The Author's POV

'…Aren't these the names of Ren's parents?'

Kevin had only met them a handful of times and didn't know them that well. The most vivid memory he had of them was seeing them cry at Ren's funeral.

The image of Ren's sister crying in front of his picture left a big impact on him.

'It's definitely their names, isn't it?'

He couldn't exactly remember them, but as he took note of their last names and the pain that was permeating through Ren's chest, Kevin could tell that they were his parents.

The real question was, why were their names imprinted on the tombstone before him?

'It doesn't make sense.'

Last Kevin recalled, they were still alive and well. He didn't remember hearing anything about Ren's parents ever passing away.

'How is this even possible…?'

Thud—!

Kevin's vision suddenly lowered as he fell to his knees and the scenery around him shifted.

It began with a soft whisper in the air that tickled the ear. A colorless pearl fell to the ground, landing perfectly on one of the blades of grass beneath the magically darkened sky.

Pitter.

The sound was like the glassy clinking of a champagne flute, clear and lifting.

Pitter. Pitter.

Accompanying the first drop was a second, and then a third, and within seconds, a heavy curtain of rain fell to the ground.

Phut. Phut. Phut.

The noise on the surface of Ren's clothes which were slowly getting drenched was like that of ripened nuts made when they hit the ground. It wasn't like the soft, clear, mellow drops that were hitting the grass; it was like baseballs being thrown against a net. Louder and fiercer.

Ren clutched his chest with one hand and grasped the tombstones in front of him with the other, oblivious to the cold caused by drenched clothes.

Pitter. Pitter.

The plummeting rain masked Ren's tears as he kept his head lowered and sobbed.

A fierce and sharp pain was invading Ren's chest as he slowly opened his mouth and muttered

"…N..not again."

In uttering those words, Kevin felt a pain that he had never experienced before, and he was struggling to keep his emotions in check as Ren's emotions slowly began to affect him.

Ren's words were followed by a shift in weather. It was sunny once again.

As the weather changed, Ren's position did not change as he grasped onto the tombstones in front of him. The cold that was previously embracing his body was gone, and his clothes magically dried.

This time, the pain was even worse than before. It was unbearable. To the point that one might go insane from it.

"Why…why…why…"

Kevin murmured through Ren's mouth. Ren's voice reflected his genuine helplessness.

...And it was precisely because he could hear the helplessness in his voice that Kevin wondered.

'Why is the weather changing? ...And why did he say not again?'

wondered to himself, the world around him continued to

staring at Ren's memories, he was shocked to realize that all the memories were basically the same; Ren mourning the loss of his

the scenarios was perhaps the weather, the time, and the seasons.

funeral scenario being replayed

Kevin thought until the scene changed again, and something suddenly occurred

'The pain…'

excruciating pain that was permeating through his chest

milder than before...no, rather, my emotions

he focused all his attention on what he was feeling the entire time,

longer kneeling

repeatedly in the background; sometimes it would snow, sometimes it would be sunny,

Kevin realized that the agonizing pain he was feeling had completely vanished, replaced

he felt was

a shred

has

he had lost count of how many times the scenery had changed. He had been so absorbed trying to imprint what Ren was feeling inside of his mind, that

if there was one thing he was certain about,

one hundred times, Kevin watched as Ren attended his own family funeral

'He's finally moving.'

stare at the gravestones of his family members while his emotions

'…Eh?

was faced with a scene that was

hearing a familiar voice and seeing a

with you? Do you not

in

'Is that me?'

that looked strikingly like him, he was shocked. The only thing that was different about him was that

It was himself.

how is

of the things he was seeing. He never recalled attending a funeral in which

your face. I get that you are probably shocked by what happened, but it doesn't even look

suddenly shouted at the top of

'What's going on?'

himself and saw the anger and sorrow on

he reacting

"Speak damn it!"

Kevin felt his body shake as his other self

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

down his cheeks as he

to doubt whether this was really him as he simply couldn't understand why Kevin was reacting the way that he

not feel

steps back, Kevin watched as his other self dropped to the ground. Grasping the grass beneath

mean nothing to

of what was behind him...and it was then that

The numbers were countless…

'N-o way…'

names engraved on the tombstones, Kevin felt his heart

[Amanda Stern]

'Wh..hat is happening?'

as he didn't know how to

as Kevin felt Ren's body patting himself on his clothes

gaze toward Kevin who was kneeling

slowly knelt to

"Kevin."

out for him. His voice sounded