An entire day has been wasted. And entire decades will be wasted as Hanako will inevitably wait just for him. How could her mind take that? She just sits here in the alley, keeping her head down and crying. It's a silent cry, only with a few sniffles can be heard every few seconds. It's heart breaking. I try to give her space, but the sight eventually breaks me and I go down and hug her. A logically thinking me wouldn't have done something so intimate. But a strong desire to be near her overtakes me the more I watch her hide her suffering.



Hanako: "H-Hisao?"



Hisao: "Uh...s-sorry. You just looked.....sad..."



Hanako: "I'm s-sorry. I'm o-okay...I swear...."



She gets up and starts walking away. I catch a glimpse of her red eyes before she wipes it as she leaves south.



Hisao: "Where are you heading."



Hanako: "I-I don't know..I just....I just think we sh-should find a place to sleep."



Hisao: "That sounds good. Are you...okay?"



Hanako: "I-I'll be fine...."



She walks with her shoulders slumped and head down. It looks like her feet are dragging her. Like she's a zombie. Like all life has been taken, only enough left for her to move. She looks unbelievably tired, and understandably so. She wanted to see her father again. Her only hope in this world that doesn't make sense is the idea she can be reunited with people she would otherwise never see again. Now she'll go back to her old self, no hope, nobody there for her.



We obviously can't stay at that hotel. We have no money, and a hotel like that would not be cheap. I call a cab and ask the driver to bring us to a place to sleep. He said there's nothing that's free or even cheap. So I ask him to take us the the north side, where we entered. There's no place to stay, so heading to the forest will be the next best choice. We can sleep under a tree or something, there's no bugs after all. Which raises suspicion: Is this only for humans? Do other animals not get an afterlife? I haven't seen a single animal here. Is this place segregated? Is there a separate purgatory for animals?



The driver gets us to the forest. Hanako is silent on the way there. She just looks out the window with dead eyes, a depressing sight. We arrive at the edge of the city, and you can see the trees creating a blanked around the city. We give our thanks to the driver and head towards the trees.



Hanako: "Wh-what are we doing here? I th-thought...."



Hisao: "We don't have a lot of money....I think we're going to have to sleep under a tree."



Hanako: "Oh...I just th-thought...we could st-stay....a l-little longer...."



Hisao: "What do you mean?"



Hanako: "I j-just thought you'd w-want to st-stay here a few days....you l-looked so happy in the city."



Hisao: "I mean, we came here for you..and we found out about your dad....there's no reason to stay...."



Hanako: "But you l-looked so happy.....We d-don't have to leave b-because of me...."



Hisao: "Won't Kana Sama get mad if we stay though?"



Hanako: "Didn't th-the people at the dome say, sh-she has to see you to use h-her button."



Hisao: "Well...we'll decide what to do tomorrow. Let's just rest here."



I lay down under a rather large tree. Hanako lays down too. It's been a long day for both of us, but Hanako probably had a longer day though. We just lay there staring at the stars in silence. It's fitting, the anticipation and anxiety of seeing if her dad is till here, to the serenity of laying down in the night. We were both hanging posters everywhere, hearing about her father, and facing the soul-crushing disappointment.



My breathing slows and normalizes. My eye lids start closing without my consent. My body is limp, sleeping, recovering, even though biologically there's no longer need for sleep. I was asleep for about a few hours, before something woke me up. It was a contact that triggered my senses. She snuggled up to me. Her head laid on my shoulders, her breathing slow and deep like mine. The unexpected intimacy of her body laying against mine and the smell of her hair excites me awake. Is this an accident or is this on purpose? Honestly speaking, I have helped her a lot today. Plus I got her out of her room. It wouldn't surprise me if she was feeling something for me. If she does, I'm not going to complain. She reminds me of Iwananko.



I go back to sleep, deciding not to wake her up about this. I just enjoy and act like I didn't notice. I fall asleep for another couple hours before morning hits. The city wakes us up as the morning rush of cars makes a lot of noise. As soon as Hanako opens her eyes and becomes aware of where she is, she jumps up like a rabbit.



Hanako: "I-I'm s-sorry! I d-d-didn't....."



Hisao: "It's alright. I didn't notice. I don't care either."



Hanako: "I r-really didn't m-mean to..."



Hisao: "It's fine. Really. Come on. We'd better head back."



Hanako: "A-are you sure?"



Hisao: "Yeah, she'll send us back if we do what she asks. If we don't, she might catch us and things will be 100 times harder."



We begin walking towards the hospital. I take a final look at the city. A symbol of an old way that makes no sense in an immortal world. But also a symbol of hope. A symbol of disappointment created by that hope. We walk back a for a few hours. The weather is cool and it's silent and peaceful. Only sound that can be heard is leaves, pebbles and sticks crunching under our feet.



After walking a while, I see something. It's Sid and a couple of his followers standing in the distance. There waiting for us. We make eye contact and they begin to meet us halfway.



Sid: "How was seeing the city?"



Hisao: "It was cool! It was very nice to see.:



Sid: "Is that why you guys slept outside under a tree?"



Hisao: "How-"



Sid: "We rule the forest. They rule the places that resemble the mortal world."



Hisao: "Well we didn't have any money. Plus we didn't mind."



Sid: "Exactly. A mortal concept is still preventing you from sleeping in bed even, in death. You had to sleep on the ground because they refuse to give up mortal numbers. But yet you realize you don't need a bed. The natural world is good as it is."



Hisao: "Are you here to take us back?"



Sid: "Yep. we're going to show you our dome again, so you can escape here in a time of need."



Sid and his men escort us through the forest, pointing out landmarks to help us traverse. He shows us the dome again, and how to find the patch of grass that leads to it. He tells me how to find the dome from the hospital, even quizzing me on it. Hanako is really silent. I don't think she intends on going here. Which is sad. She looks like she needs an accepting group. They tell us detailed ways to get back to the hospital, and I memorize. They go back to their dome and we return to our hospital.



Weeks of work ensue. Hanako rarely talked since coming back. It's was monotonous, doing the same thing everyday, stacking rocks. Oh, but me, Hanako and Misha have been upgraded to doing laundry. I don't know whose laundry these belong to, but I'm guessing it's for the enemies of Kana Sama who aren't working. Hanako and I have unfortunately not talked much. There was one instance where I asked her if she wanted to find her mother. She doesn't think she can. Hanako has just been doing everything she's told. Misha works hard, but Kana doesn't seem to notice. Misha complains a lot to me about how she's strict with her. And everyone. Except Hanako.



It got to a point where one day we were doing laundry. Hanako was going back to her normal self, I was getting on with my life. Misha was slowing down, probably because she felt the Sama would never recognize her work. But Kana Sama came along and reinforced that idea.



Kana Sama: "You've been working hard these days Hanako! Nice job!"



Hanako: "Th-Thanks. It's not hard..."



Kana Sama: "Well since you've done good, I think I'm going to promote you. If you keep up the pace, I might let you go to the city. You can represent me there!"



What?