Sandcastles
Sandcastles crumble lightly under passing water and wind. No matter what stories are woven into them, who built them, or how much care was poured into their creation—being made of sand, they will inevitably collapse someday. They won't even last a few days before their traces vanish, becoming part of the shoreline, unnoticed by anyone in the end.
A small beach is made up of the ruins of countless sandcastles, built with devotion by nameless strangers. Don't worry too much about your castle crumbling.
"Just build it again."
Something you can rebuild anytime you want. A way to shape that day's memories small with your own two hands. That's what a sandcastle is.
So, sister. You don't have to make that deathly expression anymore, okay?
A night's prank passed without much incident. As is the nature of pranks, some cried, some laughed. It can serve as a chance to show closeness and strengthen bonds, so yes, it was a prank. A prank that's easily forgotten.
Chirp chirp.
"...Ugh...."
Was it because of last night's brief escapade? I, who rarely slept in, slowly opened my eyes to the birdsong announcing the sun high in the sky—a sound I hadn't heard in ages.
And then, I saw it.
"Ah."
This is your sunlight. What the hell, save me. Waaah, my eyes!
The sunlight after half a year was so intense I couldn't keep my eyes open. The light pouring straight into my dilated pupils, the flood of signals overwhelming my brain—it was pure agony in itself.
To torment me like this. I'll remember this grudge!
I squeezed my eyes shut tight and covered them with both hands, desperate to shield my vision. I twisted my body this way and that, knocking nearby objects to the floor.
Crash, crash.
Fragile things shattered easily, scattering sharp shards everywhere. Pointed pieces flew toward me too, leaving small cuts. I couldn't see with my eyes covered, but the floor was probably a mess.
And in that chaos, my left wrist collided with the wall beside me.
Thud.
A small impact. If only the pain had been as minor as the sound. But unfortunately, they were inversely proportional.
".....!!!!"
The unbearable pain stole even my scream. It was cold, hot, aching, itchy, burning. From the severed stump, pain beyond limits surged in waves.
It spread through my entire hand, making every phantom nerve ending scream as if my cleanly severed left hand—confirmed devoured to mush—still existed, tortured by some stranger.
Zing, zing.
My brain protested the overload of sensations it couldn't process. I rarely felt pain—the world seemed detached—but this one pain bypassed all filters: phantom limb pain.
"Ah.... It hurts..... Uh.... Sister..."
Hardened by countless experiences, I grew numb to it soon enough, but I could only sigh at the trials ahead. Hng.
I just let out a shrill groan at the bizarre sensation of touching my empty wrist.
All this continued until Ellie sister came rushing up, sensing the commotion from my room.
Bang. The door flew open, stirring the quiet room like a gale.
"—Alice!!"
"Ah.... Y-Yeah, sister.."
Ellie thudded over quickly, grasping the situation. Her dark voice checked on me as she strode straight ahead without hesitation.
What, sister. You're here by my side. You didn't run away somewhere?
That realization filled me with joy. Ellie, always fleeing and rejecting, was facing the mess she'd caused head-on.
If it were the Ellie from our first meeting, or when she hid her secret and deceived me, she wouldn't have. The moment she devoured my hand greedily, to escape the heavy karma crushing her chest, she'd have finished me off without a trace—or left me in this remote house and fled far away.
Then, in atonement, she'd have guarded me secretly until I died of old age, without ever revealing herself, no matter if I searched. Ignoring my feelings entirely, just easing her own guilt.
Of course, I could never accept that. It'd be deception. Well, if she had, I'd have staged a suicide attempt in the yard to drag her back.
—Ellie sister had grown beyond expectations. Appearing boldly before me—such courage.
Reflection. Looking back on her wrongs, ashamed, vowing never to repeat them. Yes. People should look to the future, not the past. That's true human growth.
I was so proud she'd realized it. Ignoring the glass shards on the floor, crunching them underfoot as she approached my bed. Trembling, eyes squeezed shut, I reached out and accepted her hand.
With my spread right palm and stump of a left arm, I clutched and hugged her hand. Like a child grabbing a parent's trouser leg as they leave for work. Desperate not to let her abandon me.
Squeeze. I pulled her hand tightly to my chest. With a sob-choked voice, I said to Ellie,
"Sorry... Sorry... Sorry... Sister... Don't abandon me... I was wrong.."
"....."
"Yeah? I won't... go out at night.. I'll keep my eyes shut!! So... Ellie sister—"
"—Alice."
A resolute voice heavy with determination. A weight suggesting something monumental ahead. That one word felt like reward for all my efforts.
My work wasn't in vain. This moment was when I truly felt alive.
She pulled me in, enveloping me in her broad embrace. Warmer than usual, hot enough to melt me like dough.
Then, in my ear, her even more fervent words:
"I'm sorry."
"....Yeah...?"
This was a confession. Not through air, but vibrating from her trembling chest straight into my mind, word by word. Pounding my heart, my head—everything.
"I'm sorry. Forgive me. For deceiving you, using you, chaining your ankle, imprisoning you."
"...Ellie... sister..?"
"It's all my fault. I was wrong. So now, I won't run anymore. I won't look away."
A declaration laden with iron resolve.
"So... please...."
"....Ah."
Her delicate fingers brushed my eyelids. Despite my will, they fluttered open under her gentle touch.
My vision flooded with pure white light. Amid it, striking black hair asserted itself. Crimson, beast-like slit pupils gazed down at me.
Drip, drip. Tears fell, wetting my face.
Having barely slept or washed, Ellie's eyes were bloodshot, her hair and face smeared with unidentifiable filth. A pitiful sight, filthy even.
But in this moment, she seemed more beautiful than anyone to me.
So pretty. I want her. Maybe, in this fleeting instant, I'd truly loved in this life. She shone that brightly. Jealously so.
"Accept... my atonement...."
"...Sister..."
Confessing hidden truths is excruciating. Facing and admitting one's wrongs is grueling. But through it, we change profoundly. Like Ellie now.
Relationships might crumble. Deep friendships swept away overnight. But if we mind that, we stagnate—isolated, meeting no one new, sharing no new stories.
"Alice... truly... I'm sorry."
"......Hehe."
So. We must keep building our sandcastles. Even if waves wash them away.
"—Ellie sister."
".....Yes."
A bit regretful that one hand to touch her was gone, but I could smile. She'd bared everything to me.
Our bond started anew from now.
"—I love you."
Jealousy has green eyes.
*** Next chapter, coming with the end of Episode 2. ***