(Am I me... or am I Sienna? Isn't it the same thing? Am I not the same person?)
The water ran down my back.
The cold floor.
The red-eyed woman leaning over me, waiting for an answer.
And then, in the depths of my mind, a light.
(Yes. It’s not my body. It’s not my world. But I am me, and no matter who denies it: I will continue to claim to be me. Just like the Ship of Theseus, as long as I believe I am me... I will remain me.)
I opened my eyes.
I looked directly at her.
"Carnivore?" I said, a smile forming on my lips.
"You're wrong. I am myself... and I feed exactly as I please."
Silence.
The woman blinked. Her red eyes narrowed.
"Stupid little girl... I don't think you understand the situation you're in."
(Oh, I understand it perfectly. But I am not going to give you my fear.)
Moments earlier. Swimming club wing.
"...Hey, Misaki. Are you coming to the club today?"
A girl with carefully styled black hair and a slightly athletic figure beneath her uniform approached the desk where Misaki was packing away her notebooks.
Misaki looked up. It was Sasha, the president of the swimming club.
"Ah, I'm sorry, President," she said, zipping her backpack closed.
"Today I have to accompany my lady home."
"Home?" Sasha tilted her head.
"Ah, right. I heard she got into a fight this morning..."
She paused. She leaned in a little, lowering her voice.
"Hey... isn't it too much work? If you want, I can find you another employer. I know someone who—"
"No."
The answer came out faster than Misaki expected. She blushed slightly.
"Please don't worry, President. I am very happy at home."
Sasha observed her in silence for a moment. Then, she smiled.
"I see. That's fine then. Please give her my regards."
"I will."
Misaki watched Sasha skip away toward the locker rooms, her black hair swaying to the rhythm of her steps.
(I should go to her classroom.)
She left the club building.
The crisp afternoon air hit her face.
The girls from her department were already heading home; the soccer club girls were running across the field, their voices bouncing off the bleachers.
The hallway connecting to the main building was strangely quiet. Too quiet.
Thump... Thump... Thump...
Misaki stopped.
The thuds were coming from the teachers' locker room. Muffled. Rhythmic. Like something—or someone—punishing the wall.
(They're still at it...)
She stood still for a moment. A bad taste rose from her stomach. She knew the rumors. Everyone knew them.
But it wasn't her business. Not today.
She kept walking.
Classroom 2-B was almost empty when she arrived.
A few lingering students were gathering their things; others chatted by the window.
Misaki sat at Sienna's desk. She ran her fingers over the polished wood. The desk was cold.
(This is where she sits... Will she have more friends now? Should I... eat lunch with her more often?)
Her fingers began to move on their own, tapping on the surface. Anxiety rose in her chest like a tide.
Tap-tap. Tap-tap. Tap-tap.
(Please don't leave again, my lady... I felt so lonely... More than usual.)
A tear rolled down her cheek and fell onto the desk. She watched it glisten for a second before the wood absorbed it.
She leaned back against the chair and closed her eyes.
And remembered.
When the wind flowed over the ocean...
The first time Sienna got out of the hospital.
It was sunny that morning. A warm, golden sun that painted the mansion's garden in shades of honey.
Sienna walked toward her—still pale, still fragile—but her eyes... her eyes were new. They sparkled with a spark Misaki hadn't seen before.
"Hello, Misaki," she said, and her voice was firmer, more alive.
"Thank you for waiting for me."
(She looked so radiant that time... Even now she looks so beautiful. No one would think she's three years older than us...)
Misaki smiled in her daydream.
Whisper, whisper.
"Huh?"
Misaki opened her eyes. The classroom had filled up more. Students were coming in and out. The clock on the wall read 3:30 PM.
(Has half an hour already passed?)
She waited impatiently, her fingers intertwined in her lap. Every minute was a needle pricking the back of her neck.
Then, the door opened and Daisy walked in.
Their eyes met.
"Misaki!" Daisy approached with her bouncy walk, but her smile faded upon seeing the other girl's expression.
"How are you? Are you out already? Where is Sienna?"
"I... uh..."
Misaki's eyes widened.
"Where's Sienna? Isn't she with you?"
Daisy blinked. Confusion. Surprise. A shake of the head.
"Not with me... I thought she had come back to the classroom."
To the classroom... To the classroom... To the classroom...
The words bounced in Misaki's ears like echoes in an empty cave.
She stood up abruptly. The chair screeched against the floor. Every head in the classroom turned toward her.
"Ah!" Misaki blushed to her ears.
"I-I'm sorry to bother you..."
She left the classroom. Her steps were quick. Then a jog. Then a full sprint.
She ran down the stairs, skipping steps two at a time. The first-floor hallway stretched out before her like an endless tunnel.
And then she crashed into someone.
"Hey...!"
"My lady!"
Tears welled up like rain. She couldn't stop them. She didn't want to stop them.
There she was. There you were.
Sienna, leaning against the hallway wall, with her uniform wrinkled and her hair disheveled. But alive. In one piece. Smiling.
"Hehe... Are you okay, Misaki? A hero doesn't cry..."
Sienna raised a hand and caressed her cheek. Her fingers were cold. Freezing. As if she had been submerged in ice water.
But for Misaki, it was the only thing that could keep her warm.
She hugged her tightly, burying her face in her shoulder. She didn't care about anything else. Not the stares, not the hallway, not the world.
"It's time for us to go back to class, yeah?" Sienna murmured in a warm voice.
"Let's go, Misaki."
Her words were warm, but her heart was beating very fast. Too fast.
"No... that's not necessary..."
"What are you talking about? It's always necessary to go to school, hahaha..."
"No... it's just..." Misaki looked up, her cheeks soaked. "Classes are already over."
Tap-tap-tap-tap...
Several footsteps echoed at the end of the hallway.
Madeline arrived at the front of the group. Hilda on her right. Ellie on her left. And behind them, a dozen girls who smelled gossip the way sharks smell blood.
Madeline pointed a finger at Sienna and Misaki.
"Look at the newlyweds on their honeymoon!"
Boom! Hilda's laugh echoed against the walls.
"Heeey, congratulations!" she roared, cracking her knuckles.
A girl with a star painted on her cheek brought her hands to her chest.
"A romance between the young lady and her maid... That's prime material!"
"Congratulations!"
"Did we really lose to her?"
"I want a maid like that too..."
The voices swirled, growing louder, bouncing off the stained glass windows.
Misaki was as red as a tomato. Her hands trembled on Sienna's shoulders.
Sienna, on the other hand, smiled calmly.
"Alright, alright... Let's go to class, yeah?"
"Hey, Sienna!"
Daisy slipped through the crowd until she reached them. She still had her little white mustache on.
Whisper:
"Classes are over, remember?"
"Oh, right... I'd forgotten..."
Sienna turned toward the group, with Misaki still clinging to her arm, and raised her voice with a big smile:
"Well, girls! Remember to head home. See you tomorrow!"
There was a moment of silence. Then, Madeline smiled. A tense, but polite smile.
"Of course we will... Make sure you get home safe, Sienna," she said, as she walked down the stairs. Hilda and Ellie followed her like shadows.
"We wouldn't want you twisting your other ankle, now would we."
The hallway fell silent. The crowd scattered like dry leaves.
Sienna and Misaki looked at each other.
"Shall we go home too?" Sienna asked.
"Yes."
They walked down the stairs together, shoulder to shoulder. Sienna's steps still held a slight limp. Misaki adjusted her pace to match hers.
Their hands brushed once. Twice. On the third time, they intertwined.
(Like a firefly... clinging to the light.)