The Story I Send to You – Chapter 9 | The Sinking Night

Even after I sent a follow-up message,
there was no reply from Rei at all.

Remaining unread,
his presence, which should have been on the other side of the screen,
had completely vanished.

“Ah… it’s over.”

The depths of my chest felt hollow and cold,
and I didn’t know where to put my heart.

Even though we talked every single day,
to think that just a few days of silence
could destroy my world.

A few days later,
a notification from Rei suddenly appeared.

My heart leaped.
My hands trembled.
But the content was
completely different from what I had imagined.

“I might be willing to see you.
If you can convince me,
I might be willing to get back together with you.”

My breath hitched.

There was no kindness or consideration in those words.
It felt as if I were being tested,
as if I were being judged.

But at that moment,
I still felt happy.

“It’s not over yet…”
I clung to that fleeting hope.

The next moment,
Rei specified a time that I absolutely could not miss.

“At this time, at our usual spot.”

That was
the appointment time for a part-time job interview
that I couldn't possibly cancel.

But I answered reflexively.

“It’s impossible, but… I’ll find a way to go!!
I’ll make it work because I want to see you!!”

I was desperate.
Even though there was no way I could go,
I found myself trying to figure out how to make it happen.

Immediately after that,
the words Rei dropped onto the screen
pierced me like cold water.

"That's impossible.
Don't get ahead of yourself."

A sharp pain tightens deep in my chest.

The moment those words were spoken,
it felt as if something inside me withered away.

"Don't get ahead of yourself"...?

My mind couldn't comprehend
why I had to be subjected to such words.

But my heart,
simply terrified of losing Rei,
was trying to swallow even those words.

From then on, Rei began
to pile on demands
that ignored my own circumstances.

Impossible requests.
Contradictory instructions.
Sudden outbursts of anger.

Rei's words
seemed to have turned into sharp blades.

Yet I still
couldn't let him go.

"I don't want to be hated"
"I don't want to be abandoned"

Such feelings
clouded my judgment more and more.

In the sinking night,
I still
had not realized
how deep a place I had stepped into.