and over, screaming or moaning or whispering, always that word. Endymion. I don't even know what it means."
Dr. Naboru had not been able to confirm any of this with Fujino's partner, Officer Nagano. She had refused to see him or to talk about that night. Despite this, she had visited the girl's parents often to offer any support in her power. The parents said she seemed very interested in any progress their daughter might be making.
Three years later, as he stared out the window at the sinking sun, the doctor understood why Nagano wanted to keep close to the parents. Perhaps she honestly wanted to offer her support, but he knew that she also needed to know if there was a chance that the girl would ever be released.
