Suicide

Hospital corridors were full of anxious relatives, exhausted patients, and busy staff. Natsuo shuffled among them, wondering if the corridors had always been so cramped and hurried up his steps when he saw the front door.

He struggled to breathe as the air felt suffocating. His only thought was to find a moment of peace and relief from the chaos.

Suddenly, his shoulder was bumped by someone and he spun around to see a woman standing behind him. She had a worried expression on her face as she bowed slightly.

"My apologies," the woman in her forties said.

When Natsuo realized who she was, he stared at her silently for a few seconds.

Her bob haircut was brown, her coat was black, and she held a bouquet of white lilies, just like his adoptive mother brought home every Friday.