Midori was petrified, didn’t know how to react. One of the people she most wanted to see after getting out of that hell, and she wasn’t in their world anymore. Her heart broke in millions of pieces. It was such a painful information for her to digest, she wasn’t able to react. Aoi and Atlas just stayed there, waiting for her.
— It can’t be… right…? She… she wouldn’t do that… she wouldn’t leave me alone… right…?
She said while laughing hysterically, trying to evade the reality of it. She was slowly falling to the floor, until she was on her knees. Tears started to run down her cheeks, unstoppable, and Midori started to sob. It was the only thing that could be heard in the room.
Aoi approached her and sat down by her side, hugging her tightly. Aoi couldn’t help but cry along with her. Atlas bit his lip and looked away, feeling how his eyes too were starting to water.
Midori cried until she didn’t have any more tears left. Her throat felt dry. And like that, a few days went by.
It was a cloudy day, but the rain had yet to fall. Midori went to her mother’s gravestone; her full name was written on it along with the date she passed away. She kneeled in front of it, passing her hand slowly over the letters engraved on it. A knot formed on her throat, but she couldn’t cry anymore, she felt dry. She remembered the last time she talked to her, the day they kidnapped her. They had a big fight in the morning. Midori clicked her tongue and punched the gravestone, making her knuckles bleed and a few drops to fall on the stone.
— We never fixed our differences… You went away without saying goodbye…
Aoi approached her and placed her hand on her shoulder, smiling lightly. Midori stood up and placed a bucket of flowers she had bought. They were her mother’s favorite.
Midori had already been discharged from the hospital. She could see clearly and no longer had eye pain. It felt good to have her sight back.
Since Atlas promised Midori that they will have a date, he did everything he could to be allowed to go out for a day. It was a perfect day for they date, the sun was dazzling, the breeze was calming. Both of them were below a big tree, sitting on a red blanket.
— Even the blanket is the same color? —she said while laughing—.
— Of course, we have to keep the traditions, right? —he said laughing as well— … By the way, here.
Atlas gave Midori a newspaper. Midori took it a bit confused, wondering why would Atlas give him a newspaper. When she took it, she noticed the main title on the first page: “HOSPITAL THAT CARRIED HUMAN EXPERIMENTS HAS BEEN CLOSED DOWN. EVERYONE INVOLVED WILL BE BROUGHT TO COURT.” Midori raised her head and looked at Atlas. A slow smile forming on her face.
— We did it, Atlas! —she leaned towards him and hugged him—.
— Yes, Midori. We did it.
— A toast?
Midori took a small cup filled with tea. Since they were still underage, they weren’t allowed to drink alcohol, unlike in the virtual world where they were alone.
— A toast. For our freedom.
They clinked their cups and took a sip of their tea, then started to talk about everything and anything. They were having a good time.
“Hello, mi name is Midori.
I don’t know how to write these things… but I need to keep my story alive.
298Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAY1xHN5Ct
One day after I got out of school, I was kidnapped by very suspicious people. They took me to a “hospital” and blinded me. There, they were doing human experimentations for a project which goal was to make people eternally happy. But that was a load of crap. We only suffered. There… there, I met Atlas. One of the most important people in my life, and my first love.
298Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hQfDKEoJW
It was a horrible place. We saw a lot of people in incubators, without being able to move. They were playing with our minds to make “out idea world”. But, an error in their system provoked that Atlas and I shared a world. That’s where we noticed that something was wrong.
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He too was kidnapped, but he suffered from cancer. Since he wasn’t given any treatment and were just playing with our bodies and minds, he passed away a few weeks after escaping that place. I will never forgive them for that. My mother took her own life, leaving me alone.
298Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeau4MUYHz
This story should never die. We need to open our eyes and look all around us. A simple place ended up being hell for many.”
Midori closed her laptop, not before saving the document so she wouldn’t lose it. She could graduate school, with many difficulties, but she was able to catch up with school work. She worked really hard. Aoi took her into her house, since Midori was completely alone.
After graduating, she started a part time job and moved out by herself.
THE END.
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