I Blink at him in disbelief before I can respond to that. Is he insane?
"We can't just kill the professor. Do you know how much power this man has? He could simply destroy us before we even get to the gate. Coming to gate: How do you even plan to open it? It's not like we have a keyca- Oh I see what your plan is…"
"Kill the professor and steal the keycard? That's actually a great idea let's do it!"
I look at him confused.
"Wait that wasn't your plan?"
"…"
"You didn't have a plan, did you?"
He lays his arm around my neck, as if we are friends. I don't really like that, but I don't want his mood to go down.
"At least now we got a plan! I'm not sure yet how we could kill him, but I'm sure we can think of something. He is just a human after all and we're coras! They have no chance against us."
I sigh in annoyance and move his arm away from me. I don't really like when people touch me and I'm annoyed that he is so naive.
"You can't even use your ability. How are we supposed to escape? You don't have a plan at all and you already see the escape as a victory. You're just stupid."
He laughs at me as if I am the stupid one. He continues to look at me for a few more seconds and suddenly stops smiling. He got more serious.
"What changed your mind? Why do you want to escape now?"
I look at him for a few seconds. He can probably see that I am not in the best condition, but I also don't really want to tell him what happened. I'm not weak, I am strong. But this place isn't the right place for me, or any other Cora that lives here. I can't stay here any longer.
"Since I was a kid I imagined something like a big, big barrel of water. Everytime something happened that triggered me or everytime I had to go to the laboratory for the experiments it would add a drop of water. Sometimes more and sometimes less, but always at least one drop of water."
I look him in the eyes. I can see that he is listening.
"If the barrel is full then maybe only one drop can fit in until it overflows. For me it was already way too full. I should have done something years ago. It probably could have overflown already several times, but today…"
"What happened today?"
His voice was full of curiosity.
"I went to the lab for the session. The professor didn't do a clean work, and even let me survive, which is good because dying hurts more than any pain I've ever felt. I went to visit Ria in the hospital but the doctor told me she is dying right now. Do you know why she had to die?"
"Tell me."
"Because of the professor. She only wanted to see her mother again but he killed her 'by accident' even though he knew that she is just a child. Do you know what one of her last words were?"
He shakes his head.
"She said that you're a liar and I shouldn't trust you. And here I am sitting next to you, talking about things that bother me. I didn't even ask what you lied about."
He looks on the ground and sighs. He does look bothered by the things that I've said.
"Look… It's not that easy. You said you are willing to trust me, right? Then trust me on this one. I can't tell you right now… but I promise that I'll tell you one day. Just wait."
For a moment I thought that he is really going to tell me, but I guess I was wrong. I still can't trust this boy, but as long as he can bring me out of this place I don't really care.
"Whatever."
I say and it's silent for about two minutes. It's weird how only two minutes can appear so long in a moment of silence. It's getting awkward, that's why I begin to speak up first.
"Why did he Name you Shinda? Do you know it's meaning?"
He shakes his head.
"Not exactly it's meaning. I just know that it's supposed to have something to do with my ability. I think it was something more indirect. But I know that the name Shin is supposed to mean either truth or reality but if you search a bit more it can also mean the center of everything. Also: The Heart."
He looks at me with a neutral expression on his face. He doesn't smile.
"In reality you know the meaning of the name Shinda, don't you?"
I say and he looks at me as if I just said something hilarious.
"Maybe."
"Don't worry you don't have to say it if it's embarrassing. I also don't like the meaning of my name."
"What's the meaning of your name?"
As he asked that, I give him a slight smile, even though I know I won't tell him. The professor is a big fan of Japanese names and their meanings, that's why almost every Cora who he captured has a Japanese name. And I'm definitely not happy with some of their meanings.
"I won't tell you."
I laugh a little because the face he makes is just way too funny.
"But I told you!"
"Well I won't tell you."
Maybe this is the last time that I will laugh like that. Who knows if our escaping plan will actually work. We could both lose everything.
And I'm sure he knows that, but it doesn't seem to bother him, because now he is laughing like there is no tomorrow.