Lonely Child

Masayuki opened his eyes to see snow falling everywhere. For some reason, he wasn’t cold. The image around him started to take shape. He found himself floating in front of a school. The boy had seen this place before.

“This was my old school,” he said. Masayuki turned his head when he heard the bell ringing. The boy looked to see students running towards the school. They all didn’t notice him as they ran through him. Still, that didn’t Masayuki from trying to move out of the way. He looked behind him to see a small boy trailing behind. He kept his eyes to the ground. His hoodie hid his face. Masayuki slowly stepped closer for a better look.

“Max?” he asked. The child didn’t respond.

“Max!” a teacher’s voice shouted. “Come on!” The boy started walking up to the teacher at the gate. She ushered him through. Masayuki followed behind. For some reason, he felt like he had to stay close behind to Max. When the boy passed through the gates, the scenery changed around him.

Now, Masayuki was floating around in a kindergarten classroom. Nothing out of the ordinary. The children were playing with toys on the floor. This looked like they were in the middle of a play break. Masayuki couldn’t help but smile to himself.

“Wow, this takes me back,” he said. However, he took another look around and noticed something off.

“Huh? Where did Max go?” the boy asked himself. Masayuki happened to turn his head when something caught his eye. Something shiny stood out in the light. The boy narrowed his eyes.

“Is that a thread?” he asked. His eyes trailed down the thin line. Masayuki walked through the playing children to follow the path. None of them seemed to notice him. The boy made his way to a supplies closet. Masayuki froze when he saw little Max standing in the doorway, staring at him.

Wait… Can he--?

“You shouldn’t be here,” the little boy said. He held out his hand. The last thing Masayuki could remember was him almost unconsciously touching the thread to his right. With one jolt, he vanished into thin air. The sounds of screaming and fire followed behind as he sank into darkness.

Masayuki! Can you hear me?

The boy turned his head.

“Baby Doll?” he asked. With one tug, the thread jerked him upwards. The empty silence was what was left behind.