The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria
Book 1: Chapter 24

It was raining so hard, you could easily imagine it would never stop.

When I heard from Daiya that Mogi had been in an accident, I rushed to the hospital. There would be no school for me today. The place they brought her to wasn’t in the city, so I took a taxi. For someone like me who loves the tranquility of normal life more than anything else, it was an almost unthinkable action.

I had no other choice, though. I had to know the outcome after all my struggles in the Rejecting Classroom.

I arrived at the hospital before anyone else, even Mogi’s own family. Most people mistook me for her boyfriend, so I ended up waiting with her family until the surgery was completed.

The operation seemed to have been a success…at first. But Mogi didn’t regain consciousness that day.

I wasn’t allowed in the ICU, so it wasn’t until she was moved to the general ward two days later that I was able to see her.

Looking at her lying on the bed like that was painful. The noise of the EKG and artificial respirator rattled my eardrums. Her arms and legs were restrained, and her face was a mess of bruises and scratches. The IV dripped fluids into her arm, which was now purple.

The sight of an injured friend in the hospital is enough to elicit tears in anyone. But I wasn’t the one who wanted to cry. I couldn’t, not in front of her. I held back my anguish and peered closely at her face.

Mogi looked at me. She seemed the slightest bit surprised, but the muscles of her face hadn’t moved, so I couldn’t be certain.

While I had heard from Mogi’s family that she had regained consciousness, I had also been told that, perhaps due to the shock of the accident, she had yet to speak a single word.

Despite this, she struggled to open her mouth, as if she wanted to tell me something. I told her not to strain herself, but she kept trying anyway.

Her exhalations fogged up her oxygen mask, but eventually, she spoke her first words.

“I’m so happy. I’m alive after all.”

I couldn’t quite catch everything, but that’s what I think she said.

With that off her chest, Mogi began to cry.

I wasn’t sure where to look, and my gaze swam over the room before finally coming to rest on Mogi’s tattered bag sitting next to her bed. It was open, and I could see a silver wrapper inside. I knew why it was there, so I reached in and pulled it out—a teriyaki burger–flavored Umaibo. The snack had lost its shape and was now just a bunch of crumbs inside the wrapper. As I ran my fingers over it, I realized I couldn’t bear it anymore and started sobbing.

I didn’t understand why then, of all times. I had memories of receiving this from Mogi in that other world, but I couldn’t recall why she’d given it to me.

None of that made any difference to my tears, however.

I went on to visit Mogi many times in her room after she moved to the general ward. She always did her best to sound cheerful when she spoke to me.

“I had a really long dream while I was unconscious,” Mogi said during one of my visits. It seemed she genuinely believed everything had taken place in a dream.

A thought suddenly popped into my head. In that world, nothing could alter Mogi’s fate of being hit by that truck. At the same time, nothing could change the fact that she would survive. That could be why the Rejecting Classroom was never destroyed despite Mogi experiencing the accident so many times.

Mogi had survived, but she would apparently never use her legs again. She had taken a powerful blow to the back that injured her spinal cord. There was little to no chance it would ever recover.

I had no idea what the appropriate response was when I heard this news, so I stayed silent. Apparently concerned for my feelings, Mogi spoke instead.

“I thought maybe I would feel like I was better off dead if things ended up like this. You can understand why, right? I’ll never walk on my own again. I’ll never be able to just pop by the convenience store again if I feel like having some dessert. I’ll always have to depend on other people or drag my wheelchair out to go by myself. That’s a lot of work just for some sweets. It’s horrible. But the funny thing is, none of that is enough to make me want to die. I wonder why. I truly, truly do.”

…Because you’re happy to be alive.

Mogi continued on, without a hint of gloom or false courage.

“I’ll be fine. I won’t give up on school, either. I’ll make it back, no matter how long it takes. We may not be in the same year anymore when that day comes, but I’ll still keep trying.”

Mogi smiled and flexed her arm weakly.

I’m embarrassed to say that I cried in front of her that day. I was just so, so happy that her greatest wish had come true.

…Is there anything I can do?

I wanted to help however I could, truly. That’s why I asked.

After saying it would probably sound a bit forward, Mogi made her request with a hint of flushed cheeks.

“I want you to leave a place open for me to return to. I want you to create somewhere I can belong again.”

…Again? Did I make a place where Mogi belonged in the past?

“……I’m talking about that long dream.”

After replying, she blushed for some reason and looked away.

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