2084, Erased from Society... Yet Still Alive - Kaede's Notebook Episode 1

This is a short story episode featuring 'Kaede,' a character from the short story I posted the other day!

Resident Registration for an Invisible City

──Living as someone who does not exist──

Kaede's Notebook - The Me Who Doesn't Exist and the Me Who Is Here

Chapter 1: The Bright Girl

Since she was a child, Kaede was a girl like the sun.

She grew up in a small house in a small town, loved by her parents and neighbors.

In elementary school, she was at the center of her circle of friends, and if someone was in trouble, she would reach out to help immediately.

'Everyone smiles when Kaede-chan is around.'

Being told that made her happier than anything.

Her smile illuminated her surroundings like the light of spring.

Kaede herself felt proud that she could be of help to everyone.

After school, she would play in the park with friends, and when she got home, she would cook dinner with her mother.

She believed those days would last forever.

Chapter 2: Transfer, and the Darkness

Soon after entering middle school, her father's transfer was decided.

A new city, a new school.

Kaede tied her uniform ribbon with a mix of anxiety and anticipation.

However, from the very first day of her transfer, her world began to crumble with a loud crash.

'That transfer student seems kind of out of place, doesn't she?'

'Maybe she did something at her old school?'

Such rumors spread without Kaede knowing.

It started with being ignored.


Gradually, there was graffiti on her desk, and her textbooks began to be hidden.

One day, when she sat down for lunch, mechanical pencil lead and trash had been mixed into Kaede's tray.

'Why would they do this...'

Unable to talk to anyone, Kaede just silently stopped eating her school lunch.

Even so, she tried to act bright.

'It's okay, it will surely be better tomorrow.'
She kept telling herself that.

But the bullying escalated.

Thumbtacks were placed in her shoe locker, and one day, her back was cut with a box cutter.

More than the pain, the agony of not knowing why she was being subjected to this deeply gouged Kaede's heart.

Once, she gathered the courage to talk to her homeroom teacher about the bullying.

But the teacher didn't even listen to the end of her story,
'That's not true,'
'Isn't it just your imagination?' they said,
treating the bullying itself as if it never happened.

At that moment, she felt the depths of her chest turn cold.

'Ah, no one believes me.'

Once she thought that, the desire to ask anyone for help vanished.

Since then, Kaede could no longer trust people.

No matter how kind the words spoken to her were, deep down she began to think, "I'll just be betrayed if I trust them anyway."

"No one sees me."

"I want help, but I can't get it."

Such thoughts were deeply etched into Kaede's heart.

Chapter 3: Emotional Scars

Even after entering high school, the situation did not change.

"I heard that girl was bullied in middle school."

Such rumors had reached the new school as well.

Kaede had become even less able to trust people.

Just making eye contact with someone made her heart pound.

She spent her days in the corner of the classroom, as if holding her breath.

"Do I even have the right to be here?"

Such thoughts took root deep in her heart.

Eventually, Kaede began to suffer from aichmophobia, acrophobia, social phobia, and claustrophobia.

Seeing the tip of a cutter, needle, or kitchen knife brought back the pain of that day, and her palpitations would not stop.

When standing in high places, her legs would freeze and she could not move.

In crowds or narrow spaces, she would struggle to breathe and break out in uncontrollable cold sweats.

Even so, Kaede tried hard to live "normally."

"I have to be like everyone else and act properly."

She kept telling herself that.

Chapter 4: Scars That Don't Fade Even After Growing Up

She went to university, left her parents' home, and started living alone.

A new environment, new friends.

At first, she thought things would go well.

However, the scars deep in her heart did not fade easily.

When she joined a circle of people at a club drinking party, she would suddenly feel suffocated and sometimes have to run to the restroom.

When she made a mistake at her part-time job, nights of sleepless anxiety followed, fearing, "Will they hate me again?"

Even so, Kaede did not forget to smile.

"It's okay, I'm sure I can change."

She believed that.

Chapter 5: Marriage and New Despair

After entering the workforce, Kaede threw herself into her job.

"This time, I want to be happy."

That was her wish.

Eventually, she fell in love with a man she met at work and decided to get married.

"If I get married, maybe my life will change."

Kaede believed that.

However, as soon as they registered their marriage, her husband's true nature emerged.

He would yell at her over trivial things, ignore her, and sometimes even resort to violence.

"It's your fault."

"It's all your fault."

Such words hurt Kaede's heart even more.

"Why is it always me..."

Kaede blamed herself over and over again.

Eventually, both her mind and body reached their limit, and Kaede decided to divorce.

The married life she had hoped would make her happy had only left behind new scars.

Chapter 6: The Erased Existence

Kaede had only intended to return to her maiden name following her divorce.

What should have been a trivial procedure resulted in her ID being invalidated due to a processing error in the administrative system.

She woke up in the morning, and the smart door wouldn't open.

Her transit card wouldn't work either.

When she went to the municipal office, she was coldly told, "Your data does not exist."

"I was living a normal life until yesterday, but from today, I have become someone who 'does not exist.'"

Kaede ended up living in an old underground railway tunnel with others who had been similarly 'erased'.

There were people there who were unknown to anyone, yet who were undeniably 'there'.

By calling each other's names and acknowledging, 'You are here,' they barely managed to confirm their own existence.

Chapter 7: Existence Recorded in a Notebook

One night, Soma, a former city administrative official, appeared and opened a paper notebook.

"Let's write the profile of each one of us here. Let's turn our memories into records."

Those words sent quiet ripples deep into Kaede's heart.

For the first time, a small light seemed to ignite in her heart, which she had long thought was misunderstood and abandoned by everyone.

She felt the emotions that had been frozen deep in her chest slowly beginning to melt.

"Someone is looking at me."

That thought brought warmth to Kaede's heart, and the door that had been closed gently opened.

With trembling hands, she carefully wrote down her name, her date of birth, and the flowers she used to love.

And she meticulously recorded memories of 'the me before I was erased.'

The notebook eventually became the 'new resident registration' for her companions underground.

"You were here."

Every time someone wrote that, Kaede slowly reclaimed a piece of herself.

"I am here."

The moments she could think that began to increase little by little.

Chapter 8: A Step Toward the Surface

One day, she decided to take the notebook and go to the surface.

On a street corner before dawn, Kaede posted her handwritten profile on a utility pole.

"I am here."

She wanted someone to know.

She wanted someone to call her 'Kaede' once again.

A few days later, that scrap of paper became a topic of conversation on social media.

The existence of the 'erased residents' spread, and the city council began a re-investigation.

And so, Kaede was able to hold a resident registration card with her name on it once again.

Tears spilled over.

"I am here."


Even if I am erased from the data, as long as someone calls my name, I will continue to exist.

Chapter 9: The Beginning of a New Story

Kaede is adding new memories to her notebook again today.

The stories of the friends she met underground,
the small moments of happiness she felt,
and her dreams for the future.

"I am here."

Every time she told herself this,
the bright smile she once had began to return to Kaede's heart little by little.

The wounded past and the existence that was almost erased
all make up who she is today.

Kaede will continue to live her own story from here on out.

Epilogue

On the last page of the notebook, Kaede wrote this down.

"I am here.
No matter how much I am hurt or erased,
as long as there is someone who calls my name,
I can continue to live as myself."

Kaede's notebook continues to grow with new pages even now.

It was the greatest proof that she is "here."

Thank you for reading until the end.