[3-B'] Tadashi Murakami - Bad End (Incomplete) #ThoseWhoCannotReturn

...Sorry.
Murakami muttered in a raspy voice and looked away from the building that was on the verge of collapse.

His strength drained away like a fire going out deep in his chest, and his feet naturally turned backward.
The words 'respect for human life,' which he had heard so many times at the scene, felt like nothing but a heavy burden tonight.
--If I were still on active duty, I could have gone.
--But now, I am just a retiree.
He repeated that excuse to himself over and over.

As he walked along the night road, the murmur of the crowd faded, and eventually, he was enveloped in silence.
There were no lights to guide him, his reliable smartphone finally went dark, and it fell into a cold silence in his hand.
His heart, having lost its destination, only made his body feel heavier.

When he looked up at the sky, stars were twinkling at the intersection where the streetlights had gone out.
That light was somehow distant and did not illuminate Murakami's feet.
He stopped in a corner of the city and leaned his back against a wall.
...What did I protect, I wonder?
The cold night air carried away his monologue, which would reach no one.

Before long, his figure would become a blank space that would remain in no one's records.
In the stories of others, simply as 'the missing former firefighter'—.

[END No.3 The Fading Flame]

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