CHAPTER 3 - Putrefaction

----1----

"YOU MUGGLE." he shouted. "What do I do now... What do I do now... What... WHAT!"

he said to himself. He placed his hands on his face and began to scratch. He tore open

his face with his fingernails, causing blood to drip from his chin.

I couldn't say anything to him. I still couldn't believe what was happening in front of

my eyes. No... I didn't want to believe it. It was as if I was losing my sight and hearing.

The only thing I could hear was a shrill sound. Suddenly I felt a force on my cheek that

brought me out of this state.

"WAKE UP." I screamed... No... He screamed that.

I reacted with a punch too... But it had much more power than his. Due to the sheer

force, he hit the wall of the house behind him. I took the opportunity and grabbed him.

The thoughts magically disappeared on their own.

"Why... WHY DID YOU DO ALL THIS!" I screamed. "I had to suffer... OVER AND OVER!"

The emotions just poured out of me. The enormous mass that had been building up

inside me over time had to come out. I let myself be carried away by the flow of

emotions and forgot everything. With each current, I gave him a blow. When I was

exhausted, I dropped my fist and looked at the floor.

"You... Are you happy?" he said, coughing.

"You should... shut up!" I ordered him. I was running out of air, so I was breathing

loudly and quickly.

"I-IT WAS THE ONLY WAY! DO YOU THINK I WANTED ALL OF THIS! I SUFFERED TOO!

HAVEN'T YOU NOTICED YET?" he said.

"WHAT DID I NOT NOTICE, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" I screamed. Every word he said

made me more aggressive, even though it was literally me. The words that filled me

with hate came out of my mouth.

"AS LONG AS WE... NO, AS LONG AS ATSUKO IS ALIVE... WE WILL DIE!" he shouted,

angrily.

That can't be right, can it? I thought. The words got stuck in my throat. I hadn't known

what he meant. I started to sweat. My blood heated up to enormous temperatures.

"What- What do you mean... And why are you so sure?" were the only words I could

muster.

"WE WILL DIE AT THAT DAY IF ATSUKO SURVIVES... DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND! NEITHER I

NOR ATSUKO CAN DIE THAT DAY. SO TIME KEEPS TURNING BACK OVER AND OVER.

YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED AT THE GR-" he screamed when I suddenly interrupted him.

"And... THE ONLY RIGHT THING YOU COULD DO WAS TO 

KILL HER? YOU ARE- NO, WE... WE ARE MONSTERS..." I screamed.

"Listen to me... We were supposed to die in the Great Plague Expansion... Fate had

predestined us to do so! BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO DIE! I WANTED TO BREAK MY FATE

AND THAT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO SURVIVE!" he yelled

"Wait... What do you mean by the Great Plague Expansion?" I asked him, confused. I felt

dizzy. The reason Atsuko died was me? I thought.

"What don't you understand? We should have died of the disease during the epidemic.

That was what fate had planned for us. But we were saved... remember!" he said

I didn't want to believe it, but he was right. In the Great Plague Expansion I was

infected. I was supposed to die, but Atsuko found me.

I remembered that I was lying in the slums, on the side of the road. It was raining

heavily, but I had no home because my mother had thrown me out when I was a child.

The plague spread quickly and poorly. It was a miracle that a person without a home

did not have the plague. That day, the plague had already spread all over my body. I

closed my eyes because of the severe pain...

----2----

"Hold on!" were the words Atsuko told me back then. "You'll survive this! You just have

to hold on!".

I managed to open my eyes with all my strength. My gaze wandered up because I was

wondering who was talking to me. Leave me alone everyone... I thought, but when I

looked at her, I forgot that thought. The ruby-red eyes that reminded me of roses and

the scent of expensive perfume. She was stunning...

"W- Who are... you?" I asked her, pained. It was a miracle that I still had the ability to

speak.

"Me? I'm Atsuko, and you?" she asked. At that point, I had just met her. My life was in

danger, but Atsuko was the person who saved me.

"Kiy- Kiyoshi," I answered her. "Kiyoshi, then... haha!" she said, laughing. She smiled

when we first met and never stopped. That was one of the reasons why I fell in love

with her. According to him, we should never have met. Fate had planned death for

Kiyoshi Hanaka. I was a mistake... I should never have existed...At least that was what

went through my head. I asked myself how my other self was ready... to kill Atsuko to ensure his own safety...

"I... I don't accept that... No," I said, hesitantly. I couldn't accept reality.

"You have to believe me-" he said before I stabbed him. With extreme speed, I pulled

his sword out of its sheath and rammed it into his stomach.

"How- Why..." he said with his last strength.

"You... You and I... We are hardly alike. I will take a different path. For Atsuko..."

"But... That means-"

"Exactly..." I said before he could say it. I was determined to go through with my act.

He slowly slid down the wall on his back, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

"Take the pocket watch... It will allow you to travel back..." he said with his last

strength. Then he died.

"Thank you." I forgot my hatred and closed his eyes out of respect. I didn't let myself

get distracted though and picked up the closed pocket watch from the floor. It was

covered in blood because it was lying in his blood puddle. I pressed the button on the

watch and it opened. The time was shown on the left side, but a portrait on the right

side. It left me speechless for a while. It was definitely Atsuko... I put it in my pocket

and ran back to Atsuko. Every step was heavier than the previous one. It was as if he

had placed a heavy burden on me... Time had been passing in slow motion for a long

time, but it finally stopped. I knew that the suffering was over. But before that I had to

do one more thing...

The sun was about to change when I stood in front of the hall doors. I walked with

silent steps through the entrance and went straight to Atsuko. When I finally saw her,

tears fell from my eyes.

"Atsuko... I love you... You know that, right?"

"Yeah, haha. I love you too!" she replied with a big grin on her face.

I had finally assured myself that there was nothing to regret. I believed that I had

made the right decision. I took the pocket watch out of my pocket and turned the

button. The hours represented the years and the minutes the

Months. I turned the clock back 14 hours and 2 minutes. I am ready...

----3----

An aura enveloped me that blinded me. It was like the one before. When it finally

cleared, I found myself on the street. Like that day, it was raining heavily. I forgot that

the church had not yet been built. The country had neither the resources nor the

money. This confirmed that I really went back in time. I am in the time of the 'Great

Plague Expansion', because I had to stop myself. I had to prevent the meeting between

Kiyoshi Hanaka and Atsuko Saki. In order not to waste any time, I gathered my courage

and ran to the place where I met Atsuko for the very first time. I stepped in many

puddles while running.

I really appreciated the time I spent with Atsuko. I actually wanted to stay with her

forever. But we are not meant for each other. That is why I have to separate us. That is

why I have to...

I suppressed my thoughts and continued running with concentration. When I finally

came to a stop, I was lying in front of me. It was my old, pathetic self. I had mixed

feelings about this sight, but I had to keep going. I couldn't stop now...

I drew my sword from its sheath and positioned it.

"I'm sorry..." I said. Then when he opened his eyes, he answered.

"I- I... thank you." were the words that had brought me to tears. I hadn't expected to

be answered with a "Thank you for freeing me from suffering." But when I think back, I

guess I was like that. I just wanted to die. By doing so, I had made sure that we never

met. Kiyoshi is dead... I asked myself why I still existed. Actually, it should have wiped me

out. Instead of racking my brains about it any longer, I took the opportunity to make

sure that everything had worked out. All I had to do was go back to the day of the

wedding. Fate had planned for Atsuko to get married on that day and if everything had

worked out, she wouldn't be allowed to marry me...

When I thought of her marrying someone else, my chest ached. She would love

someone else. She would hug someone else... It was an endless stabbing pain, but I

had to do it. Atsuko... believed in me. I had to take on this burden to save Atsuko from

death. I took the clock and turned it forward 14 hours and 2 minutes so that the aura

enveloped me again.

When it cleared again, I ran purposefully to the church. But something was

different. Suddenly my whole body hurt. It was like burning alive. I suspected that time

and space, as perfect, saw me as a mistake. I was not allowed to exist...