Chapter Text
It was almost eerie how fast things changed…
How one moment you could be experiencing the best day of your life, before one event ruins it.
Much like how today went….
The day was beautiful when you made plans with your mother. It was a simple outing to a restaurant where you used to eat whenever she pulled you out of school early. That was the original plan when it was bright and sunny, but now it had turned dark and gloomy, and, worst of all, it was raining.
You stared out the window and let out a longing sigh before taking a sip of your drink.
“Well, gosh, no need to look so miserable,” Your mother said sarcastically
You let out an offended gasp in response while placing a hand over your heart.
“For your information, Mother, I am not miserable, I’m just sad that it started raining out of nowhere. I was hoping to do something with you after.”
Your mother snorted under her breath.
“Yeah, because you hoped I would buy you something with my money.”
You let out an offended gasp, but it quickly turned into a fit of giggles between the two of you. Just then, your phone buzzed, interrupting the moment. It was nothing serious, just a notification from an off-brand anime watching app that the new season of Jujutsu Kaisen was available. You clicked your tongue in both annoyance and disappointment at the reminder of the series.
You used to adore it, some might say even be obsessed. You fondly remember when it was released while you were in High school during the pandemic. But when you had read the manga from beginning to finish, to say you were…upset was an understatement. You had gripped and complained about the ending and how Gege handled the characters, and you had thought it all amounted to nothing.
A waste of your time, you said.
Although you won't admit it, you occasionally revisit it to watch or read the episodes or chapters you loved, particularly for the characters you adored. There were also times, on very rare occasions, when you would read fanfiction. But that’s as far as it goes. You pushed your phone to the side and continued to talk with your mother. The dull drone of the cafe lulls you into a sense of comfort. Your mind was already wandering to places where you and your mom could window shop. So it was no surprise that you didn’t notice the shift from talking to screaming. By the time you realized what was going on, the window had shattered, followed by the wall crumbling. Your brain barely registered the hood of the car that was now slamming into you.
It was all blurry after that.
It was almost a miracle that your brain managed to claw its way back into consciousness, if only for a moment. You could hear frantic voices, but the one that stood out the most to you was your mother’s. It was distant and broken, but you could still hear her over the ringing in your ears.
“(Name)? Oh god (Name)?!”
You felt her trembling hands on your face, gently guiding you to look at her, though it was blurry. You opened your mouth to speak only to be stopped by a horrific cough. Your mother cried at the sound and petted your face, your hair, in a frantic comforting motion.
“It’s okay, baby. It’s okay! The ambulance is coming! You’re gonna get help, I promise! You’ll be okay! You’re gonna be okay!”
And though you would like to believe her words, you knew that wouldn’t be true. You could feel your breathing and heart slow. The blood loss that you were experiencing was causing black spots to cloud your already blurry vision.
“Please, baby! Don’t leave me! Just hold on! Please!”
The only thing you could muster in response was a shaky smile as you leaned into your mother’s touch. You didn’t want your mother’s last memory of you to be upset while you were dying. You closed your eyes, trying to commit to memory her warmth and her voice before you let yourself go. What you could only assume was signs of active dying starting to take hold. Though oddly enough, you felt something else start to take root. Something cold and heavy, but you chalked it up to the weight and feel of the car that was pinning your abdomen.
The last thing that you heard was your mother’s voice screaming out your name before your mind finally let itself go.
When you pictured dying in the late hours of the night….
You never imagined it to be so…loud and heavy.
There was something…something that sat on your chest like a boulder weighing you down. It didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t comfortable. Not to mention the feeling that this weight had given you. It was suffocating, which was odd because how could something suffocate you if you were dead? But regardless, it was like you said before, it was heavy. Not only that, but it was cold like someone had dunked your very soul into ice-cold water. Again, an odd feeling to have when you were sure that you were dead. The sound of hurried voices was next; it filled your ears while someone’s muffled sobs were in the background. To make matters worse, there was this incessant beeping that threatened to make you deaf with how loud it was. It was almost familiar with the noise that those heart monitors in the hospitals made.
Wait…
Heart monitor…?
Hospital…?
Were you alive?
Before you could even question anything, your answer followed soon after because your eyes had shot open, while you were suddenly gasping for air as the weight on your chest was lifted. Your body jolted up, and your hand found itself placed your hand on top of your heart, your breathing coming out in ragged breaths. Your eyes darted around in a panic to get your bearings. First, your stomach, where thankfully there was no car, to the room that you now inhabited. You were definitely in a hospital, and that confirmed that the noise that you heard was definitely a heart monitor. Your eyes moved to take in more of your surroundings, only to be met by a shade of…beige?
“My baby! You’re okay!” A woman’s voice cried
“Um, Ma’am, you can’t do that, she-”
“…Mom?”
You pulled away to look up and saw your mother, someone you thought you would never see again. The feeling was instant; a sob lodged in your throat, and you wasted no time jumping into her arms. Wrecked sobs escaped you as you clung to her for dear life, and you ignored the painful throbbing of the injuries that you sustained from the accident. You felt her hand cradle the back of your head, holding you close while she showered the top of your head with wet kisses and tears.
“Yes, it’s me! It’s your mom! I’m here, baby! I’m here!”
She briefly pulled you away to cover your face in kisses, and when she had finally stopped, that’s when you noticed something. She looked younger, considerably younger, and instead of the usual hairstyle she wore, it was now a short haircut. No longer did she sport grey hairs, and there were fewer wrinkles on her face. To top it off, she was wearing a beige sweater, something she wouldn’t be caught dead in, according to her.
Your confusion must have morphed onto your face because now your mother was looking at you with concern.
“(Name)? What’s wrong, sweetie? Are you feeling okay?”
A voice interrupted you before you could answer. Both of your gazes shifted over to the doctor who was ushering away the nurses that carted away the defibrillator. Your hand moved its way towards your chest, which explained why your chest felt so heavy….at least that’s what you think.
“She might be having some memory issues.” The doctor started, “Which is normal for someone in her situation.”
The doctor signaled for your mother to step aside, which she did, but not without first moving the chair closer to your bed. The doctor then approached and took out what appeared to be a small flashlight from her pocket. She examined your eyes before jotting down some notes on her clipboard.
“Okay (Name), I’m going to ask you some questions, alright?”
You nodded your head in response.
“What’s your name?”
“(Name) (Last Name)”
“Do you know where you are?”
“In a hospital…?”
“Do you remember what happened to you?”
“I got hit by a car…”
The doctor, Watanabe, now that you could see her name tag, nodded while muttering ‘Good. Good,’ to herself as she wrote on her clipboard again. You shifted in the bed nervously, not sure how to take being questioned like this. You know it was just to make sure you didn’t lose your memory and to make sure you had no head trauma, but it felt like you were being interrogated by the police.
“Do you remember where you were going?”
You tilted your head at that…
“I…I wasn’t going anywhere. I was at a cafe with my mom.”
You looked towards your mother, whose expression shifted to one of dread.
“Right? I was at a cafe with my mom.”
The only response you got was a slight shake of the head from the doctor. You felt your mom’s hand intertwine with yours, giving you a tight, worried squeeze.
“No, sweetie, you weren’t. You were on the way home from school.”
Your brows furrowed, “School? But I graduated?”
That caused a reaction from both Watanabe and your mother. The two of them exchanged looks before Watanabe pressed on.
“(Name), do you know how old you are?”
You gave her your age, and instead of the doctor answering, it was your mother this time. Her hold on your hand tightened impossibly more. Your heart hammered in your chest as your gaze fixated on her.
“Honey…what are you talking about? You’re 15…”
The room had become so silent that you could hear a pin drop. You looked for any signs, anything, to see if your mother was joking. But when her face didn’t change, you knew that she was telling you the truth….
“…What?”