Wait, what's going on? Let's calm down and think this through. I should have died after jumping off that bridge. So why am I alive, and why am I back to my younger self? Checking the year on my phone, it seems I'm back to when I was in the sixth grade. After a few minutes of thinking, I reach a conclusion—yes, what I just experienced must have been a dream. It must have been a nightmare brought on by my anxiety about the entrance exams. Yes, that must be it. After all, there's no way my father, who was always so kind, would act like that. There's no way I would have such a miserable end. I must have been so anxious about the exams that I dreamed something so horrible.
Just as I settle on this explanation, I hear a voice from downstairs saying, "Both of you, get up already." It's my mother's familiar voice. Oh, it's morning already. I need to hurry down for breakfast.
I leave my room, head downstairs, and enter the living room. My mother is cooking, and my father is sitting, reading the morning paper—just the usual scene I'm used to. But I notice my sister isn't here yet.
"Huh? Where's Sis?"
"Well, Yuu hasn't come down yet. Could you go wake her up once you've finished eating?"
"Got it."
It's unusual for my sister to wake up later than me. Even while I'm eating breakfast, she doesn't come down. After finishing my meal, I go upstairs to wake her up.
"Sis, you need to get up, or you'll be late… I'm coming in."
Opening the door, I see a neat and tidy room, just like mine. The layout shouldn't be much different, but it feels different because it's my sister's room. There's a certain elegance about it. As I'm thinking that, my sister seems to wake up.
"Mm… Huh, Kaya! What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean? You wouldn't wake up, so I came to get you."
"Oh, I see. Sorry."
My sister seems more approachable when she's just woken up. Usually, she seems like a perfect superhuman, so seeing her like this feels refreshing. But it seems she must be quite tired to wake up later than me. Well, with all the studying and everything else, it's no wonder she's exhausted.
"Well, I'm going to get ready. If you don't hurry up and eat breakfast, Mom's going to be sad."
"You're right. I'll be down soon."
Leaving my sister behind, I return to my room. It feels like it's been ages since I last saw my schoolbag, so I check to make sure today's textbooks are inside. After finishing my morning preparations, I return to the living room, where my sister is just finishing clearing the dishes.
"Thanks for the meal. Oh, Kaya, could you wait for me a bit? I'll be ready to go soon."
"Of course."
I pour some tea into a cup and wait for her. There's still plenty of time, so it's fine. I must be tired from having that nightmare this morning. It was so vivid that I can still feel the sensation of the wind as I fell.
"Kaya, how's your studying going lately?"
"Huh? Oh, it's going well. No problems."
"I see. Keep it up."
"Yes, I will."
He suddenly spoke to me, and it startled me. Usually, my father doesn't talk to me much, and maybe because of that terrible dream, I'm more nervous than usual. But I wasn't lying—my scores on practice and mock exams have been steadily improving. If things keep going this way, my life won't turn out like in that dream.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"No worries. Shall we head out?"
"Yes, let's go. We're off now."
"Goodbye, both of you."
As usual, I walk to school with my sister, chatting about trivial things along the way. Oh, right, I used to love this time. It was one of the few moments that could soothe me, helping me forget about studying and my worries about the future. As long as I'm with my sister, everything will be fine—I firmly believed that these days would continue.
Time passed, and by the time I had forgotten about that strange nightmare, the entrance exams were over. Honestly, I felt confident. I had endured a lot, all for the sake of passing. My sister would surely pass, so my only concern was whether I had passed. Finally, the day of the results arrived. I went with my sister to check the bulletin board, but my number wasn't there.