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"Don't waste your time on a dead person like me."
In front of her, a ghost had said so.
But damn it, she couldn't get the image of that "dead person" out of her mind.
Why did everything come to this stage?
6 months ago, there was a female student quietly standing on the roof of a prestigious school, she was a lady of a rich family, she was smart, beautiful, talented, and she carried on her big dreams and ambitions.
But she was short-lived.
The day she heard this news, everything around her collapsed, every dream, every hope that she had worked so hard to build, all vanished in a night.
Raiden Mei was sick, and she had only 9 months to live.
Painful, unhappy, she laughed at her own wretched fate, leading to bad thoughts dancing in her tiny head.
For example, today, she had thoughts of killing herself, by jumping off the school's rooftop. She stood on the railing, silently cursing her fate and taking a breath... Maybe this was the end? She could at least leave this world a little earlier.
And after that-
After that-
"Bwah!"
A white shadow shot up in front of her from somewhere and scared her, causing Mei to panic and fall off the railing, sprawled on the floor. She was bewildered and didn't understand what was going on, someone grabbed the railing just now, no-something, was floating in the air.
It was a white-haired woman.
"Scared?"
Mei thought she was hallucinating, she pinched herself, but the strange girl in front of her was still there and was slowly getting closer. She subconsciously stepped back, a little afraid of what was happening in front of her, what was this? Could it be that she met a ghost!?
"Wow, what a beautiful girl you are, but you chose to commit suicide?"
Mei felt a chill on the back of her neck.
No, her whole body was cold, as if there was an aura surrounding her, which meant...the thing in front of her, was something unnatural, a ghost.
"I...I- are you a ghost?"
"Of course!" - The ghost crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows at the girl below. Not good, normally people would panic and run away for their lives, right? Why was this girl staring blankly at her like that? Or was she threatening the wrong way this time?
The ghost moved closer to Mei, the young girl instinctively hid against the wall, it seemed that she could not avoid anymore, Mei originally did not believe in the bullshit ghost stories that people often talk about, anything that happened could be explained by science, but as of today, that statement was thrown in the trashcan. This was a soul! This was a real ghost! And she saw it!
The spirit in front of her was a girl around Mei's age, she had strange white hair that Mei had never seen before, it resembled someone with albinism but her eyes denied it. Her eyes were blue, like a deep ocean, but mixed with gold for some reason.
Really beautiful...
Damn it, wake up Raiden Mei! This was not the time to think about nonsense.
The ghostly spirit knelt down in front of Mei, she tilted her head and smiled slyly.
"If I turn my head upside down now, will you panic and run away?"
"P-Please don't... I'll faint-"
"Ehh...boring. Are you weak?" - the white-haired ghost sighed dejectedly, but soon regained her interest - "You're weak, but you still dare to talk to me."
Mei swallowed, miraculously, she was communicating with a ghost, she didn't dare to even dream about it in the past.
"Kiana."
"Y-Yes?"
"My name. What's yours?"
"..." - Mei hesitated a bit - "Mei. Raiden Mei."
"Great, now I'll haunt you for the rest of your life."
"..."
Why would she openly tell a dead person her name-
"Just kidding." - the ghost giggling, waving her hand - "Mei...a young, ambitious, beautiful girl like you, yet you're planning to commit suicide? If you're not afraid, you can, like- talk to me. The world of the dead is boring you know-"
For some reason, looking at Kiana's clear crystals eyes, Mei was attracted, she suddenly wanted to confide all her troubles to the opposite person, was this also a power of a ghost?
Mei hesitated, then gradually told the ghost named Kiana about her family, her friends, her story, and her own failure. Every word she uttered was heard by that quiet soul. Then Mei burst into tears, she blamed her unfortunate fate, blamed herself for being too useless to contribute anything to society and family.
"I'm a failure, I can't do anything useful for this family and society, Dad spent a lot of time raising me, and now I can't give him anything in return."
Mei did not talk about her illness.
"What does the world of the dead…look like?"
Kiana narrowed her eyes, her gaze turned to the distant horizon, the sun was also descending now... What was her world look like? Kiana couldn't give an exact answer, time went on and the world in her eyes would always change. Nothing was forever.
"If I were to describe it, I'd say it's pretty lonely, when people die they usually think they'll be in an afterlife, a world of spirits, that sort of thing. But really, you're just alone, no one else."
Then, she rubbed her chin thinking a little more.
"It's like, you alone are invisible among 7 billion people. Compared to that huge number, you are the exception, the only different individual. But... actually, other people can see you, like you're seeing me."
She smiled, a gentle and warm smile, Mei felt more at ease, but she still had many questions regarding this ghost. But it was getting dark...
"Kid, listen." - Kiana interrupted Mei's train of thought - "You should talk to someone to relieve your stress, you are young and a beautiful lady, you must have big ambitions, right?? Think again, don't regret it later because of a rash moment."
Realizing that Kiana was about to leave, Mei sat up shakily and called out her name.
"K-Kiana...right?" - Seeing that the other "person" seemed to have noticed her, she continued - "Can we meet again?"
The spirit was surprised for a moment, then giggled and waved her hand before leaving.
"Then just come up here and find me."
(2)
Raiden Mei still had to race against time, for the past 2 weeks, she had been talking every day with a ghost named Kiana, which made her somewhat calmer before her predetermined death. She listened to some of Kiana's advice, people could have so many wishes and dreams, so let's start with the things that were easiest to accomplish and work your way up to the more difficult ones.
What dreams did Mei have?
She planned to adopt a cat after she graduated and moved out, and now she did it a little earlier. Next was probably buying a bike like Bronya's and cruising around the city...umm! Definitely doable! But she still didn't seem to know how to drive-
Regardless, that wasn't the point. The thing was, this morning, passing by a certain group of students, Mei heard something about a "ghost" so she became curious, and she asked about it, only to find out that there was a ghost in the school...one of the 7 mysteries of Chiba from a long time ago - probably 20 years ago. After hearing this news, Mei told Kiana about this.
"Hahaha! Actually, I've scared a lot of people before Mei, then they think I'm an evil spirit. Also, among the people who have seen me, I've made some friends!"
"Really? Are they here?"
"Hmmm...maybe Mei knows Himeko?" - then, Kiana smiled proudly - "I've known Himeko since she studied here until she became a teacher! It's also because of her that I'm interested in scaring students instead of just showing up, which led to becoming a popular rumor in the school as you said."
Mei suddenly realized that there was some information she had missed, she remembered what Kiana had said a few seconds ago and asked her in surprise.
"Kiana has been here for so long? So...is it possible that you are the student who was persecuted 20 years ago???"
"Eh..."
Kiana scratched her cheek, she quickly denied what Mei had just said, then decided to explain after thinking for a while.
"Twenty years is a bit short, isn't it? Um... I've been a ghost for about 500 years."
What?
All this time and the girl in front of her still refused to rest in peace!?
Kiana said that she liked to see this world develop from time to time, originally she only wondered if her wish would be fulfilled or not, but did not expect it to last this long, in return, it was interesting to see this world every day, interact with many people for 500 years.
Unlike Mei, when Kiana was alive, she didn't have many dreams, just wanting to fulfill her duties in the name of the Kaslana family was enough, the rest could be left to the other siblings in the household. Mei stared intently at Kiana while listening to her talk about the old days, she seemed so absorbed in the stories that she didn't notice a pair of purple crystal eyes staring at her, until Kiana noticed, Mei quickly turned her face away in embarrassment.
"What's wrong? Want to know how I died?"
"...what?" - Mei turned her head, her hands still clutching her legs, she curled up like a small ball. Okay, anything about Kiana was what she wanted to hear.
"I used to be a bodyguard of a young lady, she was only about 12 years old, so actually my job was quite peaceful... However, that wasn't why I was lazy! Not at all! Um ... On a certain day, the bad guys finally came, not only a few but a lot of them, I took the little girl in my hand to hide in the carriage and urged the horse to run into a crowded place to cut their tails. Basically, I had to beat up a few guys on the street, but also successfully swapped her and a straw dummy, I directed her to blend in the shortcut I used to take to run to my house, and I continued to lure those bandits away."
Kiana patted her head a bit, rearranged the sequence of events of that day in her head, and continued.
"Somehow, they caught up with me, the two sides fought for a long time, and then I was the one who was defeated. They tied me to a chair, chained a huge weight to my leg, immobilized my neck with another chain, and then moved me in a carriage to a nearby cliff. In the end, they brought me out and kicked me into the sea, probably to hide the body, so they didn't kill me by normal means but using their usual methods. Well…as a result, the girl was still alive, and I fulfilled my responsibility until the very end.”
Mei followed Kiana's eyes and saw the beach outside the city, how did she feel at that time? Was the feeling of sinking to the bottom of the sea and not being able to get out scary? Mei didn't know, but she didn't want to imagine either.
"Can you fly if you're a ghost? The world in your eyes must be beautiful."
"Wanna try?"
"Huh?"
Kiana gave a sinister smile, she quickly moved towards Mei and reached out her hand, of course, Mei didn't dodge, there was no way Kiana could touch-
A second later, Raiden Mei felt a touch on her body, even if only for a moment, but it was a push.
A second later, Mei found herself moving away from "herself".
And she started to fall through the floor, falling down every floor of Chiba academy, she saw Kiana also left her spot and fell with her, the two of them fell through a total of 5 floors before Kiana could grab her hand. Mei. She smiled apologetically, awkwardly pulling Mei up beside her.
"Ah, I forgot, this is Mei's first time experiencing 'astral projection', isn't it? Sorry, were you scared just now?"
Mei wanted to say that when she saw Kiana fall with her, she had no fear at all, but it was better to lie--
"Y-yes...even though I had intended to jump from there before, but suddenly like this, I didn't have time to react."
"Okay then, as an apology... I'll show you how to fly like a ghost. And then I'll show you what this city looks like through my eyes."
As a longtime spirit, Kiana knew how to separate the soul from the body for a while, and while a person's soul was wandering outside, their body would temporarily pass out, as if asleep. However...Kiana had never tried it on humans, only with animals. Looks like...Mei was the first.
She had to admit that Mei learned very quickly, it only took a while for her to know how to move in the air, but the only downside was that every time she looked at the ground n meters away from her, her whole face turned pale. Kiana laughed, Mei would get used to it, she guessed. Anyway, Mei shouldn't be out of her body for too long, that was not good for a human like her.
_______
Also because of that day, now Mei's new hobby was wandering around the city in the form of a ghost, of course, having Kiana with her is a condition, couldn't let the one who showed her this trick getaway! But knowing that being outside for too long was not good for Mei's health, Kiana always pulled Mei back to her body on time, no matter how much she insisted. In addition to the two being able to hang out together, Mei also found Kiana's friends who were studying in the school, the list includes Miss Himeko, Bronya of the first year, Fu Hua of the martial arts club, and Rita, who was in the cooking club, was said by Kiana to have the same face as the young lady she used to protect. When Mei asked them about their feelings towards Kiana, they all had in common a very pleasant feeling around her, similar to Mei's.
But...this wasn't good.
Why was Raiden Mei's head filled with things related to Kiana? She couldn't stop thinking about where she would go this afternoon with Kiana, how could she focus on studying like this!?
...
Kiana felt that the girl sitting in the other class was very distracted, she would sometimes stare at her notebook as if she was thinking about something, then patted herself on the cheek to wake up. This scene from the outside was quite funny, but...
But Kiana knew that the girl was getting more and more attached to her. And when people get involved or have too much contact with the deceased, it wasn't a good thing. But what should she do, if...if that cute girl continued to smile like that, she wouldn't be willing to leave her.
On a beautiful day in March, Kiana detained Raiden Mei, not allowing her to go out as often anymore, saying that if she did so regularly, it would harm the young girl's health. Of course, because of this, Mei also realized that she had been a bit stubborn the past few months, so she had to accept it, but damn it, seeing Mei's gloomy face like an abandoned kitten made Kiana unbearable, she had to exchange detention for something else for Mei.
"No matter where you are, just call my name three times and I'll be right next to you. Guaranteed."
Kiana said so, they were only able to see each other at school for the past four months, and Kiana wasn't the curious type to follow a girl to her door, no, of course not! And Mei was also a self-respecting person who would never drag Kiana to her will.
That was before receiving that promise from Kiana.
And now she would call Kiana wherever she was. Perhaps this ghost had been tricked by this lovely, pretty face!? Unacceptable!
But because of that, Kiana gradually became sensitive to each of Mei's calls, culminating when Mei only uttered the name "Kiana" once, a white shadow appeared in front of her. But right now Mei was in the bathroom-
"You-! Get out! Aaaaaaaaaa!"
Mei reflexively threw the shower gel bottle at Kiana, the white-haired girl was also confused and wondered:
"We're both girls, aren't we!?"
"Just- GO!!!"
A prime example was that event.
(3)
Raiden Mei was crazy.
When she died, she would still be alone in this enormous world. But she didn't want that.
She wanted Kiana.
If she had to die. She wanted to be able to exist in the world of a girl named Kiana Kaslana, she wanted to go with Kiana to the end of the world, she wanted to dance with Kiana under the moonlight that illuminates both of them. She wanted to do many things with a white-haired girl, she didn't want to go alone to the cycle of reincarnation in heaven.
Raiden Mei must be crazy.
When she fell in love with a dead person.
_____________________
"Has anyone ever told you that you're beautiful?"
Kiana stopped playing with the flowers and turned to the person who asked, blinking a few times before answering.
"They used to say I was pretty handsome back in the day... Does that count?"
Mei only showed a slight smile, she clenched her fist, gathered all her courage, and spoke.
"You're pretty, Kiana." - she fixed her eyes on the figure opposite her - "I think I might have fallen for a beautiful lady like you."
Was this one-sided love? She didn't know. But she longed for an answer.
Mei's sudden confession made Kiana stumped, it took her nearly 10 seconds to fully understand the sentence just now, and after understanding, she returned to a frozen state, speechless.
What had she done?
Kiana knew this day would come, she knew for a long time, the look Mei had when talking to her...Mei's gentle and warm gesture toward her. She knew everything, but she always deceived herself that she was thinking too much. Kiana knew very well that there was an insurmountable line between the two of them, the line between life and death.
She was 18 years old, and Kiana was 6 feet under.
"Mei..."
Say it, say you feel the same way.
Say it, say you have a crush on her too.
Say it.
What are you waiting for?
"I...I can't accept this, Mei."
"Why?"
Kiana momentarily didn't know what to say, what to do...what to do...?
Tell her you want her to be happy.
"Mei... I stayed with you not to make you have feelings for me. I didn't want you to die at that time! I want you to have a very happy future and then you'll forget about me! I don't want you to get involved with me!" - the white-haired ghost's voice began to lose her temper - "We belong to two different worlds, you can't...you can't just love a dead person, you know? I don't want to you spend your life thinking about me, I want you to find your own happiness!"
Her eyes glittered with gold.
They were the dark side of her, the dark side of Kiana Kaslana.
Realizing that she had just raised her voice a little, Kiana quickly restrained herself and looked at Mei, her amethyst eyes widened at what Kiana had just said, surprised, sad, happy, disappointed, there were so many emotions surrounding the purple-haired girl, but they couldn't deny the fact that she was rejected by the person she dreamed of day and night.
Kiana turned her back to Mei, the last glimmer of sunset disappearing behind the distant rows of towering buildings.
"That's why...Mei."
Kiana clenched her fist and disappeared into the night.
"Don't waste your time on a dead person like me."
No matter how many times Mei called her name, Kiana didn't answer, 3 times, 30 times, 100 times, no one appeared beside her anymore, only her alone in the unlit world.
Kiana hid from Mei, there were many thoughts in her head that were rushing to make the white-haired spirit unable to process them all. She knew this was not the way to deal with things when the two were too attached to each other and the other's absence made them feel uneasy and apologetic. Kiana just hoped that Mei can accept this fact and let go of this kind of false love before it was too late.
___________
Evading is not the solution, so 3 days after disappearing without a trace, Kiana took the initiative to visit Mei, she carefully interrogated Mei, asking if she had thought about the matter carefully. Mei smiled slightly and said that it was because she was too stupid, the love-related thing was still too early for her, so it must be because she did not think through the problem. She was too selfish to think of herself instead of Kiana's feelings.
The purple-haired female student silently bows her head in apology to the spirit in front of her.
"Can...can we still be friends?"
"Of course... Of course, Mei."
Kiana breathes a sigh of relief, this is fine...the human heart is complicated, she doesn't know what kind of feeling she should have, because her heart has already merged with the vast ocean from 500 years ago. But Mei is different, she still has a heart, and many opportunities are awaiting her... so as long as she is happy, Kiana is also happy.
It was a beautiful Thursday afternoon...
They are still friends, still hanging out together, still talking to each other, and Mei looks happier than before so Kiana doesn't doubt it anymore. Instead, she and Mei enjoy their last days at this school before summer vacation arrives. But strangely enough, Mei doesn't need to study for the university entrance exam? When asked about this, Mei just smiled confidently, saying that she already had a straight application. Hmm, Mei is really smart, isn't she?
___________________
Summer vacation has also begun, Raiden Mei is not going to stay at home for 2 months, so she has been planning a trip for a long time.
With the test paper in her hand, she is not surprised, it seemed that whatever happened would happen, regardless, time was the only thing she has left. Talking about tourist destinations, she plans to go to Germany, because there's a very special place that Mei wants to go to. When it comes to Germany, one must immediately think of Kiana, Kiana is German, so she must know her hometown better than anyone else, right? Then it's decided! She will ask Kiana to accompany her as a tour guide, and with her, this trip will be more fun.
Nevertheless, she only has 2 months left to live.
"Germany? Of course!"
Kiana happily agreed to Mei's invitation, although she really wants to help Mei carry the suitcase, but as a ghost, Kiana could only follow behind, if anyone saw a suitcase moving by itself, it would cause the whole airport into chaos, right?
"By the way, why do you want to go to Germany?"
"Do you have to ask? Since that's Kiana's hometown, I'd like to visit. Any suggestions?"
"Hmmm...yeah. Let me list 'em first."
The flight was very smooth, they boarded the plane on time and got off the plane in a good mood, after asking a few people in the airport, both found a suitable hotel to spend the night. Although it is said to be "rest", Mei actually went out of her body with Kiana to go around the city first, they couldn't go any further than that because Kiana didn't allow Mei's soul to leave her body for too long, so she only took Mei with her for a few laps, pointed out a few suitable places first.
"Where was the place you used to live?"
"Um, it's a place by the sea, that's all I remember. After a few hundred years the whole country has changed, but I know its exact location."
According to Kiana, after 3 days of going to famous places in Germany, now the two are quietly walking through each street where Kiana used to live. Of course, Kiana doesn't see anything familiar. It was a long time ago. It's been a while since she last came here, so this visit is also a new experience for Kiana. Mei stopped at a restaurant for lunch before they continued their tour. Mei thought many times, why was Kiana's last name Kaslana so important, after searching for information, she realized that they are a family with a tradition of chivalry, most of the male members in the family were knights and in Kiana's generation, this remained the same, but adding her, although later Kiana also gave up her position and became a bodyguard. Right now neither of them knew if that bloodline still existed, Kiana hoped it did, it's just that they probably didn't live here anymore.
Soon it was almost afternoon, Kiana follows Mei, walking on a path, the left side is the sea, the right side is a mountain road, and the area is almost uninhabited, at most, there are only a few people who like to take a walk like Mei passing by.
By the way, does this area look familiar?
While Kiana is still lost in her thoughts, Mei suddenly stops, in front of them, a little further, is a cliff.
"What's up?"
"It's nothing, let's move on."
The white-haired ghost quietly follows the purple-haired figure, the weather is cool and pleasant at the moment, the scent from the sea blew in the wind, Kiana couldn't feel things like this, she just imagines them thanks to her old memories, Mei holds onto the hat on her head to prevent it from flying away, indeed, the place has a very pleasant feeling.
It's like being with Kiana.
Mei stops after going a certain distance, she turns back to look for Kiana's figure but there is nothing behind her, when she turned around, the white-haired girl was already standing in front of her.
They both look at each other, and neither of them says anything.
"You're a smart person, Mei. You really are."
There is a reason Mei stopped right here, Kiana should have understood that sooner. Because right next to them is the cliff just now.
And in this place, Kiana's soul feels the most wavering.
Mei doesn't answer, her eyes gradually move to the cliff...what is she thinking about? Kiana couldn't figure it out.
There's nothing in this desolate place.
Except for "Kiana" herself.
"You've never given up, have you? Since that time."
"Kiana, I'm sorry..."
Right now, there is only one obstacle Mei has to overcome in order to reach Kiana.
And that obstacle is also Kiana.
Just as Mei was about to raise her feet and run towards the cliff, a strong wind prevented her from doing so, Kiana stands in front of Mei, separating her from her goal. The evil spirit's eyes have a golden color, glowing menacingly.
"You can't do that!"
"Give up, Mei!"
"You still have a future, please don't ruin yourself for me!"
This is the first time Mei has seen Kiana so angry, the strong wind that this spirit creates makes it hard for Mei to move forward, but it's alright, she won't give up.
"I'm only doing this for myself, Kiana!"
"SHUT UP!" - the white-haired ghost gritted her teeth, her face has a painful expression "You're such a stubborn...why...?"
Mei hears crying.
A whimper squeezed Raiden Mei's heart.
It's Kiana's.
"I love you, Mei." - she smiled painfully - "But we can't be together, I'm sorry."
Mei also knew this in advance. She knew Kiana feels the same way she does, but she was always very good at hiding it, and she didn't realize she had confessed to it a month ago. Now hearing Kiana herself utter those three words make Mei very happy, she's glad that the other person finally confessed.
"Actually...I've been tricking you for the past few months too, Kiana."
"I'm sick, and I only have two months left to live."
This news is like a bolt of lightning striking at Kiana, she's so shocked that she has to stop the strong wind, unable to believe what she had just heard. Mei of course did not ignore this opportunity, she rushed toward the cliff.
But Kiana would never let that happen. A ghost that exists long enough like her can easily affect people's consciousness like in those movies they watched.
"You'll FORGET about me, and you'll live the rest of your days in peace rather than I let you DIE here!"
Mei saw Kiana's arm swinging towards her, she doesn't know what the ghost's ability is, but just being touched at this moment, all her efforts, all she wanted would be gone, and there will be nothing left but ashes.
And Mei quickly dodges, runs past Kiana.
And then she jumps down.
"MEI!!!"
______
One
Two
Three
...
A total of 3 seconds.
After the sound of splashing water is the terrifying silence of the sea, except for the noise she makes when moving through the water, there is nothing else. The deeper she swims, the colder the seawater becomes, and Mei did her best to hold her breath until she could do one thing.
Fulfill her last dream: to meet the one she loves.
With a single light from the water, enough to show one's surroundings, Mei found a chair.
Not only the chair but also "Kiana".
In front of her, at the bottom of the sea, sat a skeleton on a chair, which is old and somewhat chipped, but still maintains its prisoner. A chain was tied around the neck, a rope tied the hands behind, and another rope tied the legs with a dumbbell.
Mei bursts into tears, but no one could see her tears, because they were mixed with the cold water that runs over her. Finally, she gently touched the skeleton before her vision blurred.
"Finally, I've found you."
_________
Her eyes remained half-closed for a few seconds before they had to open again because something moved. To her surprise, there is no skeleton in front of her eyes, but instead, a girl in her twenties with a very handsome European face, she interlaces her fingers with Mei's, her other hand caresses her cheek gently. Her white hair tied in a ponytail floated in the water, then she has a sad smile but her eyes, the same color as the deep sea, are filled with happiness.
"You're an idiot."
While Mei still couldn't figure things out, the girl grabs her hand and pulled her through the seabed...
On the other side is a white space, the warmth quickly dispels Mei's cold from before, now she can clearly see the woman in front of her, is none other than the one she loves, Kiana Kaslana. She pulls Mei closer, wrapping one arm around her waist and placing a light kiss on her lips. Mei could feel it, the softness of her lips and the warmth of the other's hand, it's just, she didn't have time to react to what had just happened.
"I love you."
"Kiana..."
Mei hugs the white-haired girl in front of her, burying her head in her shoulder, Mei wishes this moment could last forever, the moment she touches the person she loves dearly.
"I love you too...."
Kiana breathes a sigh of relief and pats Mei's back gently, she whispers.
"But Mei, I want to love you as a human."
A few small light particles emitted from their bodies.
"Will you wait for me?"
As Mei's hand began to turn into specks of light and fly into the air, she realized what this pleasant feeling truly is. Mei could only sigh.
"Okay... shall we wait for each other?"
Kiana smiled slyly and took advantage of the moment, she gave Mei one last kiss, giggling.
"No matter how long."
And then, the two of them turned into traces of light, floating in the air, disappearing into the white space and the little remaining warmth also flew away with the wind.
*******************************
At the bottom of the ocean, a girl is clutching the remains of a long-dead person.