Chapter 1: Confession

Translator: Soafp

I spun around and danced through the sky. My mind became incredibly sharp, and my life played back in slow motion. …Is this what they call a life flashing before your eyes? The world also slowed down in the same way.

No one is walking. The huge, orderly constructed condominiums of a large residential complex stand in the night. This is Tama New Town, the largest new town in Japan, Minami-Osawa,11:42 PM.

If you look closely, there’s one building in the distance emitting smoke. Could it be a fire? Flames, still casting an orange glow, rise from the windows, consuming the upper floors. Firefighters’ shouts cut through the crowd of onlookers. The sound of sirens surges like a tidal wave.

Just a few seconds ago, “I” was running there, laughing loudly. I couldn’t even recognize the red light. A silver coupe, speeding at 65 kilometers per hour, far exceeding the speed limit, hit me. My body was flung and contorted. Foolish, stupid me slowly soared through the air. But why was I hit, why am I here? …I no longer understand.

Oh, how pretty. Look? The moon looks like a mirror ball. It’s spinning above my head. Round and round. Round and round. My contorted body spins too. Round and round. Round and round.

…Ah. Hey. My precious little brother. Kai-chan’s life is fading away inside me. Wait. Don’t go. Don’t leave me alone. Kai-chan, Kai-chan. Hey, Kai-chan… Onee-chan, Onee-chan you know, loves you. I love you so much. That’s all there was to it.

Round and round. Round and round. The ground approaches. The end approaches. My end. Kai-chan’s end.

…Ah, that’s right, you there. Yes, you. Let me tell you about the footprints of my life until today. The life of a girl who was told she was unwanted. So you don’t make the same mistakes as I did. So you don’t lose someone precious like I did.

Please. Please. …Please, will you listen? To the story of my life so far. Please.

…Splat.

With a dull sound, I fell onto the asphalt thirty meters ahead, crushing the life inside my swollen belly.