The school rooftop was bathed in the golden light of the afternoon, and the air carried a comforting stillness after a long day. Ahmed and Misaki sat on the wooden bench near the fence, sharing the food Ahmed had prepared. They exchanged simple talk and light laughter, as if trying to anchor this warm moment in their memories.
Smiling, Ahmed handed a container to Misaki: "I made plenty of food and dessert… let's celebrate helping that girl."
Misaki laughed and reached for the container, but she suddenly stopped. Her smile slowly faded, and her eyes widened as she stared toward the far edge of the roof. Ahmed felt the change in her before he even looked, as if his heart had sensed it first.
He followed her gaze… and there he saw her.
On the edge stood the girl they had saved hours earlier. Her body was eerily still, her back turned to them, and her eyes fixed on the void below the building. The wind stirred her hair gently, and her bag lay discarded to the side, as if she had abandoned everything that tied her to this place.
Ahmed froze. A cold sensation pierced his chest, and his breath hitched for a moment. Misaki whispered in a trembling voice: "Ahmed… don't tell me that…"
Neither of them needed to finish the sentence. The truth was clear and cruel.
At the same moment, they both screamed, horror mingling with shock: "Nooooo!"
The girl stopped moving, then turned around very slowly. Her eyes met Ahmed's and Misaki's. There was no fear in her gaze, only a profound despair and a heavy silence, as if she were exhausted from resisting.
A brief, heavy silence prevailed for a few seconds—a single moment that felt longer than time itself.
And here, begins the moment that will change everything.