[Even I think this version is a bit ridiculous.
I looked at the outline and the setting again and realized there’s absolutely no way to reconcile the logic, and the plot is quite a headache, which is why I kept pushing and rewriting it.] [Later, I thought about giving a Mei to Nana.
Initially, I thought about the Herrscher of Thunder persona—Kiana and Mei would separate the Herrscher of Thunder persona and bring her back to Nana with shared Remembrance.
But then I thought about it again, and it felt too melodramatic *covers face*] …
The wind chimes at the entrance were still swaying.
They were picked out by Mei and Nana together last week.
The crystal pendants clinked with a delicate sound, much like the ceaseless laughter that had filled the home these past few days.
Nana was carrying bags full of groceries, her fingertips still damp from the water she’d brushed against while haggling at the market.
Her steps were so light she was practically skipping.
Mei said she wanted to make Miso Soup and Tamagoyaki that was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
Nana had even gone two streets out of her way to buy the ingredients.
“Mei!
I’m back!” The sound of the key turning in the lock settled, but Nana’s voice got stuck in her throat, like frozen soda that couldn’t release a single bubble.
The light in the living room was bright, yet it was bone-chillingly cold.
Mei stood by the sofa.
Her eyes, usually soft, were now furrowed, and her lips were pressed into a tight line.
In those purple eyes that were always filled with warmth, a struggle flickered that Nana couldn’t understand.
And in front of Mei leaned a figure identical to her—same appearance, same features.
Only that white hair against the purple eyes was tinged with unabashed shock and scrutiny.
That person was clinging to Mei’s arm, her chin resting gently on the crook of Mei’s shoulder.
As if asserting her sovereignty, she looked up at Nana with an inquisitive gaze, mixed with an indescribable sense of grievance, like a child who had finally found a lost treasure.
Nana gripped the plastic bags in her hands, suddenly feeling very cold.
She suddenly understood.
Those nights of tossing and turning in anxiety, those moments of deliberately ignoring the sense of ‘not belonging’—they couldn’t be hidden forever.
Mei wasn’t hers.
She never had been.
She was just an accident, accidentally possessing Mei for a period of time and occupying a warmth that should have belonged to someone else.
Now, the rightful owner had arrived.
Nana bent down and slowly began changing her shoes.
her fingertips were icy, and even her heart felt as if it were submerged in ice water.
When she looked up, a smile was already forced onto her face, and she tried to make her tone sound light, as if she were joking like usual.
“It’s okay, Mei~ Since Kiana doll has come to pick you up, just go back with her.
Don’t worry about me.
After all, I’ve always been alone before anyway~” As soon as those words left her mouth—damn, even she thought they sounded fake.
But that was all she could say.
She couldn’t exactly grab Mei’s sleeve and say, ‘Don’t go, stay and keep me company,’ could she?
She didn’t have the right.
Mei’s eyes flickered violently, as if she’d been pricked by a needle.
During these days together, she knew Nana’s strength better than anyone.
She had seen Nana staring blankly at the empty room, and seen her hugging a doll that looked like her while whispering to it.
“If only someone was here to keep me company…” She had also seen her eyes light up like they were hiding stars when she ate something delicious, saying: “Mei, can we eat this every day from now on…?” The Nana before her had the corners of her mouth upturned, but her eyes looked as if they were covered in a layer of gray.
The light that had finally managed to shine was now dimming bit by bit, shattering into stardust and falling away.
Mei’s fists were clenched tight, her nails digging into her palms, but the pain couldn’t compare to the bitterness in her heart.
She looked at Nana, then turned her head to look at Kiana beside her.
Kiana’s eyes were red, as if she’d stayed up for several nights in a row.
She was clutching Mei’s sleeve tightly, her voice as light as a feather.
“Mei…” In that one word, there was longing, grievance, and a terror that she might disappear again.
Mei closed her eyes; she knew she had no choice.
Kiana had searched for her for so long, crossing countless worlds and enduring so many sleepless nights; she couldn’t let her down.
But what about Nana?
That girl who always smiled and said ‘I’m fine on my own’ had clearly just stepped out of her loneliness, only to be pushed back into it.
“I’m sorry…” Mei’s voice was very soft, almost inaudible.
But in this house, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, Nana heard that ‘I’m sorry’ clearer than anyone.
Mei took one last look at Nana.
There were too many unspoken words in that gaze, and she didn’t even say goodbye.
In the end, it all dissolved into a sigh.
Kiana took her hand and led her step by step toward the “Gate” that did not belong to this world.
The wind chimes at the entrance rang again.
This time, it was the music of parting.
The moment their figures disappeared, There was a “click,” as if Nana’s world had been locked up as well.
Nana’s forced smile instantly turned into a silent expression of complicated emotions.
She didn’t cry, nor did she say anything; she just stood there, breathing steadily.
The house fell silent in an instant, so quiet that she could hear her own heartbeat, thumping one after another with a heavy ache.
Nana stood where she was, still clutching the groceries she hadn’t put down.
The fresh scent of the vegetables flooded her nose, reminding her of the reality while making her feel nauseous.
She walked slowly to the living room.
On the sofa lay a scarf Mei had half-knitted, with the ball of yarn rolled onto the floor.
On the coffee table were the teas they hadn’t finished drinking, with Mei’s lip print still on her cup.
By the TV cabinet sat the model they were building together, with only a few pieces left to complete…
Mei’s traces were everywhere, as if carved into the air, unable to be erased or wiped away.
From one person to two people, and then back to one person.
It had only been a few dozen days, but it felt like half a lifetime.
The warmth she had borrowed in advance had now been returned.
Nana gave a bitter laugh and crouched down to pick up the ball of yarn.
As her fingertips touched the soft wool, tears suddenly fell, hitting the yarn and spreading into a small wet stain.
She thought she could hold it together, thought that saying ‘I’m fine on my own’ could fool everyone, including herself.
But when the only sound left in the house was her own breathing, her forced strength shattered completely.
She went back to the bedroom and threw herself onto the bed, tightly hugging that Mei doll she had bought a long time ago to comfort herself that she was never lonely…
Nana buried her face in the doll’s embrace, her voice choked beyond recognition.
“It’s okay…
I’ve already accidentally possessed Mei for a while…
I’ve experienced warmth, and besides, didn’t I predict this ending a long time ago…?” She seemed to be talking to the doll, but also to herself.
But the doll did not respond.
There was only the wind outside the window, wailing through the cracks as if it were crying.
“Why…
is home so cold.” She murmured softly, her tears flowing more and more.
“Clearly, back when I lived alone, I never felt it was cold…” She curled up into a ball under the covers, her tears falling more and more, soaking the pillow and the edge of the doll’s clothes.
She remembered the day she first met Mei.
It was also a cold day like this.
She was passing by that alley and saw Mei lying there, unconscious.
On an impulse, she took Mei to the hospital and stayed with her until she woke up, witnessing the true Herrscher of Thunder.
Then she had brought the mostly recovered Mei home…
“Maybe from the start…
it would have been better if I hadn’t looked into that alley…” If she hadn’t stopped her pace that day and hadn’t picked up Mei, would she be spared this current sadness?
Would she have never tasted warmth, and thus never feared returning to the cold?
She didn’t know how long she cried, until her throat was too choked to speak and her eyes were filled with tears.
Finally, inhaling the lingering scent of Mei in the blankets, she fell asleep from exhaustion.
In her dream, she saw Mei again.
Mei was smiling as she served her soup, smiling as she rubbed her hair, and smiling as she said, “Nana, let’s stay together forever, okay?” But at the end of the dream, Mei’s figure gradually blurred, and she was pulled away by Kiana, further and further.
And she just stood there watching, never seeing Mei turn her head even once to say goodbye.
When she woke up, it was already dark.
No lights were on in the house, and the home that was usually so warm was now as cold as an ice cellar.
Nana reached for the doll beside her and hugged it, feeling the cold fabric against her face, much like her current mood.
In the end, this was a dream that should never have happened.
She slowly sat up, walked to the window, and pulled back the curtains.
The night sky outside was very dark, with no stars, only a few streetlights glowing dimly yellow, illuminating the empty street.
It turned out that some warmth is like fireworks; no matter how brilliant, it lasts only for a moment.
And she, in the end, was just a passing spectator.
After watching a liveliness that didn’t belong to her, she eventually had to return to her own darkness.
Nana raised her hand to wipe the tear stains from the corners of her eyes and whispered to the empty room, “Goodbye, Mei.” She didn’t know if she was saying it to the Mei far away, or to the version of herself that once possessed warmth.
She was a traveler who had accidentally intruded into this stretch of time, and Mei had never belonged to her.