— World Apart.
— .:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:. Prologue. .:. .:. .:. .:.
Goodbye.
.:.
.:.
Once upon a time, there lived a boy. His name was Nagihiko,
and he loved to dance...and something else.
. . .
I've been with her for a year now, and frankly, I think I love her.
"Hey, will you hurry up!" She says, glaring at me.
I smile, speeding up. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Where are we going anyway?"
"The Mall," she says. "We haven't gone christmas shopping yet."
I take her hand, watching her blush slightly.
"I-idiot," she murmurs. But she doesn't let go of my hand.
. . . The boy lived in a perfect world, But one day something happened... . . .
was in love with the prettiest girl who loved him too!
We've just finished shopping and right now were drinking hot-chocolate. Well, I was, until something caught my eye. It's gleaming under the fluorescent light and shining like it's brand new. It's a gun.
"Rima, do you see that?" I point at the gun.
"See what?" She says.
I frown. How could she not see it? "I'm not kidding. That guy, right over there—the one by that ice-cream shop."
She squints her eyes. "No...I don't see anyone there. Nagihiko, are you sure you're okay—?"
I can't hear her. All I notice is that man's twisted smile and his gun.
He's got a gun.
He's got a fucking gun in his fucking hand. He's holding it. In his hand. In plain view of the whole goddamn world. And yet, no one notices. Not Rima, not the woman who passed him, no one.
They don't even look at him.
They just keep walking around, minding their own business. As if it doesn't even matter. As if no one is in danger right now.
"Nagihiko?" Rima says. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Are you sure you can't see him? He's right there!" My voice is rising, who gives a damn, really?
He's got a fucking gun. He could shoot us all up. Just aim, pull the trigger and bang! You're dead, I'm dead. We're all dead. There'd be screaming and crying and sirens everywhere.
"No," she says. "What's wrong with you?"
I grab her hand. "Let's go!"
"Nagihiko you're insane!" She growls taking her hand back. "There's nothing there!" She stomps over to where I pointed. To the man.
"Rima stop—!"
She walks right past him. The man doesn't even notice her, instead, he notices me.
He's smiling, his gun pointed straight at me. I can hear him.
"Time to wake up, Nagihiko," he says. His voice is robotic. Programmed, even.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
. . . The boy woke up that day, . . .
he learned something that day.
Three shots.
One in the chest, the leg and...
...the heart.
Rima notices the man now. Everyone does now. So, people start screaming. They're running around everywhere, hands in the air, children against their mother's breast. I hear an alarm in the background. And a kid just pissed himself.
Someone just called the police.
Rima is by my side, crying, telling me she loves me, and telling to shut up.
("Don't cry, I'm fine. Look? See? Th-this is nothin', Ri-tan. It's nothin'.")
"Ri-tan," I say. "I think I'm gonna take a nap, 'kay?"
She's crying harder.
("No, Nagihiko don't! Nagihiko...! Nagihiko!")
I think.
("Please, please don't...!")
I don't know. My ears are ringing, and the light is becoming blinding.
("Don't leave, Nagihiko. Please...")
. . .
He realized.. ...The reality he died from was fake, and today, he woke up from it. . . .
I can hear things, now. Voices. People moving. The wind.
Is this death?
I open my eyes, and a voice cries, "he's awake!"
The light is blinding. I keep them closed for a second before opening them again. I look around.
I'm in a hospital.
"H-hello?"
"Nagihiko!" A man says. He's wearing a lab coat. I can feel myself shake as I stare at him. Am I afraid? Why am I afraid of this man? He seems nice enough. He probably saved a lot of lives. He could be a doctor. A scientist, maybe.
I shiver.
"Where am I?"
He sighs. "First tell me this: what's your name?"
I blink. Is this a joke? "You just said it. It's Nagihiko."
He smiles. "Good. Now do you remember where you've been for the past fifteen years?"
This is getting ridiculous. "I've been living with my family. Going to school. Hanging out with my friends. I even have a girl—" I don't finish.
Where's Rima?
"A what?" The man says, he doesn't look happy.
The mall. The gun. The man. It's all coming back. "Where's Rima?"
The man is frowning now. "I was afraid of this."
"Where's Rima?" I cry. "If you did something to her—!"
He sighs tiredly. "She doesn't exist."
"You're kidding right—?"
"No, I'm not," he interrupts. "She does not exist, Nagihiko. Or at least, the Rima in your world doesn't exist."
"Yes, she does!" I protest. "Where the hell am I, anyway?"
He hesitates, looking at me with something akin to pity and explained, "you came here 3 months ago."
"Where?" I shout. "Where the fuck am I?"
"You came here 3 months ago after you rescued. Nagihiko, you're in Seiyo Psychiatric Hospital. You're here because you were a victim of Monarch Programming for sixteen years. Rima, and whoever else you grew up in that reality you created are all fake. They never existed, Nagihiko."
TBC.