The remaining.

"Do you really think everything will be over if you die?"

I stop.

I am a startled because I did not expect to hear someone else's voice. The glass shards that I held were still sticking to my wrist.

I look back. There is a thin bearded man dressed like an office worker. He looks at me with sympathy.

"Are young people today this fragile mentally?" he said. "No wonder the suicide rate increases every year."

I look at him in disbelief. Is this real? I'm not hallucinating, right? There's still someone else who hasn't disappeared!

He scratches his head.

"Seeing you this hopeless, I guess you don't know anything about what's happening," he continued.

I remain silent. Still stunned.

"I'll tell you one thing, kid. If you really die, what makes you think the situation will be better than this?"

My brain still can't function properly. Seeing me not react seems to make him angry. He looks at my hand, at the glass shards that I held.

"Drop that thing, kid, before I kick you," he said.

The change in his tone makes me surprised. I quickly drop the glass shards to the side.

"Good. Now follow me," he said. "We'll find out what's happening."

Although I'm still unsure, I stand up and follow him.

He looks calm. Seeing his calmness reminds me of Mai. Ah... maybe he will disappear like Mai too. I shake my head, getting rid of that negative thought.

We walked along the sidewalk. Without a word, just walking. Although it didn't last too long.

"My name is Michael," said the man with a thin beard next to me. I didn't react. My head was still confused, but I listened.

"I work at a telecommunications company near here," he said. "Since a few days ago, my coworkers one by one disappeared. When my boss disappeared, I shouted in joy."

I furrowed my brow.

He grinned. "Okay, okay, that's not something appropriate, but, you know," he said. "My boss can be really annoying. But when my other coworkers also disappeared, it's a different story. And somehow today everyone disappeared, there's not a single person in my office except me. It's really weird, right?"

I remained silent. It's not that I didn't want to respond, but I didn't know how to react.

After a moment of silence, he then asked, "What about you, kid? What happened to you?"

I didn't immediately answer because I thought I heard something. Faint, like the sound of a child crying. I looked to the store on my left. Through the store window, my eyes caught something near the cashier table.

Hey, that..." I didn't finish my sentence as I pointed at what I saw.

Michael looked in the direction I pointed. Without hesitation, he went in and approached the child. I followed him.

It was a little girl, I didn't see her clearly before. Her age might be around five. One of her hands was wiping her eyes that were constantly crying while her other hand tightly held her teddy bear.

Michael tried to calm her down. He took a handkerchief from the back pocket and wiped the girl's cheek.

"It's okay," he said. "There's nothing to worry about."

Michael gently stroked the girl's hair. But the girl's crying didn't stop.

"My mom... My mom is missing..."

"What's your name?" Michael asked.

"Emily," she said. "My mom..."

"I understand, Emily. Don't worry, we'll look for your mom." Michael smiled reassuringly.

Michael looked at me. "We're going to take this child."

I nodded.

"Okay, don't cry anymore, Emily," Michael said. "We'll look for your mom together."

Seeing Michael so easily handle the situation made me amazed. At the same time, this is the first time I felt so useless.

We left the clothing store. I looked back, the little girl was holding tightly on Michael's left hand. She still looked scared.

We walked without a word. Until we reached a crossroad, Michael suddenly stopped.

"Hey, kid, while I'm searching the whole city, you watch this child." Michael gently pulled the little girl's hand and then handed her over to me.

I blinked. "What?"

"I'll search the city quickly," he said. "it's better for you to wait here."

"But—" I stared to protested but he cut me off.

"No need to worry, I'll be back soon," he said. "You know that searching the whole city takes a lot of energy. I don't want Emily to walk that far."

"But, Michael, maybe—"

"Stop," he said. "I'll find it. People who haven't disappeared. You just wait."

Michael crouched in front of Emily.

"Wait for a little bit with this big brother," said Michael. "I'll look for your mom."

Emily nodded softly.

"Okay, kid, take care of her," he said.

I just praised him for how well he handled the situation, but then this happened. Doesn't he know that splitting up in this situation was the worst idea ever? But Michael already ran, leaving me with this little girl. I don't know where his confidence came from, but now I have no choice but to wait.

And here I am, standing right in the middle of a busy intersection of the road. I know if we stood here we could be seen from all four directions, but it still feels strange. If this was a normal day, we would have caused a total traffic jam.

I breathed out deeply. What is really happening? If I die, everything will be finished. That's all I can think of. But Michael's words are true. I don't know what might be waiting for me after I die. For now, death will be my last choice.

I looked at the little girl next to me. Her small hand tightly held onto my pants. Right now, this little girl is depending on me, as if something bad were to happen, I can do something about it.

Don't hope for too much. If something worse happens than this, let alone protecting others, I'm not even sure I can save myself.

Though I won't say it out loud. And it's not like I won't try. At least that's what I believe.

***