The voice on the phone was familiar, because I had heard it many times, but it was also unfamiliar...... Because, I had never met the owner of the voice before, and I had never talked before. However, she seemed to have known me for a long time.

Outside the window, the sky is getting darker, and the sunset that comes in along the edge of the windowsill can't help but be a little dazzling. They fell on the floor, stretching the shadow of the bed and mine until they reached the cabinet in the corner.

"Are you alright?"

When I was about to turn down the volume of the TV in front of me and reach for the remote control next to my pillow, the voice on the phone became softer. At the same time, it also pulled back my thoughts that were drifting farther and farther away. "Did you expect such a thing?"

I asked while holding the remote control and turning down the volume on the TV. The voice couldn't help but be a little depressed and annoyed. Although I know that it is not her fault that the result is now. But my attitude now looks like I'm blaming her.

"I'm not that good. You seem to have misunderstood something, right? ”

On the other end of the phone, she couldn't help but sigh and said with emotion. "Who the hell are you?" Suddenly, my voice couldn't help but be a little listless. "I'm sorry, I can't say—" she told me in a somewhat helpless and embarrassed voice.

"Then why are you calling!?"

Suddenly, I couldn't help but question her, and my voice was so depressed. "Because, you need comfort now." However, she calmly drowned out my voice. "So I called."

“...... Does it really matter? ”

Then she asked again, and her voice was softer than before. I was about to say something, but I turned my face and saw Natsume appear at the door with a shopping bag. "Brother, how do you feel?"

Then he walked in with a question, threw the shopping bag on the low table next to him, and moved a chair from the corner and sat down. "It sucks—" I said as I quietly hid my phone under the covers. "Who were you calling?"

"No, no!"

Instantly, my voice tensed. "Don't hide, I've already seen it—" Saying that, Natsume had a cold attitude and reached out to lift the quilt without hesitation! And before I could react, I took the phone in my hand. "Still on the phone, huh?"

Natsume shook the phone in his hand and said to me proudly in a show-off voice. "Give it back—" I said in a depressed voice, with a slightly embarrassed expression. "Who were you talking to? It can't be that woman again, right? ”

At this time, Natsume put the phone to his ear without waiting for me to answer. "I don't know who you are, but now that my brother needs to recuperate, can you please not call him with such a familiar attitude as if you know him very well-?"

After saying that, Natsume hung up the phone directly, and she seemed to be really angry now. Then he got up from his chair and turned his back to me and poured a glass of water from the cabinet near the floor-to-ceiling window. Then sit back in the chair.

Raise the cup in front of your eyes and take a small sip. "Brother, do you want it?" Then he looked up and asked me in the same voice as usual. "Hmm. I'm sorry for you—" As soon as I finished speaking, she handed over the cup. For a moment, I was stunned for a moment. Looking at her face with a somewhat confused expression, he asked, "What?" ”

"Wouldn't it be nice to drink mine?"

"Huh?"

I was so surprised that my eyes widened and my expression stiffened as if there was a delay. "I said......" Then, I couldn't help but let out a wry smile. Didn't you do this a lot when you were a kid? Or are you shy, brother? ”

Natsume looked at me and couldn't help but burst out laughing. His voice seemed to be showing off to me, and his expression was similar. "Give it to me—" Looking at her triumphant look, I was suddenly a little unwilling, so I took the cup in her hand and sat up slowly with both hands.

"Who is shy!"

"Oh? Are you sure? Natsume stood up, helped me adjust the position of the cushions, and asked again. I ignored her, raised the glass in my hand to my eyes, and took a sip with a twist of my free hand. "Natsume is a sister, I'm so shy!"

At the same time, tell yourself in the bottom of your heart over and over again.

- "Oops, my face is so hot!" Even so, I noticed that my face was getting hot at an alarming rate. So, after handing her the cup, he turned his face to a place that Natsume couldn't see.

As a result, she laughed even harder, and even her shoulders couldn't help shaking.

Suddenly, I was so embarrassed that I couldn't refute it, because it was basically true. Then, after she sat back in her chair and leaned back lightly, we didn't speak for a while, and Natsume watched my reaction with interest. And I kept avoiding her gaze, as if it were hide and seek.

At this time, the room was quiet, so quiet that only the sound of the clock hands on the wall came from the door. and the sound of electronic devices placed around it. "You say—"

Then, it was me who broke the silence first.

"If at that time, I didn't accede to Lola's request to come and stay with us, wouldn't it...... Wouldn't that happen? As I spoke, my head gradually lowered, and my voice became more and more self-reproachful. If I hadn't said yes, at least maybe it wouldn't have been, right? ”

"If I had explicitly rejected her at that time, Lola probably wouldn't have died!"

As I spoke, I became quieter and quieter, and my voice became more and more trembling! "So, it's all my fault!" Then, with tears streaming down his eyes...... "No! That's not true! It's not your fault that this matter is brother! ”

Natsume approached me, looked me in the eye without hesitation, and told me in a firm voice. Then, gently take my hand and slowly pull it into your arms. And then, as I did to her as a kid, hugged me—

Putting her hand on my head and caressing it as if she were trying to mess up her limp hair, I resisted a little, but she didn't stop. And the movements are gentle...... "Are you comfortable?" ”

"Hmm."

I answered her in a very small voice.

"If you want to sleep, it's okay to just sleep." Then she added in a joking voice. "Got it." Maybe her words really worked, right? I couldn't help but hug Natsume and fell asleep.

And when I woke up in a daze and rubbed my eyes with my hands, I saw her sitting in a chair, tilting her head with an unsuspecting expression and sleeping soundly. The sound of breathing from time to time is also very regular and even.

I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Looking around, the room was so dark that I couldn't even see my feet clearly. The only bit of light is probably the mobile phone screen that lights up from time to time next to it, right? Just as I found a more comfortable position to close my eyes again, the screen lit up again. This time, what is displayed there is a phone number—

Luckily, I had already adjusted it to a non-sound mode before that.

Then, I picked it up and put it to my ear. "It seems that I have been completely regarded by your sister as the 'mastermind behind the scenes'!"

Immediately afterwards, there was a voice that seemed to be a little embarrassed and helpless. "How? Are you feeling better now? Then, as if a little worried, he asked. I think it might take a while to accept it......"

"Really? That's right, after all—"

At this point, she paused. It seems that I didn't continue to talk because I was in mind. "Chihiro—" Then, calling my name. Suddenly, I was stunned for a while before I reacted.

"What......?"

At this time, I couldn't help but grab the sheets with my hands, and asked in a nervous voice with a stiff expression. "At times like this, running away is also a way—" she told me in a very serious voice. "If you feel so uncomfortable, if you feel so painful, if you blame yourself...... Just run away. ”

"What are you talking about, how can that kind of thing be—!"

Suddenly, I couldn't help but interrupt her. "Yes, yes! Moreover, no one will blame you. "Unexpectedly, I was only halfway through speaking, and I was overshadowed by her voice again." At least not at all, and I think ...... Neither will Natsume. ”

Before I knew it, my hand gripping the sheet began to tremble slightly. "So, if you choose to do that, you can at least get out of the way you are now. What do you think? That's a good suggestion, right? ”

I shook my head firmly. "Thanks, but I can't do that!"

In an instant, I told her in a very unwilling voice. "Well, is Lola still saved?" Then it turned to another topic. Even I could feel the absurdity of what I was going to ask next.

But if you can really look at it—"In this world, her death is a given." You can't change it anyway! Give it up. At this time, the voice on the other end of the phone became very cold.

The attitude is also very cold.

"But you're talking about the world, aren't you?" Suddenly, I found a small possibility in what she had just said. "In other words, she may still be in the other world!"

As I spoke, I couldn't help but feel a little excited. "Alive. Indeed, this is also true. ”

Then, she helped me make up what I wanted to say. The voice was calm and slightly excited. "If that's the case, what are you going to do?"

"Isn't that obvious? Of course I'll save her! ”

After a while, it overshadowed her voice, and her expression was very serious. "Don't even think about it, do you? Did you deliberately test me to ask that? Instantly, I was unconvinced and asked her.

"Sort of. So, now that you've decided, hurry up! Now, maybe we can catch up! With that, she hung up. — Indeed, I also know the method, and there is no need to ask her again.

Then, after glancing at my sister, who was still sleeping soundly in a chair next to me, I pressed the text message button. "I'll be here soon!" Then, I couldn't help but smile wryly at her......

Then, when consciousness returned to my body, I suddenly found myself standing in an empty living room, looking around—with unwrapped snacks on the coffee table, and the TV in front of me. There is a carpet underfoot, which stretches from here to the other......

There are empty cans of drinks everywhere, and if you are not careful, you will kick them, causing them to make a loud noise. At this moment, from the balcony in front, there seemed to be a voice. I couldn't help but be a little curious, so I bent down and picked up the jar on the ground and walked forward. I'm going to go over and have a look—

"Lola......?"

Then, when I walked through the living room and appeared there, I immediately recognized the back! Honestly, now I want to rush over and give her a big hug right away, and then tell her, "It's great to see you're alive!" But—"

Now, she's flipping over the grille on the edge of the balcony to the other side—"Lola, what are you doing!?" "In an instant, I rushed desperately! At the same time, I reached out to her with all my might, trying to catch the figure that quickly disappeared into my field of vision like a close-up of a movie......