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"Hey, Uro, wanna go to the mall?" Sent at 12:56 PM, 3 months ago.
You've sent much more than that, don't get me wrong. But it's been a while. At first, you figured that she was just busy. Probably had something else going on. But then a day passed. Two days. Man, she must have been *really* busy. A week. Two weeks. A month. Now, three.
You feel bad for waiting for all this time, but also, you do want to respect your friend's boundaries. She means so much to you. She's such a creative, with a wild imagination the likes you've never seen before. But this dying spark, it feels like a part of you is starting to go, too.
You drive up to her apartment complex and stop the car, pushing the gearshift to 'P' and engaging the brake. Car's off. The weather's not too bad, it's softly railing, but the storm hasn't rolled in yet. You look up - the apartment isn't that bad. The outside wood is a tannish brown, with red accents. But hard to tell in this fog, but you remember your path clearly. Take the stairs up to the third floor, then it's Room 44 that she's living at. Well, you hope she's living, anyways.
Its a bit of a walk, but you made it. You're not spent by any means, but stairs aren't exactly your cup of tea. You look to the side and see a pair of peculiar peaks, presently - it's quite the unusual sight, even in Japan, but you appreciate it all the same.
Ah, well. Enough gazing! Time for the ceremony! Knock Knock, Uro! Your pal's here!
... No response.
You try the doorbell. *Ding dong!* It's quite the curious chime, but you just hope the neighbors aren't awake. I mean, it is somewhat late, but it's not bedtime yet, not even for the old folks.
Okay, the door still isn't being opened by anyone. You try the doorknob. Locked. You figure this is the end of your path, but just before you take a step down the cobblestoned stairs - aha, right! There's probably a spare key under the mat. You figure that, worse case scenario, Uro's just not home and nobody will notice you letting yourself in. You look under the welcome mat and - yep! A very ornate key with the number 2 carved into the side. Interesting choice, you think, but thankfully it does open.
"Hello? Anybody home?"
You flick on a light switch next to you. The front door opens directly into the kitchen, with a small island in front of you, and countertops to the right. You take off your shoes as a courtesy, but there's no response to your query. You figure that at least you could stay here a bit until the rain dies down. That is, if it does.
You go further into the house, to your left is a passageway into a single door, and to your right is the fridge. The fridge is oddly empty, actually. The water dispenser still works, so you fill up your canteen with water before continuing onward.
That door to your left, you figure it's probably her bedroom door. You don't want to be nosy, but at the same time... well, let's be honest with ourselves, she's got a mentally ill melody. Wasn't exactly the best in school, actually, but she seemed to trust you enough.
Okay, take a breath. Breathe in, breathe out. Hope for the best, prepare for the worse.
3...
2...
1...
With bated breath, you open the door, swinging yourself into the room. Okay, phew, nothing's dead. To your right is a computer and its tower, currently off, and just beyond that is a sliding glass door that leads to an outside balcony. To the left is a gaming console, but then, something catches your eye. The bed, right next to the glass door, it's pretty plain, white sheets and everything, but there's something in it. It's squirming, it seems... afraid? You know Uro wasn't the best, but... is that her?
You hear her mutter something in her sleep. Her voice is as angelic as ever, but here, but now, it sounds pained, it sounds broken, it sounds raspy and deteriorating.
"N-no! P-please! Get back! Please, I don't want to go back! N-no! I'm saying no! I- Please!"
Before you think to do anything, the thrashing gets more intense, before the mass under the bed escapes the covers and falls onto the ground. Indeed, this is our Uro. A purple plaid shirt, blonde hair that always draped down onto her shoulders, a white dress underneath... You should be relieved, but right now, you're concerned.
With caution, you approach her. You're not really sure what she needs, if anything. Space, right now, maybe? A good idea, but just to be safe, you sit down on the floor next to her, a little ways from the front of glass door.
Her eyes slowly adjust to reality. She groans before saying something about "Another failure...", but after that, she perks up immediately. It's you. It's her. Just you and Uro. She doesn't know what to say. You don't know what to say.
She does finally speak. "Are you mad?"
"Why would I be mad? I'm just concerned... Has everything been alright?"
She stops for a moment. "Because I've been sleepwalking for... for I don't know how long."
"Sleepwalking?"
"I explore my mind, my dreams, my..." Oh, god, she shed a tear. "My fears, my..." She's starting to break up. "All I wanted was... was..."
Now the waterworks are coming. This is good, but also, she needs love. You try your best to pick up her body from the floor and get it holding you, if a bit limp. Her arms wrap around your shoulders and neck a bit loosely as you let her cry and sob everything out of her system. Tears drip onto the floor, a solemn release of so many pent up memories and traumas, and though it'll take time, this is a solid first step.
It's just the two of you, silently sitting on the floor of her bedroom, the rain pitter-pattering on the outside. You both listen to the raindrops. Its like a thousand steps, the March of nature. A delight to be held. Both the weather, and Uro.
Healing. You clasp your hands over one of hers. Its cold, it's shaking a bit, it's scared. There's probably a lot going through her mind right now. You don't blame her, honestly. Poor girl. Her eyes stare down at the floor in contemplation. You just hope it's not getting worse. She grasps your hand, holding it. She grips it hard as the waterworks continue. Another hug. Another time to be held. The storm's going to stay for a while.
"Hey, Uro...?" She looks up at you, still teary eyed. "You think can stand up?"
She nods, and you both, with care, raise up from the floor. She can properly hug you now, and she does, but it's just for a moment.
She quietly musters out a "Please don't go..." before hugging you tighter.
"Uro..." Gosh, the poor thing. "I'm not going anywhere, alright?"
Again, it's a bit hard to hear, but she does thank you.
Its another quiet moment before anyone says anything. "Do you think you can go out of your room?"
Uro immediately jolts at the idea, holding you tighter. "No, no, I can't..."
"Not even a little...?"
She sounds like she's being asked to move heaven and earth. "I can't..."
"That's okay, but you really should try. Whenever you're ready, alright?"
She nods, still affirming her grip. She shakes her head, as if done a thousand times, but then... then she asks something of you. "Will you be there while I do it?"
You light up. "Of course. I'll even hold your hand, would that be alright?"
She takes a breath in, then a breath out. A breath in, a breath out. Breathe in, breathe out. She's very stressed, obviously. She looks at you, expectantly. Swiftly, you take a finger and touch the tip of her nose with a "Boop!". She relaxes a little. She holds up her other hand, cold and clammy and still shaky, and does the same to you, though with a less enthusiastic "Bap..."
"It's all you, Uro."
She faces her bedroom door. She grabs her shirt and holds it near the collar. Her eyes widen, her brows raise. A step is taken. Another. Then, she's just next to it. Her hand shakes as she reaches for the doorknob. Then, it's withdrawn. She turns to you.
"I don't want you to go."
You walk to join her by her side. "I'm not going anywhere."
"But... What if this is part of the dream?"
"Uro..." you think for a moment. You pinch her cheek. She flinches, but then...
"It's real..." She mutters that to herself over and over, as her face becomes flushed and embarrassed, and again, she needs a hug. She needs to be held, you can see it in her eyes.
You pet her head, holding her close. "Shh, shh, it's alright, it's alright..."
It takes a few moments for her to readjust. Months of dreaming must have been hell on her mind. No matter - you're here. All you want is for her to heal and feel alright.
You hold her hand. She closes her eyes. Her hand is placed upon the doorknob. Turn. The latch clicks. It pushes open. Her grip tightens on you, and as slow as she needs, she takes one step outside the door.
Just one.
She's trying to stay composed, but you can tell it's a lot. Eyes watered, hand shaking, you can't help but feel pity.
"If it's just one step today, that's perfect."
After hearing that, she withdraws her foot back into the bedroom, deciding instead to hold you, and you in turn hold her.
"I'm very proud of you, Uro. You did wonderful."
The rain still pours. The clouds, still grey. Weather the storm.