In the middle of the night, when vehicles and pedestrians have become invisible.
The lights that illuminate the streets, houses, stores, and high-rise structures have been nearly turned off.
There was nothing but the sound of footsteps on the iron bridge.
"Ughhhh." A young woman's groans could be heard after the sound of footsteps had stopped moving.
The woman staggered, one hand gripping her bag and the other the bridge railing.
"Mmpph...." To maintain her consciousness, the woman held her breath.
The woman, partly sea sickness and half cognizant, recalled what had happened to her until she was sick to her stomach.
She went to a party to celebrate someone's promotion tonight. She recalls the old man welcoming her with a wide smile till his mustache went into his lips.
Unfortunately, the event was hosted on a ship. The woman had not expected the old man to hold a celebration promotion that included renting a cruise ship.
She is compelled to go despite her seasickness because she immediately accepts the invitation without asking where the event is being held.
After only a few minutes on the ship, the woman was already feeling inebriated enough to choose to die on the spot.
At the very least, the woman had strong self-esteem and didn't want to show her seasickness to her coworkers.
"Sigh..." The woman leaned against the bridge.
"Fortunately, someone had become ill earlier, so I was able to get off the ship as well, citing a sudden call." The woman felt relieved as she remembered a frightening experience she had while on the ship.
But unfortunately, the pain did not end there.
When she called a taxi, she unconsciously mentioned her mother's address rather than her own.
The woman was unable to visit her mother because she was abroad.
She might have contacted her mother and asked for permission to spend the day at her place, but she refused.
She, after all, didn't want to trouble her mother any longer. So the woman urged the taxi to turn around.
However, even though the woman offered to pay more, the taxi driver refused to turn around and take her to her private home address since he had urgent business.
So. This young woman must now walk to the bus station because the taxi driver dropped her off in the middle of the road.
"Aaaaaa... ahh," the woman's voice trembled with tiredness and cold, as well as the seasickness that was still very strong.
"I can't handle it any longer, I want to throw—" The woman spit a lot of water out of her mouth.
"No wonder I threw up water, I didn't get to eat anything on the ship because my stomach hurt so much."
The woman remembered that the foods she couldn't eat on the ship were provided.
Sadly, she had to give up so much delicious food since she was worried her stomach might hurl it up right away.
'Ah, I should have secretly requested that the food be wrapped earlier.' In her heart, the woman felt regret.
The woman took a tissue from her bag.
"This."
The woman cleaned her mouth with a clean tissue that was handed to her.
Her nose detected a weird smell emitted by the tissue she was holding while cleaning the corners of her lips that had vomited.
The woman blinked her eyes as she double-checked that she wasn't cleaning her lips with a tissue but a handkerchief.
A strong yet unique foreign aroma that made her feel at ease and slightly soothed her seasickness from the simple handkerchief smell that had made its way up into her nose.
The woman glanced in the direction where the handkerchief had appeared.
The woman intended to thank and apologize to the owner of the handkerchief for using it to wipe her vomited lips.
"Thank you for the handkerchief, but—"
"There's no need to thank me."
"...Huh?"
Before the young woman could see who owned the handkerchief, a pair of hands appeared on her back.
A pair of hands pushed her body down from the very high bridge.
"H—Huh?"
Because her body had fallen so swiftly into the water, the young woman's consciousness was still unable to respond to anything.
Her eyes, which had wanted to see who owned the handkerchief that had a weird smell but made her feel comfortable, had already seen the dark sky.
"Beautiful," the woman muttered as she viewed the sight in front of her.
The sky had been black since there was no moon or stars because it was cloudy, now it was no longer dark.
It was still as bright as the sun. Unfortunately, the moon now shines rather than the sun.
There is a full moon in the sky right now that is bright red and beautiful.
In the woman's mind, the scene she witnessed was a very beautiful illusion that she would never be able to forget, even if it was the day she died.
Splash!
"!!" After experiencing the cold seawater, the woman realized what she was in.
Swoosh!
The sound of the night wind was accompanied by the movement of the sea waves because her hands were constantly struggling to stay afloat on the sea's surface.
"Blllrlbbbb...." As her body began to sink into the water, the woman's palms sought to reach the surface.
She paddles with her hands and legs, attempting to find a way to swim up.
But there was no result. The 25-year-old woman cannot and does not know how to swim.
She doesn't know how to move her arms and legs properly.
Furthermore, she could hardly think of anything because she was shaking from the cold.
"Ugghh… It suffocates... Blurrrbbhhhhh… I can't... bluuurrrbbhhhh... breathe...." She was still fighting her way to the surface.
After a few minutes, the woman recognized her attempts were useless and stopped moving.
Her eyes, which were blurred due to the water, could still see the red reflection of the full moon.
'I die...?'
The sea atmosphere, which was before noisy due to the ripples of the ocean waves caused by the woman's movement of her two legs and arms, has now gone calm.
Her body slips further and deeper into the sea.
Her black hair, which was formerly neatly tucked into a ponytail, was now a mess.
'Is this serenity before death...? Although it felt tight at first, it turned out to be comfortable....' She pondered in her heart.
Finally, her consciousness vanished, along with her breath, which had been creating little bubbles on the sea's surface.
Her body was already on the seafloor.
The mysterious figure who had witnessed a young woman fall till her body was entirely drowned let out a voice as beautiful as symphony music.
"Yes. I returned her soul to where it belonged."
"Until we meet again... And welcome to our world, my dear."
***
In a universe whose dimensions are unknown.
There was a baby wrapped in a large warm blanket who appeared to be fast asleep.
For nearly a month, the baby has not moved.
She didn't even weep when it came to changing diapers.
However, the baby began to move restlessly, as if her deep sleep had been disturbed.
The middle-aged woman with scars on her face turned her head and trembled to touch the chubby baby's cheek.
"Elara...?"